The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

"Da Huang, let’s go." Watching Hua Xiao’er descend the mountain, Zhao Jun called out to Da Huang. He then grabbed his rifle and hurried down the slope.

Da Huang’s injuries were superficial. The wounds weren’t deep, just long.

It didn’t hinder Da Huang’s ability to walk, but with every step, blood seeped from the wounds, soaking through the gauze.

But Zhao Jun didn’t stop, so Da Huang couldn’t either. It could only hurry to keep up with him.

...

By the time Hua Xiao’er reached Li Baoyu, he and Tao Fei had just finished bandaging Little Bear and White Dragon. As for Xiaohua, the little pup had hidden at the first sign of danger after coming up the mountain, so it hadn’t gotten scratched.

Daqing, meanwhile, lay still to one side. Li Baoyu hadn’t moved the body, deciding to wait for Zhao Jun’s return to determine what to do with it.

Just then, Tao Fei suddenly pointed down the path and shouted to Li Baoyu, "Brother Li, Brother Li, look! Isn’t that the old dog?"

Li Baoyu looked up and exclaimed, "Hua Xiao’er!"

Hua Xiao’er’s arrival meant Zhao Jun wasn’t far behind. But a thought surfaced in Li Baoyu’s mind: ’It’s a little too late for him to be showing up now.’

Li Baoyu’s voice carried to Hua Xiao’er on the wind.

When Hua Xiao’er heard Li Baoyu’s voice, it ran swiftly toward him. It only stopped when it reached his side, rising up to paw at his leg.

Li Baoyu was about to crouch down, but he saw Hua Xiao’er drop back to all fours and run off to the side.

The surrounding area was covered in wild boar tracks, and the boar’s scent lingered heavily in the air. Hua Xiao’er lowered its head to sniff the tracks, then lifted it to scent the air.

Seeing Hua Xiao’er’s behavior, Li Baoyu whistled, hoping to call the dog back.

After all, the only dogs left that could still hunt were Hua Xiao’er and Xiaohua. As for Da Huang... Li Baoyu hadn’t seen him yet, and he didn’t want to think about what that might mean.

Hua Xiao’er seemed to be just sniffing around. Its nose eventually led it to Daqing. Gazing at the dog lying still in the snow and ice, Hua Xiao’er lowered its head to sniff its face. Then, it lay down beside Daqing, rested its chin on its front paws, and watched over the body in silence.

Seeing this, both Li Baoyu and Tao Fei were taken aback.

About half an hour later, Zhao Jun finally arrived with Da Huang in tow. The moment he saw Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu felt as if his pillar of support had returned. He scrambled to his feet and ran stumbling toward him.

"Brother!" Li Baoyu cried out when he was still a dozen steps away, the tears he’d been holding back threatening to fall again.

He might have been a young man, but that past hour had been the most agonizing of Li Baoyu’s nineteen years. He felt lost without Zhao Jun by his side.

At that moment, Zhao Jun’s heart sank. The first one to greet him was Li Baoyu, not Daqing or White Dragon. He knew something was wrong. Seeing Li Baoyu so emotional he was choking back sobs, Zhao Jun said nothing. He simply stopped and stared ahead.

Just then, Da Huang, who had been trailing Zhao Jun, trotted a few steps forward to Li Baoyu’s side. With its back clawed by the Black Bear, it couldn’t stand up to paw at his pant leg. Instead, it just nudged its head against his leg.

"Da Huang..." Seeing the bandages wrapped around Da Huang’s body, Li Baoyu quickly knelt and hugged the dog.

Zhao Jun, however, continued walking forward.

"Brother Zhao." Tao Fei came forward to greet him. The fight between the four hounds and the wild boar had terrified him, but looking back on it now, he had to admit it was also pretty thrilling.

Zhao Jun nodded at him, his gaze shifting past him. He saw White Dragon struggling to its feet, and beside it, Little Bear and Xiaohua wagging their tails at him from where they lay.

Finally, Zhao Jun’s gaze fell upon Hua Xiao’er and the motionless Daqing at its side.

"Baoyu," Zhao Jun said, calling over Li Baoyu. "Come here."

Li Baoyu let go of Da Huang, got up, and hurried to Zhao Jun’s side. Seeing Zhao Jun staring at Daqing’s body, Li Baoyu’s voice caught in his throat. "Brother, I’m sorry..."

Before Li Baoyu could finish, Zhao Jun cut him off. "Was it a wild boar? Or a bear?" he asked.

"A wild boar," Li Baoyu replied. "A big tusker, over three hundred jin."

The weight, the fact that it was a boar—Zhao Jun understood immediately.

He nodded, glanced around, then asked Li Baoyu, "What about the boar? Which way did it go?"

Li Baoyu raised his arm and pointed west. "It cut across the ridge and headed west."

"Mm." Zhao Jun nodded again. "Baoyu, find a Pine Tree and bury Daqing underneath it for me. After that, you and Tao Fei take charge of the other dogs and head back. It looks like they can all walk, so just lead them home slowly."

Li Baoyu understood Zhao Jun’s unstated intention. Instead of agreeing, he asked, "And you?"

"I’m going to track it," Zhao Jun said. "It killed one of my dogs. I can’t just let it get away with that."

With that, Zhao Jun started up the slope. This time, he didn’t even intend to take Hua Xiao’er with him.

Having just been cornered by the dogs, the boar wouldn’t stop running until it was time to feed, likely not until after three in the afternoon.

This meant it would be incredibly difficult for Zhao Jun to catch up to it. It would be much easier if he had a dog to lead the chase.

But Zhao Jun knew Hua Xiao’er was exhausted. It had been up the mountain two days in a row. Yesterday, it had helped corner two separate boars, and today, it had hunted a Black Bear. Hua Xiao’er likely had no stamina left.