The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

The snow fell all night. It let up after midnight but didn’t stop completely until after three in the morning.

As soon as the snow stopped, Zhao Jun got up from the heated brick bed. In truth, he had barely slept all night.

Zhao Jun put on his padded jacket, slipped on his cotton shoes, and saw Wang Meilan sitting by the stove in a daze the moment he left his room.

Zhao Jun’s heart clenched. He rushed to help Wang Meilan up. "Mom, why aren’t you sleeping?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Wang Meilan sighed. "I can’t sleep."

"Go lie down for a bit, Mom. I’ll head up the mountain to take a look as soon as it’s light."

Wang Meilan nodded, but then it dawned on her. "Son, it’s not even light out. What are you doing up so early?"

"I’m going to go sweep the snow." Zhao Jun led Wang Meilan back inside. "Come on, Mom, get some sleep. You’ve been up all night."

After settling Wang Meilan down, Zhao Jun went outside and began sweeping the snow in the courtyard by the light of the moon.

The snow could have been swept at any time, really. But he couldn’t sleep.

After sweeping his own courtyard, Zhao Jun opened the main gate and cleared the snow from the area outside his home and the Li Family Courtyard as well.

By the time he was done, it was nearly five o’clock. Just then, the brothers Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai came out to sweep their snow.

"Go on back," Zhao Jun said, waving them off as he headed back into his own courtyard, his work done.

Li Baoyu handed the large broom to Li Ruhai, told him to take it back home, and followed Zhao Jun into the Zhao Family Courtyard.

Zhao Jun leaned the broom against the wall and turned to Li Baoyu, who had followed him in. "Baoyu, we’ll head up the mountain as soon as it’s light."

"Okay." Li Baoyu agreed. He put a hand on the wall, about to hop over into his own yard, but as he lifted his foot, he suddenly remembered something. He looked back at Zhao Jun. "Hey, Brother, my mom’s making flatbread today. I’ll bring some for us, so you don’t need to pack any food."

"Alright."

Back inside, Zhao Jun glanced at the stove. He saw a small basin filled with clean water, soaking some cracked corn and a handful of red beans.

Next to it, a larger basin held soaking dried radishes.

Zhao Jun lifted the lid of the large wok, added some water, and stuffed a couple of bundles of firewood into the fire pit below. Once the water boiled, he scooped the dried radishes out of their basin and dropped them into the wok.

These dried radishes were made from sun-dried large red radishes. After being blanched, they were eaten with a dipping sauce.

Once the radishes were blanched, Zhao Jun changed the water in the wok and poured in the cracked corn and red beans that had been soaking overnight.

Just as the corn grit porridge was nearly done, Wang Meilan woke up again. She came out, looked on without a word, and sat down quietly beside Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun ladled out half a bowl of the porridge, making it extra watery on purpose. He handed it to Wang Meilan. "Here, Mom. Have something warm to drink."

"Mm." Wang Meilan took the bowl, blowing on the porridge as she took small sips.

Zhao Jun then ladled a large bowl for himself and ate it with the dried radishes and dipping sauce. He downed three big bowls.

It was almost six-thirty, and the sky had begun to lighten. Zhao Jun went into the inner room to sit for a moment, but soon heard a knock on the window.

He put on his padded jacket. He didn’t bring his rifle, only tucking an Invasion Blade into his belt before grabbing the skis made of wild boar hide and heading for the door.

"Mom, I’m heading over to take a look."

"Be careful on the mountain, son."

Zhao Jun stepped outside, joined Li Baoyu, and together they left the courtyard, heading out of the village.

The moment they left the village, they saw four figures walking toward them.

By now, the sky was half-lit, yet Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu had to squint to try and get a better look at the four approaching figures.

The four of them were dressed in black from head to toe, their faces smeared with soot. They wore padded jackets underneath long, black overcoats.

At first glance, they looked no different from Black Impermanence rising from the underworld. If Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu hadn’t been so brave, the sight might have scared them to death.

"What’re you little punks starin’ at? Your old man’s back!" one of the four figures barked.

’That voice... it sounds an awful lot like Li Dayong.’

"Dad?" Li Baoyu called out tentatively. As the men drew closer, he could finally see them clearly and couldn’t help but cry out, "Dad!"

"Dad!" Zhao Jun hurried forward to greet them.

That’s right. The four figures of Black Impermanence were none other than Zhao Youcai and his crew.

The snow had been too heavy yesterday. Around midnight, a load of snow slid off a Pine Tree, smothering their campfire.

Seeing this, Zhao Youcai made a snap decision. Each of the four men cut a branch to make a pine torch, lit them, and started hiking out of the mountains.

They finally managed to get down from Cuocao Peak and find their vehicle. They got in and started driving out of the mountains, but the snow was too thick. Before they got very far, the vehicle was stuck fast in a snowdrift.

So, the four of them abandoned the vehicle and continued on foot.

They had extinguished and tossed their torches before getting in, so now they had to feel their way down in the pitch dark.

As for the vehicle?

It wasn’t going to get stolen in this day and age.

Not many people knew how to drive, for one. And even if someone did, they wouldn’t dare try to drive it home.

Besides, these were all logging trails for the Forest Farm. After a heavy snow like this, the maintenance crew would be up in the morning to clear the roads. Lin Xiangshun could just come up and get the vehicle then.

The four of them groped through the darkness for some time before they found another pine tree suitable for torches, cutting off a few branches to light their way.

Those things burned with thick, rolling black smoke, charring the four men from head to toe until they were pitch-black.

Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun. "What are you two doing up so early?"

"What else would we be doing?" Zhao Jun replied. "Going to look for you, of course."

"Look for us?" Zhao Youcai scoffed. "This whole mountain range is huge. Where would you even start looking?"

Zhao Jun heard the tone in his father’s voice. ’Something’s off,’ he thought. ’Sounds like the trip was a bust, and he’s in a foul mood.’

To avoid setting off the powder keg, Zhao Jun quickly put on a smile. "We had to try. Dad, you have no idea how worried sick Mom and I were when you didn’t come back all night with this blizzard."

Zhao Youcai was mollified by his son’s words. The tension in his face eased. "Alright, let’s go home."

With that, Zhao Youcai strode toward the village, with Li Dayong and the others following close behind.

"Brother," Li Baoyu said, sidling up to Zhao Jun. "Are we really going back with them?"

The truth was, Li Baoyu had meant what he said last night. He really had been worried about Li Dayong, but he was also worried about his precious bear galls.

Now that Li Dayong and the others were back safe, the only thing left for him to worry about was the galls.

Zhao Jun gave him a sharp tug. "We’re going home first."

The two of them turned and followed Zhao Youcai’s group back toward the village. They had only taken a few steps when they heard birdsong from the woods behind them, heralding the morning.

Zhao Jun whispered to Li Baoyu, "Baoyu, you guys still have a sieve net, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Zhao Jun said, "Since it’s snowed, how about we go catch some hazel grouse?"

"Yeah!" Li Baoyu’s eyes lit up with delight. "We can roast ’em when we get back. That’d be amazing!"