The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

When Wang Meilan said something had happened to Wang Dalong’s dogs, Zhao Jun was immediately confused. "Aren’t the dogs he bought from Elder Xu Pao’s place pretty good? I heard they’ve taken down a Black Bear and caught boars."

Before the new year, Wang Dalong had selected and bought three hunting dogs from Xu Changlin’s family. He’d taken them home and fed them for about twenty days until he felt they were accustomed to him, then he took them into the mountains to hunt.

From the end of the Lantern Festival until now, Wang Dalong, with those three dogs plus his original Qing Gou, had raided a Black Bear’s Den and killed a massive Black Bear weighing nearly four hundred pounds.

On top of that, they had also caught three wild boars.

That was an impressive record.

That was why, in the past few days, Zhao Jun had heard that Wang Dalong was getting a bit of a big head.

"Why don’t you go inside and hear what he has to say," Wang Meilan said. "He just got here not long ago, and then you came back. I saw you open the storeroom door from inside and thought I’d come out and see."

"Then let’s go in and see," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "I’ll hear what he has to say."

The mother and son went inside. Zhao Jun casually placed the burlap sack in a corner of the outer room. Just then, he heard the sound of Wang Dalong’s voice coming from the east room, while from his own room in the west, he could hear the SCRAPE SCRAPE of Hua Xiao’er scratching at the door.

When Zhao Jun entered the room, Wang Dalong, who was talking with Zhao Youcai, quickly stopped and greeted him, "My brother is back."

"Brother Dalong."

After the greetings and a few pleasantries, Zhao Jun listened as Wang Dalong picked up his story where he’d left off.

Although he had missed the beginning, Zhao Jun understood everything as he continued to listen.

Yesterday morning, Wang Dalong, Wei Jin, and Li Mingliang—the three of them—had taken four dogs into the mountains for a hunt.

Once in the mountains, the Cyan Wolf ran off, and before long, they heard it give voice.

Once the lead dog gave voice, all the other dogs shot off.

Wang Dalong was quite pleased. The dogs had given voice right after entering the mountains; it looked like they’d have another bountiful hunt. The money spent on the dogs was truly worth it.

Wang Dalong and the others followed, and on the snow, they found roe deer tracks alongside the dogs’ paw prints.

The moment he saw they were roe deer tracks, Wang Dalong knew they’d never be able to catch it.

Roe deer, they fly over the snow. When one runs, dogs can’t keep up. To have any hope of a dog catching a roe deer, you’d have to wait for the spring thaw, and even then only under specific conditions.

So, Wang Dalong fired a shot into the air, hoping to call the dogs back.

But the Cyan Wolf was always tenacious. It chased the roe deer over a ridge, down the southern slope of the mountain, across a gully, and up the northern slope.

As Wang Dalong followed down the southern slope, he heard the piteous cry of a roe deer from the opposite slope.

Wei Jin, who was with Wang Dalong, had his eyes light up. He said to Wang Dalong, "Brother Long, I gotta say, the dogs trained by that old man are amazing! They can even catch a roe deer."

Wang Dalong shot Wei Jin a glance and said helplessly, "Brother, are you talking nonsense? It’s not spring. How could a dog possibly catch a roe deer?"

"Then..."

"That roe deer most likely ran into a snare," Wang Dalong said. "There’s no other way a dog could have caught up to it."

"Then let’s hurry! We don’t want our dogs getting caught in a snare too."

"No need," Wang Dalong said. "The dogs from Elder Xu are definitely smart enough. Even if they get caught, they won’t struggle. It’ll be fine."

But just as the words left Wang Dalong’s mouth, he heard barking from the opposite slope. It was continuous and coming from a single spot.

"Let’s go!" Wang Dalong shouted, shouldering his gun and running downhill.

When they got to the opposite slope, they could hear the dogs still barking. Wang Dalong was experienced, and he could tell from the sound that the dogs were snapping at the air above them.

Wang Dalong was instantly delighted. ’The dogs must have found another Black Bear’s Den,’ he thought. ’They’re probably clawing at a tree and snapping at a hollow up in the trunk.’

It looked like another Bear Gall was going to be his today.

Since it was a Black Bear’s Den, there was no need to rush. Bears hibernating this late in the winter slept very soundly and wouldn’t come out easily.

No need to hurry now. They could get close, "call out the den" to provoke the Black Bear, and then kill it. It wouldn’t be too late.

So, Wang Dalong told Wei Jin and Li Mingliang, "No need to run. It’s a Black Bear’s Den. Let’s find a suitable tree to chop down in a bit and get ready to call it out."

When Wei Jin and Li Mingliang heard this, they were both happy. Compared to boars or roe deer, they much preferred hunting bears. After all, a Bear Gall was valuable.

"These dogs from Elder Xu really are amazing," Li Mingliang praised.

"Yeah," Wei Jin chimed in. "I heard that when that Cyan Wolf walks along a ridge, it can smell if there’s a Black Bear’s Den anywhere nearby."

Hearing this, Wang Dalong broke into a smile. The Cyan Wolf was his dog now, and he was naturally thrilled that it was so capable.

But just as Wang Dalong was about to speak, he suddenly heard the sound of the barking change. They were no longer barking up at the sky.

Wang Dalong exchanged a look with Li Mingliang beside him. Both of them found it unbelievable.

No matter what, the habits of wild animals don’t change. That bear shouldn’t have come out.

Still, Wang Dalong wasn’t worried. He knew what his dogs were capable of. Even if they ran into a Black Bear in the woods, they could hold their own.

But just then, they heard a pained yelp.

Wang Dalong’s face fell, and he started running forward with all his might.

He hadn’t taken two steps before there was another agonizing cry.

Immediately followed by a third!

Wang Dalong’s eyes were bloodshot. By the time he reached Tuo Yaosi, he saw a beast under a poplar tree right in their path. It leaped into the air, its two hind paws kicking off the poplar’s trunk, and in an instant, it landed on the back of the Yellow Dog, Ah Li.

Ah Li tried to turn and bite, but it couldn’t reach its own back. So, it threw itself down, rolling its back against the snow.

But the beast leaped in mid-air, landing directly on Ah Li and sinking its teeth into his throat.

"AWOOO..."

"BANG!"

Along with Ah Li’s agonized cry, Wang Dalong fired his gun.

Hearing the gunshot, the beast sprang away, disappearing in a few powerful leaps across the snow.

The gunshot faded, but not a single dog moved.

These dogs were all used to gunshots; this wasn’t how they should react.

A chill ran through Wang Dalong’s heart. He ran over and saw Ah Li lying on its back, dead.

Wang Dalong hurried forward and saw two Qing Gou lying motionless in the snow.

When he got closer, he saw that both dogs were lifeless.

Wang Dalong went further and saw a roe deer and a Hua Gou lying under a linden tree.

They were all completely dead, too.

Wang Dalong moved closer to look. The back of the roe deer’s neck had several holes bitten into it; it was clearly killed in a single blow.

And on the roe deer’s body, there were also marks from the dogs’ bites.

Looking at the Hua Gou, it too was killed in a single blow, its wound also on the neck.

"Brother Long, this..." Wei Jin called out to Wang Dalong, but before he could finish, Wang Dalong pushed him aside.

Wang Dalong turned back to look at the two Qing Gou. His original Qing Gou had also had its neck bitten through, killed in one strike.

But the lead dog, Cyan Wolf, had no wound on its neck. Instead, it had a bite mark on its back. The beast must have gone for its neck, but it managed to dodge the fatal attack.

Its fatal wound was on its belly. Its stomach had been torn open by sharp claws, its intestines spilling all over the ground.

Wang Dalong said nothing. He slowly knelt, stuck his gun in the snow, and picked up his original Qing Gou, walking into the woods.

Wei Jin and Li Mingliang each helped him carry a dog. After they had buried all four, Wang Dalong sighed, his expression grim.

Three dogs, bought just a month ago, all dead.

Fortunately, they had helped Wang Dalong kill a Black Bear a few days ago, so not only had he made back the money he spent on them, he had even turned a profit.

At this moment, Wang Dalong didn’t feel much grief. He had only one thought: ’That young Tiger... its pelt will be worth a fortune!’