Zhao Jun’s semi-automatic rifle originally held ten rounds. He had fired one shot as a warning to Zhao Youcai and the others.

That left nine rounds.

And just now, by firing nine consecutive shots, he had emptied the gun of all its bullets.

The first shot skewered through one wild boar before hitting the Pig God in the shoulder blade.

The second shot also passed clean through another boar, finally hitting the Pig God in the rump.

As he fired the remaining seven shots, Zhao Jun kept aiming west, chasing the Pig God, but those seven shots either missed entirely or hit other wild boars.

Now, down the slope on the hill, five wild boars lay on the blood-soaked ground.

The ground was blood-soaked because not a single one had an intact corpse. They were all mangled messes of flesh and blood, staining the surrounding snow crimson.

These boars were in even worse shape than the ones Zhao Youcai’s group had shot; they had all been trampled by their own kind into unrecognizable pulps.

"Brother, should we keep chasing it?"

"No, let’s go home," Zhao Jun said, pulling back the bolt and reloading the rifle.

This wasn’t for hunting, but for self-defense.

The two of them retraced their steps, taking a shortcut home. By the time they got back to Yong’an Village, it was already past five o’clock.

The sky was already dark.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu went their separate ways. Before they parted, Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu, "Get up early tomorrow. We’re taking the small train to town."

"Okay!"

This mountainous region was poor and didn’t have bus service yet. The only way to get to and from town was by a small train.

Unlike the green-skinned trains, this black-skinned small train only had three carriages. It ran once every two days, making a loop around the entire mountain range.

Don’t hear the word "loop" and think it’s a short trip. South of the mountains was Hei Province, but the other side of the range was Ji Province.

Zhao Jun entered the courtyard, then the house. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Wang Meilan sitting by the kang table, while Zhao Hong and Zhao Na were playing on the kang.

On the kang table were plates and a small basin, all covered by other plates. It seemed Wang Meilan had made dinner long ago and was waiting for Zhao Jun to come home to eat, covering the dishes to keep them from getting cold.

But Zhao Jun glanced into the other rooms and asked Wang Meilan, "Mom, where’s Dad?"

"He’s not back yet," Wang Meilan said, a little worried. "He’s been out in the wilds all day. I wonder what he managed to hunt."

Zhao Jun smiled. "Probably didn’t get anything."

"If he didn’t get anything, why isn’t he back sooner!" Wang Meilan grumbled, but she instantly caught herself, feeling she shouldn’t take her frustration out on her son. She softened her tone and asked, "Son, did you manage to trap a Gall?"

"I did." Zhao Jun smiled and pulled the Sable from his pocket. "Mom, can you skin it for me?"

When Wang Meilan saw the Sable, she hopped right off the kang. In a few steps, she was in front of Zhao Jun, reaching out to take the Sable from him. Feeling the unique texture of its fur, Wang Meilan beamed. "My son is the skilled one, after all. Go wash your hands, warm up, and eat. We won’t wait for your father."

"Okay," Zhao Jun replied with a smile.

By the time Zhao Jun finished his meal, Wang Meilan had also finished skinning the sable. Because it had been trapped, the entire pelt was undamaged from head to tail. Wang Meilan rolled it into a cylinder and stood on her tiptoes, about to place it on top of the kang cabinet.

"Mom, Mom." Zhao Jun quickly stopped Wang Meilan. "Give that to me. Baoyu and I are going to take a trip to town tomorrow to sell it."

Hearing this, Wang Meilan handed the Gall to Zhao Jun but reminded him, "You have to bring the money you get back to me, okay? I’m saving up for you to get married. You’re not getting any younger, and your father and I..."

"Alright, alright, Mom, don’t you worry. I’ll definitely bring the money back to you."

Zhao Jun took the Gall from Wang Meilan’s hands, returned to his room, and placed it in his satchel.

Zhao Jun played with Cyan Dragon in his room for a bit before he heard Wang Meilan and Zhao Youcai talking outside.

He heard Wang Meilan say, "Running around outside all day, and you think you’ve accomplished something? I even had to wait for you to eat."

Zhao Youcai didn’t answer. He washed his face and hands, changed his clothes, drank some water, and got onto the kang to wait for Wang Meilan to get him a large flatbread from the pot.

Zhao Hong and Zhao Na were young and couldn’t wait when hungry, so they had eaten long ago. Zhao Jun had just eaten as well, but Wang Meilan hadn’t had a bite, waiting for Zhao Youcai.

As the couple ate, Wang Meilan asked Zhao Youcai about the day’s hunt.

"Did you get anything?" Wang Meilan asked simply.

Zhao Youcai took a bite of food, chewing as he mumbled indistinctly, "We did."

"Huh?" Wang Meilan was surprised. She put her chopsticks down on the table, leaned forward slightly, and asked Zhao Youcai, "That huge boar... you guys managed to take it down?"

"Well... we didn’t get that one." Zhao Youcai felt he had lost some face. Even though they had killed quite a few wild boars that day, they had gone to all that trouble to enter the mountains for the Pig God.

After planning for so many days, returning in failure now made Zhao Youcai feel a bit embarrassed in front of his wife.

A similar conversation was taking place at Li Dayong’s house. The only difference was that when Li Dayong said he hadn’t gotten it, Li Baoyu chimed in, "You guys didn’t get it, but my brother and I did."

"What?" Li Dayong slammed his rice bowl on the table, his eyes wide as he stared at Li Baoyu. "How did you get it? Where did you get it?"

Li Baoyu briefly explained what had happened. Li Dayong threw down his chopsticks, got off the kang, grabbed his cotton-padded jacket, and headed out the door.

Jin Xiaomei sighed helplessly, put down her chopsticks, and said, "What is with this day?"

"Mom, Mom." Li Baoyu quickly picked up the chopsticks and pushed them back into Jin Xiaomei’s hand. "You eat. Don’t worry about him."

Li Dayong left his house, hopped the wall into Zhao Jun’s family courtyard, and yanked open the door to the house, striding right in.

Zhao Youcai had already locked the main courtyard gate when he got home, so Li Dayong’s sudden entrance gave him and Wang Meilan a start.

Seeing it was Li Dayong, Zhao Youcai collected himself and asked, "Dayong, have you... eaten yet?"

"Never mind that." Li Dayong came up beside Zhao Youcai and said, "My Baoyu and your Zhao Jun got that boar."

"What?"

Li Dayong quickly recounted the story he had just heard from Li Baoyu.

"That little rascal." Zhao Youcai turned and glanced toward Zhao Jun’s room. Seeing the door was shut tight, he looked away.

Zhao Youcai sat on the kang, lost in thought. Li Dayong stood beside him, waiting for him to speak.

With these two old brothers acting like this, Wang Meilan couldn’t eat either. She watched them with a sense of helplessness.

"Dayong," Zhao Youcai said suddenly.

"Brother."

Zhao Youcai said, "Get ready tonight. We’re going again tomorrow."

"Right!"

Zhao Youcai added, "Tell your wife we might not be back tomorrow night. We’ll track that boar through the night. I refuse to believe we can’t take it down."

Zhao Youcai’s words made Wang Meilan frown, but with Li Dayong there, she couldn’t very well stop her own man.

"Alright!" Li Dayong suddenly recalled a story he’d read in a picture book once. "In ancient times, Zhang Yide fought Ma Chao by night! Today, we brothers will fight the Wild Boar God by night!"

Wang Meilan: "..."