While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 27: Trading Sheepskin for Lamb

I crept up slowly and finally stopped behind the goat. I didn't want to spook it, so I didn't dare to jump right in.

Just as I was hesitating, a bone arrow whizzed past me and nailed the goat right in the neck.

It thrashed around a bit before dropping to the ground.

The bone arrow looked familiar, like one of Assad's! Sure enough, a few figures emerged from the bushes a second later.

Leading the pack was Assad himself.

"You just killed it like that?" I blurted out, a bit anxious, and rushed forward to hold down the goat.

Assad looked just as surprised to see me. He took a few steps toward the goat, yanked out the bone arrow, and pointed it at me.

"This is our catch! What do you want?" Assad's surprise quickly turned to suspicion.

I guessed he thought I was trying to steal his kill.

"Hey, I saw it first, but I wasn't planning on taking your prey!" I said, glancing at the people behind him. They looked pretty rough like they hadn't had a decent meal in ages.

"I just wanted to know where you found these goats," I explained quickly, but they still eyed me warily.

They stared at me for a bit before finally relaxing a little. Then they shook their heads, looking a bit helpless.

"We don't really know where to find these goats. Sometimes, one or two just wander into the forest."

Judging by their expressions, they weren't lying. So, my plan to keep a few animals had to be put on hold for now.

"Do you know how to butcher a goat?" Assad asked, eyeing me.

I nodded right away. I'd spent years on my uncle's farm, watching him slaughter livestock. Plus, I was pretty strong now and could easily handle the goat. Butchering it wouldn't be a problem.

Hearing my reply, Assad gave me a once-over before reaching out to lift the goat.

"Don't just stand there, let's deal with this goat first," he said, pointing to the goat's leg. I got the hint and grabbed the leg.

The goat was pretty heavy, but with my strength, it wasn't too hard to lift. I grabbed its hind leg and helped them carry it to the creek.

"None of us here know how to butcher livestock," Assad explained while washing the blood off himself by the creek. "The last goat we hunted was a mess, and we wasted a lot of meat. If you can help us butcher this goat properly, we'll give you some meat as payment."

I got what Assad was saying. He didn't really want to get too involved with me, but they probably couldn't handle the butchering themselves and ended up wasting meat.

I nodded, thanked them, and got ready to butcher the goat.

First, I made a small cut on the goat's neck, then hung it upside down from a tree to let the blood drain out.

We waited by the creek for about two hours until the goat's blood was completely drained. By then, the goat's body was pale, and its fur had stiffened.

We took the goat down from the tree and laid it on the ground. I chopped off its head with an axe and reached in to remove the internal organs.

The slimy feeling was pretty gross, but I had to push through. Technically, the internal organs could be eaten after some processing, but we weren't set up for that right now.

I gathered the organs and placed them on some large palm leaves before getting back to butchering the goat.

I carefully cut along its spine with the axe and skinned it as best as I could. Honestly, the hide wasn't perfect, but in our situation, any soft and warm material was a rare find.

I kept the hide and divided up the meat, finishing the butchering process.

As I was about to leave with the meat and hide, Assad stepped in front of me. "I want that hide," he said, watching me closely.

"Why should I give it to you?" I shot back. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have this clean, intact hide."

But Assad wasn't backing down. He even pointed his bow and arrow at my head, trying to force me to hand it over.

Honestly, I wasn't too scared of his threat. My reaction speed and strength were way better than theirs. Unless they had guns, they couldn't do much to me.

But then again, we were all stuck on this deserted island. I didn't want to start any unnecessary conflicts.

My camp was full of pretty, delicate girls. If I really pissed them off and they attacked our camp, the girls wouldn't stand a chance.

The rule here was survival of the fittest. I wasn't dumb enough to argue over some supplies.

"So, I help you butcher the goat and get only this little bit of meat as payment, is that fair?" I held up a small piece of meat and looked back at Assad.

He hesitated for a moment before handing me a large piece of meat with the leg still attached.

"Is this enough to trade for the hide?" He asked, looking reluctant.

I didn't know why he wanted the hide so badly, but I didn't need it that much right now.

We still had fabric for tents at the camp, and the hide would only be used as a mat for now.

"Can I take these internal organs?" I pointed to the pile of goat organs on the palm leaves. Assad nodded without hesitation.

After parting ways with them, I headed back to the camp. Just thinking about the girls' reactions when they saw the meat made me smile uncontrollably.

This was the first time we had real meat since arriving on this deserted island. Not only that, but even Charlie could eat the goat's internal organs.

I remembered my uncle saying that dogs loved eating internal organs, and it helped make their coats shinier.

I carried the food back to the camp, and Charlie immediately ran over, wagging his tail and sniffing around my legs. I moved the food slightly, and Charlie barked twice and then spun around happily.

His keen sense of smell must have told him there was a feast tonight.

Charlie's leg had almost healed, but he was usually well-behaved and quiet, rarely this excited.

Hearing the dog's barking, the girls who were busy in the camp immediately came out.