Qin Qiang crested the slope just in time to see the Black Bear bite clean through his black hound.
At that moment, Qin Qiang didn't even glance at the miserable state of his other hounds. He just snapped the rifle to his shoulder. The instant the stock met his cheek, he aimed for the white patch on the Black Bear's chest and fired.
The shot rang out. Without waiting to see the result, Qin Qiang immediately broke the rifle open with his right hand, pinched the empty shell between his thumb and forefinger, and yanked it out. Then, he shoved a fresh round from his palm into the chamber.
A bear's vitality is incredible, surpassing that of a wild boar or even a Tiger.
Any experienced Hunter knows that hunting bears is the most dangerous work of all. Sometimes, you think you've killed it, but the moment you let your guard down, it will lurch back to its feet and strike back.
That's why there's a rule among Hunters: after downing a bear, you must put another round in its head.
A bear has two vital spots: its head and its heart, and the heart is located right behind the white patch on its chest.
The white patch is an easier target than the head, so as long as the bear isn't up a tree, Hunters aim for the body—specifically for that patch. Even if one shot doesn't kill it, it will still inflict a serious wound.
Since a follow-up shot was necessary no matter what, Qin Qiang began reloading the second he fired the first.
He snapped the rifle shut, but before he could raise it to his cheek, a roar ripped through the air.
PHWUMP...
The bullet tore through the Black Bear's body—a small hole going in, a big one coming out!
A spray of bloody mist erupted from the Black Bear's back, leaving a ghastly, bowl-sized hole in its lower back.
The Black Bear let out a soul-tearing roar, but it didn't run. It didn't flee. Instead, it charged right at Qin Qiang.
That's a bear for you. When shot, they don't flee in a blind panic like a wild boar. They charge the gun.
The enraged Black Bear lunged, covering nearly two meters in a single bound. It landed on all fours and closed the distance to Qin Qiang in an instant.
But Qin Qiang stood his ground. He snapped the rifle up, stock to cheek, quartering his target with the Gun Star. Aiming for the white patch on the Black Bear's chest, he pulled the trigger once more.
By now, the Black Bear was less than three meters away. The foul stench of its fur assaulted Qin Qiang's nostrils.
'Die!' Qin Qiang cursed in his heart.
But the unexpected happened.
He squeezed the trigger. Nothing. The gun didn't fire.
'It's over!' Qin Qiang didn't know if it was a dud round or something else, but he knew one thing: he was in deep trouble.
At that thought, Qin Qiang spun around and bolted west.
Directly to the west stood a massive Daqing poplar—the very same one the Black Bear had been resting under moments before.
The tree was enormous, easily four or five men's arms around. Qin Qiang reached it and immediately started circling the trunk.
As he ran, he fumbled to break open his rifle and reload.
Qin Qiang ran around the tree; the Black Bear chased him around the tree.
One ran for his life, the other to vent its fury. Man and bear tore around the trunk at incredible speed, completing three laps in just over twenty seconds.
Just as he finished reloading, Qin Qiang suddenly spun around mid-stride and fired a shot behind him.
BANG!
This time, the gun fired.
But it only grazed the Black Bear's scalp, sending a spray of blood into the air as it passed.
The Black Bear, now even more enraged, leaped and landed right in front of Qin Qiang.
Qin Qiang tried to run, but it was too late.
He had just turned when a claw raked across his back.
The bear's swipe shredded Qin Qiang's simple shirt, instantly carving five deep, bloody gouges into his back.
Qin Qiang cried out in pain and scrambled forward. After years of hunting, he knew a bear's tactics and was terrified of being pinned and sat on.
But he also knew help would come.
Sure enough, two Invasion Blades thrust out from behind the beast. Both sank into its body. The Black Bear roared, violently shaking its torso left and right. With two sharp cracks, the shafts of both blades snapped.
The Black Bear spun around and lunged.
Tao Ersheng and Tao Sansheng scrambled apart, one to the left and one to the right, while Tao Dasheng grabbed Qin Qiang and started dragging him down the north slope.
Why did the old-timers always teach the younger generation that when hunting in the mountains, "men must be of one mind, and horses a matched team"?
It's for moments just like this, so someone will be there to save your life.
The bond between a man and his brothers-in-law went without saying.
Tao Dasheng dragged Qin Qiang downhill, his speed now much faster than it was going up. He pulled Qin Qiang all the way to the bottom and settled him behind the Big Stone Cliff before taking his blade and heading back up the slope.
His brother-in-law was safe. Now he had to help his two brothers.
When Tao Dasheng reached the ridge, he saw his two brothers locked in a desperate dance with the Black Bear. First, it would chase Tao Ersheng while Tao Sansheng harried it from behind. Then, the bear would turn to chase Tao Sansheng, and Tao Ersheng would move in to harass it...
Tao Dasheng forced himself to stay calm. He scanned his surroundings, then whistled sharply to alert his brothers before charging the Black Bear as it pursued Tao Sansheng. He drove his blade right into the back of its chest.
The Black Bear roared in pain and spun around to chase Tao Dasheng. Tao Dasheng led it south, circling a large locust tree and running with every ounce of strength he had.
When he circled around to face the downslope, he paused for a split second. Just as the bear lunged at him viciously, he leaped to the side.
The Black Bear, carried by its own momentum, tumbled straight down the southern slope. A chaotic cacophony of CRASHING and SNAPPING followed—the sound of the beast careening through the trees as it fell into the gully below.
"Let's go!" Tao Dasheng yelled to Tao Ersheng and Tao Sansheng. The three brothers scrambled down the north slope.
After finding Qin Qiang, Tao Dasheng quickly pulled a tobacco pouch from his waist. He took out a pinch of shredded tobacco, ground it into a fine powder between his palms, and pressed it onto Qin Qiang's back.
Meanwhile, Tao Ersheng and Tao Sansheng unwound the bindings from their own calves. Working together in a flurry of activity, the three brothers bandaged Qin Qiang's back. They heard him groan twice, then say brokenly, "Quick... go... check... check on the dogs."
"Sansheng, you go," Tao Dasheng ordered. He then picked up a nearby Invasion Blade and handed it to Tao Ersheng. "Ersheng, you go cut two poles."
The two younger brothers did as they were told, while Tao Dasheng began to unwind his own leg bindings.
A few moments later, Tao Ersheng returned with two freshly cut poles, each over two meters long and as thick as a man's wrist.
By then, Tao Dasheng had taken off his jacket. He pulled off his tank top from underneath and ripped it into long strips.
Then, the two brothers took the cloth strips and the leg bindings and began lashing the two poles together.
The method was simple. They laid the poles parallel to each other and wrapped the strips of cloth between them to fashion a makeshift stretcher.
Just as they were finishing, Tao Sansheng returned, carrying the hound Xiaoqing on his back.
Seeing Xiaoqing, Qin Qiang—who was propped up against a rock—felt tears immediately well up in his eyes.
"Qing! Qing..."
Qin Qiang called out its name twice. The young hound heard him but didn't make a sound, just looked at Qin Qiang with watery eyes, blinking slowly.
Tao Dasheng looked at Tao Sansheng and jutted his chin toward the slope above them.
Tao Sansheng shook his head. "Xiaoqing's back is broken." As he spoke, he gently set the dog down. Xiaoqing managed to prop itself up on its front legs, but its hindquarters were limp and useless.
Hearing this, a wave of desolation washed over Qin Qiang. He knew his other three dogs were dead.
If no one had been hurt, their next task would have been to retrieve the bodies of the other three dogs. According to the Hunters' code, you don't just leave your hounds to rot.
But now, with Qin Qiang injured, the man had to come first.
Seeing the bloody gashes from the Black Bear's claws on Xiaoqing, Tao Ersheng also took off his jacket, tore up his own undershirt, and used the strips with some tobacco to bandage the dog's wounds.
Once everything was done, Qin Qiang was laid face down on the makeshift stretcher. Tao Dasheng and Tao Ersheng lifted it and started down the mountain.
Tao Sansheng, meanwhile, shouldered the injured hound, Xiaoqing.