How I Survived in Transmigration with My Ghost Hubby

11. Hunter Zhao

Translator: Annsmiley

“Roar!”

Suddenly, they heard a tiger roaring at the top of the mountain. Ji Ran slipped and almost rolled down the slope. Fortunately, Lu Zhen held him in time.

‘F*ck! There is a tiger!’

Ji Ran was still in shock. And just as he stood steady, “swoosh” and a wooden arrow flashed by just over his scalp. His brush with death left him horrified. His knees became weak and he almost fell onto the ground. And again, Lu Zhen held him timely so that he only stumbled before he stood steady again.

“Roar! Roar!”

The tiger roared again and next they saw a spotted tiger jumping out from the woods.

However, the tiger didn’t rush down the mountain. It seemed to be in a fierce fight. Just now it jumped out not out of panic. Instead it looked like that it was trying to pounce on its prey but failed. So it immediately turned its head but didn’t attack again. Instead, it took a few steps back cautiously and kept snarling.

Ji Ran had lived two lives, but it was the first time that he saw such a primitive wild tiger. And every part of his body was trembling. The first time he came into this mountain and before he even started hunting, he encountered such a fierce animal. Though he was scared, he was also inexplicably excited.

Ji Ran tugged at Lu Zhen’s sleeve excitedly and wanted to say, “Lu Zhen, it’s time to show off your advantage as a ghost. Take down that tiger!”

However, before he could say anything, he heard Lu Zhen saying, “I know him. He’s Hunter Zhao.”

After Lu Zhen said this, he grabbed Ji Ran’s hand and walked up the mountain quickly.

The mountain road was not manmade. It was a footpath naturally made by people consistently walking on it over the years. The thorns and grass along the path were knee-high. Even if it was flat, it was not easy to walk on a path like this, not to mention that it was a steep slope. Although Ji Ran grew up in a mountain, he couldn’t walk on a path like this. Lu Zhen was anxious so he walked quite fast, and Ji Ran couldn’t keep up with him. He stumbled a few times and almost fell.

“Hunter Zhao used to help me a lot. When I was a child, he often secretly gave me food. He taught me how to hunt and with the money I earnt by selling the animal hides, I was able to leave this village and cover my travelling expenses. Not to mention that he’s old now, even when he was young, he might not be able to take down a tiger.”

Lu Zhen explained as he led Ji Ran up the mountain. He was running so fast that even Ji Ran’s footsteps became light. Of course, this was not because he was physically strong, but because his feet had left the ground due to inertia. And he felt that he was not running but flying.

They quickly reached the top of the mountain.

The tiger sensed the coming danger, and it immediately leaped sideways into a safer place. And from that vantage point, it was able to see threats from both sides. With its four legs straight and upright, its body stretched into a beautiful and strong arch and its eyes shining brightly. It was ready to take action at any time.

However, the tiger couldn’t see Lu Zhen, so it thought that its targets were Hunter Zhao and Ji Ran who had suddenly appeared.

Ji Ran did not have time to pay attention to others. Being stared at by the fierce tiger, he felt goosebumps all over his body. He gritted his teeth and said to Lu Zhen who was standing next to him, “What are you waiting for? Go ahead and take it down!”

Lu Zhen smiled. He let go of Ji Ran’s hand and “swoosh”, he was gone.

And the tiger that was ready to take down its prey suddenly trembled and shivered. With Hunter Zhao’s astonished gaze, it suddenly went crazy. It turned around and bumped its head against a trunk not far away. And it didn’t stop just then. Hunter Zhao, who didn’t know that the tiger was controlled by a ghost, was stupefied at what was happening and he even forgot to shoot the arrow he intended to shoot.

Bang!

And with that loud sound, the thick-skinned tiger was finally knocked out. It stumbled a few steps before it collapsed onto the ground.

The moment the tiger passed out, Lu Zhen came out of its body.

Ji Ran gave him a thumbs-up, turned his head and saw Hunter Zhao rushing over to the tiger. He pierced the tiger’s neck with a dagger and the danger was gone completely.

Ji Ran felt a little regretful in his heart. Tigers were valuable. Their hides, bones and meat could all be exchanged for money. If he sold it at the bazaar, he would definitely make a small fortune out of it. However, Hunter Zhao was the first to spot and fight with it, and Lu Zhen helped to pay back his kindness, so he didn’t feel angry and thought that Hunter Zhao should share the tiger with him.

Now that the tiger was dead, Ji Ran finally had the time and mood to size Hunter Zhao up. He was an skinny, hunchbacked, old man and one of his eyes had gone blind. His appearance could be said to be quite ordinary. If it weren’t for the fact that he was almost hit by the arrow Hunter Zhao shot, Ji Ran wouldn’t believe that such a skinny old man who seemed that he could be blown away by the wind was actually a hunter.

Hunter Zhao drew out his dagger, stood up and turned to see Ji Ran. “You’re Lu Zhen’s wife? What are you doing here? There are many fierce beasts in this mountain. You shouldn’t have come up here in the first place. Hurry and go back.”

“Lu Zhen’s wife”?! Hearing that, Ji Ran felt so embarrassed that he almost knelt down. Judging from Hunter Zhao’s tone and expression, he certainly saw him as a woman!

But before Ji Ran got upset, Hunter Zhao realized that he had said something wrong. He frowned; then with his face, which was covered in wrinkles, crumpled, he looked at Ji Ran with sympathy and pity.

It took a long time before Hunter Zhao finally sighed. “Sigh, I’m sorry. Though you’re married into his family as his ‘wife’, you’re still a man and that’s a fact that nothing can change.” He paused for a moment and changed the topic. “Even so, when it comes to hunting, you’re still too weak. If you meet a tiger or a bear, you might not be much stronger than a woman. And the only difference is that you’re a bigger prey than a woman in those beasts’ eyes.”

After he said that, Hunter Zhao ignored Ji Ran, bent over and carried the tiger’s body on his shoulder. He was ready to go down the mountain.

After Hunter Zhao left, Ji Ran turned his head and looked at Lu Zhen.

“The tiger’s hide is precious. It can definitely sell for a good price,” Ji Ran said as he warmed up for his upcoming hunting, “Its bones are also valuable!”

Lu Zhen looked Ji Ran up and down, “Dear, don’t overdo this. You are too thin and weak. You can only hunt some small animals. Even if I help you catch large beasts, you won’t be able to take them back home. I’ll be happy to help you carry them back, but don’t forget that I am a ghost. And others can’t see me. Seeing a corpse of a beast flying in the air will frighten them.”

Ji Ran imagined the scene of a dead tiger or a dead panther floating in the sky. It was indeed frightening. Though Lu Zhen said that he was too thin and weak, which made him unhappy, he did have a point.

Ji Ran waved his hand, “Alright. I didn’t say that I would hunt ferocious beasts. Rabbits and wild fowls are not so bad, too.” He could still eat or sell some small animals.

Having made the decision, the two of them entered the deep woods.

There were not only fierce beasts in the deep woods, poisonous snakes and insects were also everywhere. Fortunately, although there were no fierce beasts in the mountain where Ji Ran grew up, there were many poisonous snakes and insects. So he had some experience in dealing with those poisonous animals and insects. And reassuringly, he picked up a branch and hit the ground with it to drive those poisonous animals away.

Seeing that Ji Ran knew what he was doing, Lu Zhen was relieved and got focused on catching small animals. When he saw a rabbit, he entered its body and bumped it against the tree. And when he saw a pheasant or a water deer, he did the same. In short, he made the animals commit suicide. And as it went on, he felt that even though he was a ghost, he was also almost knocked out.

Meanwhile, Ji Ran didn’t just stand there and watch. He got himself busy picking up mushrooms. He planned to take them back, wash them and made stewed pheasant with them.

In the end, they got so many trophies and there was no container for them to carry them back. However, Ji Ran came up with an idea. He found some vines and twisted them into ropes. Then he tied all the animals up and hung them on his shoulders. Of course, most of the time, it was Lu Zhen who carried it. When no one was around, he carried it all by himself. Whenever they saw someone, he would threw it on the ground and let Ji Ran pull it.

Ji Ran planned to keep the mushrooms and pheasant for himself, and as for the rabbits and water deer, he planned to sell them to his neighbors in exchange for some money or everyday necessities, such as firewood, rice, oil, and salt, when he got back to the village. Right now he would have to get those necessities first as he needed them badly for the moment. And in the future, he would go to a bazaar and sell his hunting trophies at a better price.

Within the village, Ji Ran was unable to sell the wild animals at a good price. In the end, Ji Ran sold the rabbits and the water deer respectively to two households which looked like wealthy ones. He didn’t make any money as he wished, but he got more than enough rice, oil, salt, greens, and radishes. He had to borrow a basket from a villager to take them back home.

Although it took Ji Ran and Lu Zhen lots of efforts, the result was rewarding.

However, when he got back and saw Granny Lu standing at the front gate and trying to block his way, Ji Ran’s good mood instantly disappeared.