Chapter 6

The sky quickly darkened. Tian Yao reheated the leftover chicken soup from noon. Seeing Yu Nian wasn’t eating the buns, he was puzzled. “Why aren’t you eating the buns? There are still several.”

Yu Nian simply took the leftover cornbread from this morning, crumbled it into the soup, and gulped it all down.

After the meal, night fell. Tian Yao only lit a single oil lamp, still not forgetting to soak Yu Nian’s feet in hot water.

Yu Nian had gotten used to it by now. He heard Tian Yao ask him if he knew what nanmu wood looked like. He didn’t know what Tian Yao wanted it for, said nothing, just asked him to find a charcoal stick and drew the appearance of a nanmu tree.

He drew it on the blank pages at the back of the booklet his Little Dad had left him.

“You draw so well.” Tian Yao leaned close to the oil lamp to look. Using just the cheapest charcoal, with just a few strokes, he captured both form and spirit.

Yu Nian, however, didn’t think much of it. Compared to the drawings in the front of this booklet, his own possessed only technique, no emotion. The ones before were a father’s worries for his child’s uncertain future.

Tian Yao, still carefree, lay beside him, talking about what he needed to do tomorrow. At first, he was organized, but later, overcome with sleepiness, his words jumbled—Aunt Zhang’s eggs one moment, the Village Chief’s ox the next. Then, silence.

Yu Nian was also used to his lightning-fast entry into sleep and slowly closed his eyes.

After two days of rest and recovery, Yu Nian’s body was much better than before, so he no longer needed as much sleep. But when he woke in the morning, the other side of the bed was already cold. Tian Yao had long since risen.

The room was quiet. Yu Nian sat up, leaning against the headboard. Hearing the movement, Tian Yao came into the room carrying the oil lamp. “Why are you up so early? It’s only just past dawn, still early.”

“And you?”

Tian Yao’s eyes lit up. This was the first time Yu Nian had spoken to him, besides caring about the dog. “I have to go up the mountain to chop firewood.”

As he spoke, he sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping his leg bindings. His sleeves were also tied up with arm straps. His usually loose hair was tied back. Only then did he stand up. “Winter’s coming; it’s always better to have more firewood. And while I’m at it, try my luck, see if there’s any slightly bigger game.”

“It’s not light out yet,” Yu Nian said.

“I always go up the mountain at this hour.” Tian Yao was ready. He brought breakfast to Yu Nian’s bedside. “I probably won’t be back early today. You might have to eat cold steamed buns at noon. Wait for me to cook when I get back in the evening.”

Yu Nian nodded.

Before leaving, he once again helped Yu Nian to the outhouse to relieve himself, then crouched down and tapped Little Gray’s nose. “Grow up fast, guard your daddy. Don’t let anyone bully him.”

Yu Nian heard every word clearly from inside the room, the corner of his mouth twitching.

The mountain behind Huailing Village was vast. In his youth, Tian Yao had walked many mountain paths with his Father. Approaching the deep mountains, his Father no longer allowed him to enter, saying there were fierce beasts that were very dangerous.

So after his parents passed, Tian Yao initially went out to do odd jobs to earn money, rarely hunting in the mountains. Later, when he couldn’t get odd jobs anymore, he started going up the mountain to hunt small game, pick herbs, and occasionally sell them in Town.

After the incident where he lost all his savings, he ventured more into the mountains. Still, he didn’t enter the deep mountains, just skirted the edges. But not without rewards; he had once seen tracks of a large animal there.

He compared them to the booklet at home; they should be Wild Boar tracks.

He had never hunted such large game before, mostly because he didn’t need to take such risks for big prey. But now he had a family, every corner needed money. Buying land could wait, but Yu Nian’s wheelchair was the current priority. So he decided to try his luck at the place where he’d seen the Wild Boar tracks.

At least this year, he had to earn the money for the wheelchair. With a wheelchair, Yu Nian could move freely when he wasn’t home and wouldn’t have to go hungry.

The deeper he went into the mountains, the colder the air became. Tian Yao always liked to travel light. He only carried two steamed buns and a hatchet.

Wild fruits in the trees were overripe and had fallen to the ground. What should have been a sweet fragrance was now rotting and foul. Tian Yao felt a pity. In the past, whenever his Father went up the mountain during this fruit’s season, he’d bring loads back for their family. Since Father passed, he hadn’t eaten this wild fruit in a very long time.

Tian Yao rested his feet. Further inside was the deep mountain area no one from Huailing Village ever entered.

Though the sun was high, the mountain shielded the scorching sunlight; only scattered spots of light filtered through the tree shadows. Tian Yao looked up. The vast shadows of the trees resembled a night sky full of stars.

The deep mountain was no longer just pines and cypresses; there were trees Tian Yao didn’t even recognize. He thought, if only Yu Nian could enter the mountains, he would surely know all their names.

He reached the place where he’d seen the Wild Boar tracks before. It looked no different from any other dense forest. He hid himself in a large patch of bushes, quietly observing the surroundings, breathing very lightly.

He lay in ambush here almost the entire day with no results. Seeing the sky darken, he made a mark at this spot and headed down the mountain.

On the way back, he still cut a bundle of firewood to take home.

Yu Nian was as usual, sitting on the bed. With nothing to entertain himself, he was looking through the booklet Tian Yao’s Little Dad had left him.

Tian Yao brushed the grass and leaves off his clothes and sat by the bed, chatting with Yu Nian for a while.

Tian Yao waited at that spot on the mountain for three consecutive days before finally noticing something unusual. On the fourth day, when he went up, he saw fresh tracks again.

The mud around the tracks was still damp, meaning it had just passed through here recently. Tian Yao held his breath and followed the tracks, gripping the hatchet tightly in his hand.

Following the tracks deeper and deeper into the mountain, not even the faint buzz of insects remained in the jungle. The loudest sound Tian Yao could hear was his own breathing.

This absolute silence was abnormal.

He already sensed a gaze staring at him from behind. Tian Yao slowed his breathing even more. The moment he looked back, the boar’s clumsy, heavy body was already charging at him. Tian Yao stood his ground, clenched one fist, and threw a punch with all his might. The Wild Boar barreled straight into his fist, but upon impact, it let out a pained squeal and crashed into a large tree nearby.

Tian Yao felt like his finger bones were about to crack open; he could already see blood on them. After its pained cry, the Wild Boar charged at Tian Yao again.

Tian Yao felt his whole body burning hot. All the blood in his body surged towards his hands, the top of his head.

He could no longer remember the things his Father had told him about dealing with prey larger than himself. He just threw another full-strength punch when the Wild Boar attacked again.

The boar crashed into another tree, its agonized squeals echoing through the forest.

Only then did Tian Yao realize he had to end this fast. Wild Boars were social animals. If one was harmed, they would likely appear in numbers.

Without pausing for breath, Tian Yao followed up and slashed his knife at the boar’s neck. The thick, metallic scent of blood hit him. Panting heavily, he didn’t bother to clean himself up. He hoisted the boar, still steaming with residual heat, onto his shoulders and left the deep mountains without looking back.

Once he was out of the deep mountain area and could already see the cooking smoke rising from the villagers’ homes below, he finally let out a true sigh of relief.

The Wild Boar was thrown to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. Only then, belatedly, did Tian Yao realize he had actually killed a Wild Boar. Its hide was tough and bristly, its long tusks sinister and terrifying in the cold night, saliva still dripping from its mouth.

Along the entire path back, there had been a trail of blood dripping from the boar he carried.

Tian Yao was alarmed. He remembered his Father saying the beasts on the mountain must never learn the way back to the village. But coming down, the boar’s blood had dripped all along the path. If the beasts learned the way down the mountain, that would be a calamity he brought about.

He rested a while; the sky was now completely dark. He set the boar by the roadside, turned around, and, gripping his hatchet, headed back.

The sounds of insects from the roadside and the rustle of wind through the forest leaves filled his ears. Tian Yao felt a shiver in his heart. But this was his mess; he had to clean it up.

Reaching the border between the shallow and deep mountains, Tian Yao took off his own outer garment, stained with his and the boar’s blood, and threw it onto a path leading far away from the village.

Then, using his hatchet, he turned over the soil wherever the boar’s blood had spilled, completely covering the bloodstains. He figured tomorrow he’d have to go up the mountain again to thoroughly eliminate these scents.

Watching the sky gradually darken, Yu Nian still hadn’t heard Tian Yao’s footsteps returning home. In the previous days, when the sun dipped west, Tian Yao would already be back. Even if his expression showed disappointment, he’d pull himself together, saying that was just how hunting was—sometimes no catch for ten days or half a month.

Today, the sky was already dark, the last ray of sunlight moving away from the window, yet Tian Yao was nowhere to be seen.

In the past, he’d heard his subordinates say ordinary hunters went out in groups of three to five. No matter the harvest, they returned home when it got dark, for the forest at night posed greater dangers.

And Tian Yao was a Ger.

Yu Nian had lost count of how many times he’d looked towards the door. Little Gray reacted faster than him, immediately scrambling up and running to the door. It smelled the blood on Tian Yao and jumped around him, up and down.

“Alright, alright.” Tian Yao’s voice reached Yu Nian’s ears, and only then did he breathe out in relief.

Tian Yao was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion. This Wild Boar weighed at least four hundred catties. Carrying it all the way home, even with his immense strength, he now felt completely drained.

He dumped the boar in the courtyard. Still worrying that Yu Nian had been cooped up inside all day, he practically crawled on hands and knees to the room. In the end, he just leaned against the door frame, utterly spent, unable to move another step.

“What happened to you?” Yu Nian had smelled the heavy scent of blood the moment he entered. Under the oil lamp, he saw the long bloody scratch on Tian Yao’s neck, his face also a bit swollen.

Leaning against the door, panting, Tian Yao still wanted to share his achievement. “I hunted a Wild Boar.”

He picked himself up, walked to the bedside, and sat down, gesturing with both hands. “A boar that big! First time I’ve ever seen one.”

“Hurt?” Yu Nian saw his outer clothes were gone. Finger joints were covered in scrapes. The worst was on his neck; blood had already stained his white inner garment red.

“Injuries are unavoidable.” Tian Yao’s voice was quieter, clearly exhausted to the limit. “Let me rest a bit, then I’ll go cook for you.”

Yu Nian’s heart trembled. Then he took the steamed bun from the bedside that he hadn’t eaten at noon and handed it to him. “Don’t cook. Eat this.”

Tian Yao looked up. His body reacted before his brain, reaching out and wolfing it down.

“Why didn’t you eat? Only the one this morning?” Tian Yao licked his lips, feeling a bit more strength return to his empty body.

“I barely move all day, wasn’t hungry.”

Tian Yao smiled. It had been two or three days; Yu Nian was finally communicating with him normally.

“Let me rest a little longer.” He didn’t lean on the bed, afraid his body was too dirty. “Need a good wash.”

After Tian Yao finally recovered some strength, he took a deep breath and got up. “Even if not hungry, you still must eat. You probably went hungry often before. Little Dad said that damages the spleen and stomach.”

He first heated water and simply put down a bowl of noodles. This time it tasted a little better than the last; at least Yu Nian ate it all to give him face.

Uncharacteristically, he was too lazy to wash the dishes immediately. He washed himself first, then returned to bed clad in thin inner garments, his body carrying the scent of moisture.

Yu Nian looked at him. The wound on his neck, washed with water, had its newly formed scab washed off, revealing pale pink flesh underneath.

He then looked at Tian Yao’s face; there were also some scrapes on his cheek, same on his hands.

He didn’t know how this Ger, facing a Wild Boar that even ordinary hunters feared, had managed to escape with his life and even kill the boar and bring it back.

“Tian Yao, get up and put on some medicine.” Yu Nian nudged Tian Yao, who impatiently pushed his hand away.

“No. Yu Nian, I’m so sleepy. Don’t talk.”

In the darkness, Yu Nian smelled the soapberry scent mixed with the metallic tang of blood on Tian Yao. He tried to move his own legs, only to find it was futile.

A deep sense of helplessness coiled around his heart.