Zhao Wendong’s expression grew grim. If other people were involved, things would get complicated.
Zhao Ergou ventured a guess, "Do you think Second Brother saw someone he knew?"
"Impossible. Even if our second brother saw someone he knew, he wouldn’t have just run off without a word!"
Zhao Wenjun shook his head, denying the idea. He knew his second brother.
Zhao Wendong stared at the several sets of messy, intersecting footprints leading deeper into the mountains, a knot of anxiety tightening in his chest. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. No matter the situation, they needed to rendezvous with Zhao Wenwu as quickly as possible. His gaze shifted to General, the dog held on a leash by Zhao Wenjun.
Zhao Wendong took Zhao Wenwu’s rifle and let General sniff it before patting the dog’s head.
"General, find him!"
General tilted its head, looking at Zhao Wendong intently.
’Find the nice-smelling master?’
Zhao Wendong patted its head, confirming its thoughts. To the dogs, Zhao Wenwu’s scent was indeed quite "fragrant."
"WOOF WOOF, WOOF WOOF WOOF!"
General barked at Zhen Shan and Zhui Feng. Zhao Wendong shouted to Zhao Wenjun.
"Big Brother, release the hounds!"
Zhao Wenjun quickly unleashed them. Three figures—one yellow, two black—shot forward, following the tracks in the snow.
SWOOSH!
Xiaobai became a streak of white light, darting after them.
"Load your rifles, safeties off! Let’s move!"
Zhao Wendong shouted over his shoulder before leading Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou in a sprint. Hearing his command, Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou said nothing. They flicked the safeties off their rifles as they ran, holding them at the ready, muzzles pointed outward. Their expressions grew tense and solemn.
The man they were so frantically searching for, Zhao Wenwu, was currently sprinting desperately through the snow, carrying someone in his arms. Two people were behind him, shouting something, but he paid them no mind.
To understand what happened, we have to go back to that morning when Zhao Wenwu went to relieve himself. He had just stood up and pulled up his pants when he saw a figure run past in the distance. Just as he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, two more figures gave chase. ’Who would be chasing someone in these snow-covered mountains?’ The sight immediately piqued his curiosity. He fastened his pants and followed them to see what was going on.
When he got closer, crawling on his stomach through the snow with his butt in the air, he was stunned to see three people in yellowish-green, military-style uniforms. The one being chased had lost their hat; it was a woman with long hair. Her pursuers were two men, one tall and one short, and both were holding handguns.
The woman had already been caught. Zhao Wenwu couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but he saw the short man slap the woman several times. The tall man pointed his gun at her head, but the short man suddenly pulled him back.
The two men whispered something to each other, and then the short one started forcing the woman down to pull off her pants. She struggled violently until the tall man pistol-whipped her on the head a few times, knocking her to the ground and temporarily incapacitating her.
Zhao Wenwu had originally planned to mind his own business and leave. But when he happened to see the grief and despair in the woman’s eyes, something stirred within him. He crawled quickly through the snow. Just as the short man was about to pull down the woman’s pants, Zhao Wenwu shot up from the ground, slammed into the tall man, and then scooped up the woman and ran.
The tall man was caught completely off guard, and the gun flew from his hand. Zhao Wenwu’s sudden appearance stunned both men. They never expected someone to pop up in these desolate, snow-covered mountains in a foreign country and snatch their target from right under their noses.
After a moment of shock, the short man cursed as he pulled his pants back on, while the tall one scrambled to find his handgun. By the time they raised their weapons to shoot, they saw that Zhao Wenwu was already a good distance away, running with surprising speed despite carrying someone. The two men swore angrily and gave chase.
After running for a while, Zhao Wenwu realized he was lost. He had wanted to find Zhao Wendong, but now he couldn’t get his bearings. With the two men hot on his heels, he had no choice but to keep running forward with the woman in his arms.
Fortunately, he had been eating well lately and had plenty of strength. Even while carrying a person and stumbling along, he managed to stay ahead. Unfortunately, the snow concealed many dead branches, and he kept tripping. Each time he fell and got back up, his pursuers gained on him. The two men behind him also fell, but they didn’t have to waste time picking someone up again, so the distance between them steadily shrank.
The woman in Zhao Wenwu’s arms was around twenty years old and very beautiful, with strong eyebrows that gave her a heroic look. She had already given up all hope when a stranger suddenly appeared and saved her. At first, she was shocked, but after getting a clear look at Zhao Wenwu, she understood immediately: he was a hunter from a nearby Dragon Country village.
The woman wiped the blood from her forehead. Glancing back, she saw her two pursuers closing in. She suddenly spoke in perfect, unaccented Mandarin.
"Put me down. You should go on your own. Otherwise, we’ll both die here."
Instead of being alarmed, Zhao Wenwu’s face lit up with delight. He laughed heartily. "You can speak our language! What was all that gibberish you guys were saying earlier?"
Not understanding their conversation had been driving him crazy. Now, he just had to know what they had said. He needed the full story.
The woman stared at him, completely baffled. He wanted her to translate what they were saying earlier at a time like this? ’Is this guy crazy?’
"Please, put me down. You can’t escape while carrying me. They’ll really kill you. I don’t want to drag you into this. It has nothing to do with you. Just go!"
Zhao Wenwu shook his head with a look of disdain.
"My third brother is a total badass! If they dare to kill me, he’ll kill them!"
BANG! BANG!
Just as the woman was about to ask who this "third brother" was, two gunshots rang out. A bullet slammed into a nearby tree, shaking snow from its branches. The men behind them had opened fire!
Fear finally struck Zhao Wenwu. He shut his mouth, held the woman tighter, and started running even faster.
"Fuck!"
Hearing the faint sound of gunshots from ahead and to the left, Zhao Wendong flinched. He let out a curse, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot.
’Goddammit! Someone’s shooting, and we have Second Brother’s rifle. Zhao Wenwu is in trouble!’
"Faster! Go faster!"
Zhao Wendong picked up his pace. Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou, now fully aware of the gravity of the situation, exchanged a look and pushed themselves to their limits, sprinting toward the source of the gunshots.
THUMP!
As Zhao Wenwu ran, he thought he heard the sound of flowing water. Distracted for a moment, he tripped again, and the woman tumbled from his arms once more. It was a hard fall; she rolled quite a distance, becoming covered in snow. Zhao Wenwu scrambled back to his feet and scooped her up again, but it was too late. The two men behind them had caught up.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets whizzed past Zhao Wenwu. One grazed his shoulder, tearing away a tuft of cotton padding and drawing blood. His grip faltered, and he and the woman fell again. This time, with his shoulder injured, Zhao Wenwu tried several times but couldn’t manage to lift her. Seeing him, bleeding from the shoulder but still stubbornly trying to save her, the woman was deeply moved, and tears streamed from her eyes.
"Damned Dragon Country people!"
"You dare meddle in our business? Go to hell!"
The short man reached them and raised his gun, aiming at Zhao Wenwu on the ground, about to pull the trigger. This man also spoke Mandarin.
The woman’s eyes narrowed. She suddenly rolled over and threw herself on top of Zhao Wenwu, trying to shield him with her own body.