Chapter 2: The Charm of Mountains and Forests

  "Pure Hong greets Uncle Zhou and Uncle Chen." Little San bowed his head under his father's request to Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzi.

  Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzi quickly helped up Xiao San, Chen Gouzi said with a smile: "Still, Lin Ge is amazing, Lao San is already so tall. This kid's delicate skin looks like his aunt."

  Zhou Wang heard Chen Gouzi speak nonsense and sighed: "A dog's mouth can't spit out elephant teeth, if you don't talk you will die."

  Chen Dogzi touched his head, hehe smiled: "I'm just a rough man, the first time I saw this kid, I have to bring some gifts." After finishing, he turned around and went into the house to fetch a dagger, handed it to Little Three. Zhou Wang also took a bow and gave it to Little Three. Little Three firmly declined, but his father ordered him to take it, so Little Three accepted the dagger and bow. He pulled out the cowhide scabbard outside the dagger, and the dagger emitted a chilling cold light. Little Three was delighted to put it away, hanging it at his waist. Then he picked up the bow, plucked the bowstring, and the bowstring made a humming sound. Little Three kowtowed again: "Thank you Uncle Zhou, thank you Uncle Chen."

  Chen Dogzi chuckled and said: "This kid is really nagging, what's there to thank about. But with him thanking me like this, I feel a bit comfortable in my heart."

  Lin Dewen and Zhou Wanghaha burst out laughing, saying: "We brothers haven't seen each other for many days, today let's have a good drink." After finishing speaking, Lin Dewen untied two wine gourds from under the donkey's belly, saying: "Zhangji Chen's old wine from the county town, stored for ten years."

  Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzi were overjoyed, and they invited each other into the house.

  Zhou Wang was busy inviting his wife and daughter to pour tea, while the rural women were not so particular. San's third child paid respects to her aunt and younger sister. Zhou Wang's daughter was called Xiaofeng, who was only ten years old. Since seeing San, she had been staring at him with wide eyes. No wonder, it was rare for children to be seen in the mountains, and San's arrival naturally made Xiaofeng extremely delighted.

  It was already late at night, and Xiaosan was exhausted from the journey, falling asleep soon after dinner. Lin Dewen, Zhou Wang, and Sun Gouzi hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they drank wine and chatted idly until deep into the night, still full of energy and enthusiasm.

  Xiao San slept until midnight, was woken up by the urge to pee, and faintly heard the conversation of three people.

  "He General was shot with over a dozen arrows, fell off his horse and died. Shenyang City has been breached, Liaodong is completely finished!" Chen Gouzzi said with unutterable grief and indignation, trembling as he spoke.

  The three men thought of that land where blood had once flowed, and they all felt a surge of anger in their chests. A sense of resentment that could not be vented, so they simply picked up their wine cups and drank them dry.

  "All brothers have fallen in battle, Jian Nu has become a climate, and my Great Ming's troubles are getting bigger." Zhou Wang said with a sigh.

  "Jian Nu won't break through the Ningjin defense line that easily. The real trouble for the Ming dynasty is within." Lin Dewen said, pinching his empty wine cup.

  Zhou Wang and Sun Gouzi stared at Lin Dewen, hastily asking him why.

  Lin Dewen continued: "The common people's lives are getting harder and harder, with increased taxes and droughts. Even in Jiangling, a land of fish and rice, there have appeared bandits. The Yangtze River is floating with the corpses of Wei Suo soldiers, who knows which official army has been defeated!"

  "Lin Ge, you brought Xiao San over just to avoid conscription?" Zhou Wang asked.

  "If there really is a disaster of war, this place won't be able to escape either. I just want the two brothers to teach Xiao San some skills. A chaotic era is approaching, and having more skills means having more lives."

  "As for skills, how can we two brothers compare with you? Why don't you teach us?" Sun Dogzi asked.

  Lin Dewen didn't show any modesty, saying: "There are many people in the village with loose tongues. I secretly taught Eldest and Second Brother, but it still led to a lot of gossip. They're still at a mediocre level now. As for Third Brother, I'll leave him to you, especially you, Zhou. Although my martial arts skills are better than yours, when it comes to military strategy and tactics, even if I were to practice for another lifetime, I wouldn't be able to catch up with you."

  ……

  The little three-year-old was sleepy and fell asleep again after urinating, and didn't even hear the words of encouragement afterwards.

  The next morning, Lin Dewen left early, leaving only Xiaosan behind. Xiaosan wanted to cry but held back her tears with all her might. Chen Gouzzi happened to see this and laughed, scolding: "If you want to cry, just cry, a man does what he wants, why make it so complicated."

  "Who says I'm going to cry? Last time I was bitten by a dog and I didn't cry."

  "What's it to be bitten by a dog? If you can get bitten by a tiger and still not cry, that's what I call impressive."

  "Is there a tiger here? Even if there is, Uncle Chen can't beat it." Little Feng said on the side.

  "What's a tiger? Just bring three of them, I, Uncle Chen, can capture them with my bare hands."

  "Uncle Chen is bragging!"

  "Cut the crap, I'll bring a third wheel with me today and catch a tiger to show you."

  ……

  "What's this book?" Little Feng'er held up Xiao San's book and asked.

  "Don't move, this is a book given by Mr., called 'Records of the Grand Historian'."

  "What's the big deal about 'dead chicken'?" Little Phoenix tossed it aside and picked up a small wooden carved figurine, chuckling: "Hmm, this one is interesting, give it to me."

  "This won't do, it was given to me by Big Brother, I can't give it to you. Tomorrow I'll carve one for you." Little Three said hastily.

  Little Phoenix threw away the small man with a huff and said: "Who cares, what a petty ghost." After finishing speaking, she left the house.

  Xiao San didn't bother with her, packed up the things she brought and prepared to go out for a stroll. As soon as she walked out the door, she heard a strong gust of wind coming, Xiao San hastily dodged, but lost her balance and fell on all fours. Xiao San quickly got up, only to see Xiao Feng holding a stick with a smug smile on her face.

  The little three hastily and angrily asked: "Why did you hit people for no reason?"

  Little Phoenix threw away the stick and clapped her hands, shouting: "How stupid! Can't even dodge a stick, and fell down too. How embarrassing!"

  Xiao San's face turned bright red as he said, "If you don't use your stick and don't launch a sneak attack, I'm sure I can beat you."

  "Let's give it a try."

  Xiao Feng stood there, motionless. Xiao San rushed over and prepared to push Xiao Feng down. As a result, Xiao Feng dodged to the side and hooked Xiao San's leg with his foot, causing Xiao San to fall flat on his face.

  Xiao San got up, with a surge of evil fire in his heart, his eyes wide open, feeling that his hands and feet were not as agile as Xiao Feng's, so he wanted to use tricks. He slowly walked over to Xiao Feng, suddenly stretched out his hand, ready to grab Xiao Feng's arm, but Xiao Feng flipped her hand, avoiding Xiao San's hand, and pushed him hard, causing Xiao San to fall on his back again. This happened five or six times, but Xiao San still didn't give up, getting up again to continue. At this point, Zhou Wang came out, grabbed Xiao San's hand, and said: "She has practiced before, you can't beat her now."

  Xiao San was no longer in front, but his face was filled with unwillingness.

  Zhou Wang scolded Xiao Feng'er: "Don't be naughty, go play with your mother!"

  Little Feng pouted and went back to her room. Zhou Wang said to Xiao San, "Your reaction is quite fast, it's just that your lower body is unstable, don't worry about this, practice and you'll be fine." After finishing speaking, he took two cloth bags filled with sand from the house and wrapped them around Xiao San's legs, instructing him: "From now on, wear these for at least two hours every day. Today, wear them and come with me into the mountains."

  It was evening, and Xiao San was about to quietly read a book when she was pestered by Xiao Feng'er, who insisted on listening to Xiao San tell a story. Xiao San had no choice but to take out the story her father used to tell and fool her with it: "A long time ago, there was a very mischievous child. One day, he did something wrong again, and his grandfather was beating him. Just then, his father came back and saw that his grandfather was beating his son. The child's father became extremely angry and thought to himself: How can you beat my son? After thinking about it for a while, he couldn't think of anything else to do because the person beating his son was his own father, and he couldn't disobey him. So, in the end, he could only slap himself twice. The grandfather was extremely surprised and asked him why he had hit himself. As a result, he said angrily: 'You beat my son, so I'll beat your son!'"

  Xiaofeng didn't understand at all, but the three adults burst out laughing. Xiaofeng also giggled foolishly, and even Xiao San couldn't help but laugh. When Xiaofeng's mother saw that her child had finally found a playmate, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. From then on, Xiao San followed Chen Gouzi to learn knife skills, followed Zhou Wang to learn archery and battle tactics. The three of them often went hunting in the mountains, and when they were free, they would accompany Xiaofeng to play together. They listened to Chen Gouzi and Zhou Wang tell stories about their adventures in Korea and Liaodong, but didn't forget to study. Time passed quickly, and before long, a year had gone by. Xiao San returned home twice during that time, but nothing much had changed at home.

  Xiao San's skills have grown, and Xiao Feng is no longer a match for her. However, Xiao San never bullies her. On the contrary, Xiao Feng often throws tantrums, and Xiao San tries to accommodate her. One day, Xiao San follows Zhou Wang and Sun Gouzi to hunt wild boars.

  The forest was very dense and sunlight was rarely seen, in some places there were no roads at all. The three of them had to use their knives to open up new paths. As they walked, Zhou Wang and Sun Dogzi passed on their experience.

  "When hunting wild boars, first find the water source, then see if there are any footprints of wild boars. It's the same with military campaigns, the enemy must set up camp near a water source," said Zhou Wang.

  "By looking at the footprints of wild boars, you can tell how big they are and roughly how many there are. Later on, when you lead troops, you should also scout ahead to understand how many enemy soldiers there are and whether they are elite." Xiaosan nodded continuously, firmly remembering Zhou Wang's words, preparing to record them with a pen after returning home.

  Three people moved forward along the small stream in the mountain, and soon they found a flat ground with traces of wild boars washing after their bath. Sun Dogzi judged from the footprints that there were probably three wild boars who had been here. Both Sun Dogzi and Zhou Wang thought this place was good, and it was very suitable for hiding in a downwind location. So several people continued to move forward along the stream.

  Xiao San was puzzled and asked: "We've found where the wild boar drinks water, why can't we just wait here instead of searching?"

  Sun Dogzi laughed and said: "There are many places where wild boars drink water. Let's deceive the wild boar and let him go to that place we were at earlier to drink water."

  "How to cheat?"

  Sun Dogzi pulled out a few balls of rotten cotton from his backpack and said, "Use this to deceive."

  Zhou Wang explained, "Wild boars have a keen sense of smell. Once they catch the scent of humans, they won't go near. If we place this rag in other locations, the wild boar will surely return to where it was earlier. In battle, there's also the principle of feigning and actuality, trying our best to lure the enemy onto the battlefield of our choice. Do you understand?"

  Xiao San nodded again, and the three of them found six such places, all of which they placed the broken cotton wadding. Then they returned to the first point, and the three of them hid in a downwind location. Xiao San used the bow given by Zhou Wang, Zhou Wang's bow was much stronger than Xiao San's, while Chen Gouzi's left arm was already disabled, using a *.

  "When the wild boar comes, I'll shout 'shoot', and you all take action together. In future battles, we must also observe discipline; without an order, no one is allowed to take action." The three men didn't say a word, quietly waiting.

  After waiting for more than an hour, Xiao San couldn't bear it anymore and kept poking his head out to take a look. Sun Dogzi laughed and scolded: "Look at you, getting anxious like this, I spent several nights lying in the snow in Korea back then and didn't get as impatient as you." Xiao San smiled awkwardly and quietly waited with his head tilted to one side. Zhou Wang said: "Seizing an opportunity is not easy, it requires a lot of patience, sometimes you have to wait for several months."

  The three of them waited for a long time, and the sky was almost dark when they heard the rustling sound. Zhou Wang quietly raised his head to observe, and indeed it was a wild boar. Zhou Wang slowly raised his bow, drew the string full, and Xiao San followed suit, drawing the string and taking aim. Sun Gouzi's* had already drawn the string and only needed to take aim. Zhou Wang whispered "Shoot!" The three crossbow arrows immediately flew towards the wild boar, and all that could be heard was a pained cry as the wild boar quickly turned around and ran away.

  Xiao San suddenly jumped out and chased after the wild boar. Zhou Wang and Sun Dogzi quickly called out to Xiao San, telling him not to chase anymore.

  Xiao San didn't understand, and Zhou Wang said: "If the wild boar is mortally wounded, it will die sooner or later. We can go look for it later. If it's not mortally wounded, we'd better give up the chase. Otherwise, we might get hurt by the wild boar."

  Zhou Wang looked up at the sky and said, "It seems that we can only camp here tonight. Xiao, check the firewood, Dogzi, you and I will go catch some small animals to roast for dinner."

  One night without a word, on the second day at dawn, the three of them found the wild boar on another mountain. Upon inspection, they discovered that all three arrows had hit their mark, and Chen Dogzi patted Xiaosan's head in approval. The three of them carried the wild boar down the mountain and returned to the Zhou household, where they also found Lin Dewen, Lin Chunzhi, and Lin Chunren, the three fathers and sons. Xiaosan was overjoyed, chattering nonstop beside his father and brothers, while his father stroked his head, feeling a deep sense of comfort at how strong and healthy Xiaosan had grown.

  Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzi seemed to have known about the arrival of Lin Dewen and his two sons long ago, not feeling surprised at all. "Little San, you and Little Feng'er go out and play, I'll discuss something with your uncles." Father ordered.

  Xiao San was a bit unhappy, Zhou Wang smiled and said: "Let him listen too, this guy has also grown up."

  Father nodded, and San followed the adults into Chen Gouzi's room, closing the door. Father seriously said to the three brothers: "You are all grown up now, no one is allowed to reveal what happens here, otherwise we will all be dead, do you understand?" The three brothers solemnly nodded.

  Six people sat down, and the father took out a piece of paper with a map drawn on it. Sanzi took one look and knew it was a map of a mountain stronghold. This method of recognizing maps had been taught by Zhou Wang. The father continued to say: "I have already investigated clearly, Sun Wukong's subordinates have twenty-three people in total, including Sun Wukong himself, five people are quite skilled with their hands. They don't have armor or strong bows. This is their mountain stronghold."

  Originally, Father and the others were preparing to eliminate Sun Wukong at Shizishan, Little San was inexplicably excited. It's worth noting that in Xiaowan Village, Sun Wukong can be used to stop children from crying at night.

  "The situation is already clear, what's there to discuss? My two brothers and I can wipe them out without leaving a single chicken or dog." Chen Dogzi pushed the map away and said.

  "This time, let Hong Zhi and Hong Ren participate too. If they don't see blood, their skills will be wasted. As for Xiao San... Xiao San can join in as well." Father made the decision. Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzi looked at the three brothers and did not object.

  "We'd better discuss how to proceed carefully, it's always good to be thorough." Zhou Wang suggested.

  His father nodded and said, "What Old Zhou said is right, we also need to consider what happens after we get our hands on it, so as not to reveal any flaws when the time comes and be targeted by the authorities."

  The six of them deliberated until late at night, finalized the details, and agreed to take action on October 28th at dawn. After Little Three lay down on his bed, he was in a state of excitement, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. At two o'clock the next day, he got up to practice archery, growing more and more eager for October 28th to arrive soon.