Night fell.
At the foot of Zhegu Ridge, torches were lit all across Li Family Village. Every household started its kitchen fire, sending plumes of smoke into the air.
From a distance, the entire village was brightly lit.
In the square before the stockade.
Chen An and his sons, Li Chunlei and his two brothers, and a crowd of Hunters from Li Family Village and Chen Family Gully were all bustling about, busily butchering the Gray Wolf Demon.
The women and children of the village, after boiling water and cooking meals at home, had also gathered in twos and threes to watch from the side.
They watched as the Hunters collected the wolf's blood, skinned it, and then gutted it to carve up the meat.
The mountain folk in this region were a hardy people. The Gray Wolf Demon had preyed upon the villagers, treating them as food.
When the villagers slew a Wolf Demon, they would drink its blood and eat its flesh.
This was a tradition passed down through generations.
