Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui carried his gun all afternoon without firing a single shot, only letting Big White and Big Yellow scout ahead.

It's obvious they're giving He Wu and Liu Qingguo, the two novices, a chance to practice and let them have their fill of shooting.

The two men's marksmanship was truly appalling; they relied solely on having enough bullets to kill a few pheasants and rabbits here and there.

Unfortunately, the rifle was too powerful; the small prey was instantly killed after being shot. But the two men didn't care how badly the prey was killed; all they could think about was the thrill of hitting their prey.

Big White patiently pointed out the prey's location twice, then simply abandoned the prey and flew home without looking back.

Big Yellow squatted in the grass, wagging its tail and looking utterly disgusted. If they kept wasting time with them, all the wild rabbits in the mountains would run away.

"Alright, it's getting late, let's go back to the village."

Zhou Rui hoisted the roe deer he had hunted onto his shoulder, glanced at the pheasants and rabbits hanging haphazardly on the two men's bodies, and greeted them.

He Wu and Liu Qingguo exchanged a glance, their faces showing a lingering sense of enjoyment. Their hands were still rubbing the gun, clearly indicating they hadn't had enough fun yet.

But they were also self-aware enough to know their own limited abilities.

Without Zhou Rui keeping watch, let alone hunting prey, it's hard to say whether they could even make it back to the village unharmed if they encountered a wild boar or got lost. So they didn't dare linger and followed Zhou Rui down the mountain.

They hadn't gone more than half a mile when a commotion suddenly erupted from the mountain road ahead, the anger palpable even through the woods.

Zhou Rui paused, listened carefully, and found that the voices sounded somewhat familiar.

Just as he was about to take two more steps forward to get a clearer picture, the arguing in front of him suddenly erupted, mixed with Xiao Huaihua's tearful scolding.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Rui carried the roe deer weighing dozens of kilograms and moved as fast as the wind, instantly leaving the two people behind him more than ten meters away.

As he rounded that familiar bend in the mountain, his figure stood directly between the two groups of people who were on the verge of exchanging blows. The deafening noise from just moments before instantly ceased as if it had been paused.

"Uncle Big Head, Little Locust Flower, are you alright?"

Zhou Rui glanced at the two people surrounded in the middle, shouted loudly, and then turned his head sharply, his sharp gaze piercing the other side like a knife.

Standing opposite him was Zhao Changshan, the militia captain, followed by four militiamen carrying rifles.

Seeing the two people blocked on the roadside with their bamboo baskets rolling on the ground, Zhou Rui immediately realized what was going on.

These five big men actually blocked Chen Datou and Xiao Huaihua just now, clearly trying to act tough.

"What's wrong, Captain Zhao? Are you using your position to bully the villagers?" Zhou Rui didn't even bother calling him "Uncle" anymore, directly slapping a big label on him.

Zhao Changshan was clearly not expected that Zhou Rui would suddenly emerge from the woods, and the thick skin on his face froze for a moment.

He then adopted the airs of a militia captain, slapped his belt, and raised his voice to turn the tables.

"Zhou Rui, stop making baseless accusations. I'm the militia captain. I caught them sneaking into the mountains and wanted to bring them back to the team for questioning. It's my duty. When have I ever bullied the villagers?"

The four militiamen behind him immediately tightened their guns in front of their chests, their eyes warily fixed on the roe deer slung over Zhou Rui's shoulder.

His gaze swept over the gleaming rifle on his back, and his fingertips unconsciously touched the trigger guard.

"Responsibilities?"

Zhou Rui chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the wild vegetables scattered all over the ground, and some Schisandra chinensis leaves were also turned upside down.

"Your duty is to maintain village order and work with the military and police to combat crime. How could you possibly kick over a young woman's basket?"

"Five grown men patrolling the mountains can block an old man and a child and drag them into the woods? Zhao Changshan, do you think the village rules are your own to make up however you want?"

Zhou Rui glanced at the others, Zhao Xiaogang, Zhao Jie... they all seemed to be quite close to Zhao Changshan.

If Chen Xueqin hadn't been killed by Zhou Rui in the city, he would probably be following Zhao Changshan right now.

Chen Datou finally recovered from the shock and took a step forward, his beard trembling with anger.

"Zhou Rui, you've finally arrived? My nephew and I just went up the mountain to pick some wild vegetables and fruits, and these guys came up to us and accused us of sneaking into the mountains to cause trouble, and they even grabbed Xiao Huaihua's arm."

"When I tried to stop them, they pushed me so hard I almost stumbled. These aren't militiamen protecting our country; they're clearly bandits robbing people on the road."

Having spent a lot of time with Zhou Rui, Chen Datou immediately cooperated with him as soon as he heard Zhou Rui speak, following his train of thought to portray Zhao Changshan's actions in a negative light.

Xiao Huaihua hid behind Chen Datou, revealing half of her flushed face. She gritted her teeth and nodded, pointing at Zhao Changshan: "He just said... that he was going to take me back to the team for 'individual education,' but I refused, so he forcibly dragged me."

Zhao Changshan's face instantly darkened, as if he hadn't expected these two to speak so bluntly in front of the militia.

Enraged, he took a half-step forward and placed his hand directly on the butt of his gun.

"Chen Datou, you're getting senile and talking nonsense. Zhou Rui, you and I were both assigned to hunt in the mountains. But what about those two? Where did they get their badgers?"

"Even if you go into the mountains to pick wild vegetables, you can't steal the traps we set, can you?"

Zhou Rui glanced around and noticed that a badger was hanging bulging along the side of Chen Datou's basket. It was fat and shiny, and probably weighed about thirty pounds.

He didn't rush to speak, but stepped aside to make room for Chen Datou and Xiao Huaihua to talk.

With him here keeping things in check, at least the father and son don't have to worry about being cornered and unable to utter a single fair word.

"Bullshit!" Chen Datou stiffened his neck and took half a step forward, his spittle almost spraying onto Zhao Changshan's face.

"Do you, Zhao Changshan, even know how to set a trap? Those brats behind you, who haven't even grown their fur yet, can't even tell which way a badger's burrow faces."

As he spoke, he slammed the badger off the basket and threw it on the ground, pointing to the bluish-purple mark on the badger's head.

"Open your eyes and look. I hit him squarely on the head with this stick and suffocated him. There's not even a mark from the condom. Who stole your broken condoms?"

"I bet you guys went hunting in the mountains, didn't catch anything, and couldn't explain yourselves to the team when you came down. You saw this fat badger of mine and were tempted to steal it."

"Damn it, old man, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Young Zhao Jie's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He gripped the gun handle with both hands and jerked the muzzle upwards, about to aim it at Chen Datou's face.

Zhou Rui tossed the roe deer behind him, stepped forward, and grabbed Zhao Jie's gun barrel: "If you fucking raise the gun another half inch, I'll break your hand."

Looking into Zhao Jie's eyes, which were practically spitting fire, Zhou Rui instantly realized that Chen Datou had inadvertently touched a sore spot.

Several other militiamen wanted to step forward to help, but Da Huang suddenly darted out from beside Zhou Rui's feet.

Its mane stood on end, a low growl rumbled from its throat, its sharp white teeth were exposed, and its wolf-like eyes stared intently at the group.

The militiaman at the front saw Big Yellow and shrank back in fright, almost dropping his gun.

"Stop!" "Stop!"

The two shouts collided almost simultaneously. On one side was Zhao Changshan, who was afraid that things would escalate and get out of control. On the other side was He Wu, who had just rushed over from the mountain road, panting heavily.

He and Liu Qingguo ran all the way, clutching their guns, their lungs almost bursting from exhaustion, and finally managed to stand beside Zhou Rui before the two sides completely broke off relations.