PCJ – Chapter 113 Tracking

Zhang Jiaohua seemed unaffected, but Liu Zongtai, Liu Guocai, and Liu Yunjun were exhausted, gasping for breath and struggling to keep up.

“I can’t go on, I really can’t run anymore,” Liu Yunjun said, panting heavily and bending over, hands on his knees, looking miserable.

Liu Zongtai wasn’t much better off, struggling for breath but determined to find his family’s water buffalo, not letting his discomfort show.

Liu Guocai took a few breaths and said with difficulty to Zhang Jiaohua, “Master Zhang, we can’t run anymore. How about we rest here for a bit before continuing?”

Zhang Jiaohua looked at the sky. They had left after school, and it was now late afternoon. In about an hour, it would be dark. The mountains at night were the domain of wild animals, and no one from the village dared to venture into the mountains at this time.

“Alright, let’s rest for a while. But our time to find the buffalo is limited. If we delay, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow. You decide,” Zhang Jiaohua said. Although he wasn’t panting, it didn’t mean he wasn’t tired. He was, but he saw this as his job and didn’t let a bit of fatigue bother him.

“Why don’t you rest while I continue searching with Master Zhang? Can you keep going, Master Zhang?” Liu Zongtai asked, feeling embarrassed to stop and rest when they were looking for his family’s buffalo.

Liu Guocai shook his head, stood up, and said, “Forget it, let’s keep looking. If we don’t find it before dark, it’ll be troublesome. Even though we’re still on the outskirts of the mountains, who’s to say we won’t encounter wild animals? It’s best to find the buffalo as soon as possible.”

The distant sound of Zuan Shanbao, their dog, suddenly stopped in one place, making Zhang Jiaohua and the others hopeful.

“Did your dog find the buffalo?” Liu Yunjun asked excitedly.

Zhang Jiaohua shook his head, “It’s too early to tell. We need to go over and check the situation.”

Although Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t sure, he felt there was a good chance they hadn’t found the buffalo yet. From Zuan Shanbao’s barking, he could tell the dog hadn’t found the target. If it had, the barking would be more urgent, trying to drive the target. Now the barking was steady, as if something was obstructing its path.

“I think it’s certain. That place should be Meijiang. There’s no bridge, maybe the buffalo is by the river,” Liu Yunjun said.

“The buffalo might have crossed the river. Zuan Shanbao chased it there and is waiting for us. You didn’t cross the river when you were looking for the buffalo, right?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

Liu Zongtai nodded, “No, we didn’t. When we got there, we thought it wouldn’t cross the river, so we didn’t continue searching.”

“A buffalo can easily cross a river. Let’s go to the other side of the mountain and cross the bridge,” Zhang Jiaohua quickened his pace.

“I didn’t expect the buffalo to cross the river. If we had searched there yesterday, we might have already found it,” Liu Zongtai said regretfully.

Half an hour later, the four of them finally reached the other side of the river. Zuan Shanbao had also crossed and was waiting there.

Zhang Jiaohua searched and the image of the buffalo reappeared in his mind. It had indeed crossed the river and was now walking slowly up the hillside, tired and no longer running fast.

“This way!” Zhang Jiaohua walked quickly up the slope. Zuan Shanbao, having found the buffalo’s scent, barked and ran ahead.