20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 642 Sou Shan
After lunch, the candidates for the mountain search team were finally finalized.

Hai Chaoshan insisted on leading the team alone despite his children's dissuasion. Xiaoqing became upset because of this and locked herself in the house. She did not come out to say goodbye to her father until just before leaving.

Jiang Lianheng sent Zhao Guoyan into the mountains. He originally planned to let Liu Kuaitui follow as well, but he was worried that Zhao Guoyan and Haichaoshan would not get along, so he had to give up the plan and called Yang Lazi to go up the mountain with him.

Li Zheng could not leave. If he left, the gang would be in chaos and might even attack the Lianzhuang Association. So the task of searching in the mountains naturally fell on Sun Xiangyang and Lao Shaozi.

In order to save time and avoid omissions, Kim Woo-hyun led the Goryeo guerrillas to detour to the east side of Laoyeling to search.

…………

The sky is bright and the sun is high in the sky.

The group split into two groups, bid farewell to Shenjia Shop, and slowly headed towards Dajiazi Mountain.

The mountains are high and the roads are long, so everyone prepared enough dry food and ammunition in case of emergency.

Hai Chaoshan was experienced after all, so he brought an extra pair of straw sandals in his bag and tied his leggings tightly. Even though it was a hot summer season, he even changed into a double-layer jacket.

Everyone was confused at first, but they understood everything once they entered the mountain.

It turns out that most of the towering mountains have one thing in common - there are four seasons in one mountain, and the weather is different every ten miles.

Light, altitude, vegetation, and water sources all affect temperature fluctuations.

The sunny side is lush and leafy, like a steamer, stuffy and extremely uncomfortable; the shady side has not seen the sun for thousands of years, even the stones are icy, and they shiver when the wind blows, making the night even more unbearable.

Although the bandits often went into the mountains, they mostly stayed close to populated areas. To use Haichaoshan's words: Is that a mountain? It's just a dirt slope, a large grave mound!
At the beginning, everyone could still argue a few words, but the further they walked, the less they talked, and they all kept their heads down, just listening to advice.

…………

After the Manchus entered the Central Plains, Changbai Mountain was regarded as the dragon vein of the Qing Dynasty and was therefore closed all year round until it was gradually opened sixty years ago.

There are few people outside the Great Wall. Even if we include the Japanese, the Russians, the Koreans and foreign expatriates, the total population of the three provinces is less than 20 million. When it comes to the Changbai Mountain area, it is even more sparsely populated.

The real deep mountains and old forests are very primitive everywhere.

There are old sturdy pines as thick as waists, giant trees with huge crowns reaching the sky, and even the wild grass at the foot of the mountain is taller than the knees, and the traces of animals are not uncommon.

Year after year, year after year, dead branches and leaves cover one layer after another, some are solid, some are soft, and if you are not careful, you will fall into them.

Going into the mountains to scare the tigers, wading through the grass to alert the snakes.

Naturally, he kept the hatchet in his hand. The branches and bushes were all tangled together, like a mountain gate blocking the way. He drew his hatchet and started chopping. After a while, he became anxious.

It’s not that the sun is too scorching, but every time the knife is chopped down, countless mosquitoes and flies will fly up and bite, and it will be dark and dense, as if the sky is filled with evil spirits.

These little bugs are not afraid of people and will fly straight into your face. If you talk too much and open your mouth, you will definitely eat a few of them.

After wading through this stretch of road, everyone's body was red, swollen and itchy. Looking at Haichao Mountain again, relying on the jacket to cover the body, they looked like nothing had happened, and they couldn't help cursing in their hearts.

You can curse as much as you want, but you can't blame others.

Hai Chaoshan had reminded everyone long ago, but no one took it seriously and now it’s too late to regret.

"Going up the mountain in summer is a torture. Autumn and winter are the best times for hunting!"

The road was still long, and Haichaoshan talked about the tricks of the hunter's trade as he walked.

He usually doesn't talk much, but when he talks about hunting, he becomes quite talkative.

There is a proverb that goes: Don’t dig the ground during the Waking of Insects, and don’t go up the mountain during the Spring Equinox.

The ice and snow have melted, and all things are reviving. It is the time for all living things in heaven and earth to reproduce and mate. When you shoot, you are killing for the blessing of future generations. Unless you have to, you will never go into the mountains to hunt.

In summer, the branches and leaves are lush, the vision is blocked, snakes, insects, rats and ants are everywhere, and the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to travel. It is certainly not a good time for hunting, not to mention the scorching sun. Even if you catch prey, you can't preserve it in time. The meat will rot in less than half a day.

It is different in autumn, when animals are busy putting on weight. At this time, they go into the mountains to hunt. Not only do they have plenty of meat, but their fur is also gradually reaching the stage of keeping out the cold, and can produce good material.

In winter, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, the ground is covered with footprints, and food is scarce, making it easiest to hunt and trap animals. But one thing is for sure: if you encounter a hungry blind bear or a Siberian tiger coming down the mountain, you can only wish for the best.

"How many tigers are there on this mountain?" asked Zhao Guoyan.

"A lot, a lot." Hai Chaoshan stopped panting, "But we rarely see them in the summer, and it's best not to see them in the winter. Even if you have a gun, it may not be effective. They come too fast."

When everyone heard this, they all looked a little worried, but they were all strong-willed and refused to give in. They all said that it would be even better if they could meet the tiger and use the whole tiger whip to replenish their bodies.

Having said that, the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger is just for listening and should not be taken seriously.

Haichaoshan shook his head and said, "Don't worry, you won't run into them easily. It's not the estrus season now, and there's enough food in the mountains. Unless you run into a tigress protecting her cubs, it won't be easy to find one. Besides, the road I'm taking you on has been traversed by an old hunter before, so I guarantee you'll be fine. Instead of worrying about the tiger, you might as well worry about something else."

"Anything else?" they asked hurriedly. "What else? An ungrateful wolf? A blind bear? A black-skinned pig?"

"leopard."

According to Haichaoshan, the clouded leopard is the most likely to actively attack humans, not because it is ferocious, but because it is often hungry.

Although leopards are ferocious beasts, anyone can bully them if they see them in the forest.

Leopards cannot defeat packs of jackals and wolves; they can kill a tiger that comes down the mountain with one slap; let alone a blind bear, even if a leopard encounters a wild boar, it will have to take a detour in shame; if it catches a lamb or a deer, it will have to drag it up a tree and eat it secretly, and even so, it will be intercepted and taken away by other birds of prey and beasts from time to time.

Once a leopard is extremely hungry, it will target humans.

After hearing this, everyone held on to their guns tightly, refusing to let go.

"It's getting late, let's stop here today!" Haichaoshan pointed to an open space in the forest, "You guys make a fire here first, I'll go take a look around."

We all looked up at the sky. The sun was still shining brightly, so why was it already late?

Looking at Hai Chaoshan's breathless appearance, I felt that he was probably tired. After all, he was already in his 50s, and people get old first with their legs. What else can I do but to accommodate him?

Unexpectedly, as soon as the bonfire was lit, the sky suddenly darkened.

When I looked up again, I saw the dense tree canopy surrounding me, covering me tightly. Although the sun had not set yet, the light could no longer penetrate.

Listen to advice, eat your fill—everyone behaves themselves.

Haichaoshan was gone for a long time. About half an hour later, two gunshots were heard from the mountain, separated by a long interval. When he came back, he had two long-tailed pheasants in his hands.

There is nothing more satisfying than eating wild game freshly killed.

Everyone immediately got busy.

Cut the neck to let the blood, clean the water, pluck the tail feathers, and burn the hair with open fire...

Haichaoshan cut a few wrist-thick apple branches from somewhere, started a fire, and kept it burning quietly until the open flames turned into charcoal, then he pierced the chicken with the branches and roasted it on the embers. Soon, a layer of fine bubbles of oil appeared on the meat, dripping into the charcoal, making a sizzling sound.

The fruit wood is sweet, and after being stimulated by the oil, it immediately becomes smoky and fiery, and the fruity aroma penetrates into every texture of the meat.

Hai Chaoshan took out a paper bag from his arms, unfolded it carefully, sprinkled a pinch of salt on it, and then rewrapped it.

"Okay, eat!"

Everyone hurriedly blew away the hot air and started eating it with big mouthfuls.

Wild pheasants have little fat, but the meat is alive and crispy when chewed, but not too dry. It doesn't matter if it's dry. You can enjoy the leisurely and wild pleasure of eating it.

However, there was too little meat in two pheasants to satisfy the appetite of five men, so they had to take out some dry food and eat it.

Hai Chaoshan said, "Eat the dry food sparingly. We still have a long way to go. I can't guarantee that we will have meat every meal. If we are delayed, use the dry food for emergencies so that we won't be caught off guard."

Everyone stopped arguing, ate half full, and went to bed with their clothes on.

It was very cold at night, and the campfire attracted countless mosquitoes, which buzzed in my ears and made my whole body itchy.

There were wolves howling in the distant mountains all night long, and the grass behind me was rustling as well, as if everything in the forest was quietly plotting something, making it difficult to sleep well.

The next morning, I was woken up by the dew. I wiped my face roughly, and while I was still in a daze, I immediately set off to continue on my journey.

After walking like this for three days and two nights, everyone was exhausted both physically and mentally, and they looked neither like humans nor ghosts.

When I looked at the mountain, it was still far away and didn't get any closer. I gradually felt depressed and started to have all sorts of random thoughts.

"It's better not to look at it. The more you look at it, the more you feel you can't get there."

Haichaoshan was still leading the way, observing animal footprints and feces along the way to infer whether the surroundings were safe.

In the past few days, he has shot three pheasants and two hares. He can indeed be considered experienced, but as he gets older, his feet are becoming heavier.

When going into the mountains to hunt, old hunters also have a rule called: five things to hit and five things not to hit.

Hit the moving one, not the still one; hit the living one, not the dead one; hit high, not low; hit far, not near; hit the single one, not the group; hit the male, not the female.

Animals are alive, and the more still they are, the more alert they are, making them harder to hunt. When hunting, as long as one shot hits an animal, it is considered "dead" and no additional shots are allowed, firstly to save ammunition, and secondly to avoid damaging its fur. The field of vision is wider at high altitudes, making it easier to hunt than in bushes. Prey that are too close are likely to rush over when injured, and even herbivores are difficult to deal with. The same applies to hunting individually rather than in groups. Don't hunt females, as one corpse and two lives are secondary, mainly because female animals are too aggressive when protecting their calves.

In every industry, there are always some old rules passed down.

Although everyone took it to heart, they had been eating half full for several days in a row and were always thinking about hunting a big prey to satisfy their cravings.

After all, when people are in the mountains, they consume too much physical energy, they don’t eat enough, they can’t sleep well, and they feel hot and cold. Fortunately, these five people are in good health. If it were someone else, they would have fallen ill long ago.

Near the afternoon, everyone came to a hillside.

This place was full of dead branches and leaves, which made crackling sounds when stepped on, startling a flock of birds, and the whole mountain followed suit.

Although it is very noisy, if you gather the dead leaves together, you can barely use them as bedding.

Now, everyone had experience and knew that it would soon be dark, so they decided to just make a fire on the spot and not walk anymore.

Haichaoshan nodded in agreement, and everyone immediately lay down on the dead leaves and asked him how long it would take to reach Dajiazi Mountain.

"We have to walk for at least three more days." Hai Chaoshan murmured.

"Three days, is that the minimum?" Yang Lazi slapped his neck hard, killing a stink bug. "Oh my God, why don't you kill me? I can't live any longer. When will this end?"

"You guys think that Lao Mang can hold on so long as he doesn't make a mistake at the end!" Old Shaozi had already begun to waver.

"Can't you say something nice? You keep complaining all day long!" Sun Xiangyang took off his cloth shoes, tapped them twice, and couldn't help frowning. "Oh my god, my feet can resist the Japanese now, do you believe it? Whistle, I'll give you two dollars, come and smell it!"

Old Shao pulled out his hatchet and waved his hand, "Come on, come on, reach out!"

As they talked, they laughed, cursed and gestured.

Zhao Guoyan sneered, then turned over, and then suddenly sat up, his eyes fixed, as if he couldn't believe it. After seeing it clearly, he pointed to the distance and called softly:

"Stop making noise, keep your voice down, and look over there!"

"What are you looking at?"

The three of them fell silent and looked over, staring blankly for a long while but still couldn't understand what it meant.

Haichaoshan, a hunter with sharp eyesight, was the first to notice: it was a sika deer, sitting on the hillside a few dozen meters away, blending in with the woods, facing the crowd, seemingly a little curious.

"Where is it? Why didn't I see it?" the three asked hurriedly.

"Don't talk!" Hai Chaoshan turned around and shouted, then pressed his hand, signaling everyone not to act rashly.

Then, he slowly took off the rifle from his shoulder, tiptoed forward, and did not look at the deer directly, but only glanced at it with the side of his eyes, walking slowly and in circles.

Unfortunately, there were too many dead branches under his feet and he accidentally stepped on them, making some noise. The deer immediately bent its knees, turned its ears, and looked around alertly.

Haichaoshan froze in place, not daring to move, and everyone's heart was hanging in the air.

I held my breath for a long time, thinking that the situation was finally stabilized, but the deer suddenly turned around and ran away with a "whoosh".

Finally, the other three people could see the figure of the sika deer clearly.

The old whistle slumped his shoulders and sighed, "Tsk, you're still an old hunter, but you can't even keep an eye on the meat right before your mouth!"

"I'll go and take a look!" Sun Xiangyang swallowed, picked up his gun and was about to leave.

Hai Chaoshan remained frozen there, turned around quickly, and gestured to everyone to keep quiet.

"The deer has run away, why don't you chase it——"

Before Sun Xiangyang could finish his words, Hai Chaoshan immediately raised his hand to interrupt him, then pointed to his right ear and then to the hillside not far away.

Everyone noticed that his expression was a little strange, so they stopped talking, quietly pulled the bolt of their guns, slowly got up from the dead leaves, and nervously approached the direction of Haichao Mountain.

The sunlight in the woods suddenly became golden, which meant that it was getting dark and more dangerous.

Everyone looked at each other and couldn't help but ask quietly: "What's going on, Xiashanhu?"

Haichaoshan shook his head and said in a low voice, pointing at the woods on the hillside: "Hush - listen, there's someone!"

Everyone suddenly felt goosebumps on their backs, and they listened carefully. Sure enough, footsteps were gradually coming from a distance...

(End of this chapter)