Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu headed into the mountains with four dogs, while Zhang Laibao returned home, crestfallen, holding one injured dog and carrying another on his back.
Zhang Laibao's mother, Xu Meihua, was carrying wood out from the storeroom, while his father, Zhang Zhanshan, was chopping firewood with an axe.
Just as Xu Meihua emerged from the storeroom carrying wood, she saw her son looking pale as a ghost, his padded cotton jacket filthy. He cradled one dog in his arms while another trailed behind him.
The Qing Gou that Zhang Laibao held was whimpering softly.
"Oh, my dear son!" Xu Meihua dropped the wood she was holding and rushed over to Zhang Laibao. "Son, did Xiong Ba do this?" she asked frantically.
"Are you an idiot?" Zhang Zhanshan threw down his axe and snapped, "He's only been gone a little while. How could he have run into Xiong Ba?"
