I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Entering the Mountain

"Alright!"

Zhao Wenwu pounced like a tiger and restrained Third Master Zhao. The old man’s rickety bones nearly fell apart from the force.

"Ouch! Wenwu, you little rascal, go easy on me! Dongzi, you little brat, you’re making a huge mistake! You... MMPH!"

Before he could finish, Zhao Wendong yanked a towel off the rope bed and stuffed it into Third Master Zhao’s mouth. It was just... that towel was pitch-black. It *was* a towel, right...?

With the old man tied up and his mouth securely gagged, Zhao Wendong gave him a wicked grin.

"Third Master, my dad’s waiting for me to save him. I’m afraid you’ll have to be a little uncomfortable for a while!"

They found the saddle and whip, grabbed a sickle and some rope, and led the brown horse out the door. The two brothers left the old accountant behind, still making muffled noises. Zhao Wendong didn’t need to guess to know he was being cussed out something fierce.

After hitching the horse to the sled and waiting for his second brother to get settled, Zhao Wendong cracked the whip. The brigade’s brown horse took off at a joyful gallop. Having been idle for so long, it was bursting with pent-up energy.

The horse-drawn sled had been moving for a while when Zhao Wenwu started getting fidgety, as if he had ants in his pants.

"Third Brother, I want to drive."

"No!"

"I’m your older brother! You have to listen to me!"

"Fine. If you sit still and keep quiet, I’ll listen to you!"

"Alright!"

A moment later, Zhao Wenwu couldn’t help but speak up again.

"Third Brother, will Dad be okay?"

His clear eyes were filled with worry. His intellectual development may have stopped, but he wasn’t a fool.

In his past life, after their mother, Chen Yanmei, committed suicide by drinking pesticide, Zhao Wenwu had constantly muttered, "I have to get food for my younger brother and sister." He eventually snuck out to sea while Zhao Wendong was sleeping, and both he and his boat were swallowed by the ocean. Though as innocent as a child, his heart was always full of his family.

"He’s fine. We’re going to get him right now!"

"Okay!"

Zhao Wenwu nodded, studying Zhao Wendong seriously before suddenly saying something else.

"Third Brother, you’re different!"

A warmth spread through Zhao Wendong’s heart. He smiled at Zhao Wenwu, knowing exactly what his brother meant.

In his past life, he had always ignored his second brother, finding him childish and long-winded. Now, reborn, that impatience was gone from his voice, and his brother had keenly sensed the change.

Zhao Wendong was grateful to the heavens for giving him a second chance, a chance to make up for the guilt and longing he felt for his family. ’The greatest sorrow in the world is not learning to cherish something until it’s lost, leaving you with nothing but pain and regret.’

The sled continued on, the only sound the TROT TROT of the horse’s hooves on the snow. Zhao Wendong suddenly recalled the rat he’d seen when he woke up. ’Did I really hear its thoughts, or was I hallucinating?’

"Giddy-up! Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"

Lost in thought, he unconsciously flicked the whip a few extra times. A voice suddenly rang out without warning. Zhao Wendong’s eyes snapped wide as he pinpointed the source—it was coming from within the brown horse.

’What the hell are you whipping for?! Think we horses are just beasts of burden? Do that again and I’ll toss you both in a ditch!’

Zhao Wendong flinched and turned to Zhao Wenwu.

"Second Brother, did you hear the horse talk?"

"Haha! Third Brother, are you stupid? How can a horse talk? Horses just go NEIGH!"

As he spoke, Zhao Wenwu even started imitating a horse’s neigh.

’That sounds awful. Let me fart on him and teach him what a real horse sounds like!’

Zhao Wendong was now certain he was hearing the horse’s thoughts. He instinctively leaned back.

PFFFT—!

The brown horse’s tail shot up, and a foul fart blasted from its rear, accompanied by scattered flecks of dung.

Zhao Wendong had dodged in time, but Zhao Wenwu was not so lucky. He had been in the middle of imitating a horse, his mouth wide open!

The entire stinking cloud sprayed right into his mouth, and a number of suspicious black and yellow spots appeared on his face.

"BLEGH~"

Zhao Wenwu immediately threw up!

Zhao Wendong was completely dumbfounded.

’Can I really hear the thoughts of animals?!!’

After a good ten minutes, once he had pretty much thrown up his guts, Zhao Wenwu finally caught his breath.

He clutched his stomach, looking left and right.

"Second Brother, what are you looking for? I’ll help you find it!"

"The knife... where’s the sickle?"

Zhao Wendong discreetly shifted his body to hide the sickle.

"What do you need the sickle for?"

"I’m gonna kill it! It dared to fart on me! I’m gonna kill it!"

Zhao Wenwu pointed at the brown horse, which was now galloping off with its rear end swaying, and gnashed his teeth, his eyes red with rage.

Zhao Wendong had no doubt his brother would do it, so he quickly tried to placate him.

"Second Brother, calm down! We need it to save Dad! If we kill it, Dad won’t make it!"

Zhao Wendong’s words made Zhao Wenwu fall silent. After weighing his options for a long time, he finally made a decision.

"Then we’ll save Dad first. We’ll kill it after we get back to the village! I... I’ll wait till I have to fart, and then I’ll get it back!"

Zhao Wendong glanced at his brother in surprise. ’Is he really that petty? Could he actually do something so vicious?’

Remembering how often he himself had teased and made fun of his brother, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

The sled moved very quickly over the snow, covering the seven or eight li of mountain road in about half an hour.

The sun was beginning to set, and the temperature in the mountains was dropping fast. The bone-chilling north wind howled, whipping snow and ice against their faces until they stung.

Finding a spot that was somewhat sheltered from the wind, Zhao Wendong jumped off the sled and looked at Zhao Wenwu with a serious tone.

"Second Brother, you stay here and watch the sled. Don’t go anywhere! Do not move, no matter what. I’m going to find Dad. Whether he lives or not depends on you and this sled!"

Seeing how solemn Zhao Wendong was, Zhao Wenwu’s expression also turned serious.

"Third Brother, you go save Dad. I’m your big brother. I’ll watch the sled here and wait for you and Dad. I won’t go anywhere until you both come back!"

With that, he thumped his chest twice and pulled a pair of mittens from his back pocket—thick gloves with only the thumb separated.

"Third Brother, wear these!"

"Huh? You have mittens, why aren’t you wearing them?"

"My crotch is warmer!"

Zhao Wendong: "..."

He took the mittens, put them on, and nodded to his brother. Then, Zhao Wendong grabbed the sickle and rope and headed into the mountains, his steps sinking unevenly into the snow.

The path up the mountain only went this far. From here on, he’d have to rely on his own two feet.

He was still about two li from the area where Zhao Dashan had his accident. Zhao Wendong had to be quick and get back before the sky turned completely dark, hopefully with his father in tow.

Drawing on the memories from his past life, Zhao Wendong chose a direct route and quickly closed in on his destination.

’Why doesn’t Xiaobai like me?’

A small, gray-and-white squirrel was perched on a tree, lost in lovesick sorrow, when its ears suddenly perked up.

’Oh no, something’s coming!’

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE!

The little squirrel scrambled up to a higher branch, its tail fluffed up like a furry warning flag, and nervously watched Zhao Wendong approach.

’It’s a human! He won’t find the food I hid under this tree, will he?’

The squirrel’s tail relaxed a little, but its two small eyes remained fixed on Zhao Wendong, full of vigilance.

Zhao Wendong couldn’t help but let out a mischievous chuckle.

"Heh heh, this is the tree, is it!"

He got no response. The little squirrel couldn’t understand him; otherwise, it would have surely come down to fight him to the death.

Zhao Wendong took out his sickle, carved a mark on the tree, and gave the gray-and-white squirrel a wicked smile.

The snow in the mountains was quite thick. Every step sank in, sometimes up to his knees. Each time he pulled his leg out and plunged it back in, it made a soft SQUELCHING sound.

Along the way, Zhao Wendong continued to test his ability to hear the thoughts of animals.

First, he confirmed that he couldn’t hear the thoughts of all animals. For example, he caught two lice from his head and killed them without hearing a single peep.

Second, there seemed to be a range. With the squirrel in the tree, he couldn’t hear its thoughts when he saw it from a distance. Only when he got within about thirty or forty meters did he hear that it was, in fact, a simp.

It was also possible that the ability wasn’t always active. He’d have to test that further.

He soon neared his destination. The hot sweat on his body met the cold air, creating puffs of mist that made him look like a cultivator achieving immortality.

In the winter mountains, the vast white expanse was dotted with patches of black. It was impossible to find the mountain crevice without getting close. Zhao Wendong scanned his surroundings and realized he had oversimplified things. In an environment like this, finding Zhao Dashan would require a good dose of luck.

"Dad!"

"Zhao Dashan!"

"Where are you?"

He began to shout as he searched.

Meanwhile, in a mountain crevice over a hundred meters away from Zhao Wendong, Zhao Dashan lay motionless on the snow, his face a mask of despair. His entire body was covered in frost.

Zhao Dashan’s hands pounded weakly on the ground, his face twisted in a look of agony.

"It’s over!"

"It’s all over!"