Da Bao wanted to take the whole tiger.
Xu Hao stared at the carcass, which appeared to weigh about as much as a small horse, and then at the narrow path leading uphill.
"Of course you do."
"We can use the hide. The bones are useful. And the meat will last."
"I'm not disputing the value. I'm considering what happens when we carry a bleeding tiger through a forest where its mother may be looking for it."
Da Bao looked up. He had been cutting through the thick hide with a hunting knife, and his expression became a good deal less cheerful.
"You think the mother is nearby?"
"I think I'd prefer not to find out."
Er Bao was already working. He showed Xu Hao where to stand while he cut the body into portions that could be tied to their packs. The great sword stayed within reach. Every so often he paused and listened. Xu Hao noticed that the dogs had stopped playing. Grey watched the trail they had used to enter the clearing, and Sia stood with her nose lifted towards the wind.
"You'll take the rear with Sia," Er Bao said. "If she alerts, you tell us immediately. Don't go looking for whatever frightened her."
Xu Hao nodded. "I was thinking of writing that particular rule onto my forehead."
"Then you might remember it."
Da Bao laughed, though he didn't look away from the trees.
They worked as quickly as they could. Xu Hao had assisted with animal remains on archaeological expeditions, but that hadn't prepared him for the smell of fresh blood or the stubborn strength of skin attached to muscle. He carried water, held a cloth for Er Bao, and did his best to stay useful without getting in the way. When Da Bao offered him a knife, he accepted it, then discovered that the blade seemed determined to travel everywhere except along the cut he intended.
"You can stop," Da Bao said after a moment. "Your face looks green."
"I'm fine."
"You're cutting the same piece of skin over and over."
Xu Hao put down the knife. "I withdraw my claim."
The giant grinned, but he didn't make fun of him. He finished the work while Xu Hao helped secure the packs.
* * *
They left the clearing before noon.
Xu Hao had never appreciated a quiet forest quite so much. He wanted the birds to sing, the insects to chirp and the wind to move the branches in an entirely ordinary fashion. Every stretch of silence suggested something was listening.
The brothers moved ahead with heavy packs. Little One walked closer to Da Bao than before; she'd apparently learned that hunting could involve events less entertaining than chasing a startled deer. Grey favoured one leg slightly when climbing a patch of loose stones. Xu Hao noticed at once.
"Stop," he said.
Er Bao turned. "What is it?"
"Grey. Let her stand a moment."
He examined the foreleg again. The joint was not swollen, but there was tenderness when he bent it through a certain angle. She tolerated the examination, then rested her head against Er Bao's knee as if apologising for causing trouble.
"We shouldn't make her run," Xu Hao said. "She's been putting weight on it, but I think she strained something dodging that claw."
Er Bao stroked her head. "Can she walk?"
"Slowly. And if she begins limping badly, we'll have to carry her."
Da Bao looked at Grey, then at his own pack. Without a word he lifted one of Er Bao's bundles and added it to his load.
Xu Hao watched him. "I didn't ask you to do that."
"No," Da Bao said. "You asked us to bring everyone home."
It was an answer that left Xu Hao with very little to say.
They took the longer route around a steep bank, stopped to rest in the shade and let Grey drink before continuing. Sia stayed close to Xu Hao, but occasionally slipped ahead to sniff the trail before returning at his whistle. Twice he thought she was trying to tell him something. Both times he resisted the urge to invent a meaning.
He'd taught students to distinguish an observation from a conclusion. In the Dark Forest, the difference was rapidly becoming a matter of survival.
* * *
The summit looked better than it ever had.
There was their rough shelter beneath the rock, the fire pit, the crooked cooking stand Da Bao refused to repair because it had worked perfectly well for years. Even the heap of stones Xu Hao had carried up the slope during training seemed welcoming.
Da Bao dropped the packs with a satisfied grunt.
"Successful hunt!"
"Everyone is breathing," Xu Hao said. "I'll accept that definition."
They checked the dogs before doing anything else. Little One had no new wounds. Sia was unharmed, although Xu Hao made a point of searching under the thick fur around her neck. Grey's leg bothered her when she tried to lie down quickly. Er Bao prepared a cool cloth while Xu Hao showed him how to support the joint without forcing it.
"Can you mend it?" Da Bao asked.
"Time will do more good than I can. Rest. No jumping. No sudden running for a day or two."
Da Bao looked scandalised. "No running?"
"For Grey. I'd consider imposing the same rule on you, but I suspect it would be difficult to enforce."
Er Bao laid a hand on the husky's shoulder. "We'll watch her."
Only after she settled did they turn to the meat.
Da Bao wanted to roast a generous portion for supper. Xu Hao wanted to preserve most of it before flies discovered their good fortune. Er Bao, who had presumably endured this kind of dispute before, divided the work without consulting either of them. He hung strips to dry above a low smoky fire and set aside enough for the evening pot.
Xu Hao prepared the seasoning. Their salt supply was nearly gone, so he used less than Da Bao considered reasonable, balancing it with crushed leaves and a little pepper from the bottom of a pouch.
"That's not enough," Da Bao said.
"We've had this conversation."
"Yes, and I was right last time."
"You said that before tasting anything."
"I could tell by looking."
Er Bao tasted a spoonful, nodded approvingly and passed the pot back. Da Bao watched this betrayal in silence.
* * *
When the meal was finished and the dogs were asleep, Xu Hao held his staff across his knees.
"I need a different weapon."
Da Bao looked up. "That one is good wood."
"Excellent wood. Beautifully carved. Completely inadequate against a tiger."
"Against a tiger," Er Bao said, "you should still run."
"I intend to. But while you two fight, I can't help without standing close enough to be killed. I'd like something that lets me keep my distance."
"A spear?" Da Bao suggested.
"Longer than this?"
"Yes."
"Then I would remain only a slightly longer distance from the tiger."
Er Bao set down his cup. "A bow, perhaps."
Xu Hao nodded. The idea had been forming ever since Grey escaped the tiger's claws. In his student years he had spent too many evenings playing a game in which a hunter fought beside an animal companion. The hunter stood back and used a bow while the companion kept danger occupied. It wasn't a serious basis for battlefield tactics, but the arrangement had one undeniable virtue: the person with the bow did not stand directly in front of the teeth.
"A bow," he said. "If I learn to shoot, I might help the girls without putting myself into reach."
Da Bao considered him. "Have you shot one before?"
"Only a little. Years ago. At a field exhibition."
"Were you good?"
Xu Hao thought of the target he'd missed at a distance so short that several spectators had laughed.
"No."
"Good. Then you don't have bad habits to unlearn."
"That's an optimistic interpretation."
Er Bao looked towards the sleeping huskies. "A bow won't stop a stronger beast by itself. And you must still learn where to stand, when to shoot, and when to withdraw. Otherwise you'll become an archer who dies holding a bow."
"Agreed. Which is why I need someone patient to teach me."
Both brothers looked at Da Bao.
He frowned. "Why are you staring at me?"
Xu Hao smiled innocently. "Brother Er Bao says you're the best woodworker in the family."
"I didn't say that," Er Bao replied.
"You didn't contradict it either."
Da Bao straightened. "Of course I'm the best. I taught Er Bao half of what he knows."
Er Bao opened his mouth, thought better of it and reached for the teapot.
Xu Hao waited until his older brother had settled into the boast.
"Then perhaps you could make a proper bow."
Da Bao waved a hand. "Easily."
"How long would it take?"
"Not long."
"Brother Er Bao thought it might take an entire afternoon."
"I said nothing of the kind," Er Bao murmured.
Da Bao was already on his feet. "An afternoon? Little brother, I'll show you what a proper craftsman can do before breakfast!"
He strode towards the tool sack, muttering about wood grain, bowstrings and the disgrace of people who underestimated good workmanship.
Er Bao watched him go.
"You know," he said, "you could simply have asked."
"I did ask."
"You turned it into a contest."
"He enjoys contests."
"He does." Er Bao took a sip of tea. "That doesn't make you innocent."
Xu Hao looked down at his sore hands, then towards the three sleeping dogs. They had survived their first hunt, but only because his brothers had been strong enough to rescue them from a danger none of them had expected.
He wanted to contribute more next time.
And if that required flattering Da Bao into making a bow, Xu Hao was prepared to suffer the moral consequences.