Chapter 171: Chapter 146: An Owl Enters the House
Bears are different from other wild animals in the mountains in one key way.
Other animals will flee at the sound of a gunshot—even a Mountain King.
But bears, most of them, will charge straight toward the sound of gunfire.
Chen Dalai’s shot made the brown bear fling Zhang Yuanmin away, then it turned and charged murderously at him.
By then, Chen Dalai’s chamber was empty. There was no time to reload, so he just ran.
As he ran, Chen Dalai cursed his luck.
Twice. He’d gone after a Xiong Cangzi twice in his life, and goddammit, both times had ended like this.
Jumping Stone Pond was nothing but rocks, without a single tree in sight. Chen Dalai could only circle the Big Stone Cliff where Zhang Yuanmin had been hiding just moments before.
But they hadn’t cleared the snow beforehand, and the area around the Big Stone Cliff was buried, making running an exhausting struggle.
Before he’d even completed two laps, the brown bear caught up. Sensing a gust of rank, foul-smelling wind crashing down from behind, Chen Dalai ducked, twisted his body, gripped the barrel of his rifle, and swung the butt back behind him.
There was a dull THUD.
Not everyone is as lucky as Zhao Jun.
The brown bear raised its paw to block, and the rifle butt struck squarely against the Bear’s Paw.
The bear lunged forward, grabbed the collar of Chen Dalai’s padded jacket, and casually tossed him aside.
Chen Dalai landed flat on his stomach. He was lucky the mountain snow was so deep. If it had been spring or autumn, when Jumping Stone Pond was just bare rock, the fall would have surely killed him.
Uninjured by the fall, Chen Dalai’s mind was perfectly clear. He knew this was a life-or-death situation, so he scrambled to his feet and took off running again.
After tossing Chen Dalai, the brown bear didn’t pursue him. Instead, it turned back and charged straight for Zhang Yuanmin.
As the old saying goes: Snow piles highest on the peaks, and frost settles in the hollows.
The massive snowstorm a few days ago, the one that nearly buried Zhao Youcai and his men in the mountains, had left the snow in Jumping Stone Pond almost thigh-deep.
Zhang Yuanmin was short, and he had plunged headfirst into the snowdrift. Only his body from the waist down was visible. He kicked and writhed desperately, packing down the surrounding snow until he could finally bend at the waist.
By the time he crawled out of the snowdrift, the inside of his padded jacket was completely filled with snow.
In those days, mountain folk were poor. Under his padded jacket, he wore only a thin tank top. The snow packed inside his jacket melted against his skin, turning to ice water and sending a violent shiver through him.
He had just managed to collect himself when he saw the huge brown bear, having abandoned Chen Dalai, pouncing right at him.
"Fuck!" Zhang Yuanmin spun around and ran.
One step!
Two steps!
He had just lifted his leg for a third when the brown bear knocked him down with its Big Palm.
Zhang Yuanmin felt an excruciating pain rip through his back. The moment he collapsed into the snow, he blacked out.
...
At Zhang Yuanmin’s house, Zhao Jun sat on the edge of the kang bed, listening as Zhang Yuanmin recounted the ordeal.
After Zhang Yuanmin finished his story, Zhao Jun was at a loss for words.
But before Zhao Jun could open his mouth, Zhang Yuanmin spoke up. "Brother," he said, "I’m sorry. I’ve let you down."
"What is it?" Zhao Jun asked, startled. ’Please don’t tell me he’s gotten me into some new trouble.’
Zhang Yuanmin said, looking embarrassed, "Chen Dalai and I... we lost the skis we borrowed from you and from Baoyu’s house up on the mountain."
"Oh, is that all?" Zhao Jun breathed a sigh of relief. "If they’re lost, they’re lost. Baoyu told me Dad brought home a good number of wild boars, so we can just make new skis."
At this, Zhao Jun looked at Zhang Yuanmin again, asking curiously, "By the way, Brother, how did you two even make it back?"
Zhang Yuanmin shook his head. "I passed out, so I don’t know anything after that. But I heard it was Qin Qiang and his men who saved us." He glanced toward Yang Yufeng. "That’s what Chen Dalai said, right?"
"Mhm," Yang Yufeng confirmed. "That’s what Chen Dalai said. Apparently, Qin Qiang and his men went up with their dogs and happened to rescue these two good-for-nothings."
"Who are you calling a good-for-nothing," Zhang Yuanmin retorted weakly to Yang Yufeng, before turning to Zhao Jun with pleading eyes. "Brother, I heard Qin Qiang and his men couldn’t take down that Xiong Ba. You have to get revenge for me!"
Zhao Jun didn’t dare agree to that. He just said, "Brother, you just focus on resting up. I just got back from Yongsheng Village and came to see you before even going home."
"Oh my, Brother, you must not have eaten then!" Yang Yufeng said quickly. "Eat here. I’ll go make you something right now."
"Please, don’t trouble yourself," Zhao Jun said, getting to his feet. He addressed Yang Yufeng, "Just focus on taking care of my brother here. I’m going to head home to check on things. I’ll visit again another day."
"Alright then..." Yang Yufeng didn’t insist. For the past two days, she’d been looking after their child and Zhang Yuanmin all by herself, managing the entire household. It was genuinely difficult.
Zhao Jun walked home. As he neared his front gate, he saw someone walking ahead with their back turned to him.
Just from the man’s back, Zhao Jun recognized him. It was his nemesis from two lifetimes: Zhang Laibao.
He frowned but didn’t dwell on it.
Zhao Jun entered the yard, walked to the front of the house, and pulled open the door. "Mom!" he called, but there was no answer.
"Brother!"
"Brother!"
To Zhao Jun’s surprise, his two little sisters, Zhao Hong and Zhao Na, came running out of his room.
"Where’s Mom?" Zhao Jun asked Zhao Hong.
Zhao Hong replied, "She went to buy medicine for Dad."
"Dad..." Zhao Jun subconsciously glanced toward the east room and froze. He quickly let go of his sisters, entered the room, and rushed to the side of the kang bed.
Zhao Youcai was lying on the kang, his face ashen. His pale lips were slightly parted, and he was breathing slowly through his mouth, not his nose.
Anxious, Zhao Jun called out loudly, "Dad! Dad! Dad...!"
Before he could finish the third "Dad," Zhao Youcai slowly opened his eyes. "Stop shouting," he rasped. "I just fell asleep."
"Dad, what happened to you?"
"I caught a cold!" Zhao Youcai snapped back.
Zhao Jun pressed, "How’d that happen?"
Zhao Youcai closed his eyes again without answering.
Just then, Zhao Na piped up from the side in her clear little voice, "Mom said Dad got sick from showing off."
The moment Zhao Na said this, Zhao Youcai’s eyes snapped open. He jerked his head up and said to Zhao Jun, "Get them back to your room. Now."
"Okay." It finally clicked for Zhao Jun. ’Wang Meilan must have put Zhao Hong and Zhao Na in my room because she was afraid they’d catch whatever Zhao Youcai has.’
Zhao Jun led Zhao Hong and Zhao Na back to his room. He had just changed out of his clothes when he heard the main door open.
Zhao Jun went out and saw Wang Meilan coming in, holding two blister packs of cold medicine and a few packets of terramycin.
"Mom."
"Son, you’re back!" Wang Meilan’s face lit up the moment she saw Zhao Jun.
When Li Baoyu had dropped off the dog earlier, Wang Meilan had asked him a few questions. She was delighted to hear that her son had gone to Yongsheng Village and solved a huge problem for their in-laws.
Zhao Jun followed Wang Meilan into the east room, asking again, "What’s wrong with Dad?"
Wang Meilan shot a look at the bedridden Zhao Youcai. "He spent days up on the mountain," she said tartly, "and finally came down with a cold from all his showing off."
Zhao Jun chuckled quietly, pulling a wad of cash and tickets from his pocket and handing it to Wang Meilan.
She thumbed through the bundle and asked in surprise, "Why is there so much?"
It turned out that what Zhao Jun had given her, all told, amounted to one hundred yuan and fifty jin of food tickets.
"It’s our reward from the Forest Farm and Yongsheng Village," Zhao Jun explained. "An older man, Brother Huang, gave me his share. Oh, and my brother-in-law’s share, too."
Then Zhao Jun explained the whole story to Wang Meilan.
Zhao Jun had barely finished speaking when the supposedly ailing Zhao Youcai piped up from the bed, "I’ve heard of that Huang Gui. The man’s got real skill."
"You just be quiet and rest," Wang Meilan snapped, silencing Zhao Youcai completely. She put away the money and tickets, but then she suddenly recalled something. "Son," she said to Zhao Jun, "when I went out to get your dad’s medicine, I saw Zhang Laibao loitering around our house, pacing back and forth."
Hearing this, Zhao Jun recalled the figure he’d seen earlier. ’An owl doesn’t fly into your house for no reason,’ he thought. ’He’s up to no good.’
