Hugo's confidence was crushed and shattered. He had not managed to hunt anything.
The moment he had first noticed a nearby animal, Li Du had already killed it with his arrows. When he had discovered a far away target, he fired first but the bullets had missed the target terribly. And when the prey had entered the range of the crossbow, there was nothing he could do but look on.
Li Du had successfully hunted ten animals in a row. Hugo gave up the challenge—he looked spiritless and ran away with his gun, obviously not his usual self.
Harris shouted, "B*st*rd! Where are you going?"
Hugo did not say a word. He did not even turn to look back. His figure soon disappeared in their vision.
Without the chief gunman, Harris was lost.
Li Du played with the crossbow and asked, "Hey, pal, is the match over now?"
"Don't be so confident," Harris said stubbornly. "It's just the beginning—"
The onlookers started to yell at him:
"Harris, are you really a Comanche? Are the Comanche full of cowards like you?"
"You've lost, just admit it. It's such a disgrace."
"There's nothing more to see. Li's incredible—the best marksman I've ever seen!"
Harris might have been thick-skinned, but he was not entirely shameless.
Having lost the bet, he was too ashamed to stay here. However, he was most ashamed about Hugo, and felt disgraced for choosing a gunman like him.
Listening to all the taunt and ridicule, he spat angrily and said in a flustered and exasperated manner, "D*mn it! You've messed with us! This matter is not finished. You'll pay for this in the future!"
Li Du waved his hand casually and said, "I'll wait for you, anytime."
Harris and the group of Native Americans fled the scene. Martin and his friends cheered in joy, hugged and high-fived each other as if they were victorious from a battle.
Li Du smiled and watched them celebrate. "What I did say earlier?" asked Li Du. "Just believe in me. The matter can be settled."
"You're truly awesome out there," exclaimed Terry. "Why's your shot so remarkably good?"
"Because he's a genius," Hans chimed in. "No matter what Li does, if he wants to do it, he will."
"Lil' Sophie found a wonderful friend," someone said to Martin.
Martin laughed heartily at the remark. "God bless."
Li Du got Big Quinn to carry the deer and wanted to leave.
Martin asked, "Where are you going?"
Li Du said, "Now that the matter's settled and the weather's cooled down, we want to explore for a while more."
"Come, stay for some beer," Terry invited. "Let's get enjoy ourselves."
Li Du smiled and explained, "After going through this incident, I believe all of you must be exhausted and might want to have a private chat. I feel that you might need some space for privacy."
The small group of old fellows gave their thumbs-up to Li. Their expressions were full of fondness for the young man in front of them.
Li Du was familiar with the Chinese saying "know when to stop." He should not be together with the group for too long. He did not want to let them fully understand his situation. He had to leave an inscrutable impression.
The four of them left with the chickens, ducks, rabbits and deer hunted by Li. They went back to keep and pack the picnic cloth and tableware before trekking uphill again.
While on the way, Big Quinn held onto the stacks of bills and said in an uneasy tone, "Boss, this money..."
Li Du took a glance and said, "It's a bonus for you two, just take it."
Clearly, Big Quinn had never received a reward like this. He gulped and said, "This seems too much. It's 10,000 dollars."
Hans said, "If you had followed me to place a bet, it wouldn't just be 10,000 dollars."
Initially, Li Du had not been viewed favorably, and so the banker set the odds as one against four and a half, so as to attract people to bet on him.
Hans had placed a bet of 1,000 dollars and got back 4,500 dollars.
"I don't gamble," said Big Quinn. "I don't buy lottery tickets either. I believe in using my hands and legs to work and earn my keep. Big Fox, I'm sorry I did not follow you to place a bet."
Hans let out a reluctant sigh. "D*mn, you and Li are really a lot alike," he remarked. "Seems like we won't be having fun together in the future."
Li Du responded in a dissatisfied tone, "Who could have fun like you? The moment you earned 200,000 dollars, you spent 100,000! That's crazy!"
"If we earn money and don't spend it," Hans said, "then why should we earn it? To bring it with us into our coffins?"
Big Quinn was astonished and asked, "You spent so much money? How did you spend it all?"
Hans muttered, "Well, I have a lot of children."
He meant the children in the orphanage, but Big Quinn misinterpreted his statement. The big guy laughed and commented, "Men need to control their lower body. If not, when you have too many children, you're practically working for them."
Hans wanted to give Big Quinn the middle finger, but when he looked at his savage face, he decided to calm down.
In the afternoon, they climbed the mountain and then searched for a suitable place to pitch their tents for the night. Godzilla and Big Quinn set up the tents, and the other two went on a hunt.
Li Du wanted to hunt for some more wild birds like the ruffed grouse. These birds tasted good and he intended to use them to treat Rose's colleagues tomorrow.
That night, four men, a cat, and a raccoon gathered together around the bonfire and ate their barbecued meat. The temperature difference in the mountains was relatively large and the strong winds at night made them feel cold.
Li Du took big bites of the roasted chicken drumstick. He had spent a lot of energy during the competition and had been hungry since.
After dinner, Li watched the stars in the night sky. It was a different experience to gaze at the stars on the mountains.
Hans saw him lying on the foldable camping recliner, looking out into the sky. He sat closer and asked, "I noticed that you like to look at the sky. Is there a p*ssy in heaven?"
Li Du leisurely replied, "Brother, sooner or later, you're going to die on top of a woman."
Hans had an earnest look and replied, "That's actually my greatest dream."
Li Du was at a loss for words.
Big Quinn asked, "Boss, you like to look at constellations?"
"I liked it as a child," replied Li Du. "I even dreamed of becoming an astronaut or an astronomer. Now, I look at the sky to enjoy the quiet, peaceful atmosphere."
Big Quinn said, "Actually, I've always really liked looking at the constellations. Heh—I almost became an astronomer. It's a pity …" He shrugged his shoulders, his expression full of regret.
"What happened?" Li Du asked.
Big Quinn said, "Nothing, just feel that it was a pity. When I was in college, I majored in Astronomy. But my wife got pregnant—I had to leave school for work."
"Do you have children now?"
"Yes," Big Quinn laughed. "Three little ones. My daughter's 11 this year—she loves to dance. My two sons love sports. They're nice children."
Li Du said, "It's neat that you've studied astronomy. What constellations can you see in the sky now?"
Big Quinn pointed to the sky. "Look at the northwest, you can see Lyra—it is one of the northern constellations in the Milky Way. Vega, a star within Lyra, is a white star with a magnitude of 0. In this season, it can be the brightest star in the northern sky.
"If you look south, you can see Scorpius, it's located in the southern part of the zodiac. The constellation contains a vast array of famous stars, and is the most visible constellation in the northern hemisphere's summer skies..."
As Li Du listened to Big Quinn patiently giving a professional introduction, Li Du felt that life was wonderful.
Some people might look prim and proper but they were evil-hearted, whereas some might look vicious and savage, yet they were gentle and kind-hearted.
Big Quinn belonged to the latter. The longer Li Du spent time with him, the more he appreciated Big Quinn's personality.