sinovels Chapter 1801 The Ferocious Tiger Appears, Carrying a Stone Dragon
Chapter 1801 The Ferocious Tiger Appears, Carrying a Stone Dragon
Chapter 1801 The Ferocious Tiger Appears, Carrying a Stone Dragon
The wind fanned the flames, and the fire swirled and rose, creating a dazzling spectacle tinged with mystery.
Many mountain runners are superstitious, and those who roam the mountains are even more so. It's no exaggeration to say that almost all of them are masters of superstition.
Therefore, what appears to be a natural phenomenon of paper money and sparks filling the sky is seen by both groups as the manifestation of the ancestors in the mountains.
Everyone knelt down and bowed towards the opposite hillside. Shao Tianpeng, Wang Qiang, and others imitated Zhao Jun's earlier actions, calling out for the blessings of their ancestors.
When everyone stood up, the way they looked at Zhao Jun was different.
It could be said that if Zhao Jun were to announce his entry into the business now, the six members of the Shao family gang would be his first batch of clients.
"Chief Zhao." Shao Tianpeng raised his hand and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Jun, who quickly returned the salute, "Old Master."
"Shall we head straight for Shilong?" Shao Tianpeng asked. Zhao Jun nodded and said, "Yes, sir, but we must be vigilant and not let our guard down."
“Yes, Chief Zhao, you’re right.” Shao Tianpeng glanced at the two groups of people, then continued to Zhao Jun, “Then you lead your men and follow me in front, and let Shanhe and the other five follow behind.”
A giant claw will never attack head-on. Like when the Shao family gang was attacked last time, it was the people at the back who were carried off. Normally, those at the back are in greater danger.
Zhao Jun had no objection to Shao Tianpeng's arrangement, but he glanced at the guards of the Shao family gang and then whispered a few words to Wang Qiang.
As Wang Qiang nodded, the uncle and nephew took off their pistol pouches from their waists and handed them to Xu Shanhe.
"Master Xu," Zhao Jun said, "here are these two pistols for you."
The Type 54 pistol has a much shorter range than the Type 56 pistol, but it can be used with one hand, and you can fire it as soon as you raise it, unlike the Type 56 which you have to hold up to your shoulder.
Therefore, this gun is perfect for self-defense.
"Thank you, Chief Zhao, thank you, thank you!" It was clear that Xu Shanhe was very grateful for Zhao Jun's actions. After thanking Zhao Jun repeatedly, he took the two gun pouches, tied one to his waist, and gave the other to Scarface in the team.
Then, the two of them slung their Type 56 pistols over their shoulders and walked at the back of the line.
Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang escorted Shao Tianpeng at the front. As the group walked down the road, the gloom and cold intensified with each step.
The mountain wind was biting, swirling through the mountains and howling, while the tree branches on two slopes swayed in the wind, making a continuous sound.
In such an environment, even a wild beast's low growl might not be heard by a human.
Zhao Jun and his group were on high alert. After descending the mountain to the second rib slope and walking nearly 300 meters southwest, they saw a small fork in the hill in front of them.
This small fork in the hill leads straight up to the west mountain. Shao Tianpeng pointed, indicating that he was going up the west mountain. But the fork in the hill was steep and narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass at a time.
Zhao Jun was about to step forward with his gun, but Wang Qiang grabbed him.
At this moment, Wang Qiang had already taken Zhang Yuanmin's pistol into his hand.
"Nephew, your uncle will go first." After saying that, Wang Qiang took his gun and went ahead.
Zhao Jun wanted to follow Wang Qiang, but Xie Chen, who was holding a pistol, beat him to it, followed by Li Baoyu.
As the group carefully made their way through Xiaogangchazi, a large, round head with a yellow nose, white face, and the character "王" (king) on its head peeked out from behind a tree at the spot where the two groups had burned paper money earlier.
The mountain wind dispersed the smoke and fumes, but the nearby tree branches and grass were covered with ash from the burning paper. However, this did not stop the Siberian tiger from rushing toward Yangti.
Four sheep hooves, two horizontally at the bottom and two vertically at the top, are stacked on top of each other.
Logically speaking, lamb trotters have almost no meat; if they're stewed, you can at least gnaw on the tendons and skin.
The raw sheep's hoof is still hairy, so a Siberian tiger would have to tear off the skin to eat it. But if it did that, the hoof would only be bones and tendons.
As a top predator, the Siberian tiger mainly feeds on red deer and wild boar; it doesn't even hunt roe deer because it finds it troublesome and the meat is too little.
But for some reason today, perhaps because the Siberian tiger liked the smell of mutton it had never smelled before, it scratched at the sheep's hooves with its tiger paws and seemed particularly excited.
By this time, Zhao Jun and his group had already reached the Western Hills.
The western hill is low and shaded by several surrounding mountains, so even the sunny slopes feel devoid of warmth. Furthermore, the primeval forest is so dense that it blocks out the sun, making walking inside feel even more eerie.
Zhao Jun looked up and saw nothing but branches and leaves. Scattered calls of mountain birds drifted from some unknown direction through the dense forest, making the eerie old woods even more unsettling.
At this moment, Zhao Jun and his men were unaware that the Siberian tiger was struggling with the sheep's hoof, and their hearts were in their throats.
Fortunately, we had a clear destination today, not hiking, so the group didn't have to split up. Two groups of young men protected Shao Tianpeng in the middle, surrounding him as they traveled.
But just as they were crossing the mountain, Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu, who were at the front, felt a sudden "whoosh".
Although the sunny side doesn't see the sunlight, it is still a sunny side.
On the shady slope, the temperature is five or six degrees lower than on the sunny slope.
Even though they were wearing thin cotton-padded jackets and trousers, Zhao Jun and the others still felt chilly.
"Chief Zhao, we're almost there! Be on your best!" Shao Tianpeng said, still looking very serious.
"Sigh." Zhao Jun knew that Shao Tianpeng's words were meant to remind them. It was near Shilong that the Shao family's ginseng was snatched away by the giant claws. So the closer they got to Shilong, the more vigilant they had to be.
After walking down about 300 meters, Zhao Jun sensed something was wrong and immediately said to Shao Tianpeng, "Grandpa, I can hear the sound of water."
"Yeah, right." Shao Tianpeng smiled and said, "Without mountains and water, where would the village be?"
Upon hearing Shao Tianpeng's words, Zhao Jun glanced at him in surprise, only to see Shao Tianpeng smile and say, "I discovered this ginseng pit."
The one discovered by our predecessors is called the Old Anzi, but this Anzi was discovered by Shao Tianpeng, so we call it Anzi.
"Old man, you're quite something to have found this place, you're really something." Zhao Jun flattered Shao Tianpeng, but Shao Tianpeng frowned and said, "This place used to be great, there were even clubs on that hill over there. Who would have thought that a tiger would come along and cause us all this trouble."
Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. If it weren't for how difficult this giant claw was to deal with, the Shao family gang would have killed him long ago.
Suddenly, Shao Tianpeng called out to Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu, who were walking ahead. Then, he looked around and turned back to find Xu Shanhe.
After receiving Xu Shanhe's response, Shao Tianpeng said to Zhao Jun, "Chief Zhao, this should be the spot. Let's walk around and see if there are any signs of pine trees."
Unlike the Zhao family gang, who leave no omens after releasing ginseng, the old-school ginseng gang, led by Shao Tianpeng, leaves omens after releasing ginseng to guide future generations.
The problem now is that both groups are wary of the Siberian tiger and dare not spread out completely. Only one group from the Shao family and one group from the Zhao family can search in the forest.
Searching with five or six people on foot would be quite difficult. Zhao Jun and his five men dared not separate; they also had to keep an eye on their surroundings and watch out for any disturbances.
Just then, Xie Chen suddenly called out to Zhao Jun, "Brother Jun, Lao Zhao!"
Zhao Jun turned to look at Jie Chen, and saw that Jie Chen pointed to the right front. Zhao Jun glanced back, but he couldn't see it clearly. He saw that the pine tree over there was missing a piece of bark.
That must be it.
Zhao Jun immediately imitated bird calls, urging Shao Tianpeng and the others to hurry over and join him.
When Shao Tianpeng and his six companions arrived, Zhao Jun was already standing in front of the pine tree.
Zhao Jun looked up and saw that on the pine tree, there were symbols representing thirteen people, two seedlings with five leaves and three seedlings with four leaves.
Then, Zhao Jun looked around and saw that the pile of rocks looked like it contained a stone dragon.
At this moment, Xu Shanhe and his four companions arrived, protecting Shao Tianpeng. Shao Tianpeng looked up at the pine tree and then winked at Xu Shanhe.
Xu Shanhe raised his hand and pointed to the back of the pine tree, saying to Shao Tianpeng, "Uncle, it's over there."
Upon hearing this, Shao Tianpeng turned to Zhao Jun and said, "Chief Zhao, we still need to split up."
As he spoke, Shao Tianpeng put his fingertips together, making a triangle with his palms, and continued, "We'll find two stones like these..."
“Grandpa,” Zhao Jun smiled, interrupting Shao Tianpeng, “I understand.”
“Alright then.” Shao Tianpeng looked at Zhao Jun with surprise in his eyes. It wasn’t that Shao Tianpeng was looking down on people, but the key point was that the Zhao family gang, as a ginseng gang, had too many young members.
Shao Tianpeng started herding in the mountains at fifteen and is now sixty-one. This is the first time he has ever seen a team like this.
The two groups separated and continued searching for the hidden stone dragon in the forest.
When they were eating steamed buns in Anguo, Hebei, Zhao Jun told Wang Qiang and Zhao Weipeng about the origin of Shilong.
It doesn't grow under a large rock, nor does it grow between rocks. Rather, it's a wild ginseng that grows between two rocks.
These two rocks must be pressed together so that the wild ginseng can grow between them.
"Brother Jun." Suddenly, Jie Chen called out to Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun looked in the direction he was pointing and saw an irregularly shaped trapezoidal stone next to a pine tree.
It wasn't a triangle, but it was close. Zhao Jun hurried over and saw that it wasn't a single stone, but two stones placed together.
Wang Qiang and his men surrounded Zhao Jun, who knelt on one knee and tilted his head to look between the two rocks.
The rocks in the mountains are of all shapes and sizes; even two rocks put together cannot fit perfectly.
Seeing that there was soil between the two stones, Zhao Jun imitated bird calls and summoned Shao Tianpeng and the other six men over.
"Xiao Chen, you're something else!" Wang Qiang, who was on guard with his gun at the ready, praised Xie Chen with a smile, "You have such sharp eyes!"
"Hehe..." Xie Chen chuckled and asked Zhao Jun, "Brother Jun, have I done another good deed?"
"You've done a great job." Zhao Jun nodded and said, "If Shi Long is really in here, once we've carried him out and sold him, I'll give you an extra share after we get our share."
"Okay, Brother Jun," Jie Chen replied cheerfully. Actually, given Jie Chen's current wealth, even if that share was worth five thousand yuan, he wouldn't really care. What he cared about was making a contribution to the team.
The Zhao family gang's rise to power was thanks to Zhao Jun, and they themselves were well aware of this. However, Xie Chen and the others were not without ambition; they had always been working hard to be able to help Zhao Jun.
When Shao Tianpeng and the others came over, the old man saw that Xu Shanhe looked blank, so he walked around the two stones several times by himself.
When Shao Zhiqiang first discovered the stone dragon, Xu Shanhe was not far away, but at that time his eyes were entirely on the four leaves and he didn't look at the stone below at all.
Then, the Siberian tiger appeared and snatched one of their men away.
The ginseng gang rarely recruits outsiders. Just like those guys who were drinking at the Shao family's house yesterday, they are all related to the Shao family.
When his relatives and friends were carried off by a tiger, Shao Zhiqiang didn't even have time to carry the ginseng; he led his men to rescue his companions.
After their rescue attempt failed, the Shao family returned to the mountains several days later to try and lift the stone dragon. However, before they even reached the location, the ferocious tiger snatched one of their men away.
From then on, the Shao family gang dared not enter that dark ditch again.
Xu Shanhe didn't recognize the stone. Shao Tianpeng circled the stone twice before looking up and glancing around.
Experienced foremen can observe the mountains and determine the scenery. This is one of the essential skills of a general when trekking through the mountains.
But after glancing at it, Shao Tianpeng suddenly remembered something.
This area is a ginseng pit that I discovered myself, so the location is definitely safe. I can't use that to determine if the stone dragon is right in front of me.
But when Shao Tianpeng looked at Zhao Jun, he heard Zhao Jun laugh and say, "Old man, the mountain wealth is destined to be ours, it's going to be ours no matter what. We all listen to you, old man, you're the boss, we have no objections."
This isn't just ginseng seedlings; it's worth 100,000 yuan. Especially now, the Pang family gang is vying with the other two gangs for this 100,000 yuan, which is why Zhao Jun suggested going fully armed and heading straight to the place where Shilong grows.
To lift the stone dragon, the stones it's attached to must also be lifted out. These two stones aren't large, but each is half-buried in the ground.
To lift this stone dragon, you first have to lift two stones out of the ground. Moreover, you can't use a shovel or a pickaxe to lift the stones.
Although the stone dragon ginseng body is located between two stones, the ginseng tendrils can grow downwards and possibly emerge from the cracks in the stones, spreading outwards along the soil.
Therefore, to lift this stone, one must use a stag antler spade to clear away the soil around the stone until the entire stone is lifted out.
This is definitely a lot of work. Although eleven people came today, most of them came to be on guard, and only two or three people can carry the ginseng.
In this way, even if the stone dragon is inside these two rocks, it will take several hours to lift it out.
What if Shi Long isn't inside? These few hours would be wasted.
However, since the two families are cooperating, they must work together. So Zhao Jun passed the message to Shao Tianpeng, meaning that even if there is no stone dragon here, even if they don't earn 100,000 yuan, the Zhao family gang will not complain.
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Shao Tianpeng understood the situation and immediately said to Zhao Jun, "Zhao Jun, you and Yuan Min, you two carry it with me, and the rest of you hold the fort."
Everyone responded enthusiastically. Zhao Jun, Shao Tianpeng, and Zhang Yuanmin knelt around the stones, took out tools from their bags, and prepared to work. The other eight people formed a circle, protecting Zhao Jun, Shao Tianpeng, and Zhang Yuanmin and the two stones in the center.
Eight men, armed and holding guns, all had their backs to Zhao Jun and his two companions, carefully surveying their surroundings. At the slightest disturbance, they would aim their guns at the source.
Zhao Jun and the other two started digging around the stone with deer antler spoons.
Near the rock, weeds grew, and Zhao Jun and his two companions were extra careful to clear them away, fearing that the roots might get tangled in the ginseng roots.
Just as Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin were engrossed in their work, Shao Tianpeng suddenly whispered, "I've found the whiskers, they're really here."
As soon as Shao Tianpeng said this, the morale of both groups was instantly boosted!
(End of this chapter)