The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Zhao Jun and Zhang Laibao had agreed to meet at eight, but Zhang Laibao left at seven-thirty. Behind him followed two dogs, one brindle and one black.

Both dogs were fine-looking specimens. The brindle dog was Zhang Laibao’s, while the black one had been brought over from Qin Qiang’s house last night.

Zhang Laibao still remembered the utterly astonished expressions on Qin Qiang and his wife’s faces when he went to get the dog.

They never would have imagined that Zhang Laibao could convince Zhao Jun to take him hunting in the mountains and help train his dogs.

When Qin Qiang humbly asked how he’d done it, Zhang Laibao grinned smugly and said, "With my silver tongue, a guy like Zhao Jun is no problem at all!"

Qin Qiang and his wife hadn’t had much schooling, so they didn’t quite understand what Zhang Laibao said. But when they thought about how he had, in fact, convinced Zhao Jun, they started to think that maybe they’d been wrong to consider him a good-for-nothing.

Zhang Laibao waited for a few minutes at the East of the Village, muttering to himself, ’I wonder if Zhao Jun is going to stand me up.’

Just then, he heard someone call out his nickname, "Zhang Baozi."

Zhang Laibao looked toward the sound and saw Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu approaching with four dogs, and he couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

"Brother Jun!" Zhang Laibao started waving his arm and calling out to Zhao Jun from a distance.

Just then, Hua Xiao’Er trotted over to the black dog Zhang Laibao had brought.

The black dog went to meet Hua Xiao’Er. The two dogs stopped when they met. Hua Xiao’Er sniffed the black dog’s rear, and the black dog sniffed Hua Xiao’Er’s rear at the same time.

After getting acquainted, the two dogs separated. Hua Xiao’Er then trotted over to Zhang Laibao, gave him a sniff, and ran off again.

Watching Hua Xiao’Er, a flicker of fervent desire crossed Zhang Laibao’s eyes. He had heard from Qin Qiang that this Huabiao was the best lead dog in the Yong’an Forest Area—bar none.

With it leading them, his own two dogs would become skilled hunters after just a few battles.

While Zhang Laibao was lost in his pleasant daydream, Da Huang and White Dragon encountered Qing Gou and the black dog he had brought.

Back in Lingnan, Qing Gou and the black dog had often partnered with other dogs to hunt wild boar. They weren’t shy around new people or new dogs, and they were friendly toward Hua Xiao’Er, Da Huang, and White Dragon.

As for Hua Xiao’Er and Da Huang, they had hunted with people for years and had a rough understanding of things. Since these two new dogs showed no hostility, Hua Xiao’Er and Da Huang couldn’t be bothered with them.

Daqing, on the other hand, had a bad temper. Even though Li Baoyu was holding him back, he kept barking at the two strange dogs.

But Zhao Jun knew that Daqing only looked fierce on the surface. Once he got used to them for a bit, he would drop his hostility.

But that White Dragon... he was not a good-tempered one.

At this thought, Zhao Jun looked up to find White Dragon.

He saw White Dragon craning his neck, sniffing at Qing Gou’s neck.

Just then, the black dog approached White Dragon from behind and went to sniff his rear.

This was actually a normal way for dogs to get acquainted.

But White Dragon turned and snapped.

It wasn’t a real bite; he just snapped at the air, scaring the black dog away.

Sure enough, startled by White Dragon, the black dog turned and ran.

Instead, it was Qing Gou, who had been friendly with White Dragon just moments before, who curled its lips, bared its teeth, and let out a "HUFF... HUFF..." sound.

White Dragon instantly whipped his head back, his eyes flashing viciously, and let out a low growl of his own.

"AWOO!"

"WOOF!"

Suddenly, both dogs barked at once. They reared up, standing on their hind legs like men, their front paws locked together.

The barking snapped Zhang Laibao out of his covetous admiration of Hua Xiao’Er. But by the time he looked over, White Dragon and Qing Gou were already a tangled mess of a fight.

The two dogs snarled, kicking with their paws and biting with their teeth.

Seeing them fight, the nearby Da Huang and the black dog both joined the fray.

When dogs fight, they naturally take sides. Da Huang and White Dragon ganged up on the two dogs Zhang Laibao had brought.

The four dogs became a snarling tangle, locked in a furious brawl.

Zhang Laibao was completely stunned; he had never seen such a chaotic scene. By the time he came to his senses, Hua Xiao’Er had already entered the battle.

This Hua Xiao’Er... he fought dogs the same way he fought boars.

He circled around to the rear, struck swiftly, shoved his head between Qing Gou’s hind legs, and then lifted his head, bit down, and ripped.

"AWOOOO..."

A piercing shriek tore through the air.

The horrific scream startled Zhang Laibao back to his senses, but he was already in a panic. He looked around for something to use, but there was nothing.

At that moment, Qing Gou was bleeding profusely from its lower body. It lay hunched on the snow, pinned down by White Dragon, who was biting it ferociously.

"Baoyu, get Daqing on a leash! Go save the dog!" Seeing things were bad, Zhao Jun quickly called out to Li Baoyu as he himself ran toward the fight.

Before Zhao Jun could reach them, Hua Xiao’Er had already helped Da Huang take care of the black dog.

This time, Hua Xiao’Er was just as simple and brutal, landing a bite right on the black dog’s rear.

The black dog couldn’t take it. As it turned to bite Hua Xiao’Er, Da Huang seized its neck in his jaws and pinned it to the snow.

Zhao Jun rushed over and quickly pulled Da Huang up. Da Huang refused to release his death grip on the black dog’s neck. Left with no choice, Zhao Jun had to smack him on the nose.

Da Huang shook his head with a snort and finally let go of the black dog. The black dog fell to the snow and was about to get up when Hua Xiao’Er pinned it down again.

"Get off!" Zhao Jun raised his foot as if to kick, but Hua Xiao’Er still wouldn’t let go.

Exasperated, Zhao Jun couldn’t bring himself to actually kick the dog, so he could only yell, "Baoyu! Baoyu...!"

Li Baoyu hurried over, wrapped his arms around Hua Xiao’Er’s waist, and tried to pull him off the black dog.

But it’s hard to pull fighting dogs apart.

Besides, Hua Xiao’Er had the most vicious bite. He had latched onto the black dog’s chest and wouldn’t let go; Li Baoyu couldn’t pull him off no matter how hard he tried.

Zhao Jun was out of options. He quickly tossed Da Huang into a nearby snowdrift. Da Huang landed, scrambled back up, and tried to join the fight again.

Zhao Jun quickly put up his left arm to block Da Huang while grabbing Hua Xiao’Er’s muzzle with his other hand.

As Zhao Jun grabbed Hua Xiao’Er’s muzzle, he yelled, "Hua Xiao’Er, ow!"

The moment Zhao Jun yelled in pain, Hua Xiao’Er thought he had bitten him and immediately let go of the black dog.

Zhao Jun seized the opportunity to pull the black dog free and cradled it in his arms.

"Baoyu, hurry and check on White Dragon!"

Li Baoyu snapped out of it, quickly let go of Hua Xiao’Er, and ran toward where White Dragon and Qing Gou were fighting.

By this time, Zhang Laibao was already trying to break up the fight, except the fool was playing favorites, trying only to pull White Dragon away.

But his Qing Gou had been savaged by Hua Xiao’Er. Its scrotum was torn open, both testicles were hanging out, and it was bleeding nonstop.

And after Hua Xiao’Er’s attack, Qing Gou had been pinned and mauled by White Dragon; one of its front legs seemed unable to touch the ground. Even with Zhang Laibao pulling on White Dragon, Qing Gou was still getting the worst of it.

Li Baoyu arrived, grabbed the scruff of Qing Gou’s neck with one hand and a hind leg with the other, and gave a sharp pull.

At the same time, Zhang Laibao was holding White Dragon by both hindquarters. Together, the two of them managed to separate the dogs.

With Qing Gou no longer in front of him, White Dragon whipped around and snapped. Zhang Laibao couldn’t dodge in time, and White Dragon bit him on the wrist.

Luckily, it was winter and Zhang Laibao was wearing a thick, padded cotton jacket, so his wrist was unharmed.

Freed from Zhang Laibao’s grip, White Dragon tried to go after Qing Gou again, but he heard Zhao Jun shout sharply from a distance, "White Dragon! Get over here!"

White Dragon lowered his head and trotted over to Zhao Jun’s side.

Zhao Jun knelt, pulled White Dragon close, and checked him over from head to tail. Seeing only a small scrape on his shoulder, he relaxed.

But unlike Zhao Jun, Zhang Laibao looked at the two dogs he had brought, and tears immediately started streaming down his face.

Zhang Laibao was actually crying.

Sobbing, he said, "My two dogs never got bitten by Xiong Ba, but they got all torn up by yours."