Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The arrival of the educated youth had some impact on Zhou Rui, because the educated youth dormitory would be built near Zhou Rui's home. Before the villagers who were building houses arrived, Zhou Rui quickly raised the perimeter of his backyard along the fence using the mud bricks from his old house, so that at least no one could see the pond in the backyard and the fish raised in it.

Zhou Rui didn't intend to have much interaction with the educated youth. As Zhou Shumin said, most of them were actually trouble. Fortunately, the backyard wasn't big, and Zhou Rui and Zhou Ping finished building the two walls from the house to the mountainside in just one afternoon.

The next day, Zhou Rui took leave from work during the off-season to go to the mountains as usual. There wasn't enough work in the fields, so everyone was vying to work and earn work points. Zhou Rui's leave was good for everyone, so no one cared.

Besides the live pheasant, there was no more smoked pheasant meat left at home, so we had to go up the mountain to get some. Sister-in-law Xinghua also needed to get some nutrition; it was Xiaoniangao's food. Actually, the main reason was that Zhou Rui hadn't driven the 98K much since getting it, and he was itching to get his hands on it. He couldn't find the tamper strap for the slingshot, so he cut a new inner tube at the village office and would have to make do.

This time, Zhou Rui got up much earlier than usual, intending to explore the mountains more. As usual, he set the fish traps in the stream before heading up the mountain. Now, the place where he set the fish traps was much farther away than before. The previous spot was too small, and after a few tries, there weren't many fish left.

Upon reaching the mountains, Zhou Rui didn't immediately hunt pheasants. Carrying prey through the mountains was too tiring; he planned to hunt them on his way home. Today, Zhou Rui changed direction, heading east towards the steeper mountain. This old forest was extremely steep and densely covered with bushes; aside from the two hunting families in the village, almost no one came here. Zhou Rui used his dagger to clear a path, but after a long time, he hadn't covered more than a few miles.

Reaching a relatively open area, Zhou Rui took out his water bottle, took a sip, and looked around. He noticed some marks under a large tree. Zhou Rui went over and examined them closely. There were obvious scratches about 70-80 centimeters from the tree, indicating that wild boars had rubbed against it. Looking further, he saw several more such marks, suggesting a group of about ten wild boars.

Zhou Rui first released his senses to perceive the information in the air, but didn't detect anything. He decided to follow the traces left at the scene. Based on his experience traveling through the mountains these past few days, Zhou Rui summarized his own abilities and found that he could only sense things within a range of about one kilometer. The closer the distance, the stronger the perception, and vice versa. Beyond this distance, he couldn't sense anything.

Following the path left by the wild boars, Zhou Rui found it much easier. The tracks left by a group of wild boars were very clear, and the vegetation in the woods had all fallen to either side of the path. By noon, Zhou Rui still hadn't found anything, so he had to stop and rest to replenish his food.

After finishing the steamed buns he had brought, Zhou Rui checked his watch; it was 1 PM. He decided to continue walking for another hour, and if he still hadn't found the wild boar, he would turn back. After walking for about half an hour, Zhou Rui's senses picked up a faint signal. It seemed that after following the tracks around and around, he had finally caught up.

Zhou Rui, gun in hand, drew closer, his senses growing stronger. He stopped, moistened his fingers with saliva, and checked the wind direction. He couldn't afford to go the wrong way. This wild boar's sense of smell was incredible; if he went upwind, the boar would likely detect him before he even got close.

A gun barrel protruded from a large rock, pointing directly at a stream. Five or six large wild boars were comfortably soaking in the water, while three energetic little blond-haired piglets ran around nearby. Zhou Rui held his breath, staring intently at the group of wild boars, his mouth watering. It had been so long since he'd eaten lard.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out. At a distance of about fifty meters, a bullet pierced the chin of a wild boar lying in the water, penetrating to the back of its head. The boar remained motionless, only its hooves twitching incessantly. Hearing the loud bang, the other wild boars leaped out of the water and scattered in all directions. Zhou Rui seized the opportunity, pulling back the bolt and quickly firing a second shot. A small, yellow-haired boar collapsed on the bank. Only then did the group of wild boars disappear into the jungle.

Zhou Rui didn't rush. He waited until all the noise subsided before taking out two bullets from his bag and reloading the magazine. In this dangerous mountain forest, Zhou Rui had to ensure that his gun was always fully loaded with five bullets to maximize his safety.

Zhou Rui walked over, put his gun away, drew his dagger from his waist, kneed the wild boar in the head, and stabbed it in the carotid artery to bleed it thoroughly. Then he dragged Little Yellow Hair over and stabbed him in the same way.

After the bleeding was finished, Zhou Rui first cleaned up the little yellow-haired cat, removing its offal and hanging it on a tree; about 60-70 jin remained. Not bad, this tender little yellow-haired cat was much tastier than that big wild boar. That big wild boar was much more troublesome; its internal organs were cleaned out, its head removed, and even its trotters discarded, leaving nearly 300 jin. Zhou Rui considered only taking some lard back, but he was also somewhat unwilling; so much meat, even if it wasn't tasty, would make excellent cured meat. After thinking for a moment, he made a simple sled to pull it, though it might take him a little longer to get home.

Zhou Rui carried Xiao Huangmao in his basket and towed a large wild boar on his sled, so he had to find a gentler path, which made the journey even longer. To get home faster, Zhou Rui spared no effort, quickening his pace.

As the sun set and was about to disappear behind the mountains, Zhou Rui, nearing the canyon and preparing to find a place to descend, suddenly felt a chill. He put down the sled and looked around; utter silence reigned, not even the chirping of insects. Looking at the wild boar on the sled, reeking of blood, Zhou Rui realized he was in danger; he'd been targeted by a wild beast. He surveyed the surroundings; there wasn't a single large tree, and the terrain was flat, overgrown with weeds, offering no place to lean against—the terrain was extremely treacherous.

Zhou Rui pulled out his water bottle and gulped down a mouthful of cold water to calm himself down. The beast hadn't attacked yet, meaning it had only just caught up and was observing Zhou Rui's weaknesses. Once it detected an opening, the beast would definitely strike. He should use this limited time to find a suitable environment for self-preservation. Without much thought, Zhou Rui quickly made a decision: pretend he didn't know about the beast's presence, dragging the sled forward, hoping to find favorable terrain.

Zhou Rui quietly deactivated the safety on his 98K rifle and hung it in an easily accessible spot. He then took a flashlight from his basket, tucked it into his lower back opposite the knife, and continued pulling the sled forward. Zhou Rui was vigilant about his surroundings, his pace slower than before, but each step was firm and solid, allowing him to react quickly and make evasive maneuvers. After walking for about ten minutes, the sense of danger grew stronger, but he still hadn't found any favorable terrain. Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Rui's back. Was fate forcing him to risk his life in this open space?

Heaven couldn't resist Zhou Rui's nagging, and a few minutes later, a huge rock finally appeared a hundred meters ahead. The rock was estimated to be three or four meters high and two meters wide, just right for Zhou Rui to protect himself and avoid being attacked from all sides.

Zhou Rui, head down, dragged the sled forward. The sled rolled over the wild grass, leaving a wide rut behind it. Zhou Rui felt that the short hundred meters was extremely long. Just thirty meters away from the large rock, suddenly, with a snap, the rope pulling the sled broke.

The sound of the rope snapping was like a signal; at the same moment, several ripples of grass rushed towards Zhou Rui from behind. Using the momentum from the snapping rope, Zhou Rui sprinted forward, simultaneously turning his head to look back.

In just a few seconds, Zhou Rui had reached the base of the large rock and turned around when one of the fastest pursuing beasts pounced out of the bushes beside him. Its massive jaws opened, its sharp teeth gleaming coldly, aimed at Zhou Rui's neck. It was a pack of wolves.