Chapter 167: Chapter 142: Xiong Ba Stuck Me in the Snow

When Han Shang said Zhang Yuanmin had been mauled by Xiong Ba, Li Baoyu was horrified, but Zhao Jun actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Jun told Li Baoyu to take the gun and dogs back by himself, while he and Han Shang went to Zhang Yuanmin’s house.

The two of them pulled open the door to Zhang Yuanmin’s house and saw Yang Yufeng sitting alone on a small stool in the outer room, staring blankly.

Hearing someone enter, Yang Yufeng looked up. The first person she saw was Han Shang.

"Doctor Han, you’re here." Yang Yufeng stood up from the small stool. Just as she greeted Han Shang, she saw Zhao Jun behind him.

"Brother!" When Yang Yufeng saw Zhao Jun, it was as if she were seeing family.

At that moment, Zhang Yuanmin was lying face down on the kang in the inner room. When he heard Yang Yufeng cry "Brother!" from the outer room, he instantly lifted his face from the pillow and struggled to call out, "Is that my brother Zhao Jun?"

"Yes!" Yang Yufeng turned her head and said to the inner room, "Our brother is here to see you."

After she spoke, Yang Yufeng quickly ushered Han Shang in. "Doctor Han, please come in. Sorry to trouble you again."

Han Shang didn’t say a word, simply walking inside with his medical kit on his back. Yang Yufeng grabbed Zhao Jun’s arm from behind and said, "Brother, you’re finally back."

"It’s alright. I’ll go in and see my big brother first."

In the inner room, Zhang Yuanmin, lying on the kang, lifted his head with effort. He stared eagerly at the doorway. When he saw Han Shang enter, he seemed a little disappointed, tilting his head to the side to try and see past him.

The corner of Han Shang’s mouth twitched. He placed his medical kit on the edge of the kang and said, "Stop looking. Lie still, let me take a look at you."

"Wait a moment, Doctor Han," Zhang Yuanmin said stubbornly. "Let me say a word to my brother."

Han Shang glanced at Zhao Jun. He was quite surprised. ’When did these two get so close? I’ve never heard of it before.’

Zhao Jun nodded at Han Shang, took two steps to the side of the kang, and grasped Zhang Yuanmin’s outstretched hand.

The moment Zhang Yuanmin’s hand clasped Zhao Jun’s, tears instantly streamed down his face. He choked out, "Brother, you have to get revenge for me!"

Zhao Jun: "..."

"Alright, alright." Han Shang, who was standing by, quickly came forward, pulled Zhao Jun behind him, and said irritably to Zhang Yuanmin, "Enough of this sniveling. Don’t waste my time. I need to give you your shot quickly. I still have to go to Qin Qiang’s house to give his dogs their shots."

"Qin Qiang’s... several dogs?" Zhao Jun was confused. ’I remember clearly that back in the fall, Qin Qiang tried to hunt a Black Bear, but the bear ended up killing three of his dogs.

After that, he was only left with his little dog, Xiaoqing. Before the New Year, he tried to buy a dog from Xu Changlin but failed.

The holiday just ended a few days ago, so where did he get more dogs?’

But since Han Shang was going to Qin Qiang’s house in a little while, Zhao Jun didn’t ask him. He just watched as Han Shang lifted the back of Zhang Yuanmin’s shirt. Zhao Jun craned his neck to get a look and immediately frowned.

On Zhang Yuanmin’s back were seven wounds, all from a bear’s claws. Four were on his upper back, likely from a swipe from the upper right to the lower left. Three were below, likely clawed from the lower left to the upper right.

Although all seven wounds had been stitched up, at a glance, they looked like seven centipedes crawling haphazardly across his back. It was a gruesome and terrifying sight.

"Hmm, it looks better than yesterday. The swelling’s gone down a bit," Han Shang muttered. He took a bottle out of his medical kit, and after preparing the medicine, he set up an IV drip for Zhang Yuanmin.

"Just focus on recovering. Don’t spend all day overthinking things," Han Shang warned Zhang Yuanmin. He packed up his medical kit, slung it on his back, and headed out. Yang Yufeng hurried to follow and see him off.

As soon as Han Shang left, Zhang Yuanmin lifted his head from the pillow and looked at Zhao Jun with a wronged expression, wailing, "Brother! If you’d come back one step later, you would’ve never seen me again!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jun couldn’t help but laugh. He pressed down on the fidgeting Zhang Yuanmin and said to him, "What are you talking about? You look fine to me. If I’d come back half a month later, you’d probably be up and walking."

Just then, Yang Yufeng returned from seeing Doctor Han off. She poured a cup of water for Zhao Jun and handed it to him. Then, pointing at Zhang Yuanmin, she said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, don’t mind him. Ever since Master Xu came to see him and told us that you were the one who asked the Village Chief to find someone to rescue him, he hasn’t stopped talking about you."

"Master Xu?" Zhao Jun thought for a moment, then asked, "You mean Elder Xu Pao?"

"Yes, yes."

Zhao Jun blinked in surprise. For a moment, he had thought it was Xu Changlin who rescued Zhang Yuanmin.

’That old man is ancient, and he doesn’t even have any dogs. To think he could save Zhang Yuanmin from Xiong Ba... he’s one tough old codger.’

At this thought, Zhao Jun looked down at Zhang Yuanmin and asked curiously, "Big Brother, how did Elder Xu Pao save you?"

"Huh? It wasn’t him," Zhang Yuanmin said. "According to Chen Dalai, it was Qin Qiang and Zhang Laibao who saved us."

"Zhang Lai—" Zhao Jun grew more and more confused. ’I have no idea where Qin Qiang and Zhang Laibao got hunting dogs.

But I do know that neither of them is any good, and both of them have a grudge against me.

If Zhao Guofeng told them it was my call that sent them, they definitely wouldn’t have gone.

But it’s just as unlikely that they saved Zhang Yuanmin by sheer coincidence.

After all, the area around Xiong Cangzi is remote and rarely visited. No hunter would be idle enough to just wander over there for fun.

And what does Xu Changlin have to do with any of this?’

Yang Yufeng was perceptive and noticed Zhao Jun’s confusion. She said to him, "Brother, we don’t know what really happened either. Master Xu just came and told us that we absolutely must not go to the Qin Family’s or the Zhang Family’s house for now, or else we’ll blow the cover.

He said if we do go, we should wait until your big brother has recovered, just buy a small gift and pay a brief visit. Once we’re there, we shouldn’t say much, just exchange a few simple pleasantries.

Master Xu also said that even if we really want to thank someone, the main person we should be thanking is you."

After saying this, Yang Yufeng looked at Zhao Jun with a grateful expression.

The couple hadn’t known Zhao Jun for long, but he had been incredibly good to their family. Truly, there were no words.

If it weren’t for Zhao Jun, Zhang Yuanmin would have either been killed or crippled by the bear, or he’d be in jail for attacking Minister Li and Li Erchen.

"Thank me... Ah, I think I’m starting to understand." Hearing Yang Yufeng’s words, Zhao Jun didn’t know the exact details, but he could make a rough guess. ’It must have been Elder Xu who set a trap for Qin Qiang and Zhang Laibao. Otherwise, there’s no way those two characters would’ve gone to save Zhang Yuanmin.’

At this thought, Zhao Jun looked at Zhang Yuanmin. Seeing that he was in pretty good shape, he asked, "Big Brother, how exactly did you guys end up attacking Xiong Ba’s den? And how did Qin Qiang and the others save you?"

"How they saved me... I don’t know," Zhang Yuanmin said. "All I remember is Xiong Ba grabbing me and shoving me straight into a snowdrift!"