"Are you crazy!" Du Jianshan lowered his voice. "Why did you chase after me at this time?"

"I'm worried about you!" Lanzi gasped as she leaned closer to him, water dripping from her raincoat, her face red with cold. "You think dying in the mountains wouldn't be so pathetic? If something really happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to Mother?"

"I'm in trouble? You think I went up the mountain to risk my life?" Du Jianshan's face was gloomy, and he glanced at the direction where the wild rabbit had darted out. "Lanzi, you should go back quickly. This mountain is dangerous and not for you."

"I'm not going back!" Lanzi shook her head stubbornly. "What you just said made it sound like you were trying to kill yourself. What if you really do something stupid if I don't stop you?"

Du Jianshan didn't say anything, he just stared at her coldly.

Lanzi's heart tightened, and she whispered, "Do you remember, the year we got married, there was a famine, you went up the mountain for three days and three nights and caught a hedgehog and came back saying, 'Although it's hard to eat, at least it has meat'... You ate half of it and had a stomachache all night, and in the end you asked me to take the remaining half to your brother."

Du Jianshan was taken aback for a moment, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Back then... you didn't hold a grudge against him," Lanzi said softly. "But now, how did things turn out like this?"

“He was still young then!” Du Jianshan finally spoke, his voice low. “Back then, I thought that as long as I supported this family, he would eventually grow into a strong and upright man… But look at what he’s become now! He gambles, drinks, and whores, and he even dares to steal cigarettes from the supply and marketing cooperative! The money I earned by breaking my bones, the things I bought back, I stuffed into his room. Do you think he deserves it?”

Lanzi bit her lip, speechless for a moment.

The rain intensified, pattering down on their shoulders. A mountain breeze carried a chill. The two stood under a maple tree by the mountain path, their clothes beneath their raincoats already soaked through.

"Alright, stop talking." Du Jianshan interrupted, looked up at the sky, and said, "It's getting dark. I have to get to Tiger Gully. If we don't guard the cave entrance tonight, the lynx will escape, and our trip will have been for nothing."

"I'll go with you," Lanzi said through gritted teeth.

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Du Jianshan glared. "You're a woman, you don't even know how to use a rifle, what are you doing up the mountain?"

“I heard it from your mother at home. I know you’re taking a risk this time.” Lanzi’s eyes were red, and her fingers gripped his sleeve tightly. “I… I don’t care how many hunts you do. I’m just afraid you can’t handle it all by yourself. If something really happens to you, the family will fall apart.”

Du Jianshan choked, unable to speak for a moment. He turned to look at Lanzi's face, which was blue from the cold, and sighed. He took off a small piece of cloth from his back, took out half a piece of salted meat and a cornbread, and handed it to her: "Eat something and rest for a while."

Lanzi held the cornbread in her hands, tears welling up in her eyes again: "You...you've made up your mind not to go back?"

Du Jianshan didn't reply, but simply started walking towards Tiger Gully.

"Then wait for me." Lanzi followed, her feet sinking deep into the mud. "Although I don't know how to hunt, I can help you watch your back. My father taught me how to identify footprints, and I remember it clearly."

Du Jianshan glanced at her, said nothing, but slowed his pace.

After walking about a mile, it grew darker, the shadows of the trees swayed, and a cold wind blew into our ears. Suddenly, a low meow came from the bushes on our right.

Du Jianshan immediately stopped and gestured for Lanzi to squat down.

"Don't make a sound," he said softly, his shoulders lowered, already in hunter's stance.

The cat's meow had a drawn-out ending, mixed with a restless growl.

“It’s not a house cat, it’s a lynx,” Du Jianshan whispered.

He slowly unloaded his hunting rifle from his back, walked slowly along the ground, and pushed aside a clump of thorns with his left hand. Suddenly, in a flash, two amber eyes gleamed in the rain on the rocks ahead.

"They've come, just as I expected." He pursed his lips.

Lanzi quietly took out a wood-chopping knife and squatted behind the tree roots, watching him nervously.

The lynx weighed about seventy or eighty pounds, its fur clinging to its body, making it appear exceptionally thin and stiff. It tilted its head, sizing up Du Jianshan, looking both eager to pounce and wary.