Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 579: The brother with a swollen face and a ladle caught fire
The valley breeze blew slowly, making people's backs feel cold.

The place where everyone was located was the wind outlet. Originally, they were heading south with a tailwind, but now the wind direction had changed and it had become a headwind. The big cat disappeared in the north, and they could just feel the wind blowing on their faces.

Xu Ning and Xu He held the 56 and a half and looked around. Chen Hedong stood beside them and didn't dare to move a step. Guan Lei held the axe handle with one hand and squatted up and down to pick up branches on the ground. Chen Jinlong and Chen Heshuang seemed to be scared silly, one's legs were weak and the other's crotch was wet. After Xu Ning scolded them, they finally calmed down.

Xu He swallowed his saliva and said, "Erning, it should have left. Should we leave too?"

"We can't leave. We are standing in the wind. If we turn around and run, it will follow us. If it jumps in front and ambushes us, that will be even worse. Let's use stones to ignite the fire first. It's afraid of fire..."

"Even if there's a fire, we can't leave."

"You can go! What did you forget in your backpack?"

"A ladle? You're going to use a ladle to scoop up the firewood and then carry it around with you?"

"Well! This is the only way. Besides, they have shovels in their backpacks, which can also hold some charcoal."

Xu He said, "That's right! You really have a good brain. How much firewood did Leizi collect?"

Guan Lei said: "There are more than half a basket of pine cones in the basket, which is enough for us to use."

Although Chen Hedong was frightened, fortunately he was in a good mood and had recovered by now. He asked quietly, "Can you move a little now? My legs are a little numb."

"It's okay to move slightly. Just stand on the other leg."

At this time, Chen Jinlong, who was lying on the ground, raised his arms and waved, saying, "Little brother! Can I stand up?"

Xu Ning thought for a moment after hearing the voice and said, "You two should crawl slowly. Don't get up and run. If the carnivorous beasts in the mountains see you dare to turn your back to them, they will really dare to eat you..."

Chen Hedong whispered, "Dad, be obedient. Don't argue with me at this time."

When Chen Jinlong realized that his life was at stake, he slowly crawled forward, and Chen Heshuang next to him also learned to do the same. As the two of them moved a little, they heard slight noises coming from the tall grass and short bushes about thirty to fifty meters to the left. They were so scared that they quickly buried their heads in the rotten leaves!
Xu Ning held out the gun but did not fire immediately because he was afraid of scaring the big cat again and thus angering it.

Guan Lei didn't dare to move when he heard the noise. Chen Hedong's heart was in his throat. Xu He turned around and asked, "Did you hit it with the two shots just now?"

"It probably didn't hit us, otherwise it would have fought to the death. These two shots are like a warning. If it thinks we are easy to bully, then we will kill it! Is your gun loaded with bullets?"

"Oh fuck, it didn't happen. I didn't even react." Xu He turned off the safety and loaded a bullet into the chamber.

Xu Ning looked carefully and saw no trace of the big cat, so he said, "Shitou, continue to collect firewood, and you two should crawl slowly over."

"Eh!"

Chen Jinlong hurriedly kicked his legs and elbows and crawled forward. At this time, Xu Ning turned his head to look at Chen Hedong and said, "Brother Dong, squat down and untie my leg bandages so that I can tie them up with the torch later."

"Untie mine, or it will be difficult for you to walk later..."

Xu He glanced at his backpack and said, "Don't you have a coat in your basket? Just tear it into strips."

"I forgot about this dress, Lei Zi, help me get it out."

Guan Lei came over and took the coat from his backpack. Then Chen Hedong raised his leg, pulled out a knife, and tore the coat worth 60 yuan into strips of cloth. He then took out three pine torches from Guan Lei's backpack and wrapped one end with strips of cloth.

After doing this, Chen Jinlong and Chen Heshuang had already crawled to Xu Ning's feet. He lowered his head and said, "Stand up slowly."

Chen Jinlong stood up on his feet first, and then Chen Heshuang stood up on his trembling legs. Xu Ning was facing him, about half a meter away.

Xu Ning instructed: "Brother Chen, don't move. Uncle Chen, move aside."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinlong thought that Xu Ning had some arrangements, so he moved two steps towards Xu He. At this time, Xu Ning suddenly swung his right arm and slapped Chen Heshuang in the face!

Snapped!
Chen Heshuang was nearly knocked to the ground by the slap, but then he heard Xu Ning say, "Stand still! If you dare to move, I'll fucking slap you!"

"Why did you hit me? Dad, he hit me, didn't you see it?"

Xu Ning frowned and raised his palm again, slapping Chen Heshuang's face.

Snapped!
"I'm going to hit you! Damn it, if you weren't my brother Dong, I would have put my next bullet in your head!"

Guan Lei grinned, while Xu He gritted his teeth and said, "You deserve to be beaten! If you hadn't covered your fucking hand and howled, would you have been able to lure the big cat out? I told you there was a big cat following you, but you were still f*cking dancing and making noise..."

Chen Hedong said with a dark face: "When you get out of the mountain, I will definitely break your legs! Don't think that I won't cut you just because you are my biological brother. Dad, if you dare to stop me this time, don't blame me for being heartless."

Chen Jinlong frowned but did not refute, because he now had to rely on Xu Ning and others to ensure his safety. Not to mention slapping Chen Heshuang twice, even if he really broke his legs, what could he do here?
Chen Heshuang covered his swollen face with hatred in his eyes, but Xu Ning didn't care whether he held a grudge or not, and just said, "Let's make a fire with stones."

Guan Lei responded by taking out a ladle from Xu He's backpack, piling loose branches on the ladle, and igniting it with dry grass. Soon, a fire broke out in the ladle.

"Put fewer branches, or it will be tiring to carry. How many torches did Dongge tie?"

"I have tied all of them together. There are six strands in total, but I don't like the clothes very much, and I don't have any oil..."

"It's okay, just put it in the ladle and let it cook for a while."

Xu He looked around and said, "Erning, the big cat should have left. Should we leave too?"

"Let's go! There's a fire now. The smoke can cover our scent, but we still can't be careless. I'll watch the back and you watch the front. Let's go towards the reservoir."

Then, Guan Lei, holding a burning ladle, followed Xu He with Chen Hedong, while Chen's father and son were in front of Xu Ning. Chen Heshuang, who had been slapped twice, seemed to have calmed down and walked two miles without saying a word.

But his eyes were filled with resentment, and his cheeks were visibly swollen. It was obvious that Xu Ning had killed him. There was no other way. This bastard was too infuriating. If he hadn't yelled "Ah" from behind and startled the big cat, they might have been able to walk to the reservoir safely. Even if they encountered danger at that time, they could jump into the reservoir to avoid danger...

It was past 6 o'clock and the sky was gradually getting dark. Chen Hedong filled the ladle with branches several times, while Guan Lei kept holding the ladle. Even though he changed hands from time to time, his wrist felt a little numb.

At this moment, they were less than 6 miles away from the reservoir. On the way, Xu Ning and his companions had eaten up all the remaining food. There was no water in the kettle, and their feet and calves were extremely sore...

"Lei Zi, let's switch." Xu He said as he handed over the gun.

"No, my shooting skills are terrible and I can't hit the target at all."

"You are not allowed to shoot a big cat, so just shoot it to scare it away."

Xu Ning interrupted, "Brother He, you should take the gun. Next time you encounter a big cat, you must kill it. Let Shitou hold on for a while longer. We will reach the reservoir soon."

"If the big cat pounces on us again, we'll really hit it on the head. Nothing can happen, right?"

"What can happen? Which is more important, our lives or the big cat's life? Even if we go to court, we are in the right! How can a beast be compared to us humans?"

Chen Hedong asked in doubt: "What if we are found guilty?" "Whoever dares to make such a judgment will be in cahoots with the beasts." Guan Lei said with a smile.

"Haha, this guy is really good!" Xu He smiled.

At this moment, the sky was red, the distance was dark, and only a hint of light could be seen in the mountains and forests.

Chen Jinlong glanced at Chen Heshuang and saw that his face was pale and his eyes were fierce. He grabbed his arm and said, "Don't make trouble. If you have anything to say, talk about it when we get home."

Chen Heshuang glanced at his father and rolled his eyes, not taking it to heart at all. It has been said before that except for Chen Hedong, the other men in the Chen family are very narrow-minded. To use the Northeastern dialect, they are not as good as the good women.

"Little brother, it's getting dark, why don't you light a torch?"

Chen Hedong was surprised and said, "Dad, this is my brother, don't yell at me."

Xu Ning nodded: "Just call my name, then you two take one, don't light it yet, wait until it's completely dark before lighting it."

"Row!"

Chen Hedong handed over two torches and said, "Just hold on and it will be over. If anything comes up, wait until we get home and let my grandfather be the judge."

"Haha, you two are brothers, and we are father and son. What can't be said openly? Why do you need to look for your grandfather? Stop it, we are a family, there is no way we can hold grudges overnight."

This sounded nice, but it only applied in the mountains. Chen Hedong had never heard him say this before at home. He was a little surprised. He was stunned for a moment, then turned around with a smile and continued walking forward with Guan Lei.

By this time, it was completely dark. Chen Hedong added more fire to the ladle. The terrain ahead was a circular valley, which required him to walk up and down the slope.

Xu Ning turned around and asked, "If we light the torch now, will the stone still hold up?"

"Yes! Don't worry, brother, this thing isn't that heavy."

Chen Hedong and Chen Jinlong lit the pine torches, but Chen Heshuang did not move. Xu He asked, "Why don't you light it?"

"Ah, I thought two lights would be enough. In case we get lost, we can keep a few as backup..."

Chen Hedong said: "You think a lot, why don't you trust Er Ning? Then do whatever you want, I don't want to care about you!"

If it were any other time, Chen Heshuang would have spoken out in protest, but this time he said nothing and just nodded silently.

The group walked forward about 200 meters again, and it became dark. The surrounding trees were dense, and apart from the plants near the fire, all they could see in the distance was black shadows.

After reaching the bottom of the mountain, Xu Ning stuck out his tongue to feel the wind and frowned, saying, "There's no wind here..."

Suddenly, Chen Hedong turned around and exclaimed, "Dad, where is my eldest brother?"

"Who?" Xu He was stunned.

Chen Jinlong glanced around, counting the number of people with his eyes, and slapped his thigh anxiously, "He was behind me just now, how come he disappeared in the blink of an eye?"

Guan Lei and Xu He looked at Xu Ning. He held his gun and said, "There are only six of us, and he managed to get lost. It must be intentional."

"No problem! If he sprains his ankle, he can at least call us."

Chen Jinlong said: "How could he do it on purpose? He was sitting next to me, and on the way he said he seemed to have a fever and felt weak all over..."

He turned his head and looked at Chen Hedong and said, "Dong, no matter how wrong he is, he is still your elder brother. You can't abandon him! There are all kinds of animals in this mountain, and there is also a big cat circling behind us. What if the big cat takes him away? What should we do?"

Chen Hedong lowered his head and said, "Dad, don't worry, second..."

Xu Ning waved his hand and said, "No, we must get to the reservoir as soon as possible, otherwise you and your father will have to stay here! Brother Dong, to be honest, if it was me, Shitou, and Brother He who encountered the big cat, there would not be so many problems. The three of us have two 56 and a half. We can't kill the big cat, but we can definitely get out of the mountain calmly. It's because we have no experience in running in the mountains with you three that we are restricted everywhere."

Xu He said, "Erning, don't say such harsh words. Hedong knows it all."

"My brother Dong definitely understands. Do his father and brother understand? If they did, there wouldn't be so many problems!"

Guan Lei said, "Brother Dong, listen to my brother. It's dark out here, and the big cat moves too fast. We can't catch its figure due to our limited vision."

Chen Jinlong hurriedly pulled Xu Ning and said, "Little brother! Please help me. There is indeed something wrong with He Shuang. I will apologize to you on his behalf, okay? This little brother has already said that it is dark now, and there may be a big cat behind him. What if he is taken away by a big cat? This whole family is counting on him!"

Chen Hedong frowned and said, “Erning, let’s go to the reservoir first, he can do whatever he wants!”

"No! Hedong, why are you so angry? He is your elder brother..."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "You still want to play moral blackmail now? Our lives are almost in danger, and you still have the leisure to talk nonsense here! Are you going to leave or not? If not, let's go together!"

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the gentle slope. Xu He and Guan Lei followed behind him, while Chen Hedong glanced at Chen Jinlong and shook his head, "Dad, if I'm not mistaken, he must be thinking of doing something bad again. You should persuade him and stop making trouble."

Chen Jinlong slapped his thigh and said, "What bad intentions could he have? It's already like this!"

Chen Hedong said nothing. He turned around and quickly followed Guan Lei, saying with a smile, "Hey, you really don't know the warmth and coldness of a family until you have experienced it."

"Brother Dong, don't take it too seriously. It's normal for your father to favor your eldest brother. It's because you don't know how to flatter. You have to learn this from my brother..."

"Just forget it, don't let me learn from you. My dad gets annoyed when he looks at me."

"Are you still upset now? Isn't it because you played tricks on me for money before that you are upset?" Xu He said.

Xu Ning said: "He will definitely not be bothered by me now. Who am I? His little treasury! If he needs money, he can come to me to get it. I am also shameless. I will give him the money after teasing him for a few words."

"Haha... your family gets along very well. I'm envious of them. It's fun to be a family when they joke around with each other." Xu He said with a smile.

"Ah, life is boring anyway. If you don't have some fun, what's the point of living?"

"It's not good..."

When Xu Ning and the other three reached the top of the slope, Chen Jinlong quickly caught up with them holding a pine torch. He hesitated for a moment, but still felt that his own life was more important. If Chen Heshuang really killed him, he would just find another son to take care of him in his old age.

When Chen Jinlong was only thirty meters away from the four people in front, a tiger roar suddenly came from the slope ahead.

Ouch!

Everyone was shocked and stunned, then quickly raised their guns and grabbed their axes and knives.

Then I heard someone shouting loudly about 50 or 60 meters ahead: "Help! Fuck..."

(End of this chapter)