"Whew! It's snowing! No matter how cunning the fox, how nimble the foolish deer, they'll all leave tracks in the snow, and they'll never escape the tribe's hunters again! This truly is a fine season for hunting! In past years, at this time, we'd spend the whole month leading the Sloughi out to hunt. Then we'd load the horses full of game and haul it back to the tribe trip after trip."
"Ezhen is right! Once the snow falls thick, the roe deer in the northern mountains will have a hard time running, and the wild rabbits won't be able to hop around either. As long as we set the hunting dogs after them without letting them rest until they're worn out, the hunters can follow the tracks and catch up at an easy pace, then pick them up!"
"Eastern Sky God sees all! At this time, there's not much prey on the Northern Grasslands, only hungry wolves with empty bellies. Wolf meat doesn't taste good either. The tribe hates it most."
In November, snowflakes flew across Liaodong. The rivers had frozen over, hills slanted across the road ahead, and the wilderness was a vast sheet of white. Everyone had wrapped layer after layer of fur over their armor; from afar, they looked like ridiculous, clumsy "gray bears." Maha Aguda rode on horseback, lifting his head to watch the swirling snowflakes, a simple, tigerish grin appearing on his frost-reddened face. Du'erbi River Guard chieftain Wu Xiong and Forest Tribe chieftain Taigun both wore reminiscent smiles. And when they heard the words of these "Wild Jurchen," the "Tame Jurchen" chieftains by the great river felt the same. Ha'erman chieftain Ali, Fushan Guard Little Chieftain Ana, Hushimen Guard Little Chieftain Afanha, and Yi'erguli Guard's foolish son Yueto all nodded again and again,