Tie Niu gritted his teeth and nodded, gripping the hunting fork tightly in his hand. The wind blew, and the leaves rustled, as if something was circling around.

Suddenly, a flash of green light appeared, and the beastly shadow pounced forward!

"Ignite it!" Du Jianshan roared.

The instant the flames ignited, a deafening roar shook the mountains and forests, sending dust billowing into the air. The beast's shadow was jolted in mid-air, fell to the ground, then rolled over and disappeared into the dense forest.

Tie Niu's legs went weak with fear, and he asked tremblingly, "Did you hit him?"

Du Jianshan's expression was solemn: "I don't know. But to be able to withstand this blow, it's no ordinary beast."

He brushed away the gunpowder ash and sighed, "It seems this mountain is about to change."

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was already late. While cleaning up the game, Tie Niu couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Du, should we report this to the commune? What if there really was a wild beast..."

"Did you hit him?" Tie Niu's voice trembled, his face covered in muddy streaks of sweat.

Du Jianshan didn't answer. He squinted, staring at the clearing in the woods that had been blown to ash. The smell of gunpowder mixed with the smell of burnt wood swirled in the wind. He silently licked his chapped lips, his finger still on the trigger.

"Shh!" He raised his hand to make a shushing gesture.

The woods fell silent again, even the birdsong was gone, only the rustling of leaves being gently stirred by the wind.

Tie Niu, his face flushed, asked in a low voice, "Brother Du, what...what is that beast? A wolf? Or a leopard?"

"Neither," Du Jianshan said in a low voice. "Didn't you see those eyes?"

Tie Niu recalled the flash of light and shuddered: "It was green! Like a lantern!"

“Yes,” Du Jianshan nodded, “It’s no ordinary beast.”

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of unease in each other's eyes.

People in the mountains all know that there are some things you shouldn't mess with.

Du Jianshan took the musket off his back, then pulled out a bag of hay and a small bottle of sulfur water, skillfully fiddling with them. "We need to set a trap. It was hit by an explosion, so it won't go far. If we can take it down tonight while it's injured, it depends on this."

Tie Niu's face turned pale: "Tonight? Brother Du, it's already pitch black, and you're still going to chase us?"

Du Jianshan looked up at the sky.

A thin mist drifted upwards from the valley, and the last glimmer of red on the horizon had long since vanished. The depths of the forest were shrouded in a somber atmosphere, like the gaping maws of a giant beast.

"A mountain herder afraid of the dark, yet still dares to call himself a mountain herder?" Du Jianshan sneered. "Let's go."

Tie Niu swallowed hard, steeled himself, picked up the bamboo basket, and followed.

The two followed the trail of blood. The blood wasn't red, but a dark green with a hint of black. The more Tie Niu looked, the more uneasy he felt.

"Brother Du, something's not right with this blood."

"I know."

"Then let's..."

"Stop talking nonsense." Du Jianshan lowered his voice. "The Mountain God is watching. We still have to do what we're supposed to do."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a deep roar echoed from afar, like thunder muffled in the earth. Tie Niu trembled all over.

"It's still there!"

"Of course I'm here." Du Jianshan's lips curled into a sneer, "Otherwise, what would be the point of me setting up this line of fire?"

He lifted the grass beside him, revealing a thin line that ran along the ground to the open space in front of him, where a simple wooden stake trap stood, beneath which was a pit two zhang deep, filled with sharpened bamboo skewers.

"Keep an eye on that line," Du Jianshan instructed, then slowly made his way into the woods.

Tie Niu's heart pounded like a drum, and he gripped the live wire tightly, his palms sweating profusely.