In these vast mountains, there were no wolves. The wild beasts that could pose a threat to human life could be counted on one hand.
Tigers, Black Bears, and brown bears.
Wild boars could injure people, but they were rarely fatal.
And a Lynx certainly wasn't one of them.
With a semi-automatic rifle in his hands, Zhao Youcai was in no danger, even if he couldn't hit the Lynx.
"Dad, can I go with you two tomorrow?" Zhao Jun sidled up to the kang and plopped down where Li Dayong had just been sitting.
Without looking up, Zhao Youcai said, "Just go do whatever it is you're supposed to be doing."
"I don't have anything to do, so let me go with you. Your son has never even seen you shoot a gun." This was what Zhao Jun was truly thinking. He was genuinely curious about his old man's skills.
Zhao Youcai suddenly looked up and stared at Zhao Jun, making his hair stand on end. "I'm not hitting you, so don't push your luck."
The moment he said it, a chill ran down Zhao Jun's spine. It truly felt a bit like how the four great Hunters must have felt facing that Tiger twenty years ago.
Zhao Jun could only force a smile. "Well, Dad, you get some rest. I'm going to bed."
"Get lost," Zhao Youcai said without looking up.
Zhao Jun scurried back to his room, washed his feet, and climbed onto the kang to sleep.
The next morning, when Zhao Jun woke up and came out of his room, he saw Zhao Youcai in the room across from his, wrapping his puttees.
Today, Zhao Youcai wasn't wearing his usual grease-stained cook's uniform. His close-fitting cloth shirt and pants were washed so much they had faded to white, but from head to toe, he looked incredibly sharp and spirited.
When Zhao Youcai slung the rifle over his shoulder, he seemed to emanate an invisible aura of power.
"Stay put at home." Zhao Youcai shot Zhao Jun a glance, dropped that one line, and pushed the door open to leave.
Zhao Jun washed his face and ate breakfast. Just as he was thinking of going out for a stroll, he heard the Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai brothers arguing in the next yard.
Or rather than an argument, it was more like Li Baoyu berating Li Ruhai.
A moment later, it sounded like the two brothers had started fighting, followed immediately by Li Ruhai's incessant begging for mercy.
"Sigh!" Zhao Jun sighed and shook his head. He hopped the wall into the Li Family's yard, pushed open the door, and went inside to see Li Baoyu pinning Li Ruhai on the kang with one hand while whipping him with a shoe in the other.
The whole scene was remarkably similar to how Zhao Youcai had hammered Zhao Jun the other day.
"Baoyu, Baoyu!" Zhao Jun hurried forward to stop him. "Why are you two always fighting? People will laugh at you."
"Brother, save me!" Who knows what book he'd been reading last night, but Li Ruhai suddenly blurted this out. Paired with his red-rimmed eyes, the sight was truly indescribable.
"Brother, don't stop me. You don't know what happened. Watch me beat him to death today!" On any other day, Li Baoyu would have taken Zhao Jun's intervention as an excuse to back down.
But today, Li Baoyu was relentless. This stunned Zhao Jun, and his gaze toward Li Ruhai turned suspicious.
'Did this kid get into some kind of trouble?'
Thinking of this, Zhao Jun quickly asked Li Baoyu, "What did Ruhai do?"
Li Baoyu pointed at Li Ruhai and said to Zhao Jun, "He went out this morning and told everyone about us taking the gun to hunt the Black Bear!"
'It's over!' Zhao Jun's mind went blank. Although both families had been suspicious about the cause of the Black Bear's death yesterday, there was no real proof.
Besides, who would ever imagine that a twenty-year-old who had never fired a gun before could suddenly go into the mountains and hunt a bear?
But now that Li Ruhai had blabbed, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were probably doomed tonight.
While Zhao Jun was still stunned, Li Baoyu picked up the rubber shoe and started whipping Li Ruhai again, cursing as he did, "I'll teach you to go out and run your mouth! Your lips are as loose as the waistband on cotton pants, spilling everything..."
Li Baoyu's cursing gave Zhao Jun an even bigger headache. Li Ruhai was still young, and some of his... traits... hadn't fully emerged yet.
But Zhao Jun knew that in ten years, you wouldn't need to say more. Within a hundred-li radius, throughout all the surrounding villages, there wouldn't be a single person who didn't know that Li Dayong's second son had a mouth looser than a gossiping old woman's!
"Wait a minute!" Zhao Jun suddenly remembered something. He grabbed Li Baoyu and asked, "How did he know about what we did yesterday?"
At Zhao Jun's words, Li Baoyu froze. After a long moment, he mumbled, "I couldn't sleep last night, so I told him."
Hearing this, Zhao Jun turned his head away and pursed his lips. When he turned back, he said to Li Baoyu, "Brother, and you're giving Ruhai a hard time? Your own mouth isn't much better." With that, he started walking out.
Called out by Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu was both ashamed and furious. But he directed his fury at Li Ruhai, grabbing the rubber shoe and beating him until he howled.
Zhao Jun, who had reached the door, turned back and said irritably, "Stop hitting him and come with me. Now."
Li Baoyu quickly slipped his shoe back on and followed Zhao Jun out of the house.
"Brother, if you hadn't stopped me today, I would've beaten that Little Calf to death!"
"What's the point of beating him?" Zhao Jun said irritably. "Just wait for someone else to beat us to death tonight!"
The "someone else" Zhao Jun mentioned wasn't just anyone; it was Zhao Youcai and Li Dayong.
Li Baoyu naturally understood what he meant and couldn't help but shrink back. "Brother, what are we going to do?"
They had just stolen the gun yesterday, and the two of them had originally planned to go up the mountain tomorrow to have some fun.
But they never expected that after just one night's sleep, the cat would be out of the bag.
When Zhao Youcai and Li Dayong came home tonight, it would probably be another disaster for the two of them.
Since things had come to this, Zhao Jun steeled his resolve and said to Li Baoyu, "Get changed. We're leaving!"
"Where are we going?"
"Up the mountain!" Zhao Jun said decisively. "Today, we'll show Zhao Ernian what we're made of!"
Li Baoyu: ...
The two of them hastily changed their clothes and rushed out of the village without even taking the dogs.
Once outside the village, Zhao Jun pulled the rifle from a pile of branches, slung it over his back, and started walking quickly up the mountain without a word.
At the same time as Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were leaving the village, an unexpected guest arrived at Qin Qiang's house.
"Is Elder San home?"
Qin Qiang had been mauled by the Black Bear the day before yesterday and had been lying on the kang for the past two days. His wife had to take care of his every need, while his three brothers-in-law helped with the work inside and outside the house.
Hearing someone call from outside, Qin Qiang's wife, Tao Hehua, came out of the house. She was taken aback when she saw the visitor and thought, 'Why is he at my house?'
But she said aloud, "Oh, Brother Elder Bai, you're not at work today?"
"Nope." The visitor smiled and said, "Elder San's wife, is my third brother home?"
"He is, he is," Tao Hehua replied. But knowing this man was trouble, she didn't invite him inside. Instead, she asked, "Brother Elder Bai, what brings you here?"
The man answered, "I heard my brother is laid up at home, so I came to see him."
'Who visits a sick person without bringing anything?'
'Besides, our families aren't even close.'
But since he'd put it that way, Tao Hehua had no choice but to let him in.
When the man entered the room, Qin Qiang, who was lying on the bed, was also slightly taken aback. He blurted out, "Hei, you old bastard, what are you doing here?"