Chapter 2

Breaking the ice is a simple but tedious action, and one cannot look down for too long because the ice chunks that fall off are almost all the same, and the visual monotony can easily make one feel nauseous.

It is also heavy physical labor. After about ten minutes, Liu Feiyang's arms were already mostly numb, and large beads of sweat were on his forehead. He had only managed to chip out a small opening in the ice. The surroundings were a vast expanse of white, with snow falling from the sky. Looking into the distance, one could only see about two hundred meters or so, and beyond that, it was very blurry.

As the saying goes: those who live by the mountain eat from the mountain, and those who live by the water eat from the water.

On this mountain, there are not only wild chickens but also sables and wild boars. Not long ago, someone even claimed to have seen tiger paw prints and heard the howls of wolf packs. The mountain is not very high, with a professional survey team giving its altitude as about three hundred meters, but it is large and deep, stretching for dozens of kilometers. Therefore, it is not surprising to see these animals.

In the summer, there are mushrooms, hazelnuts, black fungus, and ginseng on the mountain.

Liu Feiyang had once thought about hunting some wild animals to sell and improve their living standards, but if the villagers had the idea, they would come to the mountain themselves. There is only one road to the city, and there is only one bus at noon every day, which is a four-wheeled farm vehicle, making it very difficult to leave.

He lifted his hand to take off his dogskin hat, which had been pressed tightly against his scalp, and steam was rising from his head, just like some immortals in "Journey to the West" who achieve enlightenment. He spat on his hands, rubbed them, and continued to hammer the ice with all his might.

After being hammered, the ice would scatter into a snow-like, white, and opaque form.

He couldn't see how deep it was below, but based on experience, it was probably about twenty centimeters.

Fishing can be roughly divided into two methods. One is to reach into the water and block the fish against the current, which is simple. However, it requires standing barefoot in the ice hole, which is very torturous. If one doesn't move for a few dozen seconds, the surface of the water will freeze again, trapping the feet.

The other method is more playful. It doesn't require entering the water, but it does require quick eyes and hands, like holding a plate. The fish come here because of the lack of oxygen in the water, and some will jump out. One must catch them before they fall back into the water. If two or even several fish jump at once, it is very challenging. Liu Feiyang's best record was catching three fish in one net, with one more under his foot.

After hammering for a few more minutes, he suddenly heard a splash, and the ice pick had actually plunged directly into the water. It seemed that the saying "even a blind sparrow can find a grain" was true. The ice layer below was not as smooth as the upper part; some areas were like spikes, and others protruded upward. He had reached the shallow layer.

"Hehe," he laughed, and his hands worked even harder. The hardest part is the beginning. Once there is a gap, the rest is much easier. The ice layer had cracked, and he only needed to hammer along the edges.

He could already hear the bubbling sound of water, indicating that a school of fish was gathering. He admired these small creatures, thinking they were more resilient than wolves, living in such a harsh environment and being extremely sensitive to where they could survive.

He hammered a few more times, creating a hole as thick as his calf.

Liu Feiyang, fully focused, didn't care how far the fish had gone. After hammering, he took off his shoes and stepped into the water, which was so cold that he shivered. The icy water was bone-chilling. He held the net, bent over, and extended his hand into the water.

He planned to ensure his stomach was full first and then enjoy himself. Finding joy in hardship is exactly like this.

He carefully watched the water and didn't rush to pull the net. A good hunter doesn't care about losing one or two fish; he aims for the whole school.

After ten seconds, twenty seconds, ice chips began to form on the water's surface.

"Swish," he suddenly raised his hand, moving very quickly. After lifting, water still dripped from the net, which contained no fewer than ten "white fish tickets."

Before he could get excited, he saw Erhai walking back from a distance, wiping his face with his sleeve as he walked, his steps deep and shallow, looking like a half-person floating on the snow, somewhat comical. What surprised him was that Erhai wasn't carrying any wild chickens and was returning empty-handed.

His sharp eyes noticed that something was wrong with Erhai from a distance. When Erhai got closer, Liu Feiyang frowned, seeing blood on his face and a black and swollen left eye socket.

He stood up from the water and asked, "What happened? Did someone beat you up?"

"No..." Erhai lowered his head, passing by Liu Feiyang and picking up the ice pick to continue hammering.

"Come on... If you weren't beaten up, did you hit yourself?" Liu Feiyang grabbed his arm, his voice tinged with anger, "Tell me, what happened?"

"Huff, huff..." Erhai turned his head to the side, clearly upset.

Liu Feiyang, who was taller, didn't indulge him. He patted his head and said, "You coward, you don't even dare to speak up when you're bullied. You deserve to be beaten..."

After saying that, he didn't wipe the water off his feet, put on his shoes, and bent down to pick up the ice pick, heading in the direction Erhai had come from.

The two were not blood-related but were closer than brothers.

"It was Sanhuzi. He set a trap under a tree root. The wild chicken I was chasing flew over there, and he said it was his because it was caught in his trap. I said I chased it, and we started arguing!"

"Fine, if it was caught in his trap, it's his. Why did he beat you up?"

"Clearly, I chased it there. If I hadn't chased it, it wouldn't have flown into his trap. I said a few words, and he called me a fatherless child. I got angry and cursed him, and then he beat me up."

"Come on, that stupid deer..."

Liu Feiyang's eyes blazed with anger. He and Erhai both hated that term, and hearing it now made his anger rise.

Sanhuzi was also a villager, an old bachelor who was over forty and still unmarried. He didn't take good care of his land, letting others farm it and collecting a symbolic rent. He boasted in the village with his five-shot rifle, making him a notorious thug.

Erhai was used to Liu Feiyang standing up for him and followed behind with the ice pick.

They retraced their steps and, when they reached where the trap had been set, they saw no sign of Sanhuzi, only a row of footprints and some corn kernels that had been on the trap.

Liu Feiyang looked around but couldn't find Sanhuzi. If the punch had landed on him, he might have chosen to let it go, thinking that neighbors and villagers always have some conflicts. But hitting Erhai was unacceptable; it was bullying! He followed Sanhuzi's footprints and quickly chased after him.

This area was already halfway up the mountain, covered with trees, so the snow wasn't as deep, and the footprints were clear. After passing a mountain pass, they finally saw Sanhuzi, humming "Eighteen Touches."

"Hu Ge, stop!" Liu Feiyang shouted.

Sanhuzi heard the voice, turned around, and saw the two of them chasing after him. A mocking smile appeared on his face. He had his characteristic five-shot rifle on his back.

"Is there something?" he stopped and asked.

"I just want to ask you why you beat up Erhai!" Liu Feiyang said stiffly.

"Do I need a reason to beat him up?" Sanhuzi laughed exaggeratedly, waving his hand. "You two kids should go home and stay by the stove. There are wolves and tigers in the mountains. Don't let them fill their bellies with you during the New Year. What I'm saying is for your own good. Don't you see I always carry a gun when I go out..."

As he spoke, he patted the gun handle, his threat clear.

"Hu Ge, you're a grown man. You can't bully us two kids. What do you mean you don't need a reason to beat up Erhai? That wild chicken was clearly chased there by Erhai..."

"Bang..."

Before Liu Feiyang could finish speaking, Sanhuzi punched him in the chest.

"So what if I bully you? What are you going to do about it?" His face darkened, and he lifted the wild chicken. "Today, we have it, or we wouldn't have meat for the New Year. I should shoot you two and stew you... hehe, but I can give you the wild chicken if you let me sleep with Erhai for a night..."

"What the hell are you saying!" Liu Feiyang shouted.

"Don't think I don't know. In our village, men your age already have children running around. What do you do with Erhai every day? Isn't it because you can use him in bed?" Sanhuzi said crudely. "I'm telling you, today I'm in a good mood and don't want to deal with you. Wait until I drink some liquor and come to your house at midnight and take care of both of you..."

"Go to hell..."

Liu Feiyang said, raising his fist and swinging it at Sanhuzi's face.

Originally, he had come to reason, but Sanhuzi's words were too offensive.

"Bang..." Sanhuzi didn't expect the kid to dare to hit him. Before he could react, he was punched in the face, lost his balance, and fell on his butt.

"Brother Yang, get out of the way..."

At the same time, a sharp cry came from behind.

In his peripheral vision, he saw a black shadow flash by, and he didn't have time to react.

"Thud..."

Erhai's ice pick plunged into Sanhuzi's stomach, piercing deep, seemingly through and through.