As soon as their master changed into his mountain clothes, the hunting dogs knew it was time to head into the mountains. They would get incredibly excited.

The two dogs had been cooped up inside all day yesterday, so they were especially eager to get out and run around to their hearts’ content.

But both Hua Xiao’Er and Daqing were injured. Even if they could have come along, Zhao Jun wouldn’t have brought them.

Zhao Jun reminded his mother to go get Doctor Han later to give the two dogs another round of shots.

Then, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu left his house, walked out of the village, and headed straight for the mountains.

The two walked along a gentle slope. From their high vantage point, the path ahead was clear, so Zhao Jun finally slung the gun from his back.

Li Baoyu, who had been itching to go, snatched the gun from Zhao Jun’s hands and immediately started aiming it ahead.

He didn’t fire. He just wanted to aim; striking a pose was satisfying enough.

"Go ahead," Zhao Jun said from the side. "Fire a few rounds to warm up."

On the way over, Zhao Jun had explained the basics of shooting to Li Baoyu. Li Baoyu, showing no stage fright, loaded a round and pressed the stock of the gun firmly against his shoulder. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

This was the most crucial part.

A bullet has recoil when it leaves the barrel. If you don’t press the gun firmly against yourself, the kickback can injure your shoulder.

Li Baoyu steadied the gun, aimed ahead, made sure no one was in the way, and, with a thrill of excitement, pulled the trigger.

BANG! BANG! The gunshots echoed as Li Baoyu fired off all ten rounds in the clip in one go.

He only stopped when he pulled the trigger again and the gun failed to make a sound.

"So? How’d it feel?" Zhao Jun asked, walking over to Li Baoyu’s side.

Li Baoyu nodded again and again, his eyes shining. After a long moment, he said emphatically, "Awesome. That was awesome."

Zhao Jun extended a hand, tracing a wavy line in the air. "No matter the prey, when it runs, it leaps and bounds... To hit a moving target, you have to lead it properly... As the saying goes: aim for the tips of the fur on top, or the belly down below..."

"Brother, brother..." Li Baoyu was getting a headache listening to all this. He quickly cut Zhao Jun off. "I don’t get it when you explain it like that. Why don’t we find something to actually shoot at and try it out?"

"That works too." Zhao Jun took the gun back from Li Baoyu, loaded a new clip of ammunition, and held the gun at the ready. He gestured for Li Baoyu to follow him deeper into the mountains.

Full of enthusiasm, Li Baoyu ran all over the place, searching for animal tracks. Zhao Jun paid him no mind, simply strolling along slowly behind him.

Around ten o’clock in the morning, Li Baoyu suddenly came running back. "Brother, there are people and dogs up ahead," he said.

"You saw them?"

"No," Li Baoyu said. "I saw footprints. Looked like a lot of people, and a lot of dogs."

Zhao Jun thought for a moment. "Let’s slow down, then. When we get to Gangcha up ahead, we’ll veer off to the side. We won’t get involved with them."

"Alright." Since Zhao Jun had made up his mind, Li Baoyu stopped running ahead and started making small talk with him instead.

But they hadn’t been walking for long when something suddenly appeared up ahead, rushing straight toward them.

Zhao Jun instinctively raised his gun, just as Li Baoyu shouted from the side, "A dog! It’s a dog, don’t shoot!"

As Li Baoyu shouted, Zhao Jun got a clear look as well. A yellow dog was running toward him, but it stopped abruptly about three meters away before turning and bolting back the way it had come.

Zhao Jun frowned and muttered, "Whose dog is that? Why would it be running back during a hunt?"

Just then, the sound of cursing came from up ahead, immediately followed by the sharp yelp of a dog.

"Who comes to the mountains to beat dogs?" Li Baoyu muttered, frowning at the sound of the dog’s painful cry.

Zhao Jun strode forward. Before long, he saw four men standing up ahead. Two of them were carrying guns.

A man carrying a 16-gauge shotgun had the Yellow Dog by the scruff of its neck.

Recognizing the men, Zhao Jun shook his head inwardly and called out, "Brother Dalong, what’s going on?"

The man grabbing and scolding the dog—the one Zhao Jun had called Brother Dalong—looked up when he heard his name and finally noticed Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu.

He froze for a second, then let go of the Yellow Dog and hurried over to greet Zhao Jun.

When the other men saw it was Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, they also headed over.

"Xiaojun, Baoyu, you two... just out for a casual hunt?" Wang Dalong asked with a smile, reaching Zhao Jun first and taking in his gear.

"Yep," Zhao Jun replied. "And you guys are on a group hunt, Brother?"

This Wang Dalong was a relative of Zhao Jun’s family—to be precise, a relative from his mother Wang Meilan’s side.

The two families were distant relatives, so distant that city folk might not even acknowledge the connection. But in the countryside, they were still family.

Wang Dalong also lived in Yong’an Village, but he was a full ten years older than Zhao Jun and had his own circle of friends, so the two of them rarely hung out.

"You know it," Wang Dalong replied with his usual catchphrase. "Yesterday, Wei the Second went up to Old Dragon Ridge to pull some wood ear logs and saw a set of huge tracks, so we brought the dogs out today."

"Then why were you hitting your dog?" Zhao Jun asked bluntly.

In both of his lives, Zhao Jun had never been one to beat a dog.

In fact, it was a lesson he had learned from Zhao Youcai.

According to Zhao Youcai, "A dog is a mute animal. It can understand human feelings, but it can’t understand human affairs."

"If you’re a person, you shouldn’t hold things against a dog."

"Especially a hunting dog. It works its heart out for you. If you can avoid hitting it, you should show some mercy."

Hearing Zhao Jun’s words, Wang Dalong felt like he’d lost a bit of face. He threw up his hands and pointed behind him. "Xiaojun, it’s not that I want to hit him, but this good-for-nothing won’t push forward today."

"Ain’t that the truth," one of the other men chimed in. "Dalong, what’s up with your dogs today? None of ’em are charging ahead?"

At these words, Zhao Jun glanced ahead. He saw five dogs standing about five or six meters away, including the Yellow Dog.

All of these dogs belonged to Wang Dalong. He was the hunter who owned the most dogs in all of Yong’an Village.

When Zhao Jun’s gaze fell upon a white dog among them, he couldn’t help but ask, "Brother, is that white dog a new one?"

Hearing Zhao Jun ask about the dog, Wang Dalong reflexively glanced back at it before turning to Zhao Jun again. "You know it. Xiaojun, let me tell you, this white one of mine is a Mengxi mix."

"Whoa!" Li Baoyu’s eyes were glued to the white dog. "Brother Dalong, where’d you get him?" he asked.

Wang Dalong said, "From Yongfu Village. Bought him from my wife’s brother."

"How much did you pay for him?" Li Baoyu was one to press for details.

"Forty!"

"You spent that much?" Li Baoyu asked again.

This time, before Wang Dalong could answer, Zhao Jun cut in. "Brother, your Dog Gang is famous around here. So what’s the deal today? Why won’t any of them head out?"

Wang Dalong pressed his lips together before saying, "Xiaojun, I heard you and Baoyu have been on a roll lately, so I’ll just be straight with you two. Not counting today, my pack has already been working for three days straight."

"Three days?" Zhao Jun said, surprised. "Then you’ve got to let them rest."

Wang Dalong said, "But then Wei the Second spotted those tracks, so we had to come."

"What kind of tracks?" Zhao Jun found this strange. When dogs went into the mountains to hunt, whether they were going after wild boar or a black bear, it was always a life-or-death struggle. Of course they would get tired.

Usually, they could work for two days at most. By the third day, a dog wouldn’t even want to run if you took it back up the mountain.

But for Wang Dalong’s dogs, today was the fourth day. No wonder none of them were willing to push forward.

Wang Dalong said, "A Big Cannon Egg. According to Wei the Second, the tracks are bigger than Elder Niu’s. It must be upwards of five hundred jin, close to six hundred."