The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

This Zhang Laibao... back when he first started going into the mountains, he actually listened to Zhao Jun, bringing his own dog along to hunt.

But his goal was actually very simple: he just wanted Zhao Jun to help him train his dog. Once his dog was good enough, Zhang Laibao immediately split from their group.

From then on, Zhang Laibao would cause all sorts of trouble for Zhao Jun.

He even once hired someone to steal the dogs from Zhao Jun’s family.

’In this life, Zhao Jun wasn’t about to let him get screwed over.’

Off to the side, Wang Dalong watched Zhang Laibao with suspicion. For a moment, he even thought Zhang Laibao was acting as a shill for Xu Changlin.

But on second thought, ’Even if Xu Changlin needed a shill, he wouldn’t pick a young punk like this.’

But regardless, Wang Dalong didn’t like the look of Zhang Laibao one bit.

He felt that Zhang Laibao had ruined his opportunity. If Zhang Laibao hadn’t interfered, he could have just added another five or ten yuan and probably would have gotten his pick of the dogs.

But now, Zhang Laibao was offering two hundred and eighty, which immediately put Wang Dalong in a difficult position.

The crucial part was that just then, Xu Changlin suddenly said to Wang Dalong, "Dalong, so are you going to pick from these dogs or not?"

As soon as Xu Changlin said this, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu both frowned, while Zhang Laibao looked displeased.

’This old man is too obsessed with money. Is he selling dogs, or is this an auction? Zhang Laibao made an offer. Take it or leave it.’

’Why is he even talking to Wang Dalong?’

’To get him to raise the price?’

Wang Dalong had a strange temperament. He was already annoyed at Zhang Laibao for ruining his chance and was nursing a grudge against him.

Now, egged on by Xu Changlin’s words, Wang Dalong’s blood rushed to his head. He said to Xu Changlin, "Master Xu, three hundred! Like you said, I’m taking my pick of the dogs!"

"Good!" Xu Changlin agreed instantly.

Seeing this, Zhang Laibao turned and left without even a word of farewell to Xu Changlin.

To be precise, he didn’t say a word to anyone.

Xu Changlin paid him no mind and just said to Wang Dalong, "My friend, it’s just you now. Bring out the money."

The old man was being completely direct. His words made it clear: he had accepted the offer of three hundred, and that was why Zhang Laibao had left.

With things as they were, it was too late for Wang Dalong to back out.

Wang Dalong reached into his pocket, pulled out a large wad of cash, and handed it to Xu Changlin, saying, "Master Xu, please count it. This is two hundred fifty."

Holding the dog leashes in one hand and the money in the other, Xu Changlin looked at Wang Dalong without a word.

Wang Dalong said, "Master Xu, don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t bring that much money today. Give me until tomorrow morning, and I’ll bring it to you first thing."

Xu Changlin still said nothing. He just looked at Wang Dalong, shook his head, and then said, "My friend, that won’t do."

Hearing this, Li Baoyu felt a wave of contempt and turned to look at Zhao Jun.

It stood to reason. They all lived in the same village, practically kin. Wang Dalong had already said he was short fifty yuan and would bring it first thing in the morning.

That was perfectly reasonable.

For the old man to refuse was going a bit too far.

Ever since Xu Changlin had goaded Wang Dalong into raising his price, Zhao Jun’s brow had been furrowed, though it was unclear what he was thinking.

Xu Changlin’s attitude made Wang Dalong feel deeply disrespected. The old man’s actions clearly showed he looked down on him.

Wang Dalong turned to Zhao Jun and said, "Brother, you got any money? Lend your big bro fifty."

Zhao Jun stuck both hands into the pockets of his cotton-padded jacket and pulled the linings out. Then he stuck both hands into his pants pockets and pulled those linings out too.

By doing this, Zhao Jun was using his actions to tell Wang Dalong, ’I really don’t have any money.’ Otherwise, in the current situation, if he had just said it out loud, Wang Dalong probably wouldn’t have believed him and would have held a grudge.

Wang Dalong then turned his gaze to Li Baoyu. This time, Zhao Jun didn’t wait for him to speak but said to Li Baoyu first, "Baoyu, give Brother Dalong fifty yuan. Consider it a loan from you to me."

As soon as he said this, Wang Dalong immediately felt his pride was restored. He smiled at Zhao Jun and said, "Xiaojun, no need for you to get involved."

Then, he looked at Li Baoyu again and said, "Baoyu, lend your big bro fifty yuan. I’ll get it back to you tomorrow morning."

Li Baoyu took a roll of money from his pocket, peeled off five banknotes, and walked over to hand them to Wang Dalong.

"You’re a true brother!" Wang Dalong took the money with one hand and patted Li Baoyu’s arm with the other in a gesture of friendliness.

Li Baoyu gave a little laugh and returned to Zhao Jun’s side. To be honest, if Zhao Jun hadn’t spoken up, Li Baoyu really might not have lent the money to Wang Dalong.

And that was precisely what Zhao Jun had been afraid of. If Wang Dalong had asked Li Baoyu and Li Baoyu had refused, the situation would have become very ugly.

At that point, it would have been too late for Zhao Jun to say anything.

Wang Dalong handed the money to Xu Changlin, then reached out and grabbed the three hemp ropes from Xu Changlin’s hand.

Wang Dalong tugged, but Xu Changlin didn’t let go immediately. With a cold expression, Wang Dalong called out, "Master Xu." Only then did Xu Changlin release his grip.

Having been publicly slighted by Xu Changlin, Wang Dalong didn’t bother saying goodbye to him after taking the dogs. He only bid farewell to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu before leading the three dogs away.

As Wang Dalong led them away, the three dogs immediately started to whimper, making little crying sounds and wagging their tails frantically at Xu Changlin.

But Xu Changlin just turned his back and said nothing.

The three dogs struggled fiercely, forcing Wang Dalong to turn sideways and use both hands to grip the ropes, forcibly dragging them out of Xu Changlin’s yard.

The moment the three dogs were out of the yard, their tails instantly drooped, and tears really did stream from their eyes.

Dogs... they really can cry.

Seeing this, Li Baoyu felt a pang in his heart, while Zhao Jun let out a soft sigh.

As Wang Dalong led the dogs into the distance, Xu Changlin suddenly turned, took two steps toward the courtyard gate, but then stopped.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were standing to his side and could see tears streaming down the old man’s cheeks.

Xu Changlin raised his arm and roughly wiped his face with the sleeve of his cotton-padded jacket. He turned and walked toward the backyard, saying in a hoarse voice as he went, "Lads, come with me to get the dogs."

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu both followed. At that moment, Xu Changlin’s body was hunched over, and he looked as if he had aged ten years.

Only then did Li Baoyu realize that the old man couldn’t bear to part with his dogs either. So he asked, "Master Xu, if you can’t bear to part with them, why sell them?"

Without turning his head, Xu Changlin said, "I’m old. I can’t go into the mountains anymore."

Li Baoyu added, "But you’re so reluctant to see them go. Even if you don’t go into the mountains, you can still keep them."

The moment Li Baoyu said this, Xu Changlin stopped dead in his tracks. Zhao Jun, who was right behind him, almost crashed into him.

Xu Changlin turned around, looked at Li Baoyu, and said, "Kid, your family has been hunting since your grandfather’s time, right?"

"That’s right!" Li Baoyu nodded. Three generations of his family had been hunters; it was a matter of great pride for him.

Xu Changlin’s eyes were slightly red, but his gaze toward Li Baoyu now held a chilling severity. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The old man then spoke, enunciating every single word, "Then you should know... a good dog... deserves to die in the mountains!"