Ger, So Proud

Chapter 37

“What’s the taste of bear meat? What taste?” He An scratched his temple, turned around from the field bank, but suddenly stopped in his tracks, “Taste bear meat? A grudge from the bear? Brother… Brother wouldn’t be going bear hunting, would he?!”

Bear hunting! Brother, how could he be so bold!

He An felt that something was wrong. He quickly turned around and chased after him. But even when he reached the foot of the mountain at the village entrance, he didn’t see He Ze’s figure. He must have already gone up the mountain.

“What should I do now? What should I do…”

He An panted heavily, staring in the direction of the mountain path, his face full of worry.

What if something happens to Brother? It’s all his fault! If he hadn’t mentioned the bear last night, Brother wouldn’t have come up with this idea, but… what was he thinking! Going bear hunting alone???

He An’s mind was racing, feeling as anxious as ants on a hot pan. He wandered around the mountain path entrance for a long time, taking a few steps forward several times before turning back.

He hadn’t been up the mountain for years, and he didn’t know the way! If Brother comes back and can’t find him…

After squatting under a tree for a long time, He An’s eyes kept staring at the mountain path entrance, hoping that He Ze would come back soon. But even when the sun set, there was no sign of him.

The later it got, the more anxious He An became.

“An-ge, what are you doing here?”

He Youcai and Dad Li returned from the village, and from a distance, they saw He An sitting against a tree trunk. When He An heard Dad Li’s voice, he quickly stood up and ran a few steps to them, looking anxious. “Dad, mom, Brother, he…”

“Remember, don’t let it slip!”

He Ze’s voice echoed in He An’s mind, and he opened his mouth, but the words were drowned in his throat.

“What’s wrong with your brother? What happened?”

He Youcai and Dad Li exchanged a glance, seeing He An’s anxious look, they became worried too.

“Brother… he… he’s fine. He went to visit his classmates at the academy, he asked me to tell you…” He An lowered his head, rubbing his hands tightly behind his back.

His words made Dad Li breathe a sigh of relief. “I thought something had happened! He just went to town, why are you so worked up!”

“Yeah, you’re making your dad worry!”

“Brother went to town, he said he’d be back tomorrow, and he didn’t even take me with him…” He An looked up, his face full of grievances.

“Oh, is this you tattling on your brother?” Dad Li smiled, reaching out to pinch He An’s cheek. “Alright, when he comes back, dad will scold him for you, okay?”

“Be good, when we get home, dad will make you something delicious!” He Youcai lifted the box on his shoulder, walked to the other side of He An, and casually said, “Did your brother bring you chestnut cakes again the other day? Do you still have any left? I want to taste them too, they go really well with wine…”

As he spoke, He Youcai smacked his lips as if savoring the memory.

“What kind of person are you! Fighting over food with your own children, shameless!” Dad Li gave him a glare, then pulled He An ahead a few steps. “Don’t mind your father’s endless chatter, let’s go home!”

“Hey, you… in front of the child, you…”

He Youcai kept rambling behind them, but Dad Li shot him a glare, and he immediately shut his mouth.

He An kept his head down, occasionally glancing up. Dad Li thought he was really acting like a child, so he didn’t think much of it.

When they returned home, it was already dark. The village of the He family was quiet, with smoke rising from every house.

Dad Li served the prepared meal on the table, and the family of three sat around it. He An’s bowl was filled to the brim by He Youcai and Dad Li, who kept adding food to it.

“An-ge, what’s wrong with you today? Eat quickly!”

Seeing He An poking at his bowl for a long time without taking a bite, Dad Li and He Youcai exchanged a glance, then poured a cup of tea and handed it to He An. “An-ge, tell dad honestly, did your brother bully you again? What did he do? Tell dad, and when he comes back, dad will scold him for you!”

“Dad…”

“What’s going on?!” He Youcai put down his chopsticks.

“He… he…” He An stammered for a while, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“You want to worry your dad and me to death? Spit it out! What happened?!”

“I… I…” He An looked up at them tremblingly, then suddenly dropped his chopsticks with a snap. “I’m sorry, dad, I’m not mad at Brother, I…”

With that, he hung his head again.

“Is that all?” Before He An could finish, Dad Li smiled, gently tapping his forehead with her hand. “Your brother probably had something important to do, that’s why he didn’t take you. It’s okay to be angry, but why are you still mad for so long? Your brother isn’t even here to see it. Next time, he still won’t take you!”

“…”

“Alright, let’s eat quickly. Finish your meal and get some rest. Your brother will definitely bring you some delicious food tomorrow! Hurry, eat!” Dad Li said as he shoved the bowl and chopsticks back into He An’s hands. “Dad specially made braised pork for you, it’s delicious! If you don’t eat, I’ll be angry!”

“…”

He An glanced at Dad Li, then picked up a piece of meat from his bowl and stuffed it into his mouth, followed by a couple of bites of rice. Dad Li and He Youcai finally smiled when they saw him eating.

After finishing their meal, Dad Li cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, then went inside with He Youcai. They had been working all day and were probably tired.

He An didn’t dare to sleep, so he just sat on the stone steps in front of the courtyard, staring straight ahead at the door.

One quarter passed, then two, then three… Nothing happened, and the village became even quieter.

“Woof, woof…”

Suddenly, two barks echoed in the distance, and a string in He An’s mind snapped. He stood up abruptly, looked up at the bright moon in the sky, and then ran out of the courtyard.

It was towards the direction of the Lin family.

“Knock, knock…”

When He An knocked on the door, Zhang Su was already asleep, and Lin Yu was sitting in the room, wiping his arrows.

He hadn’t dared to use the three hunting arrows that He Ze had given him, but he wiped them clean every night to prevent them from rusting.

“Xiao An, why are you here so late? What’s the matter?”

Lin Yu opened the courtyard door and saw He An panting heavily.

“Brother Lin, my… my brother…”

“What happened to your brother?” Lin Yu instinctively furrowed his brow and patted He An’s back. “Slow down, what’s going on?”

“My brother went up the mountain alone with his bow and arrows today. He said… he said he wanted to avenge himself against the bear, like he wanted to hunt bears. He hasn’t come back yet, I’m worried about him, I…”

“Hunting bears? By himself?” …He didn’t do something reckless and go off to die, did he?!

That was the only reason Lin Yu could think of.

Seeing He An’s expression on the verge of tears, Lin Yu took a deep breath to calm him down. “Don’t worry, if he said he’s going to hunt the bear, then he’s going to hunt the bear? Whether he can find it or not is another question! Besides that bear, I haven’t seen any other beasts in the mountains these past few years. Don’t worry! I’ll go up the mountain now to find him. Do your parents know about this?”

“They don’t know yet, I’m afraid to tell them…”

“Alright, then don’t tell them for now. Wait here for me!”

Before Lin Yu finished speaking, he turned and ran into the bedroom, picked up the longbow and quiver on the table, and hesitated for a moment before putting the three hunting arrows from the square box into the quiver.

The skin of the bear was too thick, ordinary arrows couldn’t even penetrate it.

He An waited outside anxiously, while Lin Yu went to the kitchen to get a fire starter and brought out a wooden stick dipped in oil before coming out.

“Xiao An, I’m going to look for your brother now. Don’t tell your parents for now. Remember what I said, nothing will happen! If your brother was going to die, he would have died long ago. Escaping from death once, it won’t be so easy for something to happen again!”

“Brother Lin…” He An’s voice was already trembling with tears.

“Alright, I’m going now. Tomorrow, remember to tell my dad that I went up the mountain early in the morning, okay?”

“Yeah,” He An nodded heavily, then suddenly raised his head. “Brother Lin, why don’t… why don’t I go with you? I’ll follow behind you, you won’t have to worry…”

“No, it’s night now, it’s too dark in the mountains, I can’t take care of you. Besides, you need to stay home and comfort your parents and my dad. Remember, don’t let the cat out of the bag. If I find He Ze, I’ll bring him back immediately!”

With that, Lin Yu patted He An’s shoulder, then walked towards the village under the moonlight.

He An watched his figure gradually recede, a bitter taste on his lips, but he seemed oblivious. He stood still for a moment, then slowly walked back the way he came.

…

As soon as he reached the mountain path, Lin Yu lit the torch, and the flickering flames illuminated the surroundings.

He Ze… Please don’t let anything happen to you!

Without delay, Lin Yu raised the torch and ascended the mountain. As it was still early autumn, the trees on the mountain were still lush green, and he didn’t have to worry about setting them on fire.

“He Ze, He Ze, He Ze…”

Lin Yu shouted as he walked, and the mountain was eerily silent. He shouted once, and there was a faint echo before he shouted again.

Soon, he reached halfway up the mountain and leaned against a tree. He had walked too fast just now, and even he was a little out of breath.

There were five peaks in this sunny mountain, roughly forming a straight line in the directions of east, southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast, with a shorter peak sandwiched between the other four. He often brought He Ze to the eastern peak, the one he was currently on. And during the incident when He Ze saved him from the bear’s claws, it was…

“… the northern peak!”

Continuing this way wouldn’t be helpful, so he could only rely on luck now. Lin Yu looked ahead at the mountain path, then suddenly turned sideways.

“He Ze, He Ze!”

To save time, Lin Yu didn’t walk on the path but directly through the trees.

When he reached the northern peak, about an hour had passed. His face, which had been white before climbing the mountain, was now barely visible in the dim light of the flickering fire, covered in dirt like ashes from a pot bottom.

Due to encountering many thorn bushes along the way, Lin Yu’s outer clothes were torn into pieces, and there were faint bloodstains on his exposed face and hands.

“He Ze, He Ze…”

The wooden stick in his hand had burned to the end, and he didn’t notice until his hand was burned. He looked down and simply threw the remaining inch-long stick head on the ground, covering it with a few handfuls of wet soil before continuing forward.

His pace couldn’t quicken, and his anxiety grew.

From the eastern peak to the northern peak, passing through a southern peak in between, his voice carried far, so there was no reason He Ze couldn’t hear him, but…

But He Ze didn’t respond at all!

“He Ze, come out!”

Another shout, and Lin Yu’s fist pounded on a nearby tree trunk. The trunk trembled lightly, and leaves rustled down.

Where is he! Where is he! Where is he!

Lin Yu dared not think, only gradually clenched his fist tighter. Silence surrounded him, then suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder from behind.

Author’s Note: When I was writing this chapter, I was so excited. A lone man, a quiet night, in the mountains… Tell me, what kind of play do you want?! I don’t have much time left, do you mind if I post an anti-piracy chapter later? It will be replaced by tomorrow morning, crying qaq