The severed end of the Golden Leopard's tail was caked with dirt.
Zhao Jun took a closer look. The dirt had been soaked a dark red by blood.
Zhao Jun flicked it with his thumb, showing the broken bone to Wang Dalong and Li Baoyu.
"Brother, what kind of animal bit it?" Li Baoyu asked the same question Wang Dalong had.
The Northeast Leopard was known as one of the White Mountain Two Kings. In these forests, even the other king, the Northeast Tiger, might not be able to take one down.
Besides, the chorus of howls they'd heard earlier was proof enough that this Northeast Leopard had been mobbed by a pack of animals.
There were no wolves in these woods. Honey Dogs were cunning and agile, targeting vital spots, but they were never this ferocious or cruel.
Zhao Jun glanced around. Seeing that the dogs from all three of them had stopped and were staring into the forest, he already knew the answer. He said to the other two, "It must have been Red Dogs."
"Red Dogs?" Hearing this, Li Baoyu exclaimed, "You don't see many of those around these last couple of years."
Wang Dalong took out his cigarette case, offered one to Li Baoyu first, and said, "Back when my uncle and Uncle Li used to do dog-pack hunts, there were tons of them. They'd hunt them whenever they ran into them."
"Yeah." Li Baoyu struck a match, cupping his hand against the wind to light Wang Dalong's cigarette before lighting the one in his own mouth. After taking a drag, he looked at Zhao Jun and said, "When I was a kid, my dad and my uncle would always be hauling back a couple of skinned Red Dogs. But the meat was so gamey and sour, you couldn't get rid of the taste no matter how you stewed it."
"Mhm," Zhao Jun grunted, nodding in acknowledgment. 'Hunting dogs are afraid of large felines—tigers, leopards, even lynxes. But they aren't afraid of canids like wolves, or the Red Dogs they were just talking about.'
'The pack hadn't gone into the forest earlier because they'd smelled the leopard.'
Now, the three men sat down to rest. The pack of dogs dispersed; some lay down by their masters, others sniffed around the woods. Black Tiger, however, was under the tree with the roe deer skin, jumping and leaping for it.
But the leopard had hung its food in the tree for the precise reason of keeping it away from other predators. There was no way it would be easy for the dog to reach.
But Black Tiger was truly persistent. When it got tired of jumping, it would sit under the tree to rest. Once it had gathered some strength, it would start leaping up again, trying to get the roe deer skin.
Zhao Jun and the others watched its antics, their amusement turning to exasperation. Li Baoyu turned to Zhao Jun and asked, "Brother, you think maybe he's still hungry?"
"Oh, give me a break!" Zhao Jun said irritably. "He ate the most out of all of them. Look at his belly, it's about to burst!"
Just then, one of Wang Dalong's white dogs started to pass under the tree with the roe deer skin.
It was just passing by, but it was startled by a sudden threatening growl from Black Tiger.
The white dog glanced at Black Tiger, then turned and scurried away.
"Brother, look at that coward," Li Baoyu said, tattling to Zhao Jun.
Zhao Jun just smiled and shook his head. Then he looked at Wang Dalong and asked jokingly, "Brother Long, you sure you don't want to buy this dog? If you do, I'll give you a discount."
"You can give me a break, too!" Wang Dalong quickly refused, shaking his head. "Xiaojun, I'm not buying this dog. Just help me train my four dogs before autumn, that'll be enough."
By now, Li Baoyu and Wang Dalong had both finished their cigarettes. The three men got up, whistled for their dogs, and prepared to set off again.
Hearing the whistles, the other dogs gathered around their respective masters. Only Black Tiger remained sitting under the tree, glancing at Zhao Jun, then looking up at the roe deer skin. It looked back at Zhao Jun, then back at the skin.
Zhao Jun sighed in resignation. He waved to Wang Dalong and Li Baoyu, signaling for them to take the other dogs and go on ahead, while he walked briskly toward Black Tiger.
Seeing Zhao Jun approach, Black Tiger stood up and wagged its tail furiously at him. It then looked up and barked twice, as if asking Zhao Jun to help pull the roe deer skin down.
Zhao Jun beckoned to Black Tiger. The dog trotted over, about to act cute and try to win him over, but Zhao Jun bent down and grabbed both of its front legs.
Holding Black Tiger's two front legs, Zhao Jun lifted it up, pulling the dog onto its hind legs.
Then, as if he were dragging a small child, Zhao Jun pulled Black Tiger by its front legs, forcing it to walk on its two hind legs like a person as they continued on their way.
Black Tiger couldn't struggle free and could only let Zhao Jun drag it forward. Its tail was now tucked between its hind legs, and it whimpered continuously.
Zhao Jun knew this was uncomfortable for the dog, so he only dragged it for three or four meters before letting go.
As soon as Black Tiger's front paws hit the ground, its tail shot right back up.
Seeing it glance back again, Zhao Jun pointed at it and barked, "Get going!"
This time, Black Tiger behaved. It followed Zhao Jun, caught up with the main group, and headed for home with them.
Just before they left the mountain hunting grounds, Black Tiger let out a couple of barks, and the whole pack of dogs took off like a shot, running back toward the village.
Once in the village, the pack split up, each dog returning to its own home.
As for Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, and Wang Dalong, after entering the village, they first went to the Village Office to return their guns, report on their hunt, and collect their bounty.
「Inside the Village Office.」
The air was thick with smoke. Zhao Guofeng was chain-smoking, one cigarette after another. Across from him sat an old woman dressed in sackcloth with a white band wrapped around her head.
The old woman's face was haggard. She leaned back against the wooden chair, silent.
But seeing her dressed like that, how could anyone not feel troubled?
Ever since morning, when Zhao Guofeng came to the Village Office, the old woman had come to the Village Office. When Zhao Guofeng went home, the old woman followed him home.
But when she reached Zhao Guofeng's gate, she wouldn't go inside. She would just sit down right in front of his door.
For all these years, she and Jiang Hua had depended on each other. Now that Jiang Hua was dead, she had no children and nothing left to care about. It didn't matter if you were the Village Chief or not; nothing anyone said would work on her.