Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui ignored the others' conversation and braved the cold wind blowing into his collar as he crawled out of the broken door.

His face was covered in a thin scab of bear blood mixed with sweat, and the greasy smell made him lose all interest in chatting.

I squatted in a snowdrift sheltered from the wind by the door, scooping up several handfuls of fresh snow and rubbing them vigorously on my face.

The icy shards brushed against my skin, giving me a shiver, and finally, all the sticky feeling of bear blood was rubbed into the snow water.

"Alright, Brother Shaofeng, take Brother Qingguo and drag Hei Xiazi out and clean him up."

"Brother Jiacheng touched each of the dogs' legs and necks to check for any hidden injuries."

Brother He Wu and I went to find some materials to fix the door; we can't leave it open in the middle of the night to let in the wind and snow.

Zhou Rui went back into the house and made arrangements one by one, taking care of everything carefully.

The group responded immediately, and no one hesitated to act just because Zhou Rui was the youngest.

He was the leader chosen by everyone, and no one dared to disobey him.

By the time the bear meat was cut into pieces and frozen, the dogs' paw pads were inspected, and the door was nailed shut, most of the night had quietly slipped by.

Fortunately, none of the nine hunting dogs suffered any minor injuries. The five men wrapped themselves in thick cotton-padded coats, rolled around in the haystack, and were all fast asleep within two minutes.

As dawn broke, the five of them woke up one after another. They threw the leftover meat from last night into the pot, cooked it with rice, and had a hot breakfast.

After finishing their meal, they gathered a small bundle of firewood in the woods and filled the dugout with firewood until it was overflowing. Only then did they tidy up their gear and lead the dogs toward the bear shed hidden in the ravine.

"Ruiwa, is it okay to bury the bear meat and bear paws next to the dugout? We can't let anyone steal them!"

Along the way, the greenhorn Liu Guoqing kept babbling in Zhou Rui's ear.

Zhou Rui didn't pause for a moment, nor did he turn his head. His voice drifted over on the wind: "Instead of worrying about people here, we should be more careful of the wild animals in the mountains."

"If a starving beast smelled the scent, it could dig a huge hole in the ground right beneath your feet."

"No way! We piled up half a foot of snow on top and even poured hot water on it to freeze it into an ice shell. What kind of wild beast could have such an ability?"

As soon as Liu Guoqing finished speaking, Gu Jiacheng, who was walking at the front, suddenly turned around and said in a tone as cold as ice: "A starving beast can endure much longer than you think."

"In its eyes, digging a hole is much safer than hunting all over the mountain."

"When hunting, there are times when you miss your target. But when digging a pit, as long as you are patient and gnaw slowly, you will eventually be able to dig out the food at the bottom."

The group chatted as they walked, and their initially heavy and stiff steps gradually became lighter.

As soon as the five people crossed the hill, the mountain wind, carrying snowflakes, lashed at them.

Dahuang and Xiutianfeng tensed up almost simultaneously, growling softly, followed by a loud barking.

Zhou Rui scanned the direction of the dog's barking towards the depths of the snowfield and caught a glimpse of a solitary gray shadow swaying against the snow.

I estimate the distance to be about 100 meters, and at most no more than 200 meters.

"Brother Qingguo, Brother Hewu, this job is in your hands."

Zhou Rui raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the lone wolf, issuing the order decisively.

This little bit of wolf meat wasn't worth wasting his bullets on; it would be a good opportunity for these two greenhorns who were out hunting to practice.

Just as Liu Qingguo's hand touched the butt of the hunting rifle, before his knuckles were even firmly on the handle, the snow beneath his feet suddenly made a soft cracking sound.

He instinctively staggered half a step to the side, almost throwing off the Type 38 rifle on his shoulder, his face instantly turning bright red.

"What's the panic?" Zhou Rui's voice drifted from behind, without a trace of anger, yet it sent a chill down Liu Guoqing's spine.

"Make sure you're firmly planted on your feet before raising your gun; you only have one chance to fire your Type 38 rifle."

He Wu, standing next to him, was more composed. His fingertips had already traced the trigger guard along the gun barrel, and the sights were firmly locked onto the figure.

The two took two steps into the snowfield in a V-shape. Big Yellow and Sniffing Wind were still barking and pressing forward, but they didn't actually rush out.

This is a rule instilled through training: the hunting dog will never pounce on its prey without the hunter firing first.

The lone wolf's shadow also stopped, neither retreating nor moving forward, but simply standing in the wind with its head raised, searching for the source of the sound.

Zhou Rui squinted and could see clearly that the wolf's left foreleg was missing half an ear-like piece of fur, an old injury.

"Wait until it moves three steps to the left before firing," Zhou Rui said in a low voice. "Its left foreleg will give way, shifting its weight to the right, and its chest will be exposed."

Liu Qingguo's palms were sweaty, his fingertips brushing against the polished gunstock, and he mentally went over the three points of alignment that Zhou Rui had taught him three times.

As expected, the lone wolf couldn't wait any longer and moved to the left, taking the first step, then the second, and then the third.

"Bang!"

He Wu fired the first shot.

The snowflakes exploded into a white cloud beside the wolf, missing by half an inch and flying past the wolf's ear.

The wolf shuddered suddenly, tucked its tail between its legs, and tried to disappear into the woods.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Liu Qingguo's fingers instinctively clenched down.

The second gunshot rang out immediately afterward. The lone wolf, who was lunging forward, suddenly spun around in the snow and crashed down. It kicked its limbs twice and then went still.

Liu Guoqing stood there, gun in hand, speechless for a long time.

He didn't even realize how he'd hit the target until Gu Jiacheng patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Good job, Brother Qingguo! You took him down on the first shot. All that training wasn't for nothing!"

Zhou Rui's face remained expressionless, but he had already started walking towards the wolves.

The wolf had a bullet hole below its neck, positioned precisely next to its heart.

He looked up at Liu Qingguo, who was still in a daze after following him: "Luck accounts for 70%, and the remaining 30% is because you didn't close your eyes just now."

He Wu scratched the back of his head and laughed, "This old hunter of mine missed! I'll have to carry an extra half bundle of firewood as punishment."

"You, an old hunter?"

"Your shot just now wasn't exactly expert-level."

The group laughed and teased each other, but suddenly Big Yellow bristled and dashed off like an arrow toward the snow forest, its barking changing from excited to a low, menacing warning.

Sniffing Wind and the other seven hunting dogs also rushed out together, their barking creating a continuous chorus.

The smile on Zhou Rui's face vanished instantly, and with a click of his fingertips, he deftly pulled off the safety pin on the 98K.

He glanced down at the snowfield below the hill and saw several gray figures hurriedly darting into the woods.

Before he could even put the sights on, the shadows had already vanished under the cover of the snow fog.

He then lowered the gun and rubbed his fingertips against the cold metal of the barrel.

"It's a pack of wolves. The lone wolf we just killed was out on lookout duty."

Gu Shaofeng moved closer to him, showing no surprise whatsoever.

There weren't many wolves to begin with, and with nine hunting dogs positioned here, they were doomed. If they didn't run, they'd be beaten up.

Soon all the hounds came running back, their mouths empty, having caught nothing.