After speaking, he looked up at the eastern ridge. There, clouds and mist swirled, and sunlight shone through.

"Let's go back to the village. This trip today is something we can brag about for a lifetime."

Xiao Wei laughed heartily: "Hey, brother, I really forgot. Yesterday it was a tiger, today it's a leopard—we've really become mountain gods this time."

"Who said it was bought in town?" Du Jianshan raised an eyebrow, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes twitching in the firelight. "I made this gunpowder myself. Saltpeter, charcoal, sulfur, everything."

Tie Niu was stunned: "You made this yourself? Isn't this thing dangerous?"

Du Jianshan laughed, revealing a set of teeth stained yellow by tobacco: "Back when your father and I were out in the mountains, we had to make our own gunpowder. Where could we buy it back then? If you weren't careful, it would explode and burn off your eyebrows. You're still too green for that."

As he spoke, he raised his rough, large hand and poked at the firewood by the hearth. The firelight licked the bottom of the pot, the oil sizzled, and the aroma of the stewed rabbit meat inside was irresistible.

Tie Niu swallowed hard and couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Du, are we really going to that mountain valley this time? That area is closed off."

"Close the mountain, close the mountain," Du Jianshan scoffed. "You can close the mountain off people, but you can't close the mountain off beasts. That 'one-eyed badger' isn't dead yet. I saw its footprints on the other side of the ridge last night. Aren't you going?"

Tie Niu's eyes lit up, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'm going... but that thing is really evil. Old Wu was bitten by it that time."

Du Jianshan looked up at him, his smile slowly fading. "If you're not going, stay here and watch the pot. I'll go up the mountain alone tomorrow morning."

Tie Niu sighed and rubbed his hands together: "I didn't say I wouldn't go, I was just asking. Give me some gunpowder, I'll make a kindling, just in case we need it later."

Du Jianshan handed over a small amount of gunpowder wrapped in oiled paper, and then took out two rough iron nails from his waist pouch. "Be careful with this stuff, don't let it get near fire."

Tie Niu took it and carefully tucked it into his chest. Night fell, the mountain wind howled, and the firewood crackled. The two exchanged a glance, but neither spoke.

——

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the fog in the mountain valley was so thick it seemed you could wring water out of it. Du Jianshan carried his old flintlock pistol, while Tie Niu carried a basket filled with traps, dry rations, and the iron can. The two of them trudged through the damp fallen leaves into the depths of the forest.

"Uncle Du, can this gun still fire?" Tie Niu asked in a low voice.

"Hmph," Du Jianshan glanced at him, "This musket of mine was left to me by your father. When has it ever failed? As long as the gunpowder is dry enough, it can even shoot off a badger's pelt."

Tie Niu chuckled: "Then I'll wait to drink badger soup."

The mountain path narrowed further and further, leading to an old pine forest. The forest was very shady, with almost no sunlight. There was a sweet, fishy smell in the air, like the stench of rotting flesh. Tie Niu frowned. "This smell is wrong."

Du Jianshan raised his hand to make a shushing gesture and whispered, "Beast smell... no, it's blood."

He bent down, parted the grass, and saw a half-dried pool of blood with drag marks along the side, leading into the depths of the forest.

Tie Niu's expression changed: "Could it be a person?"

Du Jianshan said in a deep voice, "I recognize human blood, but it's not. It's animal blood—badger or wild boar blood."

"Should we still chase them or not?"

"Chase it! The more blood there is, the more injured the badger is."

They chased each other into a mountain hollow, where the fog grew thicker. The two crouched behind some rocks, and Du Jianshan raised his hand, signaling them to be quiet. He pointed to a collapsed cave entrance ahead, from which came low snoring sounds.

Tie Niu held his breath and asked softly, "Is it inside?"

Du Jianshan nodded, slowly took out a piece of fuse from his waist, stuffed the small amount of gunpowder into the bamboo tube, set up the fuse, and placed it by the cave entrance.

“Step back,” he said.

Tie Niu hurriedly squatted behind a rock, and Du Jianshan lit the fuse. With a hiss, sparks snaked into the bamboo tube, followed by a muffled boom and a cloud of smoke.