The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

"What the heck? Zhang what?" Li Baoyu asked, taken aback. He looked at Zhang Laibao, who just stood there fuming and silent. Li Baoyu instinctively turned to look at Li Ruhai.

The Jie Brothers hadn’t mentioned this yesterday when they were drinking.

After all, the Jie Brothers didn’t know about the grudges between Zhang Laibao’s family and the Zhao and Li families. They figured everyone in the village was practically kin, and they didn’t want to say the wrong thing and offend someone.

Seeing Li Baoyu’s complete confusion, Zhao Jun stepped forward and whispered, "Yesterday, when Brother Elder Jie and the others drove over, they ran into this kid when they entered the village. They asked him for directions to our place, and he sent them down the wrong road. Brother Elder Jie said that if he ever gets his hands on him, he’s going to break his legs, shove them up his ass, and sell him like a roast chicken."

The moment Li Baoyu heard this, he burst out laughing.

That Jie Zhong was a real genius; even his insults were vivid.

People in the Southern Region love to eat duck, while those in the North prefer chicken.

When preparing a roast chicken, the feet and wings stick out and get in the way. So, the cook will tuck the two wingtips and the head together. They’ll also break the leg joint, then stuff the two feet into the chicken’s cavity.

This way, the chicken, which was originally sticking out all over, becomes roughly oval-shaped.

And that was the meaning behind Jie Zhong’s remark.

Seeing Li Baoyu bent over with laughter, Zhang Laibao grew even angrier.

When he got up to use the outhouse this morning, the older folks he ran into either shook their heads at him or just smirked.

As for the younger people, some confronted him directly, telling him he had no integrity, that misdirecting people brought shame on the whole village.

Worse still, many people had started calling him Zhang Shaoji.

Zhang Laibao had a crush on a girl, and every day for the past two years, he would take a walk past her house, rain or shine. He kept this up even when he was injured in the crotch.

But when he went today, the girl chewed him out, saying that no matter how deep his grudge with Zhao Jun was, he shouldn’t have misdirected people.

In front of his crush, Zhang Laibao stubbornly refused to admit it, but the girl told him she heard it from Li Ruhai.

When Zhang Laibao tried to argue, the girl cut him off. "Don’t just look at Li Ruhai’s age. He always tells it like it is and never spouts nonsense."

Finally, the girl advised Zhang Laibao to learn a thing or two from Li Ruhai.

And just like that, Zhang Laibao’s first love ended. All his beautiful hopes and dreams for romance came to a halt that morning.

Zhang Laibao was walking home like a zombie when he spotted Li Ruhai loafing about, wandering aimlessly around the village. He instantly snapped out of his stupor and chased after Li Ruhai, ready to beat him up.

But even though the wound in his crotch had healed long ago, the scar tissue had built up, forming a raised ring that connected to his inner thigh, making it uncomfortable to walk or run.

Now, being laughed at by Li Baoyu, Zhang Laibao was even more furious. He pointed at Li Ruhai and started cursing him out.

Cursing knows no boundaries, and when Zhang Laibao started, he inevitably insulted Li Ruhai’s family. With Li Ruhai’s own brother standing right there, how could Li Baoyu possibly let that slide?

Li Baoyu strode straight toward Zhang Laibao. Realizing things were about to get ugly, Zhang Laibao didn’t even have time to turn before Li Baoyu grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up.

SMACK!

A huge slap. Half of Zhang Laibao’s face swelled up instantly, and blood trickled from the nostril on the side he was hit.

"Li Baoyu, I’ll fuck..." Zhang Laibao roared, a string of curses spilling from his mouth.

SMACK!

Li Baoyu followed up with a backhand, striking the other side of Zhang Laibao’s face.

For a moment, there was silence.

The next second, Zhang Laibao burst into tears with a loud "WAAAH!" Crying and blubbering, he flailed his arms and legs as he charged at Li Baoyu.

Li Baoyu gave him a shove, sending him sprawling to the ground. "You mess with Ruhai again, and I’ll fucking turn you into a roast chicken for real!" Li Baoyu shouted.

By now, a small crowd of onlookers had gathered, all of them pointing and whispering about Zhang Laibao.

In the eyes of the villagers, what he’d done yesterday was a despicable act.

He had lost the fight and lost face.

Wiping away his tears, Zhang Laibao pushed through the crowd and ran off.

Seeing Zhang Laibao leave, Li Baoyu turned and kicked his brother, Li Ruhai, in the ass. "Get your butt home now!" he ordered.

Li Ruhai shot Li Baoyu a glare, then turned and walked away.

Li Baoyu pointed at the retreating Li Ruhai and said to Zhao Jun, "Tell me, what’s with this kid?"

Zhao Jun just smiled without saying anything, thinking, ’He’s your brother. You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?’

After the delay caused by Li Ruhai, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu set off again, leaving the village and heading into the mountains.

The two followed the route Zhao Jun had planned, passing through Yellow Stone Cliff and crossing a large ridge.

Climbing another slope, they reached Gangjiansi, where they looked down from their high vantage point.

The stretch of Qingtang Forest below was where Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin had set up the deer pit.

Outside the forest, the bloody, half-eaten carcass of a large Ma Lu lay on the ground.

Li Baoyu said nothing, just looked at Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun gestured to Li Baoyu, and the two of them hid on the ridge, waiting for the bears to return to the kill.

The deer wasn’t finished, so the three bears were sure to return today. The moment they appeared, Zhao Jun would have his chance.

Leaning his gun against a large tree, Zhao Jun sat and waited. After more than half an hour, he suddenly heard a faint sound.

The sound grew louder, a RUSTLING and CRASHING, as if bears were running and weaving through the woods, their bodies scraping against branches and twigs.

Zhao Jun looked toward the forest where he’d set the deer pit. The noise grew louder still, meaning the bears were getting closer.

But just then, a mountain wind swept through, making the branches and twigs RUSTLE loudly.

At the same time, Zhao Jun heard a "SKREEE."

It was a bear’s cry, but the kind they only make when terrified.

Zhao Jun clamped a hand on Li Baoyu’s shoulder, his eyes scanning their surroundings warily. A few days ago, during another bear hunt, a large mother Black Bear had appeared out of nowhere, and Zhao Jun had felt a true sense of danger.

Now, he still couldn’t see the bears and didn’t know how many there were, so he didn’t dare make a rash move.

But then he saw Li Baoyu, who was cradling his gun with one hand, pointing repeatedly toward the west side of the forest with the other.

Zhao Jun shifted his body and could vaguely make out three dark shapes weaving through the trees, heading straight for them.

One large and two small!

Three bears!

The trees in Qingtang Forest were sparse, but the large bear would periodically turn back, letting out sharp cries to urge the two cubs to run faster.

The two cubs shrieked nonstop, their cries filled with terror.

The bears were about a hundred meters away from Zhao Jun, but he didn’t dare to fire because he couldn’t see what was chasing them.

’It must be other male Black Bears,’ he thought.

Even a Northeast Tiger wouldn’t terrify a mother bear this much. Only male Black Bears would; they kill cubs to force the mother to come into heat early so they can mate with her.

"ROAR... ROAR..."

Just then, a bear’s roar echoed from not far away, reverberating through the mountains.

Beside him, Li Baoyu couldn’t help but gasp, "Brother, it’s a Xiong Ba!"