My 1995 Small Farm.

He changed into camouflage clothing and mountain boots, then put on a large, waterproof old raincoat and a worn-out old straw hat.

This mixed-style outfit has both a modern, field-ready feel and the rustic charm of older hunters.

Wearing it on his tall and upright figure, it had a strange sense of harmony.

"Dad is like a big tree!"

Rui Rui looked up at her father, who was dressed up in a new outfit, and giggled.

In his eyes, the pattern of the camouflage uniform looked like a forest.

"You little rascal, stay home and listen to your mother. When Dad comes back, he'll catch you a squirrel to play with."

Chen Ling bent down and rubbed his chin against his son's cheek, the stubble on his beard making Rui Rui shrink his neck and laugh.

After tidying up, he walked under the eaves and whistled a long, drawn-out whistle.

Soon, heavy footsteps came from the backyard, and Afu and Ashou's large figures walked through the rain with steady steps.

The rain soaked their fur, making their colorful coats appear even deeper and shinier.

They seemed to know they were going out; their eyes were sharper and more expectant than usual, and they made low "groaning" sounds in their throats.

"Come on, let me take you back to the mountains for a stroll."

Chen Ling patted the two tigers' thick shoulder blades.

He didn't bring Heiwa and Xiaojin; the main character today is the tiger, so it's more appropriate for the dogs to stay home and look after the kids.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, a light drizzle hits you in the face.

There wasn't much water on the village road, but the soil was thoroughly soaked, making it soft and smooth to walk on, yet not sticky.

The distant threshing ground was deserted, and the stone roller, where people usually gathered to chat, stood alone in the rain.

The whole village was quiet, with only the rustling of raindrops falling on the roof tiles and leaves.

And the "drip-drop" sound of water dripping from the eaves hitting the stone steps.

The wheat field was soaked with rainwater, and the lush green wheat seedlings stood tall, with glistening water droplets hanging from the tips of their leaves.

From a distance, it looks like a gently undulating green ocean.

Wild grasses and vegetables on the ridges of the fields stretched out, with shepherd's purse and sow thistle shining brightly green.

A few early-blooming dandelion flowers looked especially delicate in the rain.

Afu and Ashou clearly enjoyed the atmosphere after the rain.

They raised their heads slightly, their moist nostrils twitching constantly, capturing the complex scents carried by the wind from the depths of the mountains and forests.

The damp soil, the decaying fallen leaves, the fresh fragrance of new buds, and the scent of countless restless little creatures.

We walked through the fields and into the woodland at the foot of the mountain.

The mountain forest in the rain presents a completely different scene.

The pines and cypresses are even greener, and the trunks of the oak and oak trees are stained dark brown by the rain. On the bare branches, countless tender buds are struggling to expand, foreshadowing the vigorous vitality that will soon follow.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of dead branches and fallen leaves, which were soaked with moisture and felt soft and spongy underfoot, making a soft "plop" sound.

The air was filled with a strong, comforting smell of humus.

Chen Ling walked steadily on the slippery moss and tree roots.

The camouflage color allowed him to blend well into the environment, and the straw hat shielded him from most of the rain.

Afu and Ashou followed him on either side, their huge paws landing silently, their massive bodies weaving through the trees, displaying the lightness and agility unique to felines.

That silent yet powerful aura added a touch of solemnity to the already quiet rainforest.

"Coo coo—coo—"

A spotted dove, its feathers soaked by the rain, was startled from the bushes and flapped its wings, flying hastily into the distance.

Afu merely glanced at it lazily, showing no interest whatsoever.

Its target has never been this tiny thing.

The deeper you go, the fewer traces of human activity you find, and the stronger the wildness of nature becomes.

The sound of rain masked many subtle movements, but it also made some sounds clearer.

For example, the rapid rustling sound coming from the bushes not far away.

Chen Ling stopped and gestured for the two tigers to be quiet.

He quietly parted a clump of wet wild rose branches.

In a small clearing ahead, a brightly colored male pheasant was pacing anxiously back and forth beside a pile of dry grass.

It occasionally let out a low, clucking sound, as if it were on alert for something.

And in the simple grass nest it guarded, there lay seven or eight eggs with brown spots!
"Hey, found a nest."

Chen Ling smiled slightly and did not go forward to disturb them.

Spring is the breeding season, and there are many such dens in the mountains.

Afu leaned his huge head closer and sniffed the scent in the wind with curiosity, but he clearly had no appetite for the wild eggs.

We bypassed the pheasant nest and continued climbing upwards.

The rain gradually subsided, turning into a finer mist.

Some people began to emerge from the rain and move around in the woods.

Several gray squirrels leaped high on the branches, nibbling on the tender bark. When they saw the giant beast passing below, they squeaked and disappeared in fright.

Beside a clump of ferns, there were fresh marks of being gnawed, the teeth resembling those of a deer or roe deer.

Chen Ling focused more on the ground and tree trunks, searching for traces that did not belong to ordinary wild animals.

Afu and Ashou seemed to understand the purpose of their trip. They stopped sniffing aimlessly and began to consciously patrol the sheltered areas of rocks, dense thickets, and the bottom of steep cliffs.

These are often temporary habitats favored by large felines.

When they reached a gentler, sheltered, and sunny hillside, Afu suddenly stopped. His huge head turned to the left towards a pile of rocks, and he let out an extremely low, almost silent "ooh" from his throat. His eyes instantly sharpened.

Chen Ling had a sudden thought and immediately followed its gaze.

In the shadowy area obscured by several huge rocks, the fallen leaves on the ground showed clear signs of having been cleared, revealing the damp black soil beneath.

On the rough bark of an old oak tree next to it, about the height of a person, there are several clear scratch marks that are deeply embedded in the bark!
The claw marks were huge and deep, something that no ordinary leopard or wolf could have left.

The edges still had some solidified, dark yellow resin and a few fine, coarse yellow hairs!

Chen Ling strode forward and carefully picked up a few animal hairs with his fingers.

The fur is coarse and stiff, with some dandruff at the roots, and its color is a deep, earthy yellow that appears somewhat dull in the rain.

He brought his nose close and took a gentle sniff.

An extremely strong, pungent, and indescribably wild aroma wafted towards us!

It's this one! Over-the-Mountain Yellow!

The smell, the size and pressure of the scratches... there's absolutely no mistake!

"Good heavens, they really are active in this area!"

Chen Ling's eyes sharpened, and he lowered his voice to the two tigers, saying, "Smell carefully! Remember this scent!"

Afu and Ashou immediately came over, their huge noses sniffing the scratches and fur repeatedly, while they growled in their throats to confirm and be wary.

Their amber pupils contracted slightly, and all their muscles seemed to tense up.

That's a natural reaction when encountering an equally matched or wary opponent.

Chen Ling carefully surveyed the surroundings.

The rain washed away most of the smells and traces, but the trampled ferns and a few blurry footprints beside the rocks still remained.

This guy won't have been gone for long, maybe just last night or early this morning.

It seemed to have taken a short break here, sharpened its claws, and then left.

"Let's follow up and see."

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Ling made a hand gesture.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou immediately understood, and one on the left and one on the right, they followed the faint scent remaining in the air and the subtle traces on the ground, heading deeper into the mountains and forests.

They weren't fast, but they were incredibly focused, their huge feet firmly planted on the slippery ground.

Chen Ling followed closely behind, his eyes, sharp as an eagle's, constantly scanning the surrounding environment beneath his bamboo hat.

Rain and fog flowed through the mountains and forests, reducing visibility, but this made it even more challenging for hunters to rely on their experience and intuition.

After tracking for about a mile, the trail led towards a deep valley.

Just as they were about to reach the bottom of the ravine, Afu, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped again, lowered his body, and made a warning snorting sound.

Chen Ling immediately hid behind a large tree and stared intently.

On the opposite side of the valley, beneath a steep cliff, a dark cave entrance could be vaguely seen.

The cave entrance is small, but the surrounding rocks are smooth, as if caused by something frequently going in and out and rubbing against them.

On the muddy ground outside the cave entrance, there were several incredibly fresh and huge plum blossom-shaped claw prints!
The claw mark was a size larger than Chen Ling's palm, deeply embedded in the mud, with clear edges, and you could even see the deep hole left by the sharp claw tip!
“Found it?!”

Chen Ling's heart tightened, and he gripped the hilt of the hunting knife at his waist.

Could this be the lair of the Yellow Mountain Goose?

Afu and Ashou also appeared unusually vigilant and did not rush over immediately.

Instead, across the valley, not far away, he stared intently at the dark entrance, his body slightly arched, ready to pounce at any moment. The cave was pitch black and utterly silent, as if nothing were there.

But it also seemed to harbor endless dangers, exuding a chilling sense of oppression.

The rain, without anyone noticing, had quietly intensified, pattering against the streams and leaves in the valley, its patter drowning out all other sounds.

On either side of the valley, a man and two tigers stand silently facing a deep cave.

The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the cold scent of rain.

And that faint, unsettling, wild, pungent odor emanating from the depths of the cave.

Chen Ling held his breath, his body pressed against the cold, damp tree trunk, raindrops dripping from the edge of his straw hat forming small puddles at his feet.

His sharp gaze, along with that of Afu and Ashou, locked onto the deep cave across the valley and the several shocking, enormous claw marks in the mud at the cave entrance.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of rain and the earthy smell of soil, but there seemed to be an other, rather... strange, odor.

It wasn't the sharp, sulfurous, and fishy smell unique to "Guoshanhuang" that he remembered; instead, it was more robust and... familiar.
The low growl in Afu's throat grew deeper, carrying a hint of doubt rather than pure hostility.

Ah Shou tilted his huge head slightly, his amber pupils reflecting the dark entrance, his expression as if... he had recognized something.
Just as Chen Ling began to have doubts.

"Huff... snoring..."

A dull, lingering snore, seemingly filled with great reluctance and deep sleepiness, mixed with some kind of wet snoring, faintly emanated from the depths of the cave.

This sound...

Chen Ling frowned; this was definitely not the light, wary movement of a feline.

Immediately afterwards, the light at the cave entrance dimmed slightly.

A huge, bulky figure covered in wet, black fur slowly, almost dragging itself out.

It seemed extremely reluctant to leave its dry nest, standing in the rain, shaking its huge head blankly, its small eyes squinting as it adjusted to the light outside the cave, and making dissatisfied "humph" sounds.

It turned out to be a huge black bear with an extremely large and robust body!
Judging by his shoulder height and waist circumference, he must weigh at least four or five hundred pounds, and if he stood up, he would probably be one and a half times the height of a person.

It was the same group that almost clashed with the municipal police force a while ago.

Chen Ling suddenly realized why Afu and Ashou reacted that way.

There are bears in the zoo too.

They recognized the smell.

The black bear had obviously been startled awake from its sleep by the commotion outside the cave and came out to investigate in a daze.

It staggered to the cave entrance in a daze.

First, it subconsciously lowered its head to sniff the huge paw prints at the entrance of the cave that made it feel somewhat uneasy.

This was clearly left by Huang Guoshan not long ago.

Then, as if sensing something, it suddenly looked up.

As it looked up, it met the gazes of two giant tigers, ten meters away, whose size was no less than its own and whose predatory power was even greater.

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

The lingering sleepiness in the big black bear's small eyes was instantly replaced by extreme terror.

"Ouch——!!!"

It let out a shrill howl, which was not a threat at all, but rather more like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Its massive body jolted and stood upright.

But this is not an offensive posture; rather, it is an instinctive reaction after being startled.

After standing upright, it even forgot to put itself down, just standing there blankly.

Its two front paws were comically curled up in front of its chest.

Looking at Chen Ling, whose eyes were gradually becoming "interesting".

It recognized it!
It's that two-legged creature, it was him last time...

And those two vicious dogs and those fire-breathing, rattling sticks!
Oh no! So incredibly unlucky! How did this happen again?!
Black bears are quite intelligent and have their own clever tricks.

At this moment, it showed none of the ferocity one might expect from waking from hibernation or guarding its territory; its mind was filled with the memory of being terrified last time and the overwhelming fear of the insurmountable obstacle before it.

Fight? Fight my ass! One would be tough enough, let alone two? And there's that two-legged beast eyeing us menacingly from the side!
Escape? The entrance is blocked! Is it a dead end in the cave ahead?

In a flash, the shrewd old bear made a decision from the bottom of his heart.

Its enormous, upright body slowly, bit by bit, shrank down, trying to diminish its presence.

At the same time, its small eyes darted around, no longer daring to look at the tiger, but instead glancing at Chen Ling beside it, making an extremely soft, almost ingratiating "ooh..." sound in its throat.

It was as if it were saying, "Brother...it's a misunderstanding...it's all a misunderstanding...I was just taking a nap in the cave..."

Its cowardly appearance.

Afu and Ashou were clearly amused by its reaction.

Their tense fighting stance relaxed.

Afu even snorted and shook his head, his eyes seeming to mock: "Look at you, so pathetic!"

Ah Shou's playful nature was aroused. It lowered its front half and its tail tip swayed gently.

It adopts a typical feline "ready to pounce and play" posture, which is very intimidating.

"Roar--"

It let out a low, but not fierce, growl, more like a greeting...

Or rather, to tease.

The big black bear shuddered again in fright, and suddenly shrank back, landing awkwardly on its hindquarters with a "thud," almost falling over.

It hurriedly got down on all fours, turned its head and burrowed into the hole, its speed completely disproportionate to its enormous size.

As it crawled, it made panicked "humming" sounds, as if saying, "You can't see me, you can't see me..."

It actually chose to escape back into its cave and become an ostrich!
How could Ah Fu and Ah Shou possibly let such an interesting "toy" go to waste?
Especially Ah Shou, who is a male tiger and has a more active and curious personality.

It let out an excited growl, and then, using its hind legs, leaped forward.

"Wow--"

The massive tiger's body landed lightly in the shallow stream of the valley, splashing up a large spray of water.

Then, in a few swift movements, they darted to the other side and headed straight for the cave entrance.

"Ah Shou! Come back!" Chen Ling hurriedly shouted in a low voice.

This fool! The situation inside the cave is unknown. What if there's a trap or the bear goes berserk if we push it too far?
But Ah Shou was in the middle of a great time and couldn't listen to anything.

It rushed to the cave entrance and poked its huge head inside, curiously trying to see where the bear had gone.

The black bear immediately roared in terror and made thudding sounds from inside the cave. It was clear that it had nowhere to retreat and was frantically waving its claws in self-defense.

Seeing this, Afu also became interested, let out a low growl, and followed him across the ravine.

It seemed to find the panicked look on the big guy inside quite amusing.

Suddenly, it stretched out its huge forepaw, which was as big as a palm leaf fan, and tentatively patted a rock blocking the entrance of the cave with its thick pad.

"Snapped!"

Not loud.

But the black bear inside the cave was so frightened that it let out a howl and, almost reflexively, closed its eyes and waved its paws wildly, pushing and shoving its way out.

Judging from their posture, they weren't trying to attack at all; it was purely a desperate defense screaming, "Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

Its large, fan-shaped black bear paw slammed into Afu's outstretched claw with a "plop," feeling soft and utterly powerless.

Afu was amused by its reaction, seemingly finding the game quite fun. Instead of backing away, it gently poked at it again with its paw.

The black bear inside the cave was on the verge of a breakdown, howling and squealing, trying to shrink itself into the rock wall with all four limbs.

The oppressive feeling from the enormous tiger claws made it unable to muster even the slightest thought of resistance.

Chen Ling was both amused and exasperated. He quickly whistled and shouted sternly, "A-Fu! A-Shou! Stop fooling around! Come back!"

At the same time, he drew his hunting knife from his waist and slammed the back of the blade against a nearby rock!

A crisp clang echoed through the valley.

The commotion inside the cave and the tiger's excited growls paused for a moment.

Ah Shou pulled his head back from the cave entrance, turned to look at Chen Ling, and made a dissatisfied "groaning" sound in his throat, as if complaining that he hadn't had enough fun yet.

Afu also stopped, looked at the cave entrance, and then at Chen Ling.

Chen Ling kept a straight face and waved his hand again, signaling to return.

The two tigers then reluctantly gave up "teasing" the black bear.

Ah Shou leisurely waded back through the water, while Ah Fu flicked his mane as if nothing had happened.

Chen Ling breathed a sigh of relief, then glared at them, both amused and annoyed.
"What's the point of you two big guys scaring a clumsy bear? We need to get down to business!"

He turned his gaze back to the cave and the claw marks at its entrance.

The Yellow Bear had clearly been here, and may have even stayed briefly, but the cave is now occupied by a black bear, which means that the bear doesn't stay in one place for long.

"Let's go, keep looking. Let it shiver in the cave by itself."

Chen Ling gave a shout and led the two large cats, who were still enjoying themselves.

Continuing along the edge of the valley, they tracked the unique scent of "Guoshanhuang" that was gradually diluted by the rain but was still keenly captured by Afu and Ashou.

They ventured deeper into the quieter, more secluded mountains and forests. (End of Chapter)