Reborn in 1985, starting from the mountains of Northwest China

Chen Feng shook his head.

"It's not that we can figure it out, it's that we can't. The longer that kid stays inside, the more dangerous it becomes."

Lin Xi nodded and said nothing more.

The fire crackled, and a chilly night wind blew in from the woods.

Chen Feng put the map away and added a piece of firewood to the fire.

Lin Xi suddenly asked, "Brother-in-law, do you think that kid is still alive?"

Chen Feng remained silent for a while.

"have no idea."

He paused, then said, "But if he's alive, we have to find him."

Lin Xi nodded.

"OK."

The two chatted for a while longer, and then the fire gradually dimmed.

Chen Feng said, "Go to sleep, we still have a long journey ahead tomorrow."

Lin Xi nodded and crawled into the shack.

He took two steps, then turned back.

"Brother-in-law, how's your shooting?"

Chen Feng thought for a moment.

"It'll do. But if we run into danger, the two of us can still escape without any problem."

Lin Xi nodded.

"Tomorrow I'll go first, and you follow behind. If we run into anything, don't rush to fire your gun; let me go first."

Chen Feng looked at him.

"Have you ever played big games?"

Lin Xi chuckled.

"I hunted wild boar for a while a couple of years ago. Those things are fierce, but easier to deal with than bears."

After he finished speaking, he crawled into the shack.

Chen Feng added a final piece of firewood to the fire and then followed him inside.

The shack was pitch black, with only a little firelight filtering through the cracks, flickering on and off.

Chen Feng lay on the ground, using his bundle as a pillow, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

He remembered the words he had heard in his past life.

"Of the eight people who went into the mountains, only one came back."

"We encountered a bear and got separated."

"The snow will melt in spring, maybe we can find it then..."

In this life, he arrived ahead of schedule.

He hoped to find the person before the bear came out.

He touched the amulet in his pocket, which was still warm against his chest.

Neither of them slept soundly that night, and the next morning they packed their things early and headed up the mountain with Ta Xue.

Running ahead through the snow, nose close to the ground, sniffing as it went.

It seemed to know that it had important business to attend to today, so it didn't make a sound, but would stop from time to time and listen carefully to any noise.

Following the route they had agreed upon the night before, they went up from the north slope.

This road is indeed difficult to travel.

Not only was the snow accumulation thicker than elsewhere, but in some places it even formed ice crystals.

If you're not careful, there will be a "snap" sound that makes your legs tremble.

Lin Xi walked ahead, gun at the ready, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He walked slowly, carefully testing each step before taking the next.

Chen Feng followed behind, holding Ta Xue's hand, with a machete tucked into his waistband.

After walking for about an hour, Lin Xi suddenly stopped.

"Brother-in-law, look."

Chen Feng walked over and followed his gaze.

There were several sets of footprints on the snow, but they were very messy, as if they had been disturbed by something, and it was impossible to tell which direction they were.

Lin Xi squatted down and examined it carefully.

"These are human footprints, but they're at least two days old. The edges are all rounded by the wind."

Chen Feng nodded and looked around.

The forest was still so dense and dark, with no end in sight.

"Keep going."

The two continued walking.

The deeper you go, the denser the forest becomes, and the dimmer the light. The canopy overhead blocks out most of the sunlight, with only scattered patches of light filtering down to illuminate small areas of snow.

Ta Xue suddenly stopped, twitched her nose a few times, looked to the left and then to the right, as if she was a little unsure.

Lin Xi also stopped.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Ta Xue ignored him and just stood there, her nose twitching incessantly.

Chen Feng walked over, squatted down, and patted its head.

"Does it smell?"

Ta Xue barked, ran a few steps to the left, then stopped and looked back at him.

Chen Feng followed and saw a series of animal footprints on the snow, smaller than human footprints but larger than rabbit footprints.

"It's a fox." Lin Xi walked over and glanced at it. "It's from two or three days ago."

Chen Feng nodded without saying anything more.

The two continued walking forward.

We searched all day and found nothing but the fox footprints.

There were no human footprints.

There was no blood.

There was no Yang Chengwu either.

As darkness slowly fell.

The two of them didn't know if they would be trapped on the mountain, so they deliberately saved their food and didn't eat a single bite along the way.

At this moment, Lin Xi was exhausted from hunger. He stopped and looked at the increasingly dim moonlight, somewhat doubting Chen Feng's decision.

"Brother-in-law, have we gone to the wrong place?"

"I've walked this road before; further ahead lies that old forest. But if those mountain herders really did come this way, why are there no traces left?"

Chen Feng remained silent for a while.

He didn't know how to answer.

He pieced together the words he had heard in his previous life, his memories of going up the mountain to find ginseng during the New Year, and what Wang Laoliu had said.

But now, we haven't found anything.

Lin Xi understood that if neither of them was sure about going up the mountain, he couldn't be blamed.

"It's getting dark, let's find a place to rest. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Chen Feng nodded.

The two found a sheltered mountain hollow, gathered some dry firewood, and started a fire.

The northwest region is mainly dry and cold, so finding dry firewood is not too difficult.

Exhausted, Ta Xue lay down, resting its head on its front paws, its eyes fixed on the darkness.

Lin Xi was baking steamed buns, staring at the flames as he thought, "Brother-in-law, don't take it too seriously. Finding someone in these mountains is like finding a needle in a haystack."

Chen Feng took the steamed bun, broke off half for Taxue, and said nothing.

He felt a tightness in his chest.

He didn't know if he could find that kid.

In freezing cold, no one can endure it.

The fire crackled as Chen Feng ate his steamed bun. Suddenly, Hei Zi stood up, its ears perked up, and barked twice into the darkness.

Lin Xiteng stood up abruptly and picked up his gun.

"Something's up?"

Chen Feng also stood up and picked up his homemade gun.

Something is moving in the darkness.

It was a soft, rustling sound, not like human footsteps.

Chen Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

Lin Xi held the gun, his eyes fixed on the darkness, his voice extremely low: "Don't move, don't make a sound."

Ta Xue also stood up, her fur standing on end, and she made a low whimpering sound in her throat.

The fire was still crackling and popping, which only made the hissing sound even more terrifying.

Based on Lin Xi's many years of experience, he figured they might have encountered something big, but he didn't dare go any further because of the fire.

The rustling sound suddenly stopped.

Even a dozen steps away, the thing didn't move, just staring intently at this direction. Its heavy, gurgling breathing drifted over on the wind, sounding like a broken bellows, deep and murky.

Ta Xue's body stiffened, the fur on his back bristled like a hedgehog, and the whimpering in his throat grew deeper and deeper, a sign that he was about to pounce.

Lin Xi's finger was on the trigger, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

He turned his head very slowly, glancing at Chen Feng out of the corner of his eye, his voice squeezed out between clenched teeth:

"It's a bear... This thing is creepy, don't make eye contact with it."

Chen Feng's heart sank.

In these snow-capped mountains and old forests, the bear reigns supreme.

Those who dare to approach the fire at night are mostly murderous or starving ghosts who have just woken up from hibernation; their ferocity far exceeds what ordinary people can imagine.

If the fire were extinguished at this moment, the two men would immediately become live targets in the dark. With the beast's sense of smell and hearing, they wouldn't even know how they died in the dark.