Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Big Yellow stood still, gazing in the direction where the leopard cat had disappeared, and gently wagged its tail.

"Sigh..." He Wu sighed deeply, seemingly feeling somewhat disappointed that he hadn't had enough.

But he quickly realized that even if the creature he had just confronted was a lynx, as long as it had cubs with it, Zhou Rui would never allow him to kill it.

Liu Qingguo stepped forward and tugged at his arm, pulling him out of his daze.

"Don't even think about it. Let's go into the ditch. We can pick and choose from roe deer and wild boars. Isn't that better than chasing those things?"

He went into the mountains for a real harvest. Wild beasts like lynxes and leopards were not very useful except for their thin skins, and their meat was tough and smelly, so he had no interest in them at all.

Suddenly a gust of wind swept overhead, and Big White swooped down from the sky, circled above Zhou Rui's head once, let out a loud cry, and then turned and flew towards the distant hills.

Zhou Rui pointed in the direction Da Bai had gone, his voice clear and bright: "Da Huang, go."

Big Yellow jolted suddenly, and its previously leisurely body instantly shot out like an arrow.

The feeling of the wind whistling in my ears was so familiar. This feeling of having someone back me up and having a clear goal was exhilarating, just like when I used to hunt with the old hunter.

It deliberately slowed down and waited for the three people behind it, ran a few steps, glanced back, and soon climbed over the hill.

The grove of mixed trees wasn't large, and it was surrounded by knee-high meadows. The big white dog was circling above the grove, clearly indicating that its prey was hiding behind the trees.

Zhou Rui's brow twitched, his senses spreading out with the wind. He took out the binoculars hanging on his waist and probed the lens through the gaps in the leaves.

The shadow swayed, resembling a sika deer or a silly roe deer.

He immediately made up his mind: if the body shape was that of a deer, it must be a calf whose antlers had not yet grown in. It would never stray from its mother and run around alone. It was most likely a silly roe deer.

He glanced up at the big white figure in the sky, then lowered his head to rub against the cool, moist ear of the big yellow dog, and suddenly changed his mind.

Let's not waste bullets this time; let's just let these two little guys practice their teamwork today.

Two fingers were inserted between the lips, and a sharp whistle rang out. The thought hidden in the whistle was transmitted to the consciousness of the eagle and the dog through their senses.

Before He Wu and Liu Qingguo could react, they saw Big Yellow, who had been squatting at their feet, suddenly leap out and its yellow shadow plunge into the thicket.

The giant white creature continued to roam leisurely above the treetops, its shadow completely obscured by the dense oak leaves, unnoticed by the wild animals in the forest.

Before long, a burst of intense barking erupted from the woods.

Immediately afterwards, the silly roe deer panicked and lost its bearings, bursting out of the forest and running wildly across the meadow with its four hooves.

Four or five seconds later, Big Yellow came out with a mouthful of grass in its mouth. The distance was too great; given its usual speed, the prey would have already disappeared into the dense forest on the other side.

Just then, a clear eagle's cry rang out from the sky, and Da Bai folded its wings and swooped down, heading straight for the silly roe deer.

The silly roe deer was so frightened that its soul almost left its body. It twisted its front hooves and swerved sharply to the side, barely dodging the attack, but unfortunately missed the chance to disappear into the dense forest.

In those two seconds of delay, Da Huang gritted his teeth and caught up, his nose almost touching the roe deer's rump.

What happened next made He Wu and Liu Qingguo forget to breathe.

The silly roe deer, relying on its years of experience running in the meadow, dodged left and right using the bushes, and several times left Big Yellow half a meter away.

But every time it was about to disappear into the shadows of the trees, the dark shadow in the sky would immediately swoop down, forcing it to change direction again.

This old roe deer, which has roamed the mountains for so many years, was forced to the point of not gaining any advantage today by an eagle and a dog.

Just as it twisted and changed direction again, a dark shadow suddenly slammed down from above, and a pair of iron claws slammed into its forehead.

The silly roe deer's legs buckled, and it staggered several steps, its speed instantly dropping.

The silly roe deer shook its head, but before it could even come to its senses, Big Yellow had already pounced on it and pinned its throat with a precise bite.

The prey, weighing nearly 100 pounds, was pulled down onto the meadow, its strength to kick slowly dissipating.

These aren't hunting dogs and gyrfalcons; they're clearly two living treasures brought from the mountains, saving us the trouble of even lifting a finger.

When Zhou Rui carried the large white dog that had fallen onto his arm closer, the two of them stood to the side, not daring to reach out.

Big Yellow's teeth were still locked tightly around the roe deer's throat, and a low, protective growl rolled from its throat.

Only when Zhou Rui's footsteps approached did Da Huang release its grip, carrying the roe deer's leg and bringing the prey closer to him. Its tail swayed, scattering grass blades everywhere, and it made soft whimpering sounds.

Zhou Rui bent down and rubbed its head vigorously, his voice filled with laughter: "Well done, Big Yellow, you've done a great job today."

He Wu stared at the roe deer on the ground, which was still twitching slightly, and remained silent for a long time before patting his thigh.

"My God, this is amazing!" He squatted down and touched the faint eagle claw mark on the roe deer's forehead with his fingertips.

"Big White's slap was really accurate just now. I might not be able to hit it that well even if I had a stick."

Liu Qingguo had already drawn his hunting knife from its sheath, but instead of making a move, he circled around Big Yellow twice, his eyes shining like luminous pearls in the mountains.

"Look at this big yellow dog. The way it gripped the throat just now was perfectly measured. It didn't tear the skin, but it stopped the dog's breathing. This is no ordinary hunting dog; it's practically a seasoned hunter."

Da Huang felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, so it moved closer to Zhou Rui's feet, rubbing its head against his trouser leg and letting out a low growl as if it were asking for praise.

Zhou Rui smiled and stroked the soft fur on the back of Da Huang's neck: "Alright, hurry up and deal with the roe deer. Da Bai and Da Huang are both great contributors, we need to make sure they're well-fed first."

Liu Qingguo responded, and with practiced skill, he slid the hunting knife into the gap between the roe deer's hind legs, peeling off the entire skin in no time.

He Wu squatted to the side, cleaning the internal organs. He quickly and skillfully removed the roe deer's heart and liver, and handed them directly to Zhou Rui.

Big White was an eagle that Zhou Rui had trained, and Big Yellow was an eagle that he had personally brought out from the mountains. They would not accept food from others, so naturally only Zhou Rui could feed them.

He handed the still-warm roe deer heart to his forearm, and the big white dog lowered its head, caught it steadily, and flew swiftly to a high branch nearby.

Then, I placed the roe deer liver at my feet, and Dahuang gently picked it up and obediently ran to the meadow a few steps away.

According to the old hunters' tradition, hunting dogs that go into the mountains should not always eat cooked food from home. They should be fed fresh raw meat regularly to maintain their hunting instincts. Otherwise, they will eventually degenerate to the point where they can't even catch a rabbit.

Zhou Rui glanced at his watch; the hour hand was almost pointing to noon. He patted the bits of grass off his trousers, stood up straight, and turned to nod at He Wu and the other man.

"Carry up the roe deer, find a sheltered rocky hollow to start a fire, and roast the half of the wild rabbit we caught this morning right here."

Anyway, there was no rule in the village about how much meat Zhou Rui had to get, and he didn't want to deprive himself of food. Nobody wants to eat cold, dry rations when they can have hot roasted meat.

Without saying a word, the two men got to work, one supporting half of the roe deer's body and lifting it up to walk into the ditch.

He Wu loved the unrestrained spirit of the mountains, the days filled with the scent of pine resin and meat, which suited him better than anything else.

Liu Qingguo was genuinely craving meat, as the village's supply and marketing cooperative had very limited meat coupons, and he hadn't had any proper meat for several months.