Chapter 409: Chapter 409
The old hunter Anthony originally lived on a mountainside near Nice in the Alps, where he had resided for over a decade. After adopting a boy of unknown origin, he moved to a spot closer to Italy on the mountainside. Those old hunters familiar with Anthony were somewhat puzzled as to why he would move to a place with fewer game animals. According to Anthony, on the mountainside closer to Italy, he could feel the warm breeze from the Mediterranean, which made the Alpine winters more bearable. In fact, he just wanted to avoid attention.
This year’s Mediterranean warm breeze belonging to the old hunter Anthony came in the middle of the night. A "thud thud" knocking on the door shook the snow off the eaves of the aging hunting cabin, not to mention the soundly sleeping Anthony inside.
"In the middle of the night..." When he was young, Anthony’s temper was volatile. After drinking two bottles of Whiskey, he could bare-handedly wrestle with a winter bear. But after becoming a child’s adoptive father, his temper had mellowed significantly.
When he opened the door, Anthony expected to see a climber who had accidentally lost their way.
There were two people who came, one of whom had already passed out. The old hunter Anthony widened his eyes, staring into the eyes of the visitor.
Anthony stretched out both hands, forming a "cross" with his arms.
"You remember wrong, Anthony, it’s been twelve years. I was really worried that I’d only see a rusty hunting rifle when entering," Pello said as he placed Su Ziceng on the bed, then freed up his arms to give his adoptive father a firm hug.
Anthony cursed under his breath. He had a saying widely circulated among the hunters: "As long as the gun exists, the man lives; when the gun rusts, the man is gone."
"I can still down two bottles of Whiskey in one breath. Death is far off for me," Anthony had another famous saying, "Birds die for food, Anthony would die for Whiskey."
"Seeing you’re still so hearty, I’m relieved. Make a bear trap for me in a couple of days; I plan to go into the mountains to hunt bears," Pello said as he tucked Su Ziceng in tightly and touched her forehead. She had been unconscious far longer than twenty-four hours. If it weren’t for her normal breathing and heart rate, Pello would have been really worried about her...
Anthony watched Pello place the person down and shook his head. A few strands of snow, not yet melted, poked out through his hair, his actions resembling those of the hunting dog tied up outside his cabin.
"Who is she? Is she the woman you mentioned before?" It had been more than a decade since Anthony had seen Pello, but the two occasionally spoke on the phone. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑~𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖾~𝖓𝖊𝖙
"No, she’s a business partner," Pello did not want to reveal his quest for revenge to Anthony, and as for Su Ziceng’s identity, he also did not wish to mention it too much. Anthony was a good man. Had it not been for his ill wife needing money for treatment, he wouldn’t have gotten involved with Olson’s dirty business of murder. When he returned to save the barely alive Pello, the woman who had been with him for over twenty years also drew her last breath. Anthony said it was all retribution; God did not turn a blind eye towards his misdeeds, punishing him through his wife. So, in the following three years, he silently raised Pello. Only after Pello became a well-known hunter in the mountains did Anthony’s face, which hadn’t smiled for years, begin to show some smiles.
"Business partner? You truly are like your birth father, a capable money-maker," Anthony had never even inquired about Pello’s real identity. He was born in the Alps and would likely never step out of them until his death. Therefore, for Pello, who chose to leave, all he could offer was blessings as vast as the snow-capped mountains, "When are you going to bring that Wen woman here for a visit?"
Pello subconsciously glanced at Su Ziceng, who was still sound asleep, her complexion a bit rosier than before. The room was warm, and Pello thought of Wen Maixue for the first time in many days. Earlier, it was because of the avalanche, followed by his tetanus, and then Su Ziceng’s unconscious state, leaving him with practically no time to think about Wen Maixue.
No rescue team had entered the mountains for over ten days, which certainly meant Olson had control over Wen Maixue. Pello felt some remorse about getting Wen Maixue involved in the "Olson incident." After the matter was resolved, he would fulfill the promise he had made.
As for Su Ziceng lying on the bed, Pello was unaware of everything she had done during those days. His fever made his consciousness quite unclear; all he could see was Su Ziceng sitting still beside the deer carcass. Although it was just that one scene, his heart ached faintly.