The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Zhao Jun: "..."

For a moment, only one thought flashed through Zhao Jun’s mind: ’What kind of characters live in this village?’

But Zhang Yuanmin’s life was on the line. No, two lives—Chen Dalai was there too.

Zhao Jun suppressed his burning anxiety and said to Zhao Guofeng, "Uncle Zhao, let me lay it out for you. Zhang Yuanmin and Chen Dalai went up Gaojian Peak to take on the Bear Dominator Den. It’s an Earth Granary, over in Jumping Stone Pond, and it’s completely hollow underneath. They don’t know how to hunt it properly, so they’re liable to get knocked into the pit by the Xiong Ba. You have to find someone to rescue them, quickly!"

Zhao Guofeng wasn’t a hunter, so all this talk from Zhao Jun about the Earth Granary went right over his head, leaving him completely baffled. But he understood the last part perfectly.

Considering Zhao Jun’s recent track record, Zhao Guofeng didn’t dare disbelieve him. Even though he was the Village Chief, he wouldn’t be held responsible if Zhang Yuanmin and Chen Dalai died while hunting.

But this was a matter of life and death.

Zhao Guofeng immediately panicked. If this was about organizing a brawl with another village, he was the man for the job. But rescuing hunters? He was completely out of his element.

"Kid, what do we do now?" Zhao Guofeng was frantic, pinning all his hopes on Zhao Jun to come up with a plan.

Zhao Jun thought for a moment, then asked, "Baoyu’s dad and my uncle... they went with my father, didn’t they?"

"Yeah," Zhao Guofeng replied. "I saw them standing in the back of the truck just now."

Zhao Jun quickly wracked his brain, trying to think of anyone in the village skilled enough to rescue Zhang Yuanmin.

After weighing his options, Zhao Jun reluctantly brought up a name he’d rather not have mentioned.

"Wang Dalong," Zhao Jun said. "Uncle Zhao, you need to find Brother Dalong right away. Tell him to take his dogs and go up the mountain to rescue them."

Zhao Jun knew Wang Dalong had bought three dogs from Xu Changlin, and he also knew Wang Dalong was a decent shot.

But whether Wang Dalong could actually hit the Xiong Ba was another question entirely. If his dogs were lost to the bear’s claws and Wang Dalong later found out this was all Zhao Jun’s idea, he would definitely come looking for trouble.

That was why Zhao Jun was so reluctant to recommend Wang Dalong for the job.

But lives were on the line, and more importantly, Zhang Yuanmin was a decent guy.

So, Zhao Jun added a final instruction, "Uncle Zhao, if Brother Dalong agrees to go, don’t forget to give him a semi-automatic rifle."

"Wang Dalong..." Zhao Guofeng paused. "I saw him on the truck just now, too. He left with your father."

"My father..." ’That’s my own dad for you,’ Zhao Jun thought, unable to criticize him. Resigned, he could only say, "Uncle Zhao, let’s not waste any more time. You have to find someone in the village, now. The Bear Den... look east from the village. You’ll see the tallest peak, Gaojian Peak. Go over that, and you’ll find Jumping Stone Pond. The den is in there, under a large rocky outcrop. Just hurry and find someone!"

"Got it!" Zhao Guofeng slammed the phone down and ran. Normally, he should have locked the Village Office on his way out, but his mind was solely focused on the rescue, and he rushed out in a panic.

As Zhao Guofeng was running out, he came face-to-face with someone walking toward him.

"Guofeng, what’s the big rush? Where are you off to?" asked Xu Changlin, who had just returned from seeing off his son and his family.

Zhao Guofeng’s eyes lit up when he saw it was Xu Changlin. Even though he wasn’t a hunter himself, he had heard of the legendary reputation of Elder Xu Pao.

Zhao Guofeng immediately relayed what Zhao Jun had told him, using a torrent of words and frantic gestures to get the point across to Xu Changlin.

Xu Changlin’s expression changed as he listened. He gazed at the distant Gaojian Peak and said, "If it’s really like Mr. Zhao said, then no matter how Big Pants tries to take on that den, it’s not going to end well for him."

First Zhao Jun, and now Xu Changlin—with both of them saying the same thing, Zhao Guofeng was completely convinced.

He looked at Xu Changlin with hopeful eyes and asked, "Well then, Uncle Xu, do you think... you could make the trip yourself?"

"I can’t do it." But Xu Changlin had to disappoint Zhao Guofeng. He shook his head with a wry smile. "These old legs... by the time I got up there, it would be far too late."

His words brought Zhao Guofeng to his senses, and he realized he was just grasping at straws in his desperation. Xu Changlin was the same age as his own mother; the man had just turned sixty after the New Year. By the time an old man like him climbed all the way up Gaojian Peak, it would be getting dark.

Just as Zhao Guofeng was burning with anxiety, a pack of dogs appeared from the south. There were eight of them in total, fanning out as they ran, stopping and starting, sniffing the ground all around. Some even doubled back on their own trail.

Xu Changlin nudged Zhao Guofeng and pointed in the direction the dogs had come from.

Zhao Guofeng took the hint and looked where Xu Changlin was pointing. He saw a group of five men walking toward them, wrangling the dogs as they came.

Zhao Guofeng saw that the man leading the group, a rifle slung over his back, was Qin Qiang. Flanking him were the Tao Brothers and Zhang Laibao.

"Uncle Zhao, Master Xu, what are you two doing here?" Qin Qiang greeted them, as did the Tao Brothers.

Only Zhang Laibao spoke, and he addressed only Zhao Guofeng.

Xu Changlin didn’t seem to mind. The old man knew perfectly well that he had offended the young man on the day he’d sold his dogs.

But he had no regrets about it.

Zhao Guofeng was about to speak to Qin Qiang, but Xu Changlin cut in first. "Qiangzi, where’d you get all these dogs?"

Qin Qiang smiled. "Laibao and I bought them in Lingnan. I got three, and Laibao got four."

As Qin Qiang spoke, he was still resentful, thinking, ’So you wouldn’t sell your dogs to us, old man? Fine, we’ll just buy from someone else!’

But he had always been a "smiling tiger"—unlike Zhang Laibao, he wouldn’t let his conflict with Xu Changlin show on his face.