It seemed that the bear had targeted Lao Hu for revenge because of the earlier gunshot.
Or perhaps it was because Xu Lang was small and not worth the effort for the bear, but this judgment clearly didn't hold up. Otherwise, the bear should have gone after the fat man.
There was nothing else they could do. Xu Lang was in a panic, but there was nothing he could do but hope that Lao Hu would reload his bullets quickly.
Now it was a race against time, a man versus a bear, and he couldn't help but feel anxious for Lao Hu.
The situation was indeed very dangerous and not optimistic.
Just as the bear was about to reach Lao Hu, he finally finished reloading the bullets and fire powder. Lao Hu, covered in cold sweat, raised his hand and fired a shot.
Perhaps because he had used too much gunpowder, black smoke rose instantly, staining his cheeks black, making him look like an African refugee.
Due to the hasty shot, he still missed the bear's head, but he did hit its shoulder, causing the bear to fall from the nearly ten-meter-tall tree. However, since the ground below was not hard, covered by thick dead branches and leaves, the bear's thick skin didn't suffer much damage.
Seeing this, Lao Hu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This damn gun has a huge recoil. If I hadn't been prepared, this shot would have knocked me down. Damn it, if I had a semi-automatic, I would have shot it into a sieve!"
The fat man heard this and said, "That's obvious. If we had a semi-automatic, would Fat Man need to climb trees?"
As they spoke, the bear climbed up again. This time, it didn't climb the tree, but roared and used its massive body to ram the tree, making the pine needles rain down like hail.
Xu Lang twitched his lips and shouted, "Damn, this guy's vitality is so strong? He's lost so much blood but still has so much energy. Lao Hu, what did your wife eat growing up? What did you do to it? Why does it have to try to murder its husband?"
Lao Hu glared at Xu Lang and cursed, "You little rascal has such a sharp tongue. Be careful or you'll end up a bachelor. I don't know how the old secretary taught you, but you've been taught to be a shameless rascal. You're definitely going to be a menace when you grow up."
"Comrades, I think I'll have to go ahead and see Old Ma. I'll go over there and save you a seat. Do you have anything you want to say to the ancestors and mentors? I'll pass it on for you. Don't be shy."
The fat man was lying on a big tree over ten meters away, shouting, "Comrade Lao Hu, go ahead and rest in peace. The great cause has you and it has you not. When you get there, make sure to learn revolutionary theory from Old Ma. I heard they like to eat potato and beef stew. Can you handle that?"
Lao Hu laughed, "Comrade Little Fatty, your level of awareness isn't high enough. When have we proletarian warriors ever been picky about what we eat? The next great cause is in your hands. I'm going to eat potato and beef stew. By the way, should I wait for you guys on the road?"
The swallow on another tree was almost crying, shouting, "What time is it? You two still have time to talk nonsense? Hurry up and think of a way! It's all my fault. I didn't bring any ammo when I came up."
Xu Lang shouted, "What can we do now? If Lao Hu's wife really knocks down the tree, the four of us will go down and fight it. I don't believe it. Four of us plus two dogs, and we can't kill Lao Hu's half-dead wife!"
Lao Hu was immediately anxious when he heard this, and shouted, "You little rascal, don't be stupid! We might not be able to beat it."
Before he finished speaking, the bear suddenly stopped, sat down on the ground, and gasped for breath.
The bear had already lost a lot of blood, and after a lot of violent struggles, even if it had strong energy, it would eventually run out. Now, sitting there, it seemed like it was going to stall them out.
Seeing this, Xu Lang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and laughed, "Little Fatty, your second uncle is finished. In this state, it'll be worn out if it keeps hanging around with us. We might even get a bear paw to eat. I heard bear bile is really valuable."
The fat man heard Xu Lang's sarcasm and shouted, "Lao Hu is right. Your mouth will definitely get you single, you stinky boy. Wait till we get back and settle you. I'm telling you now, you can't let the dogs out..."
Xu Lang grinned. It was impossible to not let the dogs out. His confidence in teasing the two of them these past few days came from Xiong Da!
Time passed minute by minute, and the four of them continued to exchange barbs on the tree. The atmosphere was no longer as tense as before. The swallow mostly listened. She didn't have the same thick skin as the three of them.
The two hunting dogs stayed far away, not daring to approach the bear, but they were always on guard. Although they were hungry, out of loyalty to their owner, they would rather starve than go find food.
Yanzi felt sorry for Lizizi and whistled for it to go find food for itself. Seeing this, Xu Lang also motioned for Xiong Da to follow.
The two dogs left. The four of them were bored and waited, and the bear really stayed tough, just hanging out with them.
They had not closed their eyes for almost two days and nights, and the four of them were exhausted, both physically and mentally. Now that their minds were slightly relaxed, drowsiness swept over them. They used belts and other things to secure their bodies and then took turns resting. They hadn't eaten much in a day and night. The dry food didn't do much to help.
The four of them were thirsty and hungry, and with the exhaustion of their bodies and minds, Xu Lang quickly fell asleep.
As for who was guarding now, Xu Lang said, "I'm still a child. You can't expect me to guard, right?"
He didn't know how long had passed, but when Xu Lang woke up again, the sky was already bright. He was awakened by Yanzi and the fat man, but he found that Lao Hu was gone and the bear under the tree was dead, he didn't know when.
The bear had died from blood loss.
Yanzi took the bear's gallbladder, casually cut a few pieces of bear meat, and the three of them forced themselves to eat a few bites to replenish their energy. They then took the two dogs and searched for Lao Hu non-stop, but they couldn't find him even after shouting and searching for about an hour.
In the end, Xiong Da did the trick. He found two people at the foot of a hill by the river. They were Lao Hu and the missing Tian Xiaomeng, who were unconscious.
This left Xu Lang completely dumbfounded. How did Lao Hu find Tian Xiaomeng? And why didn't he call for help when he woke up? He went off to find someone on his own?
This was illogical. Even if Lao Hu intended to find Tian Xiaomeng alone, he wouldn't have left his gun behind, or even left a dog behind.
After a brief examination, they found that Lao Hu and Tian Xiaomeng had a fever and were unconscious. The fat man carried Lao Hu on his back, while Xu Lang and Yanzi took turns carrying Tian Xiaomeng.
Fortunately, Xu Lang was in good shape and not short, so he could at least help Yanzi share the burden. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to handle it alone.
For some reason, Xu Lang felt that the unconscious Tian Xiaomeng was a little strange. There was an inexplicable aura surrounding her, a feeling he could only vaguely sense, but couldn't articulate.
Xu Lang suspected that it might be related to his cultivation, but his cultivation was too shallow, so he couldn't feel anything.
It wasn't until the afternoon, when they met hunters from the village who were out looking for them, that the group finally returned to Ganzicamp.
Lao Hu had a high fever. The fat man ran dozens of miles through the mountains to get a doctor from the county. The doctor's diagnosis said that Lao Hu was overworked and had fallen ill due to the large temperature difference in the mountains. That was basically it.
It wasn't until three days later that Lao Hu finally woke up.
They had been worried sick these past few days, even worried that Lao Hu's brain was damaged, or that he wouldn't wake up. The fat man nearly cried when he saw Lao Hu wake up.
Tian Xiaomeng remained unconscious, with no awareness at all.
Then Xu Lang started asking Lao Hu, trying to understand what happened.
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