Unable to catch Li Dachen, Zhang Yuanmin spun around and charged toward Li Erchen instead. Li Erchen was injured and his movements were clumsy. He hadn’t gotten far before Zhang Yuanmin overtook him.

"Brother Zhang!" Li Erchen yelled as he ran, craning his neck. "We’re neighbors!"

"You call yourself a neighbor after pulling a stunt like that?!" Zhang Yuanmin’s fury erupted upon hearing this.

Li Erchen would have been better off not mentioning they were neighbors. The reminder only enraged Zhang Yuanmin further. He lunged forward, kicked Li Erchen down, and swung the axe at his head.

The axe came chopping straight down. Sprawled on the snow, Li Erchen glanced back and his soul nearly flew from his body in terror.

At the precipice of life and death, a long staff shot in from the side. The axe blade bit into the wood, snapping the staff but deflecting the blow.

Startled, Zhang Yuanmin glanced to the side and saw Zhao Jun.

’If it weren’t for Zhao Jun today, I, Zhang Yuanmin, would’ve been torn apart by that black bear. This man is my savior!’ No matter how enraged he was, he would never direct his anger at Zhao Jun.

"Brother, don’t stop me! I have to kill him today!"

Zhang Yuanmin shifted his grip on the axe, ready to strike Li Erchen again, but Li Baoyu tackled him from behind, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Zhao Jun rushed over, grabbing Zhang Yuanmin’s hands. "Brother Zhang," he said earnestly, "if you kill them, won’t you have to pay with your own life?"

"Then I’ll pay!" Zhang Yuanmin, still struggling in Li Baoyu’s grasp, screamed, "My life for theirs! It’s worth it to kill them both!"

"What do you mean ’your life for theirs’?!" Zhao Jun wrenched the axe from his grip, holding it behind his back with one hand while pushing against Zhang Yuanmin’s chest with the other. "They’re just a couple of drifters with no family or property to their names! If something happens to you, what about your wife?"

At these words, Zhang Yuanmin fell silent.

Seeing his chance, Zhao Jun added, "And what about my little niece?"

Zhang Yuanmin grew even stiller, his eyes fixed in a venomous glare on Li Dachen and Li Erchen.

Li Dachen had stopped running. He came back, helped Li Erchen up from the snow, and then dropped to his knees with a THUD.

"Brother Zhang," he cried, "we were wrong! We’re not human!"

Hearing this, Li Baoyu curled his lip and nudged Zhao Jun with his elbow. "Hey, brother, isn’t that what he said to you just this morning?"

Zhao Jun shoved Li Baoyu lightly, signaling him to stop fanning the flames. ’This Zhang Yuanmin is different,’ he thought. ’He may be small, but he’s got a hell of a temper. When he threatened to chop those two up, he meant it.’

"Get the hell out!" Zhang Yuanmin roared, pointing at Li Dachen. "From this day on, we’re strangers! You hear me? If you see me on the path, you walk the other way, or I’ll beat you senseless!"

Cursed out by Zhang Yuanmin, Li Dachen didn’t dare say another word. He helped Li Erchen to his feet, and the two of them scurried away with their tails between their legs.

"Alright, alright." Zhao Jun pried Li Baoyu’s arms off Zhang Yuanmin and steadied the man. "Brother Zhang, take it easy now. Calm down."

Zhang Yuanmin’s chest heaved with rage. He yanked the dog-fur hat from his head and used it to beat the snow off his clothes, cursing and muttering under his breath the whole time.

...

By the time the three of them had dragged the Black Bear back to the village, it was only a little past three in the afternoon. Since it was still broad daylight, many villagers saw their prize and rushed over to lend a hand with the hauling.

Zhang Yuanmin wanted them to drag it to Zhao Jun’s family home, but Zhao Jun flatly refused. As they happened to pass Zhang Yuanmin’s place first, they left the Black Bear right at his front gate.

"Brother, this won’t do!" Zhang Yuanmin protested immediately, though his anxiety was of a completely different sort than his earlier murderous rage. "We had a deal! The Bear Gall, the meat... I don’t want any of it..."

As Zhang Yuanmin spoke, a woman emerged from his courtyard gate. It was his wife, Yang Yufeng.

Yang Yufeng was carrying a large basin filled with knives. The moment she appeared, a crowd gathered, clamoring to help skin the bear.

Zhang Yuanmin was about to protest, but Zhao Jun stopped him.

Zhao Jun said, "Brother Zhang, don’t make a fuss. My family already has plenty of bear and wild boar meat. You should keep this one for yourselves."

"But..." Zhang Yuanmin tried to argue, but the villagers were already descending on the carcass, a flurry of helping hands.

"Brother Zhang, don’t say another word. Between brothers like us, this is nothing."

"Fine!" Zhang Yuanmin gave a firm nod, looking at Zhao Jun with utmost sincerity. "Just you watch how this big brother treats you from now on!"

Just then, Yang Yufeng sensed something was amiss. She came over to greet Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, then leaned close to Zhang Yuanmin’s ear and whispered, "What happened?"

"It’s nothing," Zhang Yuanmin grunted.

But Yang Yufeng continued in a low voice, "I saw Dachen and Erchen next door come back. Erchen was injured, and I got worried something had happened to you."

"I asked them about it, and they just said you were fine, lagging behind while dragging the bear."

"Mmhmm," Zhang Yuanmin grunted, then turned to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu. "Brothers, don’t you two go anywhere. You’re staying for dinner."

"I snared a couple of wildcats on the mountain the other day. I’ll have your sister-in-law stew them, and we’ll have ourselves a good drink."

"No need for drinks, Brother Zhang. You’ve had a long day. You should get some rest."

"No way! You’re staying for dinner!" Zhang Yuanmin’s stubborn streak flared. Grabbing Zhao Jun with one hand and Li Baoyu with the other, he began dragging them into the courtyard.

Yang Yufeng was a little confused. ’He clearly went up the mountain with the Li Brothers. Why did he bring Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu home instead?’

’And judging by his attitude, these two young men must be someone special.’

Though her mind was full of questions, Yang Yufeng didn’t ask. Despite the crowd of people skinning the Black Bear outside, she followed them into the house.

She knew her husband well and worried he might not be the best host. She didn’t want him to accidentally offend their guests.

And just as she’d feared, after leading them into the house and telling them to sit on the *kang*, Zhang Yuanmin simply picked up his little girl and began showing her off to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu.

A moment later, Yang Yufeng entered with a thermos and some small, white porcelain mugs to pour water for Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu.

After pouring the water, she set the thermos aside and said to them, "You two have some water. I’ll go check on things outside and save a few good cuts of meat. We’ll do as your brother says tonight and have you for dinner."

"Alright, sister-in-law."

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

They were already in the house, sitting on the *kang*. What else could they say? It was impossible to refuse such warm hospitality, so they might as well stay.

Just as Yang Yufeng was about to step through the doorway, she stopped, turning back to ask Zhang Yuanmin, "Husband, shouldn’t we call Dachen and Erchen over?"

Her reasoning was simple: they had all gone up the mountain together, so of course the Li Brothers should get a share of the meat.

Besides, the two families were neighbors; it was good to maintain friendly relations.

To her complete surprise, the mere mention of the Li Brothers made Zhang Yuanmin explode. "Call them for what? From now on, I want you to have as little to do with them as possible."

Yang Yufeng was dumbfounded. She rushed to her husband’s side to find out what was going on. By the time Zhang Yuanmin finished his story, her eyes were red with rage.

But she didn’t forget that her husband’s saviors were still in the room. She immediately turned to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu and thanked them profusely.

First, she thanked Zhao Jun for saving Zhang Yuanmin from the Black Bear’s claws. Second, she thanked them both for stopping her husband from hacking the Li Brothers to pieces in a fit of rage.

Zhao Jun waved it off, saying it was nothing, but then something occurred to him. He asked Yang Yufeng, "Sister-in-law, about the old hunter from Yongfu Village, Elder Yang Pao..."

"...Master Yang. Is he a relative of yours?"