The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Yang Mantang and Hu Guangli were childless for the first two years of their marriage. They went down the mountain to see a doctor, who stated with certainty that the problem did not lie with Hu Guangli.

After returning home, Hu Guangli continued to live her life wholeheartedly with Yang Mantang, never once mentioning the subject of children.

Fortunately, Yang Mantang later obtained a prescription from Zhang Yuanmin. He steeped it in alcohol along with some deer goods, Wild Ginseng, gastrodia, lingzhi mushrooms, and wolfberries, which is how he came to have both a son and a daughter today.

Therefore, Yang Mantang was grateful not only to Zhang Yuanmin but also to Hu Guangli.

So when Hu Guangli knelt and begged him today, Yang Mantang agreed without a second thought.

Hearing Yang Mantang’s promise, Hu Guangli burst into tears and, supported by Hu Guangjun, made her way toward the mourning shed.

At that point, Yang Mantang invited everyone present who had been helping to his home for a meal.

The reason he had been late was that he had been making these arrangements.

People had come to help out of the kindness of their hearts, and even with a death in the family, he couldn’t neglect his duties as a host.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu also went back, had a meal at Yang Mantang’s house, and listened as everyone discussed Hu Guangmin’s funeral arrangements.

In truth, there wasn’t much to discuss.

The funeral procession would be in three days, and he would be buried on the mountain.

However, the ground was frozen solid. To prepare a grave, they would have to burn the earth. A fire needed to be built at the chosen site to thaw the frozen ground enough to be dug.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu listened from the side. They could have gotten up to leave then, and it would have been fine.

But Black Dragon was still nursing with his mother, and they needed Yang Mantang to retrieve him.

Under the circumstances, it wouldn’t be right to bother Yang Mantang.

They waited until most of the people had dispersed, leaving only Yang Mantang, Hu Guangming, Hu Guangliang, Hu Guanglin, and Hu Guanghua, in addition to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu.

These men were all Hu Guangmin’s relatives. Meanwhile, Hu Guangli, Hu Guangjun, and Sun Juan were still keeping vigil at the mourning shed.

It was only then that Yang Mantang noticed Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were still there. Recalling Yang Yufeng’s instructions from the day before, and Zhang Yuanmin’s words over the New Year, Yang Mantang felt he had neglected his guests.

With an apologetic look, Yang Mantang said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, this was your first time eating a meal at my house, and it wasn’t even a good one..."

"Brother," Zhao Jun replied. "Whether through my connection to Brother Zhang or to Guangmin, we’re no strangers. This just happened to be the day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to see Guangmin one last time."

Zhao Jun’s words showed him to be a loyal and honorable man, which made Yang Mantang feel a little better. He glanced out the window and said, "Brother, it’s getting late. You two should stay the night. The children’s mother isn’t home, so you can stay in the north room."

Without being overly polite, Zhao Jun immediately accepted.

The next morning, when Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu emerged from their room, they saw Yang Mantang at the stove, steaming eggs.

Similar to steamed egg custard, the eggs were cooked in a pot. But for these, you didn’t beat the eggs; you just cracked them whole and steamed them.

It was all cooked in one go: the steamed eggs and sticky bean buns on top, with stewed cabbage and glass noodles on the bottom.

"Brothers, you’re up? Sleep well?" Yang Mantang greeted them as they came out.

"We slept well," Zhao Jun replied. He walked over to the stove and said to Yang Mantang, "Brother, I heard you say yesterday that you were going to get revenge for Guangmin?"

"Mhm," Yang Mantang nodded. "I promised his eldest sister. I have to go."

Hearing this, Zhao Jun asked, "So when are you going?"

Zhao Jun’s question left Yang Mantang unsure how to respond. He wanted to say, ’I’ll go after you two leave,’ but the words wouldn’t come out.

Seeing Yang Mantang’s silence, Zhao Jun smiled. "Brother, if you hadn’t invited us to stay last night, we would have left. But you did, so today we’re going with you to get revenge for Guangmin."

Yang Mantang was stunned by his words.

"Guangmin helped me in a fight once," Zhao Jun said, worried Yang Mantang might misunderstand. "Now he’s died on the mountain. If I hadn’t happened upon this, it would be one thing, but I did, so I want to go. We’ll go with you, and if we can help, we’ll lend a hand. Even if we can’t do much, it’s enough to help get revenge for him. We’re not doing this for personal gain. After we kill that bear, we won’t take a single bit of the Bear Gall."

"Brother, what are you talking about?" Yang Mantang said. "With that sentiment alone, I thank you on Guangmin’s behalf. Alright then, let’s pack up and leave right after we finish eating."

"Sounds good."

After they finished their meal, Yang Mantang took his two children to Hu Guangliang’s house and asked Hu Guangliang’s wife to look after them. When he returned home, he took out two pairs of leg wrappings and handed one to Zhao Jun and the other to Li Baoyu.

As he wrapped his legs, Zhao Jun asked Yang Mantang, "Brother, can you get your hands on another gun? If so, I’ll take one."

This put Yang Mantang in a difficult position. Turns out, when he and Hu Guangmin hunted together, they only had one gun, which they took turns using.

But Hu Guangmin had dropped the gun on the mountain when he was attacked, and Yang Mantang hadn’t yet had the time to go retrieve it.

But Yang Mantang knew that even if he went up the mountain and found the hunting rifle, it couldn’t be used immediately.

The gun had fallen in the snow, and the barrel was surely packed. It would have to be cleaned thoroughly before it could be fired, otherwise the barrel would explode.

However, his younger brother, Yang Manfu, had a gun, and he was sure he could borrow it.

But with Zhao Jun also needing a gun, Yang Mantang was in a tough spot.

He didn’t have enough pull to borrow a gun from the Village Office.

But then, an idea struck Yang Mantang. He asked Zhao Jun, "Brother, do you know how to use a muzzleloader?"

"I do."

"Alright then." Yang Mantang got up and pulled a gun from the bottom of a cabinet. He then took out two glass jars, one filled with gunpowder and the other with lead pellets.

Li Baoyu, curious, came closer. He hadn’t seen a muzzleloader in years. He took it from Yang Mantang and turned it over in his hands, examining it.

The muzzleloader was a clumsy weapon. Before firing, one had to pour gunpowder down the muzzle and into the chamber, then tamp it down. Then, the lead pellets had to be loaded and tamped down as well.

After each shot, you had to go through the same troublesome loading process. The gun was fine for hunting wild boar or roe deer, but if you were up against a Black Bear, you’d be in big trouble if the first shot didn’t kill it.

However, Yang Mantang was confident. With Zhao Jun by his side, it would be two men with two guns. Given their marksmanship, it wouldn’t matter if the muzzleloader was only good for a single shot.

Still, he instructed Zhao Jun, "Brother, when we get there, I’ll take the first shot. You only fire if I miss the kill. Otherwise, you don’t need to do a thing."

Zhao Jun knew this was Yang Mantang’s way of protecting him, so he agreed at once.

The three men set out. Yang Mantang went to get his dogs. He originally had four, but with the black female pregnant, only three were left for hunting on the mountain.

The three dogs were one black, one mottled, and one white. The large black dog, Da Hei, was the lead dog, weighing around 120 pounds and full of spirit.

He was Black Dragon’s father. Although not as famous as Hua Xiao’er or Cyan Wolf, he had youth on his side, being only four years old.

Each of the three men led a dog. Following the directions Hu Guangmin had given Yang Mantang, they found the rock formation he’d described and located the hunting rifle he had dropped.

Li Baoyu picked up the rifle and slung it over his back. Yang Mantang saw blood on the ground but couldn’t tell if it was Hu Guangmin’s or the Black Bear’s.

But as they followed the Black Bear’s tracks southward, they saw a steady trail of blood. Zhao Jun stepped forward to examine it. "The shot went clean through its front shoulder," he said.

"Sharp eyes." Yang Mantang gave him a thumbs-up. The day he’d seen Zhao Jun selling Lynx Fur, he knew that anyone who could acquire it must be highly skilled. Now, seeing Zhao Jun determine the Black Bear’s wound from the blood trail alone, he realized this man’s perception was first-class among Hunters.

Just then, the black dog went forward to sniff the blood, straining at its leash. Yang Mantang let it go, and the dog shot off. It didn’t run far before it stopped, tilted its head back, and let out two loud barks.

"WOOF! WOOF!" Its powerful barks echoed through the mountains.

At the same time, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu released their leashes, and the mottled and white dogs took off after the black dog.

Seeing its companions join the chase, the black dog stretched its legs and continued to run.

Witnessing this, Yang Mantang said to Zhao Jun, "Looks like that bear didn’t get far."

Zhao Jun said, "Then let’s go after it!"