The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

BANG!

The shotgun roared. The head of the Black Bear, a dozen meters in front of Zhao Jun, exploded. Everything from its nose upward was blown apart.

As the gunshot faded, a dead silence fell over the battlefield. Not another sound was heard.

The three dogs collapsed, all of them severely wounded.

The Black Bear, missing half its head, lay lifeless in the snow.

Nearby, Yang Mantang’s legs were weak and unresponsive. He just managed to pull a tobacco pouch and bandages from his pocket, handing them to Li Baoyu. "Brother, hurry and check on my dogs!"

"Okay, Brother. You stay put." Li Baoyu helped Yang Mantang to a large tree, letting him lean against it and slowly try to move his legs.

By the time Li Baoyu got there, Zhao Jun was already examining the three dogs’ injuries. The black dog had been scratched on its hindquarters while scrambling through the grapevines, a minor wound. But during the recent fight, it had failed to dodge in time. The bear had raked its claws across its back, tearing away a large flap of skin over its spine.

As for Hua Gou, the skin on its left flank was almost completely ripped off.

The white dog’s belly was torn open, its intestines spilling out. Seeing they weren’t severed, Zhao Jun quickly pushed them back inside.

"What good dogs," Li Baoyu remarked, grabbing a pinch of tobacco as he praised the three canines.

You could tell just from their performance on the way up the mountain that these three dogs were seasoned veterans, more than capable of handling a Black Bear.

The fact they were so badly injured wasn’t because they lacked skill, but because they were protecting a person.

First, they were protecting Yang Mantang. Then, when Zhao Jun took his place in front of the bear, the three dogs started protecting him, risking injury to force the bear to turn its attention.

After the two men finished bandaging the dogs, Yang Mantang staggered over. As soon as they saw their master, the three dogs let out a chorus of mournful whines.

The sounds were faint and weak, like the whimpers of a child who had been wronged.

Yang Mantang knelt down, but as soon as his eyes met the black dog’s, he had to look away.

Zhao Jun knew that a dog’s owner can never look their injured hunting dog in the eye. The look in a wounded dog’s eyes is more than a master can bear.

Understanding Yang Mantang’s feelings, Zhao Jun said, "Brother, your dogs will be fine. They just need to rest up back home. Why don’t we go ahead and gut the Black Bear?"

"Alright. Thank you for your hard work, Brother." Yang Mantang patted Zhao Jun’s arm twice, then walked over to the Black Bear. He drew the Invasion Blade from the small of his back and began to gut the animal.

Once he had removed the Bear Gall, Yang Mantang pulled a small white cloth pouch from his cotton-padded jacket, placed the gall inside, and tucked it into his coat.

Seeing this, Li Baoyu frowned, but with Zhao Jun there, he didn’t say anything.

Yang Mantang then used the Invasion Blade to sever the Bear Head, tied it with a rope, and slung it over his shoulder. Afterward, he, Zhao Jun, and Li Baoyu each carried one of the dogs and started down the mountain.

Carrying the dogs, the three men made their way back to Yongfu Village in starts and stops. The moment they entered, the villagers saw Yang Mantang with the Bear Head slung over his shoulder and the three men carrying the wounded dogs. They knew at once that vengeance had been served.

They entered the village from the south and went to Yang Mantang’s house. After carrying the dogs inside and setting them down, they saw that Hu Guanglin’s wife and Hu Guangliang’s wife were there, helping look after the children and the home.

As Yang Mantang was stuffing the Bear Head into a burlap sack, the two women came out of the house to greet them.

Yang Mantang said, "Guanglin’s wife, could you go to the clinic for me and get Doctor Xing?"

Hu Guanglin’s wife agreed and left immediately. Yang Mantang then took the Bear Gall from his coat, held it out, and said, "Guangliang’s wife, you know how to prepare this. Help me by boiling some water to treat it."

"On it."

Then, Yang Mantang invited Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu inside.

But Zhao Jun replied, "Brother, we’ll have to skip the meal. Baoyu and I have been out for two days now, it’s time we headed back."

Hearing this, Yang Mantang quickly said, "Brother, what’s the rush? With everything going on at home these last two days, I haven’t been able to host you properly. Stay a couple more days. After we see Guangmin off tomorrow, I’ll make proper arrangements for you."

"Brother, we can’t stay," Zhao Jun said. "Tomorrow is the second day of the second lunar month, and the day after, I have to report to the Forest Farm."

"Oh! You work at the Forest Farm, Brother?" Yang Mantang asked. "What kind of work do you do there?"

"Log scaling," Zhao Jun replied with a smile.

"Wow, a technician! That’s a good job." Yang Mantang thought for a moment, then said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, don’t leave just yet. Wait for me a minute."

With that, Yang Mantang went out the door, into the storehouse, and came back out.

When Yang Mantang returned, he was carrying a half-dried Bear Gall. "Brother," he said to Zhao Jun, "take this."

Zhao Jun didn’t reach for it. Instead, he looked at Yang Mantang and asked, "Brother, what’s this for?"

Yang Mantang explained, "The gall from the Black Bear we killed today should have been yours. But it’s fresh, so you can’t really take it home like that. This one of mine is just as good. Take it home, let it air-dry for a couple more days, and then you can sell it."

"Brother, I can’t accept this," Zhao Jun said, waving his hands in refusal. "We agreed before we went up the mountain. We were just helping to get revenge for Guangmin. We won’t take any share of the Bear Gall."

At this, Yang Mantang chuckled. "Brother, that might be what you said, but I never agreed to it."

Zhao Jun was taken aback.

Yang Mantang grabbed Zhao Jun’s hand, and with his other hand, he stuffed the Bear Gall into Zhao Jun’s pocket. "If it weren’t for you today, I might not have made it back. Let’s not say anything more. If not for Guangmin, the three of us would never have met. Things have been chaotic at home these past few days, and I haven’t been a good host. Next time you’re passing through, you have to stop by."

After saying this, Yang Mantang patted Zhao Jun’s pocket and looked at him. "Brother, don’t make this difficult. Otherwise, I won’t acknowledge you as my brother anymore."

With Yang Mantang putting it that way, Zhao Jun could only smile. "Alright then, Brother. Baoyu and I will accept the Bear Gall."

"That’s more like it," Yang Mantang laughed. "Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Let me whip up some food. You can go after you’ve eaten."

"We really can’t," Zhao Jun refused. "We won’t eat. It’ll only take us a little over an hour to get home, so we’ll eat there."

Seeing that Zhao Jun was determined to leave, Yang Mantang said no more. He picked up a puppy from beside the black bitch, turned it over to check, and only handed it to Zhao Jun after confirming it was female.

Zhao Jun took it carefully and tucked it inside his coat.

"Well, Brother, we’ll be going then."

"Wait, I’ll walk with you. Let me see you off."

When Yang Mantang said he would see them off, he didn’t just mean to his door. He walked with Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu all the way to the edge of the village. When they passed the small store, he insisted on pulling them inside and bought them two Peach Cans, two cans of luncheon meat, four catties of sponge cake, and four catties of large crackers.

After leaving the store, Zhao Jun said he wanted to see Hu Guangmin one last time, so the three of them left from the east end of the village.

Outside the mourning tent, Zhao Jun handed everything he was carrying to Li Baoyu and went inside alone.

When Zhao Jun entered, Yang Mantang was speaking with Hu Guangli. Zhao Jun walked over to the kneeling Sun Juan.

After crying for half the previous day, Sun Juan had no tears left. She looked at Zhao Jun with a puzzled expression, not knowing who he was. ’He must be a friend of Guangmin’s,’ she guessed, ’but I’ve never seen him before.’

"Ma’am, my name is Zhao Jun. I’m from Yong’an Village. Guangmin and I were classmates. I have some things to take care of at home, so I won’t be able to see him off tomorrow."

According to custom, the funeral was to be held on the third day.

Hu Guangmin had passed away yesterday. The day of death was the first day, today was the second, and the funeral procession would be tomorrow.

After speaking, Zhao Jun pressed the five yuan he was clutching into Sun Juan’s hand.

"This..." Sun Juan was stunned. A gift of five yuan was a considerable sum at a time like this. Moreover, relationships often fade when the person is gone. With Hu Guangmin dead, how many friends would still offer such a generous gift?

She did, however, have a vague memory of Hu Guangmin mentioning the name Zhao Jun.

Just then, Yang Mantang and Hu Guangli, who had seen this exchange, walked over to Zhao Jun. Hu Guangli said, "Brother, you avenged Guangmin and saved Mantang. I don’t know how I can ever thank you."