C25 Returning to the 1960s: Starting with Digging for Fo-ti

[Tl: as stated previously that “Truth” is a humorous slang term for “Gun”]

The black bear, weighing over a ton, slowly lost its signs of life. Behind it, the half-grown cub licked its mother, its mouth stained red with blood.

Seeing the situation, it ran for cover, disappearing into the bushes while letting out mournful howls. It was completely terrified. In the cub’s understanding, bears were the undisputed overlords of these mountains, predators who looked down on hunters and ruled the forest.

But today, this thin human completely shattered that perception.

From now on, the forest would have another bear that would retreat at the sight of a human.

“Truly a truth emitter,” Du Jianguo sighed with genuine emotion.

If bows and cold weapons had brought humanity out of the primitive society, then firearms and ammunition had finally pushed humans to the position of masters.

Whether you were a Black Bear Spirit or a Tiger Demon, if you crossed paths with his large-caliber rifle, the end result was always blood splattered on the ground.

“Hit it!”

Liu Chun’an stood up shakily, his crotch already soaked in urine.

In that life-or-death moment, he thought he had seen his late grandmother. He never expected that Du Jianguo would actually succeed, shooting the bear down with a single bullet.

Liu Chun’an let out a breath and couldn’t help but shout. When he turned to look at Du Jianguo, however, his face carried a hint of blame. “Why didn’t you shoot earlier? You almost scared me to death!”

Du Jianguo glanced at him. “If I had shot earlier, you would already be dead.”

“Why?” Liu Chun’an scratched his head, completely confused.

“Your Hanyang Arsenal rifle looks like it has been sitting around since the War of Resistance against Japan. After decades, the rifling inside the barrel is already worn smooth. When the bullet leaves, it travels in an arc. Beyond 30 meters, this gun has no accuracy. So I had to let the black bear get close before shooting to ensure I hit its head.”

The black bear was huge. Unless you hit the heart or the skull, a wound to an ordinary part would not stop it. Worse, it would only make the mother bear more furious.

Du Jianguo had aimed for the bear’s head from the start, calculating exactly that.

“Oh, I see!”

Liu Chun’an nodded in sudden understanding. The look in his eyes toward Du Jianguo now held more admiration. “You’ve never played with a gun before, so how do you know so much now? Even the details of rifling.”

Du Jianguo lifted the corner of his mouth with a slight smile. “Maybe this is just talent.”

“Come on, give me a hand and drag this black bear to a hidden spot. When the villagers arrive, they can help carry it back.”

“Such a big black bear!” Liu Chun’an swallowed hard, his eyes shining. “This must sell for a lot of money, right?”

…

Meanwhile, the search party from Xiao An Village was moving through the Wilderness Gully.

[Tl: Changed “Wilderness Gully” to “Wilderness Gully”]

Everyone’s face wore an expression of anxiety.

The old village chief’s voice trembled, tinged with tears. “My son, please don’t scare your father! Even if you made a mistake, we will accept it. Don’t play with your life!”

“It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!” The chief’s wife suddenly lunged forward, pounding him hard. “If you hadn’t dragged your son to the tree to scold him, he wouldn’t have run off like that!”

The old chief hung his head, silently enduring it. The villagers nearby hurriedly stepped in to dissuade her.

“Hey, this can’t be entirely the chief’s fault. Who could have guessed Chunan would run straight into the Wilderness Gully? Keep looking. Besides, just because he entered the Gully doesn’t mean there is no hope for him.”

Just then, a loud bang suddenly exploded in everyone’s ears.

The crowd fell silent instantly, exchanging bewildered glances.

“That sound… was it a gunshot?”

“A gun? Who has a gun in the Wilderness Gully?”

The villagers were shocked. The old chief, however, began breathing heavily. He clenched his fist and shouted, “Let’s go! We’ll go check it out!”

Even though he didn’t know where the gunshot came from, a thought struck him in the back of his mind. This might be related to his son. Perhaps a hunter who came into the Wilderness Gully had spotted Chunan.

But just as the crowd started sprinting toward the sound of the gun, a dark shadow darted past their eyes.

It was a black bear, radiating a wild and overwhelming force. It barged through the crowd and sprinted toward the distance.

“A bear! We actually ran into a bear!” The villagers screamed in terror, their faces turning deathly pale.

Someone trembled as they added, “Did everyone see that? The black bear had blood hanging from its mouth. Could it have eaten something just now?”

Hearing this, the old chief’s legs gave way. He collapsed to his knees with a thud.

An overwhelming wave of grief surged from his heart. He grabbed the grass on the ground, his knuckles turning white. A strong intuition told him that his son was probably already dead in the mouth of that black bear.

“My son, whom I raised with sweat and toil for nearly twenty years!” The old chief wailed loudly. The sound of his heart-wrenching sobs was painful to hear.

His wife sat slumped nearby, wailing in despair. No one else made a sound. Only the heavy sighs echoed, as if everyone believed Liu Chun’an was already gone.

“Huh? Isn’t that one of our villagers?”

Liu Chun’an suddenly paused, pointing at the crowd nearby. “What are they doing there? Why aren’t they coming to find us?”

Du Jianguo also felt a bit puzzled and frowned. “Let’s go take a look.”

Du Jianguo and Liu Chun’an were standing behind the crowd. Being at the front, the villagers hadn’t noticed them.

Liu Chun’an walked over to his parents, who were wailing hysterically, and crouched down quietly to hear what they were actually saying. They were so heartbroken, surely something very close to them had happened.

“Could it be that my grandmother passed away?”

Liu Chun’an’s heart skipped a beat. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was true.

“It must be that grandma is gone. Dad and Mom are crying like that,” he thought. Thinking of his grandmother, who had raised him since childhood, he also felt a surge of sadness. He couldn’t help but wail along: “Grandma! Why did you leave so miserably?”

Hearing this, the old chief and his wife froze instantly. Their wailing stopped dead.

They turned their heads sharply and came face-to-face with their son squatting nearby. Their expressions changed immediately.

“My god! It’s a ghost!” The chief’s wife screamed first, taking several steps back, her whole body trembling.

The old chief also turned pale with fear. He hurriedly grabbed a stick nearby, his voice wavering. “Son, son… your father knows you died unjustly. I will surely burn more paper money for you in the future… But please, please don’t come back to life suddenly and scare your old father!”

“Come back to life? Didn’t my grandmother die?” Liu Chun’an was completely stunned, looking at his parents with total confusion.

The old couple finally realized something was wrong. They reached out with trembling hands and gently touched the person in front of them. It was warm to the touch. It was a real person, not a spirit!

The old chief’s eyes widened sharply. His voice trembled as he asked, “D-did this kid… not die?”

“You old brute!”

Hearing this, Liu Chun’an immediately flew into a rage. He jumped up. “I am your biological son! How can you curse me to death?”