The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

When Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu arrived at the brigade headquarters, Tao Dabao was already leading a group of men out.

Tao Dabao was at the very front, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Yu Xuewen. Secretary Yu was also carrying a gun today; clearly, he was planning to go up the mountain with them.

Seeing Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu arrive, Tao Dabao quickly said to Yu Xuewen, "Elder Yu, Zhao Jun is here. Let’s get going."

"Let’s go!" Yu Xuewen raised a hand and gestured forward. About ten men stepped out from behind him and Tao Dabao, moving to untie the reins and get the horse-drawn sleighs ready.

Fifty-five armed militiamen, plus Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, Tao Dabao, and Yu Xuewen—a party of fifty-nine in total—headed out of the village on twenty horse-drawn sleighs.

Zhao Jun sat on the sleigh, lost in thought. Just then, Li Baoyu, who was beside him, tugged his arm and shouted, "Brother, Hua Xiao’Er!"

"What?" Zhao Jun followed Li Baoyu’s gaze and saw Hua Xiao’Er racing toward them. He immediately frowned and yelled, "How did he get here? Who tied him up?"

Clearly, the leash hadn’t been tied properly, allowing Hua Xiao’Er to break free.

At that, Li Baoyu glanced at Zhao Jun and said quietly, "I think... you were the one who tied him up, the day before yesterday, before you came back."

"Alright, enough of that," Zhao Jun said quickly, then shouted, "Fifth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, stop!"

The one driving the sleigh was none other than Li the Fifth. Hearing Zhao Jun’s shout, he quickly reined in the horse, calling out, "Whoa..."

Once the sleigh stopped, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu quickly hopped off and ran toward Hua Xiao’Er.

Hua Xiao’Er bounded up to Zhao Jun and, like a person, stood up on his hind legs.

Zhao Jun reached out to ruffle the fur on Hua Xiao’Er’s head, scolding him, "I told you not to come out. Why did you?"

Hua Xiao’Er turned his head, dodging Zhao Jun’s hand, and then started licking it with his tongue.

Zhao Jun pushed him down and led him back to the sleigh with Li Baoyu.

"Hey, the dog followed you?" Li the Fifth had also participated in dog-assisted hunts, so he understood the situation. He took out a rope, handed it to Zhao Jun, and smiled. "It’s fine, just tie him up. Most dogs freeze up when they smell a tiger. As long as we don’t let him run wild, it’ll be alright."

"Got it, Fifth Uncle." Zhao Jun took the rope, looped it around Hua Xiao’Er’s neck, and tied a knot.

Of course, this wasn’t a slipknot for the dinner pot, so it couldn’t be too tight. But it couldn’t be too loose either, or he’d easily break free.

Zhao Jun tested it a few times, adjusting the loop until it was smaller than Hua Xiao’Er’s head, making it impossible to slip out of.

They traveled deep into the mountains. When the sleighs finally stopped, Zhao Jun handed Hua Xiao’Er’s rope to Li Baoyu and instructed him, "Hold on to this rope tightly, you hear?"

"Huh?" Li Baoyu asked Zhao Jun with a look of disbelief. "What, you’re not letting me go up?"

Zhao Jun shook his head. "Hua Xiao’Er is here, so you watch him."

"Well... alright then." Li Baoyu hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed.

Hearing Li Baoyu agree, Zhao Jun felt relieved. He went over to exchange a few words with Tao Dabao, who then had a discussion with Yu Xuewen. Only then did the group start heading up.

When they reached the spot where they had stopped the day before, the group split in two. Ten militiamen with guns headed up toward Jumping Stone Pond.

Zhao Jun and the others went west, arriving before a gentle slope.

From his high vantage point, Zhao Jun looked down and saw a wide-open, completely clear area below.

Although there were still a few tree stumps, all the small branches and twigs had been cleared away.

"How’s it look?" Tao Dabao asked Zhao Jun, sounding very proud.

"Perfect," Zhao Jun praised sincerely. "You cleared it out really well."

"This was tough work," Li the Fifth said, walking up to Zhao Jun. He was carrying a dozen or so pairs of skis. He tossed them on the ground and added, "The snow down there is deep. You can’t get anything done without skis."

"You’re telling me." As soon as Li the Fifth finished speaking, Yu Xuewen chimed in from the side. "I first gathered about two hundred men, but when we got here, we realized we couldn’t work in this snow. We had to go back to the brigade for skis, and even then we didn’t have enough. A job that should’ve taken two hours ended up lasting until nightfall."

After speaking, Yu Xuewen went over, picked out a pair of skis, and put them on. Then he said to Tao Dabao, "Da Bao, it’ll be up to you guys in a bit."

While strapping on his own skis, Tao Dabao grinned at Yu Xuewen. "So what are you going to do, Elder Yu?"

Yu Xuewen took the gun off his shoulder and replied, "If I see you guys can’t hold it down, I’ll put a bullet in it."

Hearing this, Tao Dabao gave Yu Xuewen a thumbs-up. "Ruthless."

At Tao Dabao’s words, everyone burst into laughter.

By now, everyone had put on their skis. They started down the slope, each holding two larch poles.

These poles were about two meters long and as thick as a goose egg. Once peeled and dried, they were light and perfect for propelling the skis.

Moreover, one end of the poles was sharpened and could be used for stabbing.

"Brother, these things are great," Li Baoyu said to Zhao Jun, looking at the larch pole in his hand. "Let’s dry a few of these tomorrow. We can take them up the mountain instead of having to cut new sticks every time."

"It’s a long way up the mountain, with all the trees and everything. Carrying these would just be a hassle."

While Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were talking, the ten-man group led by Tao Dabao skied down the slope and hid themselves in concealed positions.

Meanwhile, Yu Xuewen and the militiamen spread out, lying in wait. Today, if Zhao Jun’s method failed, they were going to finish the tiger off.

Just then, another person on skis approached, carrying ten forked branches.

These branches were all Y-shaped, carefully selected according to Zhao Jun’s instructions. Both the forks and the main trunks were as thick as a wrist and very sturdy.

Zhao Jun was given one of the forked branches. Li Baoyu, however, had to watch Hua Xiao’Er; he was an unofficial member of the party, just there to watch the show.

Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu, "Baoyu, in a bit, when you hear gunshots from up there, hold Hua Xiao’Er’s mouth shut. Don’t let him bark, you hear?"

"He won’t," Li Baoyu replied. Then he looked down at Hua Xiao’Er and chuckled. "I wonder if our Hua Xiao’Er will be scared when he sees the tiger."

"He won’t. Our..." Zhao Jun was about to praise Hua Xiao’Er, but before he could finish, a series of gunshots rang out from above. "BANG... BANG... BANG..."

"WOOF... WHINE..." Hua Xiao’Er started to bark, but Zhao Jun clamped his mouth shut.

"No barking," Zhao Jun said to Hua Xiao’Er, and the dog closed his mouth.

At that moment, Zhao Jun looked toward the southern mountain peak. On the other side of that peak was Jumping Stone Pond.

In Jumping Stone Pond, a beast was startled by the gunshots.

It had pale yellow fur, with numerous horizontal black stripes running along its back and sides.

Its head was large and round, and its forehead also bore a pattern of horizontal black stripes. The way they were connected in the middle resembled the Chinese character for "king" (王).

The King of a Hundred Beasts!

As the tiger sprang to its feet, bullets whizzed by, seven or eight meters above its head.

Though unharmed, the tiger was terrified. It turned tail and bolted down the mountain.

It descended from the south, but there was gunfire from the east, and from the north as well.

So the tiger plunged westward. In its memory, there should have been a forest this way, and delicious roe deer.

But as it went down the slope, the tiger began to wonder if it had taken a wrong turn. Hearing the gunshots behind it grow louder, it charged down the hillside anyway.

After the tiger descended the slope, the militiamen from the north and east closed in, blocking off the path back up the mountain.

"ROAR... ROAR..." The tiger seemed to sense that something was wrong. It opened its mouth and let out a series of threatening roars.

But just then, figures began to stand up at the bottom of the slope.

At the same time, Li the Fifth, who was guarding the ten men at the bottom of the slope, opened fire.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He fired three shots from his semi-automatic rifle, aiming above the tiger!

The tiger quickly cut across the ridge, heading south. But after just two steps, the ground gave way beneath its paws, and it tumbled directly into the snow.

The tiger struggled to its feet, leaped out of the snowdrift, and continued running. But it hadn’t gone two meters before it sank again.

In the Northeast, this is known as post-holing.

All animals, including tigers, run with a series of powerful bounds. But the snow here was too deep, and with the tiger’s weight, it would sink deep into the snow instead of pushing off.

On average, this tiger would post-hole once for every three leaps, which gradually slowed it down.

Furthermore, there were no rocky outcrops here, so the tiger had nothing to use for leverage.

At this moment, the team of hunters led by Tao Dabao made their move, with Zhao Jun among them. They were wearing white coats from the brigade’s clinic, allowing them to blend in with the surrounding snow and ice.

Crucially, they were all on skis, gliding swiftly over the snow as they sped straight toward the tiger.

The tiger was scared. It arched its back, then stretched out its limbs and sprinted forward.

Who knew if it was a burst of adrenaline or what?

Startled by the men, the tiger managed to build up speed even without any rocky outcrops for leverage. A moment ago, it was post-holing every three leaps, but now it was only sinking once every five or six.

As a result, the tiger’s speed increased considerably.

But just then, Li Baoyu’s voice rang out, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Brother, look at Hua Xiao’Er!"

"What?" Zhao Jun looked in the direction of the voice and saw Hua Xiao’Er, dragging his rope, sprinting across the snow in pursuit of the tiger. His light weight was a huge advantage; in this deep snow, he didn’t sink or post-hole at all.

Hua Xiao’Er didn’t post-hole, but the tiger did. Because of this, it wasn’t long before Hua Xiao’Er caught up.

Just like last time, Hua Xiao’Er leaped, bit down on the tiger’s rear, and pulled back hard.

The tiger let out a pained cry. As it ran, it twisted its head around to look, thinking, ’What the hell is this thing?’

It had lived in these mountains for years and had fought with wild boars and Black Bears, but it had never encountered something that attacked from the rear like this.

The tiger spun around and lunged, but Hua Xiao’Er dodged nimbly and circled around behind it again.

But now the tiger was stuck deep in the snow. Hua Xiao’Er seized the opportunity, pounced, and sank his teeth into the tiger’s rear once more!

They say you can’t touch a tiger’s backside, but today, Hua Xiao’Er wasn’t just going to touch it; he was going to bite it.

After Hua Xiao’Er’s second bite, the tiger couldn’t take it anymore. It spun around, leaped, and appeared in front of Hua Xiao’Er in an instant. It raised a paw and swatted, sending the dog flying.

But by then, Zhao Jun and the others had arrived!

Tao Dabao spun the forked branch in his hands and pressed the V-shaped end directly onto the tiger’s body!

Soon, other militiamen came over and, following the method Zhao Jun had taught them the day before, all used their forked branches to pin the tiger down.

The tiger roared, trying to struggle free, but the branches were too thick and strong. It couldn’t break loose.

Just then, Zhao Jun sprinted over and pressed his forked branch directly onto the tiger’s neck!