Zhao Jun’s party of three entered the mountains. Zhang Yuanmin led the way, and after more than an hour of walking, they saw footprints on the ground.

There were human footprints, and dog prints too.

They continued forward, and the tracks kept appearing ahead of them along the path.

At this point, Zhao Jun felt something was off. He immediately pulled Zhang Yuanmin aside and asked, "Brother, you told me the other day that your brother-in-law and Li Dagua discovered the Bear Den together."

"That’s right," Zhang Yuanmin replied with a nod.

Zhao Jun asked again, "And you also said he was going to find people to take on the Bear Den?"

"Yeah..." Just as Zhang Yuanmin was about to nod again, he suddenly had a bad feeling. If someone had beaten them to it, killing the bear wasn’t a big deal, but he was afraid they might have taken the chainsaw.

"Let’s hurry!" Zhao Jun called out, quickening his pace.

The three of them walked for another ten minutes or so until they reached a fork in the path, splitting left and right.

Zhao Jun’s group needed to go left, but all the footprints went to the right.

But even so, Zhao Jun was still uneasy. He knew that although one path went left and the other right, they merged again four or five *li* away.

Although the left path was easier, Zhao Jun didn’t know how long ago the other group had passed through. He was afraid they might have picked up the chainsaw.

So the three of them walked faster and faster. After about five *li*, they saw the footprints again.

But as they continued, they saw the tracks veer down the right-hand slope and into a gully.

’Aren’t they heading to the same place as us?’ With this thought, Zhao Jun had Li Baoyu and Zhang Yuanmin slow down.

They walked a little further and heard the sound of dogs barking, along with the cry of some other animal.

Unable to contain their curiosity, the three of them stood on the ridge and looked down. In the gully, they saw three other people climbing the opposite slope.

And there on the opposite slope, halfway up, six hounds had an animal surrounded.

The animal was shaped like a horse, with two three-pronged antlers on its head. Its back was dark brown with white spots.

"A big one!" Zhang Yuanmin couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Not a big one," Zhao Jun said. "That’s a Meng Danzi."

"Ah, right, right!" Zhang Yuanmin accepted Zhao Jun’s correction.

In truth, whether it was a "big one" or a Meng Danzi, it was the same kind of animal: a Ma Lu.

It was just that "big one" referred to an adult Ma Lu, while Meng Danzi referred to one around two years old, weighing about three hundred *jin*.

This Ma Lu had antlers, meaning it was a stag. An adult stag Ma Lu could grow to around six hundred *jin*, and its antlers would have six or eight tines.

This Ma Lu’s antlers only had three tines; it wasn’t yet an adult. Cornered by the six dogs, the Ma Lu thrashed left and right, constantly trying to break through the encirclement.

The six dogs attacking it—three black, two yellow, and one particolored—chased the Ma Lu up the slope. Two of the black dogs outran the Ma Lu and cut it off.

Just then, a yellow dog charged from behind and bit at the Ma Lu’s rump.

The Ma Lu had just been cut off by the two black dogs when it was attacked from behind. It kicked out with its hind legs. The Yellow Dog slammed on the brakes, hastily dodging aside.

The Ma Lu forced back the Yellow Dog with a kick, but the other five dogs gave no ground, swarming in from all sides.

The Ma Lu, in turn, dug in its hind legs and reared up, lifting its front legs high before bringing them down to trample the two black dogs blocking its path.

The two black dogs dodged left and right. The Ma Lu seized the opportunity to charge forward out of the encirclement, trying to shake off all the dogs behind it.

But the Yellow Dog that it had just forced back with a kick now leaped up and clamped its jaws onto the Ma Lu’s short tail.

The Ma Lu cried out in pain and kicked back again with its hind legs.

This time, the hoof landed squarely on the Yellow Dog’s body. With an "AWOO!", the Yellow Dog was sent flying.

Although the Yellow Dog was kicked away, it had managed to stop the Ma Lu in its tracks. The Yellow Dog’s companions swarmed in, circling the Ma Lu and relentlessly attacking it.

They repeatedly lunged at the Ma Lu, snapping a bite, and then quickly retreating just as the Ma Lu tried to counter-attack.

As for the Ma Lu, it fought back by lowering its head to gore with its antlers, kicking with its hind legs, or rearing up to trample with its front hooves, all while slowly making its way up the slope.

Suddenly, Hua Gou, the only particolored dog among the six, leaped up and bit the Ma Lu’s leg. The Ma Lu instinctively lifted that leg and kicked Hua Gou squarely in the shin.

Hua Gou cried out in pain and was thrown a short distance. When it got up, one of its legs was already broken.

...

On the opposite slope, Zhao Jun and the others were enjoying the show. But when he saw the Ma Lu brutally break Hua Gou’s leg, Li Baoyu couldn’t help but feel sorry for the dog. He muttered, "Why aren’t those guys charging up there?"

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "They probably think the dogs have a wild boar cornered."

After speaking, Zhao Jun pointed down at one of the three men and asked Zhang Yuanmin, "Brother, is that Li Dagua?"

Zhang Yuanmin craned his neck to get a better look, then nodded. "Looks like him."

Li Baoyu, standing beside them, asked, "Then who are the other two?"

Zhang Yuanmin looked again, but this time shook his head. "They don’t look like they’re from our village."

Zhao Jun noticed one of them was stooped over, as if he had a hunchback. He thought of someone and said, "I think one of them is Li Luo Guozi."

And what do you know, Zhao Jun was right. Among the three men, there really was a hunchback.

What’s more, Zhao Jun had also been right about something else: the three men really did think their dogs had a wild boar cornered.

The day before yesterday, Li Dagua and Zhang Yuanmin’s brother-in-law had discovered that Black Bear’s Den together.

The next day, Zhang Yuanmin had gone to find Chen Dalai to hunt the Black Bear Den, while Li Dagua had gone to the neighboring Yongsheng Village to find his cousin, Li Dong.

This Li Dong had good Spear Technique and raised three hounds at home. Because he’d had a hunchback since childhood, people had called him Li Luo Guozi from a young age.

When he heard from Li Dagua that a Bear Den had been found, Li Dong hesitated for a moment. He was a little worried—not just for himself, but with the New Year approaching, it would be bad if even a dog got hurt.

But that’s how Hunters are. Knowing there was a Bear Den nearby and not being able to hunt it was torture. So, Li Dong took Li Dagua with him to find his good friend, Wei Lai.

This Wei Lai was also a Hunter, and he too raised three hounds at home.

He and Li Dong were great friends. They usually hunted separately, but when they came across big game, they would combine their packs of dogs and hunt together.

Both of them had guns, and with six dogs between them, they were confident that two guns against one Black Bear would be a sure thing.

So, the three of them had entered the mountains that morning with six dogs.

They weren’t in a hurry, strolling along at a leisurely pace. But halfway there, the dogs suddenly darted down the slope and into the gully.

"Must be a wild boar, right?" Wei Lai asked Li Dong casually.

"Should be," Li Dong replied nonchalantly, taking the gun from his shoulder.

Wei Lai also got his gun ready. "No rush, then," he said. "We can just get there once they’ve got it cornered for good."

Although they had come to hunt the Bear Den, they weren’t in a rush. They’d hunt whatever they came across on the way. The New Year was coming, so no matter what they bagged, it would be another dish on the table. Why not?

Whatever the dogs had surrounded now, they could kill it first and then go after the Black Bear.

But how could they have known that at the bottom of the gully were three Ma Lu?