America 1883: The Western Homeland

Chapter 17 Dispute Arises After the Match

"His father was James, a veteran who crawled out of piles of corpses. Perhaps that marksmanship was ingrained in his blood."

Attributing this extraordinary talent to ancestral inheritance might make these stunned, rough men feel a little better.

After all, a sixteen-year-old kid with such abilities? They simply couldn't imagine what kind of monster this kid would become in the future!

Elsa wasn't riding slowly, but the rapid hoofbeats behind her made her pull on the reins sharply and turn around abruptly.

Upon realizing it was Tom chasing after her, the glimmer of light that had just appeared in her eyes instantly vanished, replaced by deep disappointment.

"Tsk," Tom scoffed, spurring his horse to ride alongside her. "What, hoping for someone to come? Your 'free-spirited' cowboy lover?"

Elsa turned her head, her muffled voice carried on the wind: "Did Margaret send you to do this? To sabotage my plans?"

Tom was clearly taken aback.

Come to your senses!

"Mother?" Tom's sneer was as cold as the Wyoming night wind. "She doesn't have time for these 'trivial' things! All she cares about is how to keep us kids from starving to death on the way, from being carried off by wolves, and from crawling into the next dawn alive!"

"boring!"

Elsa suddenly pulled on the reins!

The horses neighed, and together they drew a sharp semicircle, kicking up clouds of dust.

Her chest heaved violently, and her eyes, which inherited the wildness of the Dutton family, were fixed on Tom's face:

"You think chasing the sun is boring? You think running with the wind on the grasslands, burning your heart to ashes for love—in your eyes, these are just laughable childish games!"

Her voice, like a whip lashed by fire, pierced the silent air: "Whom do I choose to love! Whom do I live for! Whom do I die beside! Is all this sentiment worthless in your eyes?"

"That's right!"

Tom's eyes suddenly sharpened like a skinning knife, his voice resolute and cold, ruthless, as if crushing all illusions: "Choice? Whom to love? Ennis?" He scoffed, a laugh like a vulture circling over a graveyard. "He doesn't even know where he'll be buried tomorrow! Your imagined idyllic life?"

Tom pointed sharply to the distant horizon, where there was only endless wasteland and a leaden sky. "Look at this man-eating land! Your so-called freedom and romance can't even buy you a damn shroud! They'll just leave you to rot in some nameless pit, where nobody will even plant a blade of grass for you!"

Boring? No, it's naive to the point of making you want to vomit!

That last sentence, like a poisoned ice pick, pierced Elsa's heart.

But the next second, Elsa shook her head violently, as if to throw that gloomy scene and Tom's words into hell!

Her back was ramrod straight, like an unyielding javelin, her jaw clenched, and the wildfire in her eyes burned even brighter than before, even though deep within that fire was a stinging pain from the truth being forcibly torn away.

Anger exploded in Tom's chest! Without another word, he slammed his spurs into the ground!

"Ugh!" The loach cried out in pain, its front hooves leaving the ground. Then, like a black lightning bolt, it turned around without hesitation and galloped back the way it came, its hooves thundering and kicking up clouds of yellow dust.

The wind carried his last, chilling words, along with grit, and slammed them into Elsa's ears: "Oh, I almost forgot—Happy Birthday, Elsa Dutton!"

Elsa was struck dumb, frozen on her horse.

Tom's final "Happy Birthday," uttered with his full name, shattered her chaotic thoughts like a thunderbolt.

She instinctively reached into her clothes, her fingertips touching the brand-new, cool gold watch.

The cold texture of the metal intertwined with the chilling intent in his words.

Watching the figure disappear into the distance, merging into the wasteland, Elsa's pale lips moved slightly, her voice as soft as a sigh carried away by the wind: "So... this watch..." The sharp edges of the gold watch pressed against her palm, bearing an undeniable mark, "...is your 'gift'? Tom..."

As the sun sank below the horizon, the group, having trekked all day, finally managed to set up camp before everyone was completely exhausted.

Everyone mustered their spirits and began unloading the truck and starting a fire.

The cowboys were busy marking out a campsite where the cattle could spend the night in peace.

In this pioneering team, the food was these lively bison, and the water was the rivers and lakes bestowed by heaven! In order to protect this "mobile granary," the cowboys guarded the cattle every step of the way.

"What's wrong, Ennis?" Wade sidled up to his friend.

Ever since the match ended, Ennis has been looking dejected.

Ennis shook his head: "It's nothing!"

"Come on, even a blind man could see you're up to something!" Wade slapped him on the shoulder. "Taken fooled?" Seeing Ennis's blank expression, he chuckled. "They're giving you a warning! Telling you not to mess with his sister!"

"Look at you, you coward! He's achieved his goal!" Wade laughed loudly. "Ennis, you've been intimidated by a fifteen or sixteen-year-old brat!" Ennis, mocked, glared angrily: "Didn't you see his marksmanship?"

Wade ignored his yelling and continued to taunt, "He's Elsa's brother, and you like Elsa! What's it to him? He wouldn't dare to punch you, would he?!"

"Hehehe..." Amid Wade's loud laughter, Ennis also realized what was happening and joined in with a hearty laugh.

On the other side, Captain Shay stood in the center of the camp, surveying the exhausted group with a furrowed brow, muttering under his breath, "Too slow..." The long journey on the first day had clearly taken its toll on these immigrants.

"It's just the beginning!" Thomas deftly tripped the horse's front legs, patted its rump, and the horse immediately trotted off to graze.

Xie Yi seemed to be deep in thought.

Tom's family also chose a campsite.

James rode around the area on horseback and sprinkled snake repellent powder on the snakes.

Tom unloaded the cart, put a figure-eight harness on the front legs of the packhorses, and let them graze.

He quickly set up the canvas tent himself.

The filter canister had already been unloaded from the car.

I drew another bucket of water from the river and poured it in. Judging from the previous results, it worked well; at least it made the water much clearer.

"Do you need my help?" Tom asked casually as Margaret was starting a campfire.

"Our little Tom has grown up so much!" Margaret looked at her son with a smile, the firelight reflecting on her face.

Tom shrugged. "Yes, ma'am, if a suitable girl comes along, you could be a grandmother next year!"

"Pfft!"

Mary, who was standing next to her, couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

A stern gaze immediately fixed on her.

Claire's disapproving look was blatantly exposed to everyone.

Mary's laughter stopped abruptly.

"What are you laughing at?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mary tried to hold back her laughter, but finally burst out laughing: "No...nothing!" She vehemently denied it, but Tom didn't believe her.

Mary finally gave up in despair: "It's so hard to find a girl shorter than you!"

The air froze instantly.

Without saying a word, Tom turned and left, his back view was so dashing!

boom!

A deafening roar of laughter erupted behind him!