It looked as if the Taoist had died of hunger and cold. But upon closer inspection, he seemed to still be breathing. The young man slowly approached and whispered, "Master!" The Taoist slowly opened his eyes, but said nothing. Seeing him open his eyes, the young man looked calm, not frozen to death. He immediately pulled out a deerskin bag from his bosom. Inside was two coarse steamed buns. They were the dry food his mother had prepared for him at noon, but he hadn't eaten because he had returned early.
The bag had been hidden inside his cotton-padded jacket, and the steamed buns were still warm. Shi Feng took them with both hands and placed them in front of the Taoist priest.
The Taoist priest was stunned for a moment, raised one hand, nodded and said, "Thank you." He reached out and grabbed the steamed bun, swallowed it in three or two bites, and picked up two lumps of snow on the ground and ate them together.
The young man looked up. It was already noon, but the sky was still covered with leaden clouds and it looked like more snow would fall. The door of the land temple was locked and no one could get in. If the Taoist priest continued to sit like this, he would definitely be frozen into an ice stick by dawn.
The young man said, "Master, it's cold. If you don't mind, would you please come to my house to escape the wind and snow?" The Taoist smiled, thought for a moment, and said, "Very well, I'll bother you then." He stood up. He was quite tall, his hands empty, neither whisk nor talisman sword. The young man had seen some Taoists before, all wearing Taoist crowns and crane cloaks, wielding whisks and peach wood swords, drawing talismans and performing strange acts. The young man found this a little strange, but he didn't take it seriously.
The two walked one in front and one behind to a house in the north of the village. There were three rooms in a row facing north and south, with walls made of red stones and roofs made of wooden boards sandwiched with thatch. In the front yard stood a large-leafed banyan tree, and the trunk and above were covered with snow.
As the boy entered the yard, he shouted, "Mom, little sister, I'm back. Look what I caught today." A clear child's voice said, "Brother is back." A little girl ran out from the west room. She looked about ten years old, with pretty features, but she was pitifully thin. Even though she was wrapped in a thick fur coat, her thinness was still noticeable.
The young man put down the bamboo basket and pointed at the Taoist priest behind him, "It's freezing cold, and this Taoist priest is staying at the land temple. I asked him to come to our house to avoid the wind and snow." The little girl hurriedly said, "Hello, Taoist priest." The Taoist priest nodded.
At this time, a woman coughed in the house. After a while, a woman said, "Feng'er is back. Are there any guests? Please come in and sit down." The young man named Feng'er hurriedly led the Taoist priest into the middle room. The furnishings in the room were very simple. It can be said that the house was bare, with only a table, a bed, and a few wooden stools on the ground.
The room was dimly lit. A middle-aged woman in her forties was sitting beside the bed. She looked quite similar to the little girl outside, but she was very frail and coughed while leaning against the bed.
The Taoist priest bowed and said, "I am a wandering man from the wilderness. I am sorry to bother you, my lady." The woman said hurriedly, "Master, please don't be polite. I am Shi Qin. This is my son Shi Feng. The one outside is his sister Shi Biyu."
At this moment, Shi Biyu shouted happily in the yard, "Wow, brother, you killed such a big wild wolf." Shi Qinshi was shocked when she heard it, "Feng'er, you encountered a wolf, are you okay?"
Shi Feng waved his hands and said, "Don't worry, mother. This wolf was starving and was foraging by the river. I killed it with just three or two blows of my axe. It didn't even get my clothes wet." He said to the Taoist, "Master, please sit down. I need to take care of this wolf. If it's dead and stiff, it won't be easy to salvage its skin."
Seeing that the room was small and the other party was a woman, the Taoist priest hurriedly said, "I'll sit under the eaves and enjoy the snow scene." As he said that, he moved a wooden stool and sat down under the eaves.
Shi Feng was already busy in the yard. He first used a knife to carefully cut a two-inch long incision from the nose bridge of the blue wolf, blowing on the skin to inflate it. Then, holding a knife in each hand, he used the left knife to pry and the right knife to cut, and in a smooth and flowing manner, he had peeled off the entire blue wolf's skin. Shi Biyu watched and clapped her hands in approval, "Good, even more complete than last time."
Shi Qin also moved a stool and sat with the Taoist priest on the eaves. The Taoist priest smiled and said, "Your son is young, but he is a good hunter." Shi Qin said, "It's hard for this child. The family depends on him." The Taoist priest asked, "I wonder if your husband..." Shi Qin sighed, "My late husband has been gone for ten years. This child, Biyu, has never even seen her father."
The two of them talked while watching Shi Feng and his sister clean up.
Shi Feng's father was a renowned hunter in Hongshi Town, known for his exceptional skills. Qin, the daughter of a village private schoolmaster, was also literate. The two grew up together, loving each other and treating each other with respect after marriage. A year later, Shi Feng was born. His illiterate father simply called him "Shitouzi." Shi Qin, finding the name too vulgar, changed it to Shi Feng.
When life was going well, there was a sudden disaster. When Shi Feng was three years old and Shi Qinshi was pregnant with Shi Biyu, Shi Feng's father was hunted in Duanlong Ridge of Dacang Mountain when he was besieged by several black bears. In panic, he fell into a deep valley and was already dead when he was found.
Upon hearing the tragic news, Shi Qin, despite being pregnant, journeyed across mountains and rivers to search for her husband's remains. She fell and injured her left thigh, becoming disabled. Shi Qin's father had already passed away, and Shi Feng's grandfather, still alive, helped support the shattered family. While giving birth to Shi Biyu, Shi Qin contracted lung disease, coughing constantly year-round. Shi Biyu weighed only three pounds at birth, and everyone thought she wouldn't survive.
Old Master Shi was also a well-known hunter. Shi Feng had learned a lot of hunting skills from his grandfather since he was a child. The prey they hunted was enough to cover the family's expenses. Although Shi Qinshi could not do heavy work, she made some pottery at home to help out, and the family could barely make ends meet.
However, the good times didn't last long. When Shi Feng was ten, his grandfather fell seriously ill and passed away. The burden of the family fell on the ten-year-old. He had to make medicine and soup for his mother, care for his younger sister, and hunt in the mountains to earn food and fuel. Seeing the family's hardship and the children's sensible nature, the villagers often helped out. Even when they went hunting together, Shi Feng's share of the prey was no less than that of the other adults.
As they talked, Shi Feng had already cut up the blue wolf's flesh and hung it under the eaves. He then lightly salted the blue wolf's skin with coarse salt and spread it out in the west room. After Shi Biyu helped her brother clean up, she went to the west room to make some pottery.
Shi Qinshi talked for a while and felt a little tired. She apologized and went back to her room to rest. The Taoist walked to the east kitchen and saw Shi Feng preparing lunch.
The kitchen was small, with a stone stove and piles of dry firewood on the side. The Taoist took a quick look and was slightly surprised.
Shi Feng was seen standing in front of the stove, with two stove eyes on the left and right. There were also two chopping boards in front of him, and a pile of herbs on the left. Shi Feng was holding a kitchen knife in his left hand, and was slowly cutting a brown-yellow, cylindrical herb on the left chopping board. The Taoist recognized it as licorice, which is commonly used to relieve cough and asthma.