Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Wang Shouye turned around: "What's wrong, Ruiwa?"

"Take a look over here," Zhou Rui said, pointing to the marks on the left.

Wang Shouye squatted down in the direction Zhou Rui was pointing and observed carefully. Seeing that the two hadn't followed, the dog turned back and began circling around them.

Wang Shouye checked both sides, then brought over the dog with its head down to smell it, and the dog barked in both directions.

Wang Shouye stood up, scratched his head, and looked at Zhou Rui with some distress, saying, "This is troublesome, the sika deer have split into separate groups."

Zhou Rui pondered for a moment: "Uncle, let's go our separate ways."

"Are you sure you can handle this? This isn't on the outskirts of the mountain; the forest is a bit deep here." Wang Shouye hesitated. Although he had only known Zhou Rui for a short time, the kid suited his temperament very well, and he didn't want the kid to encounter any danger.

"No problem, Uncle Wang. These marks look very fresh; they must have been left just now. The deer herd is not far ahead; if we hurry, it won't take more than a few minutes. If anything happens, you can hear me if I fire a gun. If there's any danger, I'll fire a warning shot, and we can look out for each other," Zhou Rui replied softly.

Wang Shouye nodded in agreement, finding Zhou Rui's analysis reasonable. "Alright, in that case, let's split up and meet here later. Let's check our watches and fire precisely in fifteen minutes, so that one side doesn't fire before the other is ready and the prey escapes."

The two agreed on the time and set off simultaneously, heading to the left and right respectively. On the right was Wang Shouye with three hunting dogs, and on the left was Zhou Rui alone.

After separating, Zhou Rui activated his full senses and nimbly approached the herd of sika deer. Although Zhou Rui increased his speed, he did not relax his vigilance, remaining alert to the surrounding dangers and choosing a suitable route to avoid making loud noises that might disturb the deer.

Soon, Zhou Rui caught up with the deer herd. He saw the sika deer eating fallen chestnuts under several large chestnut trees. Zhou Rui quickly lowered his head, searching for a suitable shooting position.

Zhou Rui knelt on one knee, his gun barrel resting on a fork in a tree, aimed directly at the deer herd, his body hidden behind the sapling. Seven sika deer leisurely ate chestnuts, occasionally stomping on unopened chestnuts with their hooves. Zhou Rui waited quietly, glancing occasionally at his watch hanging on a branch.

On the other side, Wang Shouye, guided by the incense burner, quickly found his target. When the hunting dogs barked and alerted him, Wang Shouye swiftly made a hand gesture. This time, Wang Shouye crouched low as he walked forward, with the three hunting dogs crawling behind him. One male and two or three females grazed on tender leaves ahead, occasionally raising their heads to survey their surroundings.

As Zhou Rui watched the time tick by, he slowly adjusted his breathing, the sound of his breathing becoming increasingly gentle until it gradually faded into silence.

"Bang." The first gunshot rang out in the distance.

Taking advantage of the moment the deer herd hesitated, Zhou Rui fired the first bullet. Without waiting to see the result, he quickly pulled back the bolt, and a second shot rang out almost simultaneously with the distant sound. Zhou Rui put away his gun; less than a hundred meters ahead, two male deer lay dead.

Zhou Rui raised an eyebrow and, imitating the cowboys on TV, blew on the muzzle of his gun. Not bad at all; this was Zhou Rui's biggest catch since he started hunting.

Zhou Rui walked quickly forward, taking out his military water bottle from his backpack and drinking all the water inside. Zhou Rui remembered Zhang Zhenbei's instruction last time: he must bring him a bottle of deer blood.

Zhou Rui walked over to the two sika deer, both of which had been shot in the head with a single shot. Zhou Rui selected one, slit its throat with his dagger, and then quickly cut open its chest to remove its heart, pouring the blood from the heart into the flask. When the blood in the heart was almost gone, Zhou Rui immediately opened the other sika deer, continuing until the flask was full and blood was still flowing out.

It would be a waste, but Zhou Rui dared not drink it again. Last time he only drank two sips, and it wasn't even deer heart blood. Zhou Rui couldn't sleep all night because he felt terrible.

Having learned from his previous experience, Zhou Rui quickly gathered all the most valuable parts from the sika deer, wrapped them in leaves, put them in his backpack, and carried one of the deer back. When he reached the spot where he had parted ways with Wang Shouye, and seeing that he hadn't returned, Zhou Rui simply went back to the hunting area and carried the other sika deer over. Then, Zhou Rui sat down on the ground, took out a cigarette, and waited patiently.

As Zhou Rui finished his second cigarette, he heard footsteps approaching in the distance. He quickly followed the sound and saw Wang Shouye pulling a sled, with three hunting dogs helping to pull it. On the sled were two deer, one large and one small. The larger deer had a large hole in its shoulder and some dog bite marks on its body. The smaller one was a female deer with a broken neck.

Zhou Rui quickly stepped forward to help, pulling the sled back to where they had been resting. Zhou Rui took out a cigarette and lit one for Wang Shouye.

"Uncle Wang, are you tired? Take a rest."

Wang Shouye took a deep drag on his cigarette before looking at Zhou Rui's haul.

The two deer were clean and tidy, with marks on their heads indicating that their antlers had just been cut. The only mark on their bodies was an eye on their head.

"You're really good, kid. Your marksmanship is better than mine. Two shots, two bucks, and both were aimed at the head." Wang Shouye gave a thumbs-up.

"It's not as amazing as you say. It's just that this gun is accurate. My gun is a German-made Mauser rifle, which is both accurate and has a long range. Why don't you get one too?" Zhou Rui said with a smile.

"Don't be modest. Even the best gun depends on the person using it. If your marksmanship is bad, even a god-tier gun won't hit your prey. I'm not changing it. I'm already very familiar with this gun." Wang Shouye paused and continued, "Besides, I don't rely entirely on guns when hunting. I mainly rely on my dogs. I didn't kill that big one with one shot. I was only able to kill it because they dragged it away."

"That's right, I could tell your dog was extraordinary a long time ago, especially that white-spotted lead dog, it must be bowing its head in worship," Zhou Rui praised.

"Good eye! It's a genuine 'low-head incense' (a type of incense). I found it on the black market; nobody else recognized it, but I did."

Wang Shouye looked down at all the sika deer, his smile vanished, and he said in a deep voice, "These deer are a shared harvest for us this time. The two you killed were bigger than mine, so we'll split them in half. Consider it a bargain for your uncle."

"No, that's not appropriate." Zhou Rui quickly interrupted, "Don't underestimate me just because I'm young. I know the rules in the mountains. You're leading me this time, so you're the leader and you should take two shares. One for the gun, one for the dog. If you take four shares, I'll take two."

"But this time you hit more."

"You're the one who brought me here. If you insist on dividing things like this, I won't come with you next time."

Looking at Zhou Rui's earnest expression, Wang Shouye grew increasingly fond of him. This child was polite, well-mannered, and always addressed him with respect; he was instantly likable.

"Alright, let's do it the way we do in the mountains. Actually, with your marksmanship, I'll be the one taking advantage of you from now on."

"Look at what you're saying. You're very experienced, and if I follow you, I can learn more about life in the mountains."

"If you're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach. Anyway, my son doesn't want to learn from me."

"Then I'll become your apprentice, and I'll call you Master from now on." Zhou Rui was happy to have another master. Although he had hunted in his previous life, he had used high-tech equipment such as night vision goggles and thermal imaging. He didn't have much real hunting experience, so it was a good opportunity to find a master to teach him.

"Don't call me Master, it's more familiar to call me Uncle."

"Alright, Uncle. How should we leave?"

"It's getting late. This side is closer to your village, so let's go down the mountain from your village. Come on, put those two deer up here and drag them along."