Rabbit

Fang Zhixing walked into the mountains.

Trees and jagged rocks were everywhere around him. Birdsong occasionally drifted through the air, but when he looked around the forest, he did not see a single soul.

From time to time, Fang Zhixing looked up to check the sun's position.

The terrain in the mountains was complicated, and the canopy blocked out the sky and sun. If one kept walking, one could easily lose their bearings and be unable to find the way back.

Every so often, he left a marker and transmitted, "Skinny Dog, dogs are good at remembering the paths they've traveled, right?"

"Of course!"

Skinny Dog immediately grew proud and said smugly, "Cats remember a thousand, dogs remember ten thousand! Unlike you, I don't need to deliberately memorize routes. Cats and dogs both rely on scent to tell the way, not routes stored in memory."

"That's good!"

Fang Zhixing suddenly felt that Skinny Dog had become important. "If I get lost, I'll have to rely entirely on you to lead me out."

Skinny Dog declared boldly, "Leave it to me."

As they spoke, he ran ahead, sometimes trotting beneath a tree and sometimes running up to a rock to piss and mark it.

Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed.

Fang Zhixing climbed up and down, crossed through woods and over streams, until his legs ached. Yet he had not found any prey, and he could not help feeling a little frustrated. He complained to Skinny Dog, "Is that dog nose of yours any good at all? Catching even a rat would do!"

"Damn it, who are you calling a dog catching mice?!"

Skinny Dog was also a little displeased. "You picked this mountain yourself. If there's no prey, how is that my fault? I'm just a poor, innocent little dog!"

Fang Zhixing mocked, "What's the point of raising you? I might as well raise a pig!"

As they argued, a whistle suddenly came from the distance.

Whoosh~

Whoosh, whoosh~

It carried a distinct rhythm, unlike birdsong.

Fang Zhixing and Skinny Dog exchanged a look, immediately shut up, and hid behind a large tree.

Before long, Fang Zhixing saw four figures walking over. At a glance, he recognized Uncle Song, his two sons, and a grandson of twelve or thirteen.

All four able-bodied men of the Song family had come out to hunt.

They were heading in the same direction as Fang Zhixing and had unexpectedly run into each other.

But Fang Zhixing did not know whether it was truly a coincidence. Suspecting that the Song family had been following him, he hid cautiously and prepared to draw his bow.

"Woof, woof!"

A large black dog suddenly darted out and began barking furiously at Fang Zhixing and Skinny Dog's hiding place.

"Blackie, what's wrong?"

Uncle Song froze in alarm, swiftly drew his hunting knife, and narrowed his eyes at the forest ahead.

The large black dog continued barking, looking vicious and ferocious.

Fang Zhixing helplessly put away his bow and arrow, then called out, "Whose dog is this? What are you barking for?"

Then he pretended to pull up his pants and stepped out from behind the tree, making it seem as if he had been taking a piss.

Skinny Dog drooped his ears, tucked his tail, and lay in the grass without daring to show his head. He did not even dare let out a fart, as though he were terribly afraid of that black dog.

"Eh, Big Ox, it's you!"

Uncle Song put away his hunting knife and asked in surprise, "Why are you here? Out hunting?"

Seeing this, Fang Zhixing smiled broadly, rubbed his stomach, and answered honestly, "I was hungry, so I came out to try my luck."

Uncle Song understood and replied, "There's no luck for you to find here. The prey has long since been hunted to extinction. You need to go farther in—at least fifteen li from the village—before you might have a chance of catching anything."

Fang Zhixing clicked his tongue. "More than fifteen li away? That far?"

Uncle Song nodded and sighed. "These days, nobody has anything to eat. Everyone comes out hunting and catches whatever they see. Even toads have been eaten to extinction. There's nothing left within ten li of here."

Another person cut in, "And the areas with more prey over there have been monopolized by the village chief's family. If we want to catch anything, we can only go even farther."

Uncle Song's eldest son raised a hand and pointed, his face full of resentment. That was precisely the direction Uncle Zhao and the others had gone.

Fang Zhixing understood. He sighed in discouragement. "Hunting is too difficult."

After a brief silence, Uncle Song suggested, "How about this? Come with us. No matter what prey we catch, and no matter who catches it, we'll give you a share."

Fang Zhixing quickly replied, "Forget it. I'd better not go through all that trouble. I'll dig up some wild vegetables and make do for the day."

Hearing that, Uncle Song did not insist. He merely nodded. "All right, then we'll be going."

The group of four left with the large black dog.

Only then did Skinny Dog timidly crawl to his feet.

Fang Zhixing looked down on him. "Was that really necessary? You were scared stiff!"

"You don't know shit," Skinny Dog barked.

Fang Zhixing asked curiously, "You're a dog too. Can dogs communicate with each other?"

"Communicate my ass!"

Skinny Dog said gloomily, "Dogs can't talk. Dogs use smells, barks, and the movements of their ears and tails to judge whether another dog is friend or foe. That black dog was a hunting dog, not a pet. It was vicious enough to bite my neck clean through."

Fang Zhixing scoffed. "You're at least a dog with cheats, yet you're still this useless."

Skinny Dog snapped angrily, "Don't talk about me. You're no better. You're a man with cheats, yet why do you look like a mouse that's seen a cat whenever you meet anyone?"

Fang Zhixing snorted. "What do you know? This is called being prudent!"

The moment he finished speaking, man and dog suddenly widened their eyes. On the grass not far away, a gray rabbit had appeared at some point and was calmly munching grass as though no one else existed.

"There's a rabbit! It's huge!" Skinny Dog transmitted excitedly.

Fang Zhixing held his breath, and every expression on his face swiftly turned into absolute calm.

He drew his bow and fired!

Whoosh!

More than twenty meters away, the gray rabbit's body suddenly flipped over before being nailed firmly to the ground. Its limbs flailed wildly, but it soon stopped moving.

Skinny Dog sprinted over and took a look.

An arrow had struck the gray rabbit in its left eye, pierced through its skull, and pinned it diagonally to the ground.

Precise and ruthless!

Utterly fatal!

Fang Zhixing licked his lips, extremely satisfied with that shot. The strength of a max-level apprentice was no joke.

He walked over, first retrieved his arrow, then lifted the gray rabbit and tested its weight.

It was quite plump, weighing around five jin.

"Hehe, I finally have breakfast." Fang Zhixing's mood instantly became immensely cheerful.

Skinny Dog jumped happily and laughed. "Quick, quick, I want rabbit meat."

"Woof, woof~"

Suddenly, frantic barking came from somewhere nearby.

Fang Zhixing's heart skipped a beat. He immediately turned his head and saw the large black dog suddenly racing toward him, charging straight at him.

"Fuck!" Skinny Dog was so frightened that he immediately flattened himself against the ground, silent as a cicada in winter and afraid to move an inch.

He knew he absolutely could not run. The more he ran, the more it would provoke the hunting dog's ferocity.

Ten meters, eight meters, five meters!

The large black dog closed in at lightning speed. It was too fast!

Fang Zhixing reacted with swift hands and keen eyes. In the briefest instant, he dropped the gray rabbit, drew his bow, and fired.

"Awwooo~"

The large black dog suddenly pitched forward, skidding across the ground until it slid right to Fang Zhixing's feet.

Fang Zhixing's arrow had struck precisely between the large black dog's brows.

The next moment, Uncle Song and the other three also ran back. They looked at the large black dog, then at Fang Zhixing.

For a moment, the atmosphere was incomparably oppressive.

Fang Zhixing's heartbeat quickened. The hand holding his bow slowly lowered as he forced a smile and said, "Uncle Song, you can't blame me for this. Your dog suddenly pounced on me. I had no choice but to act in the heat of the moment."

Uncle Song's face darkened, but he said nothing.

His eldest son, however, flew into a rage and roared, "Big Ox, have you eaten the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard? You actually dared to kill my dog!"

He suddenly rushed forward, drew his hunting knife, raised it, and shouted, "I'll kill you!"

Fang Zhixing sucked in a breath and nocked an arrow.

Whoosh!

Uncle Song's eldest son stiffened all over and looked down at his chest. An arrow had pierced straight through it, and blood quickly spread across the fabric.

The rage on his face turned to terror, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Daming, my son!"

"Dad!"

Uncle Song stood there agape, then ran over to support his eldest son. His grandson was frightened senseless and stood frozen in place.

The second son hurriedly raised his bow, pulled out an arrow, and was just about to set it on the string.

Whoosh!

A flash of cold light suddenly shot toward him, accurately pierced through his throat, and he clutched his neck as he fell stiffly backward.

Blood streamed merrily through the gaps between his fingers.

"Erming!"

Uncle Song screamed in shock. Turning to look at his fallen second son, he let out a shrill cry.

Then he turned back and gripped his hunting knife tightly.

But before he could rise, he saw Fang Zhixing draw and fire with an incomparably smooth, fluid motion.

The arrow traced a slight arc as it shot toward him and buried itself in his chest.

He fell backward.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of old blood sprayed out.

"Grandpa!" His grandson was completely terrified, at a total loss.

"Run, run!" Uncle Song's face twisted as he urged him urgently.

Only then did his grandson react. He got to his feet and turned to flee.

But just as he turned around, a cold arrow came whistling in, striking his back and bursting out through his chest.

Then he collapsed limply to the ground.

Fang Zhixing's expression was ice-cold. A fine layer of sweat beaded across his forehead. Only after a moment did he lower his raised arms and walk over to Uncle Song.

Uncle Song lay on his back, his eyes ashen and lifeless. He had already stopped breathing.