Finally, it was Black Tiger's turn to be fed.
After waiting for so long, Black Tiger was frantic. When Zhao Jun handed him a piece of meat, Black Tiger snatched it in his mouth and, without even chewing, swallowed it in two gulps.
Zhao Jun was stunned. 'This dog's always been a glutton at home, but I've never seen him this ravenous.'
Seeing Black Tiger staring at him pitifully, Zhao Jun had no choice but to cut another piece of meat for him, but Black Tiger just did the same thing again.
Seeing how pathetic Black Tiger was, Zhao Jun decided to challenge him. If the dog could eat it, Zhao Jun would keep cutting meat for him.
Just like that, Black Tiger swallowed four pieces of bear meat in a row, each one an inch and a half thick and the size of a palm.
When Zhao Jun went to cut him another piece, he saw Black Tiger walk off into the distance. It stood far away from the other dogs, its head lowered.
Black Tiger's actions drew everyone's attention. Then, they watched as the dog gagged and vomited up all the meat he had just eaten.
Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, and Wang Dalong were speechless.
The four pieces of bear meat fell onto the grass. Black Tiger lay down in front of them, glanced around warily, then picked one up. Pinning it with his paws, he began to slowly tear at it.
At this, Wang Dalong lowered his head, afraid Zhao Jun might go back on his word and insist on selling Black Tiger to him.
By the time all the dogs had eaten their fill, Zhao Jun and the others had finished skinning and butchering the black bear. The large chunks of meat were packed into gunny sacks, submerged in the river, and weighed down with heavy rocks to keep them from being washed away.
Then, with Zhao Jun carrying the bear's head, and Li Baoyu and Wang Dalong each carrying two of the bear's paws, the three men and thirteen dogs began their journey back.
Returning the way they came would mean crossing the river again. For the men, it would just be a hassle, but the Dog Gang had fresh wounds that had just been bandaged. It wasn't a good idea for them to go back in the water.
So, Zhao Jun led the group on a detour.
They crossed mountains and ridges. As they were climbing a peak called Gangjiansi,
suddenly, Black Tiger, who had been following quietly behind Zhao Jun, let out two sharp barks.
His barking startled Zhao Jun, who was walking ahead of him.
Zhao Jun turned and cursed at Black Tiger before continuing his climb. After they crossed the summit and started down the other side, all the dogs except Black Tiger, led by Little Bear, suddenly charged forward. They stopped three to five meters away from the men and began barking wildly at the poplar forest ahead.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly handed the sack with the bear's head to Li Baoyu and slung the semi-automatic rifle off his back.
But as he moved forward, the Dog Gang scattered and wouldn't advance any further. They just milled around Zhao Jun.
This behavior made it impossible for Zhao Jun to guess what lay ahead.
But when he reached a spot called Shan Erlie on the mountainside, he saw something dangling from a green poplar tree up ahead.
Zhao Jun took a closer look and stopped in his tracks.
It was a roe deer skin!
Seeing Zhao Jun raise his hand, Wang Dalong and Li Baoyu both dropped the sacks they were carrying, unslung their rifles, and took up defensive positions.
Zhao Jun walked over for a look. There was still flesh clinging to the inside of the roe deer skin, with bones still attached. Below, more roe deer bones were scattered on the ground.
"GRROOOOOWL…"
"YOOOWWLL…"
Suddenly, the faint calls of two different animals echoed from the woods. Neither was a wild boar, a roe deer, or a stag.
It wasn't even a bear. They were the calls of carnivores.
And from the sounds of it, it was one against many!
"WOOF WOOF WOOF…"
Around Zhao Jun, the pack of dogs barked furiously toward the woods.
Once the dogs started barking, the roars in the woods fell silent.
Zhao Jun stood his ground. Behind him, Li Baoyu and Wang Dalong both stood with their rifles ready.
In less than a minute, the Dog Gang quieted down. The beasts in the woods must have retreated.
In that case, it couldn't be a tiger.
The Mountain King would never yield its path for a pack of dogs.
But just then, Black Tiger shot past Zhao Jun and darted straight into the forest.
"Come back!" Zhao Jun yelled, but Black Tiger had already disappeared into the forest undergrowth.
Zhao Jun whistled sharply. 'This Black Tiger might be a useless glutton,' he thought, 'but he's still better off guarding the house for Zhao Youcai than being abandoned in the mountains.'
RUSTLE RUSTLE…
The sound of rustling grass grew louder. Big Fatty and San Pang went forward to meet him, and saw Black Tiger dash out of the woods again. He dodged Big Fatty and San Pang and quickly came to a stop before Zhao Jun.
Zhao Jun was about to kick the disobedient mutt when he saw that Black Tiger was carrying half a tail in his mouth!
Seeing the tail, Zhao Jun's pupils contracted. He looked back up at the roe deer skin hanging from the tree, and a wave of unease washed over him.
By now, Wang Dalong and Li Baoyu had also seen the piece of tail that Black Tiger dropped at Zhao Jun's feet. They couldn't help but move forward for a closer look.
Wang Dalong bent down, picked up the piece of tail, and looked at Zhao Jun in utter shock. "Brother," he asked, "what kind of creature can bite the tail off a Wild Leopard?"