Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

As soon as the mountain path entered the forest, all the sounds outside seemed to be abruptly cut off, and there was no movement at all.

The wind was torn apart by the dense black pine branches, pouring straight in through the collar, as cold as a frosty knife scraping against the flesh.

Old Sun walked at the front, holding the lantern in his hand very low. The dim yellow light could barely illuminate the path three or five steps ahead.

Looking deeper in, all you see is a suffocating mass of deathly blackness.

Qinglong walked on the left front with a limp.

Its injured leg hadn't fully healed, and every few steps it took forward, its body would uncontrollably sway.

But the beast wouldn't stop. Its wet nose was almost pressed against the frozen, muddy ground. It would sniff at any patch of grass it came across, and it would also carefully sniff at any rock roots it encountered. Occasionally, it would even raise its neck to probe the wind for its scent.

Li Baotian followed behind, the initial enthusiasm he had when he first entered the mountains long since dissipated in the eerie winds of the old forest.

Once he ventured deep into the northern mountains, he realized that this area was completely different from the grove of trees outside the village.

The shadows of the trees piled up one after another, and no matter which way you looked, the dark corners seemed to hide living creatures ready to devour you.

When the wind blew, the black pine branches overhead shook violently, looking like countless withered hands grabbing wildly in mid-air.

The ground beneath our feet was either slippery frozen mud or thick layers of dead leaves, making a crunching sound when we stepped on it.

At the slightest rustling in the woods, Li Baotian unconsciously raised the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle he was holding.

Old Sun didn't stop or turn his head, and suddenly cursed, "Don't get so close to me, you're making it hard for me to turn around and grab my gun."

Li Baotian paused, his face instantly turning red. He gave a dry laugh to cover his guilty conscience: "Uncle Sun, I'm just afraid..."

Old Sun scoffed and exhaled a puff of white breath: "Who cares if you're scared or not. When walking at night in the mountains, you have to keep your distance from those in front. If the person in front is blind and falls into a dark ditch, at least the person behind can leave a way out and pull them out with a rope."

Li Baotian looked at his feet and couldn't help but mutter a rebuttal: "This is solid mud, where would any random holes or ditches come from?"

Old Sun sneered and didn't bother to waste any more words with him.

He flicked his wrist, waving the lantern two steps to the left at a pile of dead leaves: "Blind fool, take a look at what's that?"

Li Baotian looked closely in the dim light and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Beneath that layer of perfectly disguised dead leaves, there was no muddy ground at all, but rather a natural crack in the stone, barely concealed by snow and rotten branches.

Old Sun didn't scold him any further. He flicked his wrist and waved the lantern towards the pile of dead leaves on the left: "See that?"

Li Baotian looked closely in the dim light and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Beneath the well-camouflaged layer of withered leaves, a wet, slippery, blackened bluestone was clearly visible, covered with a thin layer of icy ice.

If Old Sun hadn't been sharp-eyed and dodged ahead, he would most likely have rolled down the steep slope next to him and broken his bones if he had stepped on it.

Li Baotian swallowed hard, no longer daring to argue, and obediently took two steps back to create distance.

After gritting their teeth and walking for a while, the forest became denser and denser, and all around were dark, menacing shadows of trees.

Li Baotian felt a chill run down his spine and finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Uncle Sun, look how big this forest is, it's like a bottomless pit, where are we going to find Brother Shanhe?"

Old Sun trudged through the mud, his voice hoarse from the cold wind: "Let's go deeper into the forest."

Li Baotian was taken aback, his steps slowing slightly: "We haven't even looked outside, and we're heading straight into the deep forest?"

Old Sun didn't even turn his head, the lantern he was carrying swaying in mid-air: "What's his target this time, going into the mountains to fight to the death?"

Li Baotian subconsciously swallowed: "Siberian tiger... Mountain King."

Old Sun snorted coldly, his tattered cotton shoes snapping a dead branch blocking his path without hesitation: "That's right. A four- or five-hundred-pound beast like the Mountain King, who's practically become a spirit, has a wicked temper and hates the smell of humans. These past few years, the logging and land clearing outside the mountains have been too noisy, and the outer forests are already thin. These old forest tyrants would never stay near populated areas for long; they've all retreated to the deepest parts of the mountains."

Old Sun looked up at the dark canopy of trees.

"Since that kid Zhao Shanhe is after it, and he can't even touch a tiger's hair outside, where else can he go but deeper in?"

Li Baotian's heart tightened as he finally understood, and he quickly asked, "How do we find it deeper in the mountains? We can't just wander around aimlessly, can we?"

"Find water."

Old Sun exhaled a puff of white air. "Whether it's people, dogs, or wild animals, if they spend too much time in the mountains, they can't live without water."

Li Baotian felt a little more confident: "Shall we start by feeling our way towards the river?"

"Let's head towards the waterline at Laoyagou first."

Old Sun glanced down at the Azure Dragon, who was still stubbornly scouting ahead, and said, "But if this dog smells the Black Dragon, we'll have to follow it."

As if it understood these words, Qinglong made a low gurgling sound in its throat, pressed its nose against the muddy ground, and moved forward a few more steps with difficulty.

The night grew deeper.

The mountains are so cold they can freeze your bones.

The lantern's glow swayed violently in the gale, casting the shadows of the surrounding trees like a chaotic dance of demons.

The two men and their dog trudged along the edge of the ditch, climbed over two steep slopes, and then went around a huge pile of fallen logs.

At first, Li Baotian was able to grit his teeth and persevere, but as the night progressed, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

The canvas bag on my shoulder was getting heavier and heavier.

The No. 56 move in his hand felt like a piece of raw iron smashing into his arm, making his bones ache.

But he gritted his teeth and didn't dare to utter a single word of complaint about being tired.

The Azure Dragon, which was walking in front, was also clearly unable to hold on. Its right foreleg, which had been limping at the beginning, was now completely unable to bear any weight.

With each leap forward, its broad front shoulders would painfully sag downwards.

But the beast's nose remained stubbornly pressed against the ground, refusing to let go of even the faint scent of life in the wind.

Old Sun turned around, glanced at the lackey, and his face suddenly darkened: "Stop."

Li Baotian was taken aback for a moment, then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "What's wrong?"

"Take a break."

Li Baotian shook his head anxiously, "Don't rest, Uncle Sun! What if Brother Shanhe is still waiting to be rescued in some ditch?"

Old Sun gave him a cold look: "You can leave, but it has to rest."

Li Baotian then followed Old Sun's gaze.

The Azure Dragon stood alone on a patch of frozen, muddy ground, its chest heaving violently, its injured leg trembling uncontrollably. Following its foot downwards, a string of glaring, dark red drops of blood was clearly visible on the withered grass.

Li Baotian's heart tightened: "Its leg is bleeding."

"You beast," Old Sun cursed under his breath, walked over and threw the lantern on the ground. "Your legs are ruined like this, and you're still pretending nothing's wrong."

The Azure Dragon let out a whimper, still struggling to crawl deeper into the forest.

Old Sun slammed his large, fan-like hand down on the dog's neck: "Lie down."

The Azure Dragon did not move.

Old Sun's wrinkles tightened suddenly, and he hissed in a low voice, "I'll make you lie down!"

Qinglong reluctantly lay down in the pile of dead leaves, but his huge dog head was still stubbornly raised, staring intently into the dark depths of the forest, his nostrils twitching wildly.

Old Sun deftly pulled a clean white cloth from the medicine basket, poured some strong liquor onto his rough palm, and yanked off the stiff hair on the dragon's foreleg.

The scabbed wound completely burst open.

The blood wasn't flowing violently, but it was gushing out in spurts from the rolled-up flesh.

Old Sun's face twitched as he watched. He pressed his large hand against the wound, quickly wrapping it with bandages while gritting his teeth and cursing, "The bastards raised by your Zhao family are all tainted with evil. Black Dragon is like that, and you're just like that too. That little bastard Zhao Shanhe is even more of a reckless brood. Damn it, there's not a single good-for-nothing in this den."

The liquor was used to kill the meat, and Qinglong shuddered violently as if he had been electrocuted, but he gritted his teeth and did not let out a scream.

Li Baotian squatted down to the side, gently stroking the messy fur on the Azure Dragon's back: "Hang in there a little longer. We'll definitely find Brother Shanhe and the Black Dragon."

Qinglong, panting heavily, nuzzled Li Baotian's hand with its head.

Old Sun tied the strip of cloth into a tight knot and slapped the dog on the head: "Alright, rest for half an hour."

Just as Li Baotian was about to stand up and continue walking, Old Sun raised his eyelids and swept his gaze over like a knife: "You sit down and rest too. If you don't catch your breath now, how are you going to carry that heavy, living person down the mountain when we actually find them?"

Li Baotian was so scolded that he lost his temper and could only obediently sit down against the roots of an old pine tree.

He placed the No. 56 zither across his knees, his chest heaving as he greedily inhaled the cold air.

It wasn't until his body touched the ground that he realized his legs had long been numb and had lost all feeling.

The woods fell into a deathly silence.

Suddenly, a scream from an unknown owl rang out in the distance. The sound was sharp and piercing, sending chills down one's spine.

Li Baotian licked his chapped and bleeding lips hard, his palms sweating profusely: "Uncle Sun, what if we really run into that mountain king in this dark place..."

Old Sun didn't even look at him; he just stroked the old homemade gun in his arms with his withered fingers.

"We'll deal with it if we run into it, but we'll avoid it if we can."

Li Baotian pressed further, "What if we can't avoid it?"

Old Sun remained silent for a full two breaths, his turbid eyes fixed on the depths of the dark forest, a fierce glint flashing in them: "If we can't avoid it, we'll kill it."

When those four hard words landed, Li Baotian's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, miraculously settled back into his stomach.

Half an hour later.

Finally, a faint sliver of gray-white light was torn open on the horizon.

The twisted outlines of the trees slowly emerged from the darkness, and the damp, cold white mist in the ravines silently spread upwards along the ground, making the entire old forest seem as if it had been soaked in ice water that had never melted for thousands of years.

The Azure Dragon, who had been lying on the ground panting, suddenly raised its head.

Its shiny black nose twitched twice, and its previously listless eyes widened instantly.

Old Sun sprang to his feet like a spring: "You can smell it?"

Without uttering a single low growl, Qinglong dragged its newly bandaged leg, like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey, and limped into a small ditch hidden by dense bushes to its right.

Old Sun grabbed the lantern and strode after him.

Li Baotian hurriedly slung the heavy canvas bag over his shoulder, clung tightly to the No. 56 shirt with both hands, and staggered after him.