Volume One, Chapter 12: Galaha

In this perilous mountain forest, no matter how worn the hunting rifle was, it remained his most reliable companion—a crucial safeguard for his safety.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath and began to care for the gun.

He carefully wiped down the body, cleaned the barrel, inspected the trigger and sights, and fine-tuned the performance of each component.

At last, the maintenance was complete. Lin Xiao held the rifle firmly in his hands, gently stroking its surface, closing his eyes slightly, as if through his fingertips he could sense the countless trials this weapon had endured over the years.

Memories of days spent moving through the forest in dreams, the thrilling moments facing fierce beasts, each tremor when pulling the trigger—all flickered through his mind like scenes from a film as he caressed the gun.

“Where exactly am I?” Lin Xiao suddenly opened his eyes, a trace of unease in his gaze.

In the dream, he seemed to have returned to his days in the special forces, yet it was mixed with fragments of his current reality. “Rebirth, time travel… In my dreams, I’m sometimes in the twenty-first century, sometimes in the 1950s. Where am I really?”

Before he could unravel this mystery—though he knew he couldn’t—an exclamation caught his attention.

“Ah!” Lin Xiao saw his younger sister sprawled on the snow-covered ground. He rushed over and scooped her up.

“Did you hurt yourself, little sister?”

“Mm! It hurts,” Lin Xi replied, looking quite upset.

“Why were you running so fast just now?” Lin Xiao asked.

“Brother, look, this is a galahar that mother made for me from a roe deer leg.”

Lin Xiao looked at the crude toy in his sister’s hand, thinking to himself how, in this era, children had no proper toys and had to make do with animal bones or small stones found by the roadside.

Someday, he vowed, he would bring his sister many more toys to brighten her childhood.

He softly asked her, “Would you like more galahars?”

“Of course! But mother said roe deer aren’t easy to hunt.”

“Brother will make you lots of galahars, alright?”

“Yay! Yay! Brother is the best to Xiao Xi!”

“Mother, brother said he’ll make me lots and lots of galahars!” Lin Xi said, suddenly forgetting her pain as she ran back inside.

To others, roe deer might be difficult game, but to Lin Xiao, with his current equipment, hunting roe deer was a simple task.

He planned to make several roe deer skins into leather clothing—perfect for testing his crossbow and rifle—killing two birds with one stone.

Though roe deer were supposedly easy prey, they were rare. Lin Xiao quickly racked his mind, recalling memories of the original Lin Xiao.

Ah, his mother had once told him that before she married, his grandfather had taken her to work in the fields, earning work credits. There was a patch of land near the mountain edge where roe deer were especially abundant.

Once, when his mother urgently needed to relieve herself, she saw a roe deer and casually threw a stone to scare it away.

Unexpectedly, the stone struck the deer's skull, killing it instantly.

That day, the villagers enjoyed roe deer meat for dinner.

With this memory in mind, Lin Xiao rose and returned to the wooden cabin, where he found He Yulan mending his worn cotton jacket.

“Mother, I remember you told me the story about killing a roe deer with a stone when I was little. Where exactly was that place?”

“Why the sudden question? Did your sister just mention galahar to you?”

“Yeah! But I was thinking, first to test the gun and crossbow, and second, if I hunt a roe deer, we can trade the meat for supplies, make leather clothes from the hide, and take the bones to make galahars for my sister. It’s a win-win!”

“My son, roe deer aren’t that easy to hunt. That time I was just lucky. Besides, I’ve heard there are wolves around there now.”

“No worries, mother. I have a gun now. If I encounter wolves, I’ll fire and scare them off.”

“Well, even if I told you where it is, you might not find it. I haven’t been there in years—it’s hard enough for me to find it. Where do you think you’d look?”

He Yulan paused, thinking it was time to make some leather clothes for the children. She could manage for herself, but how would the two kids survive the winter?

Especially since Lin Xiao needed to hunt to support the family. In the biting cold of midwinter, running around without decent cotton clothing wouldn’t do.

After a moment, she continued, “How about I take you there?”

“Alright, mother! You just lead the way, and I’ll take care of everything else,” Lin Xiao said confidently.

He Yulan glanced at Lin Xi and suddenly remembered, “Oh! If the two of us go, what about your sister? She can’t stay home alone.”

She muttered to herself, “Maybe we could send her to your grandfather’s house… No, he’s too old to look after a child.”

“Maybe to your aunt’s? It’d be better than staying home alone, and Lin Xi could keep her company.”

Lin Xiao knew the aunt his mother referred to was Sun Liwei, a widow.

“Okay, mother! The last time I went to her place, she seemed nice. I believe she can take good care of my sister.”

“I don’t want to go! I want to stay with brother and mother!” Lin Xi shook her small hand on their mother’s arm, pleading.

Lin Xiao tugged her sleeve. “Good sister, mother and I will go hunting. You stay at auntie’s and have fun. When we come back, I’ll bring you lots of galahars, alright?”

Lin Xi rolled her eyes and said, “Alright then, it’s a deal.”

“It’s a deal,” Lin Xiao said sincerely.

“Pinkie promise, for a hundred years, no changing!”

He Yulan retrieved a piece of wild boar meat from the natural “giant freezer,” preparing to bring it to the widow Sun Liwei.

After all, the woman had not had it easy—becoming a widow at such a young age.

At dawn, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, Sun Liwei’s small courtyard lay in peaceful stillness.

He Yulan, carrying the wild boar meat, arrived early at the gate with her two children.

At that moment, Sun Liwei was hurrying out of her house with a chamber pot, ready to empty it.

When she caught sight of He Yulan and her two children not far off, her face instantly flushed crimson, like a ripe apple.

She instinctively lowered her head, avoiding He Yulan’s gaze, and hurried back into the yard.

He Yulan called out from a distance, “Liwei!”

Startled like a frightened fawn, Sun Liwei shivered slightly.

She hastily shoved the chamber pot behind the yard gate and kicked it gently into a corner, trying to hide it.

Then she rubbed her hands vigorously on her apron and tidied her messy hair before quickly stepping out of the yard.

Her face still flushed, head bowed, hands nervously twisting the apron’s edges, she stammered, “It’s Yulan, so early in the morning. What are the three of you up to?”

At that moment, Sun Liwei glanced at Lin Xiao standing behind He Yulan, her eyes flickering uneasily before quickly dropping again.

He Yulan smiled and explained, “You see, the captain lent Lin Xiao a gun, and his great-grandfather gave him a crossbow. He wants to try and see if he can hunt a roe deer.

“Lin Xi is too little to go. I was wondering if we could leave her at your place for a while, and you could help look after her.”

She extended the wild boar meat toward Sun Liwei. “Liwei, this is some wild boar meat Lin Xiao hunted earlier. We’ve been meaning to bring you some. I really appreciate you looking after Lin Xi. I feel bad about troubling you.”

Sun Liwei quickly waved her hand, her blush deepening.

She glanced again at Lin Xiao, and when their eyes met, her face flushed redder, as if it might bleed.

Stammering, she said, “Yulan, what are you saying? Our relationship is such that you can trust me a hundred percent with Lin Xi. I’ll take good care of her. Just rest assured and let Lin Xiao go hunting!”

With that, she warmly clasped He Yulan’s arm and gently patted Lin Xi’s head, her face full of earnest sincerity.