Er Gouzi wasn't stupid. In these times, anyone who could afford to keep horses—and keep them so plump and strong—was either a wealthy household or a bandit. The two men had come from the direction of the mountains; even a fool could tell they were bandits.
"Brother Zhuzi, could they be coming for us?" Er Gouzi snapped back to reality and asked, somewhat shocked.
"Probably. Six people went missing from the bandit den, so they're bound to send someone out to investigate."
"Let's go. For now, they won't have any leads."
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand and led the mule deeper into the area.
An hour later, the two reached the foot of the mountain. Having learned from last time, Liu Tiezhu didn't dare tie the mule in a conspicuous spot. He led it into the thick of a dense clump of weeds before the two set off on foot with their hunting dogs.
They hadn't even gone fifty meters before they were panting heavily. The mountain paths were incredibly tough—thick weeds and tangled dead branches everywhere posed major obstacles. On top of that, the snow on the ground made every step a huge effort. In such conditions, hunting was impossible. Any other hunter would have turned back long ago. Only Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi, who had been through hard training, could keep going.
They rested briefly, gritted their teeth, and pushed deeper into the snow. An hour later, they had advanced about two hundred meters without spotting any animals. The hunting dogs scouting ahead hadn't signaled anything either. Beneath the towering, dense trees, everything was a vast expanse of white. The mountain was eerily silent—aside from the occasional howling wind, not even a single insect chirp could be heard.
Er Gouzi said, "Brother Zhuzi, could all the animals in the mountain have fled? We've walked nearly three hundred meters and haven't seen a single animal track."
"They might be hiding deeper in. Our main goal is to find those stone caves," Liu Tiezhu replied.
They trudged another two hundred meters against the biting wind. The trees grew denser, and the rocks more numerous; there was no path at all. The hunting dogs stood ahead of them, still not signaling anything.
"Gouzi, gather some dry wood and start a fire. I'll take the dogs ahead to see if there's a way through."
With that, Liu Tiezhu took the two lead dogs, Big Sweet Potato and the other, plus two heavy-duty dogs, and pressed on. One man and three dogs climbed over rocks and slipped into the thick forest of giant trees.
About forty minutes later, Liu Tiezhu had covered another two hundred meters. What met his eyes was still an endless sea of weeds and towering trees. The trees were so dense that his vision was limited to a range of twenty or thirty meters. He carefully scanned the surroundings, then had no choice but to turn back in frustration.
Back at the meeting spot, Er Gouzi had already roasted some dried meat. Seeing Liu Tiezhu return exhausted, he hurried over.
"Brother Zhuzi, is there a way ahead?"
Liu Tiezhu shook his head and sat down by the fire. "We must be on the wrong track. Up ahead, there's nothing but thick trees and weeds as tall as a man."
"That can't be. We've been heading straight south—how could the direction be wrong?" Er Gouzi said.
Liu Tiezhu replied, "I'm not talking about the direction, but the path. It's strange—we've come this far and haven't run into a single animal. That's too abnormal."
"Could I have been right? Is there a bigger animal in the mountain?"
Liu Tiezhu thought for a moment and waved his hand. "Even if there were a bigger animal, it couldn't have killed off everything. There should still be small animals like squirrels and field mice around."
"Then what do you think's going on, Brother Zhuzi?" Er Gouzi asked.
"I don't know, but it's not a good sign. Let's eat first. When we're full, we'll take another route and go deeper."
Half an hour later, they had eaten their fill and set off along a different path deeper into the mountain. They walked for two hours. There was a path now, but they still hadn't found the stone caves Er Gouzi had mentioned. As dusk began to fall, they didn't dare go further. Liu Tiezhu signaled the dogs to lead the way back.
The snow on the mountain was heavy. In just two hours, it had covered their footprints from the way in. Looking around, everything looked the same. Without the dogs to guide them, even if they didn't get lost, finding their way back would have been a real hassle. Led by Big Sweet Potato and the other dogs, it took them nearly three hours to get out of the mountain.
By then, it was dark, and the wind was blowing harder. The two hunched over, climbed onto the mule cart, turned on their flashlights, and urged the mule homeward.
Halfway back, they heard the sound of hooves in the distance.
"Gouzi, turn off the flashlight!"
Liu Tiezhu called out, quickly jumped off the mule, and led it into the weeds by the path, signaling the dogs to stay quiet. The dogs were well-trained; at the gesture, they all lay still on the cart. Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi also dropped flat.
Soon, two horses galloped past. The burly men on horseback kept cracking their whips, as if in a hurry.
"Damn it, riding that fast—are these bandits rushing to their deaths?" Er Gouzi, splattered with snow, couldn't help cursing.
"Cut the crap. Let's get home quickly. Those bandits are in a rush—something's up."
Liu Tiezhu slapped Er Gouzi on the back and led the mule faster.
They got home at seven in the evening. Hearing the mule's sound, the tense group in the yard breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's going on? Why are you back so late?" Uncle's tone carried reproach, but his face showed concern.
"The mountain paths were tough, so we're late," Liu Tiezhu said, not mentioning the bandits and making an excuse instead.
"Eat first. We'll talk about everything else after dinner." Uncle patted both their shoulders and headed into the kitchen.
Inside, the food was steaming hot. No one had eaten except little Yaoyao. After dinner, everyone sat around the stove chatting. Er Gouzi told them about the strange scene in the mountain.
"You walked several kilometers into the mountain and didn't see a single animal?" Uncle and the others widened their eyes, deep shock on their faces.
"Could they have frozen to death?" Yang Yulan said.
Uncle replied, "Impossible. In the past, when it was minus ten degrees, no animals froze to death. Even if some did, there's no way there'd be none at all. You two can't go back into the mountain tomorrow. Something unknown must have happened in there."
"Uncle, maybe the animals in the area we walked through have migrated. With the dogs and compound crossbows, we won't be in danger," Liu Tiezhu said. He had to go back into the mountain. Before the bandits ransacked the village, he needed to find a suitable hiding place for his family.