Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui glanced at Liu Qingguo and, seeing that he was alright, straightened his back and stood up, the 98K on his shoulder already in his hand.

Bang! A burst of blood exploded on the wild boar that was still rolling ten meters ahead.

Zhou Rui pulled the bolt, and the spent cartridge case ejected.

Then Liu Qingguo watched as Zhou Rui, rifle in hand, exuding an aura of sullenness, stepped over gravel and approached the wild boar. He pressed the rifle against the head of the struggling boar, and with a bang, the boar fell silent.

Zhou Rui pulled the bolt again, but didn't fire. Instead, he sat down against a rock. Liu Qingguo thought Zhou Rui was tired, but in reality, Zhou Rui was afraid to get up, wary of a gunshot from behind.

Bang...bang, the gunshots continued from the other side, but Zhou Rui ignored them, showing no intention of going out to help. Instead, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. Then, seeing Liu Qingguo still standing there in a daze on the slope, he gestured with the cigarette.

Liu Qingguo quickly used his uninjured hand to prop himself up, picked up his gun from the side, and then trotted over.

Zhou Rui didn't want to talk, so he simply tossed the cigarette box to Liu Qingguo and told him to take it himself.

Liu Qingguo took the cigarette, pulled one out, lit it alongside Zhou Rui's, and took a deep drag. Good cigarette, even such an expensive one smells good.

"Ruiwa, you're amazing." Liu Qingguo gave a thumbs up, his face beaming. Although he hadn't fired a single shot and had even injured his left hand, just now, right before his eyes, Zhou Rui's moves were like those of a warrior, wielding a knife on a small wild boar and killing a three- or four-hundred-pound wild boar with two shots—it was incredible.

Zhou Rui looked at Liu Qingguo, who was sitting opposite him with a smile on his face. He tried to smile back, but couldn't.

He was still thinking about what had just happened. First, someone fired before he was even in position, and then another shot was fired at their location. Both shots came from a Type 38 rifle, Chen Xueqin's gun. Zhao Changshan was holding an M1 Garand rifle.

Was it to hunt wild boars or to attack him?

Zhou Rui took a drag of his cigarette, exhaled, and his face behind the smoke showed a complex mix of emotions.

After a long while, Zhou Rui had finished smoking four cigarettes when the sound of heavy objects rubbing against stones finally came from above the valley.

Whoosh...swish swish.

"Qingguo, Ruiwa, how are you two?" Zhao Changshan said loudly, his voice filled with joy: "Look at these huge eggs, they must weigh at least 500 jin, maybe even 600 or 700 jin."

Liu Qingguo stood up and looked at Zhao Changshan and Chen Xueqin, each dragging a hind leg. It was a huge wild boar, even bigger than the one Ruiwa had just killed, with two thick tusks protruding dozens of centimeters from its mouth.

Only then did Zhou Rui put the gun on his lap aside, slowly stand up, reveal his back from behind the rock, turn around, and look in the direction of the sound.

The two dragged the large wild boar, one of them joyful and the other smug.

Zhao Changshan dropped the pig's trotter and walked over to Zhou Rui with a smile: "Ruiwa, your idea is brilliant! Wild boars climb uphill and run slowly. It took the two of us many shots to kill this big bastard. The other wild boars probably only got one shot and ran away. Do you think we should..."

Suddenly, Zhou Rui swept past Zhao Changshan like a gust of wind. Zhao Changshan turned his head sharply, his smile still on his face, and saw Zhou Rui raise his right foot and kick Chen Xueqin in the chest.

Before Chen Xueqin could even react, he was thrown backward and landed on the ground with a thud.

Zhou Rui chased after him and kept kicking Chen Xueqin, kicking wherever he could see, no matter where he was. Chen Xueqin was screaming and rolling around with his hands covering his head.

Zhao Changshan snapped out of his daze and rushed forward to hug Zhou Rui tightly: "Ruiwa, are you crazy? Why are you hitting Xueqin? Stop it!"

Zhou Rui ignored him; Zhao Changshan behind him couldn't restrain him and continued kicking.

Zhao Changshan roared, lifted Zhou Rui up, and threw him aside. Looking at Zhou Rui, who had regained his footing, he pointed at him with his right index finger: "What are you trying to do? Didn't you hear what I said?"

Zhou Rui looked at him, then suddenly smiled, his exposed teeth carrying a chilling aura. He then flashed to Zhao Changshan's side, pressing down the hand pointing at him with one hand, and grabbing Zhao Changshan's neck with the other, pushing him backward.

With a thud, Zhao Changshan slammed against a tree, his back aching. At the same time, he raised his left hand and grabbed Zhou Rui's wrist, which Zhou Rui squeezed so hard that he couldn't breathe.

Fortunately, Zhou Rui loosened his grip, and Zhao Changshan gasped for breath. Then he saw Zhou Rui's eyes, which were right in front of him, staring straight at him with a fierce glint in them.

"I'm the leader here, your words don't count." Zhou Rui's tone was low, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Furthermore, as the militia captain, if you can't manage your men, you shouldn't be doing the job."

"I..." Zhao Changshan shook his head repeatedly while holding Zhou Rui's wrist, because Zhou Rui tightened his grip on his hand, not letting him speak at all.

"But when you militia were trained, you were taught to fire your guns without orders. But when your militia leaders told you that you could point your guns at your comrades and pull the trigger."

Zhou Rui grabbed Zhao Changshan by the collar and shoved him away, the sudden force almost causing Zhao Changshan to fall.

"Let me tell you, Zhao Changshan, I'm the boss here. According to the rules in the mountains, Chen Xueqin first disobeyed orders and fired without permission, disrupting my plans. Then he pointed his gun at me and fired a second shot. If I kill him, no one will dare to say I'm wrong."

"But he... he was just too... too nervous, it wasn't intentional." Zhao Changshan felt completely different from how he had interacted with Zhou Rui in the past two days. He was no longer the nonchalant, smiling man he had been before. His face was grim, with a drop of congealed blood on his cheek, and the oppressive aura emanating from him was even stronger than that of the military leaders during military training.

"Nervous? You guys got to the shooting position a few minutes earlier and had already adjusted your positions. You're telling me you're nervous? Then that big wild boar charged at us, and I kicked it down. Three seconds later, the second shot hit me less than two meters away. You're telling me you're nervous? Do you think I'd believe you?"

Zhao Changshan was speechless. He knew Chen Xueqin was wrong, but he hadn't expected Zhou Rui to be so irritable and disrespectful. He slowly opened his arms, blocking Chen Xueqin's path.

"Ruiwa, I admit Xueqin made a mistake, but you can't lay a hand on him again, let alone kill him."

Zhou Rui looked at the determined Zhao Changshan and suddenly chuckled. He walked over to Zhao Changshan and whispered teasingly in his ear, "Is he your son?"

"What did you say, Ruiwa? He's just one of my soldiers, a villager from Jiaolong Gorge." Zhao Changshan looked somewhat surprised, but not flustered. Because Chen Xueqin really wasn't his son, just the son of his unrequited love.

Zhou Rui stared into his eyes for a moment, his smile fading, his expression turning very serious: "Fine, I'll give you face this time. But there won't be a next time. If he ever crosses my line again, I'll settle all scores, old and new, and kill him. Let's see if you can stop me."