Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

A shot rang out.

He Dong's finger was still on the trigger, and before he could pull it, a burst of blood erupted from his right wrist.

The gun flew out of his hand, tumbled twice in mid-air, and crashed onto the aisle of the carriage with a thud. It slid a couple of times and then crawled under the seat in front of him.

"what!"

He Dong screamed, his left hand gripping his right wrist tightly, and slid off his seat, kneeling in the aisle.

"Who? Who the hell hit me?!"

He gritted his teeth, his voice trembled, and his eyes were bloodshot.

The people in the carriage hadn't even reacted yet.

Lin Nuo has already made a move.

He kicked Hua Zi hard in the back of the knee, causing Hua Zi to fall to his knees with a thud, his head hitting the armrest of the seat in front of him with a dull thud.

Hua Zi lay face down on the ground, his face pressed against the floor, wincing in pain. Before he could even cry out, Lin Nuo's musket was already pressed against the back of his head.

The muzzle was icy cold, and the smell of rust mixed with gunpowder filled my nostrils.

Lin Nuo's voice was not loud:

"Don't move."

Hua Zi:

"No...don't kill me...I didn't do anything...it was them...he made me do it..."

"Shut up."

Lin Nuo didn't look at him; her eyes were fixed on He Dong in the front row.

He bent down, reached his left hand under the front seat, and touched the large black Star pistol. The gun was heavy, and sweaty from He Dong's palms. He picked it up and examined it.

The carriage erupted in chaos.

"Someone's here! Someone's coming to our rescue!"

"Good! Kill this bastard! Let him steal our money!"

An old woman burst into tears, muttering between sobs:

"God help me... God help me..."

The middle-aged man surnamed Zhao, the one whose head He Dong had just pressed a gun to, was the first to stand up:

"Comrade! Well done! We support you!"

Lin Nuo ignored him and glanced out the window.

The car door opened.

The old foreman trudged up through the snow.

His clothes were a bit disheveled, but his eyes were bright as he scanned the carriage.

Lin Nuo called out, "Uncle Zhang."

The old foreman glanced at him, took a hemp rope out of his pocket, and tossed it to Lin Nuo.

"Tie him up first. We'll talk later."

Lin Nuo took the rope and kicked Hua Zi:

"stand up."

Hua Zi stood up shakily, barely able to stand.

Lin Nuo asked him to help He Dong, and the three of them walked to the back of the car.

At this moment, the man surnamed Zhao stepped forward again.

He rushed over, grabbed Hua Zi by the collar, and pulled him away from Lin Nuo. He then called for two other men to help, and together they quickly settled He Dong and Hua Zi into the last row of seats.

They took a rope and tied He Dong and Hua Zi's hands behind their backs, then found another rope and tied their feet as well.

After tying him up, Zhao was still not satisfied and slapped He Dong twice across the face.

"Slap, slap," the sound was crisp, and He Dong's cheek immediately swelled up, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Damn it, weren't you being all tough just now? Show me how tough you can be again!"

He Dong glared at them:

"I'll kill you all sooner or later."

The man surnamed Zhao immediately took off his socks and stuffed them into his mouth:

"Are you crazy?"

Another young man joined in and kicked Hua Zi in the back: "You thieves! You steal tigers! You're worse than animals!"

Hua Zi was kicked and fell forward, his head hitting the seat in front of him. He groaned in pain, but dared not make a sound.

Some people in the carriage cheered and others clapped.

After finishing waving his fan, Zhao turned to look at Lin Nuo, a smile plastered on his face:

"Comrade, how about this? Should we just take them to the police station?"

Lin Nuo glanced at him, but didn't reply; he just nodded.

The man surnamed Zhao quickly agreed:

"Okay, okay, all right!"

Then he turned and called to the driver:

"Sir! Is the car still drivable? Fix it quickly! Don't delay our comrades from getting their business done!"

The driver finally got out of the driver's seat. His legs were still a little weak. He stood holding onto the car door for a while before squatting down to check the engine.

The old foreman ignored what was happening in the carriage.

He walked straight to the middle of the car, bent down, and pulled a square object out from under the seat.

The iron cage was covered with an old cloth and bound with several ropes. He untied the ropes and lifted the cloth.

There's a little tiger inside.

The tiger cub was curled up in the corner of the cage, like a larger cat. Its eyes were closed, and its breathing was slow and shallow.

"They've drugged it."

The old foreman frowned:

"Those beasts, afraid it would bark, they drugged it. If the tigress hadn't been chasing them so closely, they would have run far away long ago."

People in the carriage crowded around to look; some gasped, while others covered their mouths, speechless.

"This...this is a tiger cub?"

The man surnamed Zhao's voice trembled.

"Hmm." The old foreman picked up the cage, gave Lin Nuo a wink, and said, "Get out of the car."

The two got off the car one after the other.

The foreman walked in front, with Lin Nuo following behind. The people in the carriage pressed their faces against the windows, looking out, barely daring to breathe.

They stopped in an open space by the roadside. The old foreman squatted down, opened the cage door, and gently took the tiger cubs out.

The tiger cub rolled over in his arms, whimpered, kicked its four legs twice, and then stopped moving.

The old foreman put it on the ground and stepped back next to the car.

Lin Nuo stood beside him, holding a musket in his hand, his eyes fixed on the direction of the forest.

The carriage was completely silent.

After a while, the bushes at the edge of the woods moved slightly.

First, a paw emerged, yellow with black stripes. Then the entire body appeared; the tigress stepped out from behind the bushes.

It stood at the edge of the woods for a while, as if it understood what had happened.

Linno's Adam's apple bobbed.

The old leader didn't move.

Someone in the carriage covered their mouth, swallowing back a scream.

The mother tiger moved with lightning speed, seizing the cub by the scruff of its neck. She carried the cub, turned, and walked deeper into the forest.

The old foreman stared in that direction for a long time before turning around.

"Let's go."

Lin Nuo only then realized that his back was completely wet.

He had lived for over twenty years, and including his previous life, this was the first time he had ever seen a wild tiger so close.

He cleared his throat, his voice a little strained: "Uncle Zhang, those two people..."

"Just tie him up." The old foreman picked up the cage and walked back. "We'll hand him over to the police when we get to the county town."

The driver was efficient this time.

In less than fifteen minutes, the engine started chugging along.

The shuttle bus is heading towards the county seat.

He Dong and Hua Zi were tied to the last row, both with injuries on their faces. Blood was still seeping from He Dong's right wrist, and no one was bandaging him. His mouth was also stuffed with a sock, so he was unable to speak.

At first, she was crying and sobbing, but now she's probably given up.

Lin Nuo sat next to the old foreman, resting the musket against his leg. He turned his head to the side:

"Uncle Zhang, where have you been these past few days? I went to Song Village to look for you, but the door was locked."

The old foreman didn't look at him; his eyes were fixed on the view outside the window.

"Follow them."

"Follow them?"

"I felt something was off when you came back from the old forest that day."

The old foreman's voice was neither hurried nor slow:

That night, I followed the trail and crept over there.

He paused for a moment:

"They followed for three days. There were three of them, two guns, and an iron cage. They wandered around the old forest for several days, and finally found the tiger's den. While the mother tiger was out foraging for food, they tried to steal the cubs out."

Lin Nuo's heart sank.

"That third brother..."

"He's dead."

The old foreman's voice remained largely unchanged:

"When he was stealing the cubs, the tigress returned. The third brother was covering their retreat with a gun, but he was unlucky and ran into the cub. The first shot didn't go off, and the tigress pounced... and tore him apart alive."

The carriage was quiet for a while.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The old foreman turned his head and glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

Lin Nuo opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

The old foreman shifted his gaze back to the window:

"I've been following behind. I saw you get on the bus."

Lin Nuo was stunned for a moment.

"Then why didn't you call me?"

"Too far away."

Lin Nuo lowered his head:

Uncle Zhang.

"Um."

"Let me know where you're going in the future. Otherwise, I'll worry."

The old foreman didn't respond.

After a moment of silence, he mumbled, "Hmm."

It was already afternoon when we arrived in the county town.

The shuttle bus drove directly to the police station. Lin Nuo and several strong men escorted He Dong and Hua Zi off the bus. The man surnamed Zhao walked at the front, his voice so loud it could be heard throughout the street:

"Make way! Make way! We've caught two poachers! They're robbing us!"

They were greeted by a young police officer, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and wearing a police uniform. He was sitting at his desk writing documents, the pen scratching on the paper.

Hearing the noise, I looked up and saw a group of people escorting two bloodied people in. The pen in my hand fell onto the table.

"What... what's going on?"

The old foreman walked at the front, leaned his musket against the wall, and recounted the events.

The young police officer, whose surname was Shi and given name was Shi Xiaopeng, became increasingly serious as he listened.

He stood up and walked over to He Dong, who had already fainted and whose wounds were not bandaged.

Shi Xiaopeng frowned, pulled a roll of gauze from a drawer, and tossed it to the person next to him:

"Wrap him up first. Don't let him die. Also, take the sock out of his mouth, it smells awful."

He turned around and looked at the old foreman:

"Old comrade, is there someone else in that woods? Could you lead the way?"

The old foreman nodded:

"able."

When Shi Xiaopeng came out of the inner room, he was followed by an older policeman in his fifties. The older policeman asked a few questions and made a quick decision:

"Thank you for your hard work, comrade. We'll set off now."

The group rode in the police station's jeep, driving back along the mountain road. The road was full of potholes, and the car bounced violently, with Lin Nuo hitting his head on the roof several times.

When they reached the edge of the old forest, the car couldn't go any further. The old foreman led the way, with Lin Nuo and Shi Xiaopeng following behind, along with two young police officers.

After walking for about an hour, a strange smell began to linger in the air.

It wasn't the stench of decay, but rather the smell of rust mixed with something else, cold and unpleasant.

The old foreman stopped, squatted down, and used a stick to part a clump of withered grass.

Then he stood up, turned around, and stood in front of Lin Nuo.

"Stop looking."

Lin Nuo still saw it.

My stomach clenched.

Shi Xiaopeng squatted down to examine the wound for a while, then stood up, his face pale.

"There are scratches and bite marks on its body, it must be... a tiger."

He paused, then asked the old foreman:

"Old comrade, how did you know you were here?"

The old foreman stood to the side, his voice low and deep:

"I followed those two people and saw them run out of the old forest. I also heard tiger roars. I guessed it was this area."

The old foreman didn't say that he had been keeping an eye on them the whole time.

Shi Xiaopeng nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He had two young policemen carry the body down the mountain, and he walked at the very back, patting Lin Nuo on the shoulder.

"Comrades, we owe you a lot this time. Otherwise, things would have been much worse. I'll report to the bureau and apply for commendation for you."

Lin Nuo shook his head:

"No need, comrade. I don't want to stand out. Just put this on Uncle Zhang's name."

Shi Xiaopeng paused for a moment, looked at Lin Nuo, and then at the old man.

"If you're unwilling, I won't force you. But... at least leave your name, okay?"

Lin Nuo thought for a moment:

"Lin Nuo".

Shi Xiaopeng took out a small notebook from his pocket and wrote down the name. He closed the notebook and said another sentence:

"If it weren't for you guys, things would have been really complicated this time."

The old foreman didn't reply. He turned around, leaning on his wooden stick, and walked down the mountain.

Lin Nuo followed.

Goodbye, comrade.

Shi Xiaopeng nodded.

By the time we got back to the village, it was already completely dark.

The old foreman stopped in front of Lin Nuo's house, turned around, and looked at Lin Nuo:

"Be careful as you head into the mountains. The forest is too dangerous. Make sure to call me when you go into the old forest."

Lin Nuo nodded:

"Uncle Zhang, these past few days... I thought something had happened to you."

The old foreman snorted:

"What could possibly happen to me?"

"I'll come find you tomorrow. I'll teach you how to track prey by reading footprints."

Lin Nuo was stunned for a moment:

"Why."

The old foreman turned and left.

Go to bed early.

Lin Nuo watched the thin figure disappear into the moonlight, stood there for a while, and then pushed open the courtyard gate.

The kitchen light was still on, and Zhao Xiuying was squatting in front of the stove washing pots. Hearing the noise, she poked her head out, still holding a spatula in her hand, and wiped it a couple of times on her apron.

"Why are you so late? Where are the chicks?"

Lin Nuo then remembered that he had originally gone to pick up chicks today.

He scratched his head: "Mom, something happened on the way. We'll go get the chicks another day."

Zhao Xiuying wanted to ask more, but seeing that Lin Nuo's expression was not right, she swallowed her words:

"Alright, alright, come inside. Wanqing has been waiting for you for quite a while."

Lin Nuo entered the east room.

Hearing footsteps, Su Wanqing looked up and her gaze lingered on Lin Nuo's face for a moment.

Her eyes were a little red.

Linno sat down next to her.

He pulled out the wad of cash from his pocket—the money for the chicks, not a penny less. As for the big black gun, he had already handed it over to Shi Xiaopeng at the police station.

"Wanqing, something happened on the way here today..."

Su Wanqing didn't look up, her voice very soft: "I know."

"You know?"

I felt a little panicked this afternoon.

She put down the needle and stretched out her finger. There was a needle mark on the tip of her index finger; the blood had clotted and formed a small, dark red scab.

"The needle prick in my hand didn't hurt much. It was just that my heart felt... tight. I can't quite put my finger on it."

Lin Nuo reached out and took her hand. Her fingers were icy cold, and the tiny pinprick at her fingertip was digging into his palm.

"Teacher Su, it's alright now."

he:

"It's all in the past."

Today was too dangerous. Lin Nuo can only truly relax now that she's home.