sinovels Chapter 1987: All are warmongers
Chapter 1987: All are warmongers
Chapter 1987: All are warmongers
Zhao Jun took the rope from Li Baoyu and skillfully tied a chain knot at one end, then put it around the little black bear's neck.
But considering that it was a bear, Zhao Jun asked Li Baoyu to bring a rope, thinking that they could tie it to the little black bear's waist after entering the mountains.
Once Zhao Jun put a rope around it, the little black bear neither struggled nor resisted. It simply followed Zhao Jun out of the compound when he shouted "Go!"
With the "bait" first, everyone else, whether they were competing or just watching, followed suit.
Just as Zhao Jun was leading the little black bear to the gate of the courtyard, the sound of dogs barking came from the backyard, and the little black bear changed from standing on two legs to standing on all fours.
It has lived with the Zhao family since it was a cub, learning their way of walking, and usually walks upright on two legs. Even when chasing and playing with the little lynx and the little black fat cat, it still runs on two legs.
Based on Zhao Jun's understanding of the little black bear, when it transformed into a four-legged form, there was only one possibility: it felt threatened and instinctively wanted to attack.
"Hei Zi!" Zhao Jun gripped the rope tightly and shouted, "Get down!"
Black bears are exceptionally intelligent, far surpassing the intelligence of dogs. Once domesticated, they are extremely obedient.
Upon hearing Zhao Jun's order, the little black bear, which had been on all fours, immediately lay down.
At this moment, Li Baoyu and Xie Chen, who were closely following Zhao Jun, both noticed the little black bear's unusual behavior. They stepped forward together and stood in front of the little black bear.
Immediately afterwards, two people appeared at the main entrance.
"Hiss..." The little black bear subconsciously made a defiant sound, but this hiss was learned from the little lynx.
Zhao Jun tugged on the rope, and the little black bear stopped his hissing. It stood up and followed the rope to stand beside Zhao Jun.
"Baojun?" Zhao Youcai recognized the man and strode forward to greet the older of the two.
This man was Xue Baojun, one of the four tiger hunters in the Yong'an Forest Area twenty-two years ago.
As for the person who came with him, it was Xue Baojun's son, Xue Limin, who had dealt with Zhao Jun several times before.
"You're rich! Oh, Cheng Guo?" Xue Baojun didn't expect to run into so many people as soon as he entered the Zhao family compound.
When Xue Baojun left for distant lands, Wang Qiang was only a little over ten years old, and they didn't live in the same village. So, of all the people present, Xue Baojun was only familiar with Zhao Youcai, Li Dayong, Zhou Chengguo, and Xing San.
To put it bluntly, Xue Baojun was a forestry worker back then, while Xing San was a bandit. So even if the two knew each other, they didn't have much interaction.
“Baojun.” Zhao Youcai grasped Xue Baojun’s hand and said, “Come on, let’s go upstairs.”
Since everyone is a guest, even if Zhao Youcai is eager to compete for the title of Spear Master, he must still entertain his old friend who has come to visit.
Xue Baojun and his son came today because they needed something from the Zhao family. To be precise, they needed something from Zhao Jun.
When Zhao Youcai and Xue Baojun first met, they boasted about the changes their families had undergone in the past twenty years. In the end, Zhao Youcai, relying on his outstanding eldest son, managed to outdo Xue Baojun.
But it was because of that incident that Xue Baojun learned that Zhao Jun was an inspector in the inspection team.
In the forest area, the position of inspector is definitely a good job. Although it's not an official position, it does come with a certain amount of power.
The logging areas previously contracted by people like Xue Limin and Du Chunjiang have all expired, and the logging areas will be re-divided this year.
As a veteran in the forest area, Xue Baojun knew that once the beginning of autumn was over and the weather cooled down a bit, the mountain technicians and the inspection team leader would start to discuss the division of logging areas.
Xue Limin wants to continue leasing the forest farm in Yong'an Forest Area this year, and he wants to find a place with relatively good conditions, such as a forest compartment that is close to the leasing farm and where the trees on the mountain are in the same row or in the same place.
This requires maneuvering and networking.
Xue Baojun came from the Yong'an Forest Area and knew some of the older people there. But the Zhao family was now incredibly powerful in the Yong'an Forest Area, so Xue Baojun and his son decided to visit them and ask Zhao Jun for help.
At this moment, Xue Limin was carrying canned goods and pastries. Faced with Zhao Youcai's invitation, Xue Baojun did not refuse.
But before going inside, Xue Baojun glanced at the group of people carrying guns and then asked Zhao Youcai, "Youcai, are you going up the mountain?"
"Ah!" Zhao Youcai nodded in response, then seemed to remember something and immediately asked Xue Baojun, "Baojun, have you been shooting all these years?"
"Shoot?" Xue Baojun was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Why wouldn't I shoot? I not only shoot, I also hunt in my own area."
"That's great!" Zhao Youcai's small eyes lit up when he heard this. "Today, the few of us are going to have a contest to see who has the best spearman. Baojun, why don't you come too?"
"Gunsmith?" Xue Baojun couldn't understand this at all, and only said, "You Cai, you've been fighting these past few years, you have to be careful."
"Huh?" Zhao Youcai was taken aback, then heard Xue Baojun continue, "You can't fire the gun too far."
Some people say that when hunting, you shouldn't hunt males in spring, females in summer, or even those with young.
This thing might seem reasonable at first glance, but anyone who really knows what it is knows it's pure bullshit.
Before shooting, could you break the legs of the livestock to see if it was male or female? Or, if you were hunting dogs, could you tell them not to shoot the ones with pups?
The truly meticulous ones, like Zhao Jun and Zhou Chunming who studied spring hunting, would set the time for the spring hunt before the piglets in the mother wild boar's womb were fully formed, to prevent a bunch of bloody piglets from falling out when they were cut open.
True hunters, however, believe in not killing all the prey.
The phrase "not killing all the roe deer" means that if you encounter four roe deer, you kill three and release one.
On the day Zhao Jun hunted the Pig God, he was in a hurry to chase the Pig God away, and Li Baoyu and Zhang Yuanmin, in a moment of excitement, slaughtered all the pigs that were trapped in the snow, which was wrong.
But at this moment, Xue Baojun's reply was completely irrelevant.
Zhao Youcai frowned upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "What do you mean by not firing all the shots? You don't understand Baojun. A few of us are going up the mountain today to have a shooting contest and see who shoots better."
"You guys..." Xue Baojun's gaze swept over the crowd. Although he didn't know most of them well, his eyes lit up when his gaze landed on Zhou Chengguo. He said to Zhao Youcai, "Youcai, how do you compare to Chengguo?"
"Ah!" Zhao Youcai responded, "Me, Cheng Guo, my son, my brother-in-law..."
Before Zhao Youcai could finish speaking, Xue Baojun interrupted him: "Youcai, dare to take me with you?"
"Hey!" Zhao Youcai laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? It's great that you can participate!"
Zhao Youcai had unparalleled confidence in his marksmanship and was unafraid of any challenge. When Xue Baojun announced his participation in the shooting competition, Zhao Youcai not only felt no threat but was also quite excited.
In Zhao Youcai's mind, today's battle would be a perfect opportunity to take down his two old rivals, as well as his disobedient son and brother-in-law.
“Well… um…” Xue Baojun was also a straightforward person. He turned around, took the can of food and the butter package from Xue Limin, handed them to Zhao Youcai, and said, “Youcai, take this to the house, and then we’ll leave.”
"No need for that trouble." Zhao Youcai took the item, turned around and handed it to Li Baoyu, saying, "Baoyu, go and take it to the storeroom."
Li Baoyu took the things and ran towards the storeroom next to the gate.
Watching Li Baoyu's departing figure, Xue Baojun smiled at Li Dayong and said, "Is this your son? He's so tall."
"Damn it, he's even taller than me." Li Dayong laughed and casually chimed in.
Xue Baojun smiled, then looked at Zhao Jun and asked, "Kid, what are you doing with this little black bear?"
After saying this, Xue Baojun looked at the little black bear before Zhao Jun could speak and asked, "How come this little bear cub is so fat? What's it eating?"
"Haa!" The little black bear could understand the word "fat." The Zhao family often called it fat, but when they did, they always praised it for being adorably fat.
However, the little black bear did not detect any goodwill in Xue Baojun's tone.
Xue Baojun found the little black bear's breath novel but didn't pay much attention to it.
In the forest areas, many people kill black bear cubs in winter and take them home to raise.
"Baojun, how are we going to compete today?" Zhao Youcai asked Xue Baojun why he had brought the little black bear, and then said to him, "We're going up the mountain to have a competition to see who can kill a black bear..."
"Hit it?" Xue Baojun was an impatient man. Before Zhao Youcai could finish speaking, he pointed at the little black bear in surprise.
The little black bear sensed the strong malice in Xue Baojun's words. It hid behind Zhao Jun while baring its teeth at Xue Baojun.
"Why attack it?" Zhao Youcai told Xue Baojun about Zhang Yuanmin's plan, and Xue Baojun was stunned.
After listening, Xue Baojun turned to look at Zhang Yuanmin, who had a smug look on his face.
Seeing Zhang Yuanmin's physique and expression, Xue Baojun was momentarily dazed and asked, "Are you Big Head's son?"
“Ah? Ah… Uncle Xue.” Zhang Yuanmin nodded to Xue Baojun, acknowledging his background.
"No wonder," Xue Baojun muttered to himself. Just then, Li Baoyu returned, and Zhao Youcai said impatiently to Xue Baojun, "Baojun, let's go! Let's hurry back so we can have a drink!"
In Zhao Youcai's view, this drinking party was a victory celebration. The thought of defeating powerful enemies on the mountain, winning the title of spear master, and then returning to drink heartily filled Zhao Youcai with uncontrollable excitement.
"Let's go!" Xue Baojun responded without hesitation, then turned to Zhou Chengguo and said, "Chengguo, I've become really good at shooting these past few years. I don't think you can beat me."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chengguo simply smiled and said nothing.
At this point, Zhao Youcai became unhappy. Xue Baojun's words meant he wasn't being taken seriously.
"Hehe." A cold glint flashed in Zhao Youcai's small eyes, and he let out a soft laugh.
And so, the nine members of the Zhao family gang, the two members of the Zhao family hunting gang, plus five unorganized individuals—Master Zhao, Zhao Weipeng, Zhou Chengguo, Xue Baojun, and Xue Limin—a total of sixteen people, led a small black bear out of the Zhao family compound.
Just then, Zhao Weipeng arrived in his jeep, and the sixteen of them boarded three separate vehicles and headed out of Yong'an towards the mountain area.
Along the way, Li Baoyu, Zhao Weipeng, and Xie Chen drove very fast. What should have been a two-and-a-half-hour journey took them only one hour and forty minutes.
After parking the car, everyone got out and walked up the muddy hill.
Less than ten minutes after entering the mountain, we heard bursts of bear roars coming from the second flank of the mountain.
"Hanghou...Hanghou..."
The sounds of male black bears gesturing at each other echoed through the deep forest, sending chills down one's spine.
The little black bear following Zhao Jun trembled at the sound of his voice. Zhao Jun stroked the back of the little black bear's neck and gently comforted it, but the little black bear clung to Zhao Jun's leg and wouldn't let go.
"Let's go, up!" Zhou Chengguo observed the surrounding mountains and shouted, "There's a flat area up there."
Upon hearing this, everyone sprang into action. After walking about 180 meters, they indeed arrived at a flat, open area.
At this moment, the roars of bears coming from the second flank of the mountain became increasingly clear.
As Zhao Jun looked up, he heard Zhao Youcai's voice beside him: "Let's stay here."
"Hmm." Xue Baojun nodded and said, "It's a little over a mile away, they should be here in a bit."
No sooner had Xue Baojun finished speaking than Li Dayong shouted, "Hurry, hurry!"
Then Li Dayong placed a burlap sack on the ground, with pine stalks sticking out of the sack's opening. After opening the sack, Li Dayong took out a bunch of sickles and distributed them to Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, and the others.
Those who received the sickles went forward to cut grass.
Although the area is flat and open, the grass is relatively tall.
The grass is taller than a person, which will definitely block people's view.
In order to create a good competition environment for the six contestants, even Xing San and Grandpa Zhao took action.
They used the same energy they had when harvesting rice, quickly cutting down patches of grass.
With many people, there is strength. Soon, it was no problem for Zhao Jun and his group to project their vision to within thirty meters.
This distance posed no threat to Zhao Jun and his men. Aside from the top fighters, there were also more than ten guns.
But then, everyone realized that something was wrong.
The roars of bears from the two flanks of the mountain still echoed there, showing no sign of moving.
"Huh?" Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhang Yuanmin, then looked at the little black bear that was tied to the tree but curled up against the tree roots, ready to fall asleep.
Zhao Youcai's gaze greatly frustrated Zhang Yuanmin. Just then, Old Master Zhao chuckled, "This little black bear smells like shampoo, how can the big black bear possibly come?"
Everyone was taken aback by what Grandpa Zhao said. Zhao Jun, who was closest to the little black bear, even lowered his head to sniff the little black bear's head.
Seeing Zhao Jun approaching, the little black bear tilted its head back and pressed its mouth against Zhao Jun's face.
Zhao Jun frowned, annoyed by the little black bear's foul mouth. But only its mouth was smelly; the rest of its body smelled wonderful.
Summer is here, and the little black bear is also hot, so Wang Meilan gives it a bath every few days with warm water.
When washing it, we even used shampoo as a body wash. Just as Grandpa Zhao said, the little black bear smelled wonderful all over.
Zhang Yuanmin's plan was to use a small black bear to lure the large black bear down from a distance, which required the scent of the small black bear.
But this little black bear smelled of shampoo and Zhao Jun and the others.
Let alone attracting a bear, even if this little black bear stood in front of an unfamiliar hunting dog, the dog might not bite it.
Therefore, Zhang Yuanmin's "brilliant plan" was based on the habits of black bears, but he was just making assumptions.
At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin also realized that his plan had a flaw, and immediately said to Zhao Youcai, "Uncle, I have a better plan."
Zhao Youcai frowned upon hearing this; he knew Zhang Yuanmin's plan. It involved sending a team up the mountain from the back ridge, then making noise from the mountaintop to disturb the herd of black bears.
Because they're too far away, even if someone fires from the ridge, the black bear won't run that far with the gun pointed at it. The startled bear will definitely come down. That way, Zhao Jun and his team can wait until the bear gets close before firing.
But Zhang Yuanmin's first plan failed, and his second plan was met with suspicion from everyone.
After hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, no one spoke or responded.
“Youcai,” Xue Baojun changed the subject, saying to Zhao Youcai, “What do we do now? We’ve come all this way, we can’t just go back like this.”
Hearing Xue Baojun's words, Zhang Yuanmin's face darkened. This old man's words were tantamount to completely negating his plan.
Just as Zhao Youcai was about to speak, someone said, "We definitely can't go back. If the few of us go back like this, won't people laugh at us?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun looked up in surprise. He didn't know if they would be laughed at, but he was certainly astonished that his uncle would say such a thing.
At this moment, not only Zhao Jun, but also the other members of the Zhao family gang looked at Wang Qiang.
Zhao Youcai never expected that his brother-in-law would be so radical.
What Zhao Youcai didn't expect was that Zhou Chengguo said, "Uncle Zhao, can't we take eight semi-automatic trees and force our way down?"
Zhao Youcai: "..."