Chapter 682: Encountering the Big Brown Bear Again

By rights, Li Long didn't want to go out; he just wanted to stay home, enjoying his wife, child, and a warm kang, while feeding Little Black and the two young roe deer—though those roe deer had grown a bit too large now and weren't as fun anymore.

But after Gu Xiaxia chased him out the door, he drove the jeep to buy some daily necessities, picked up some grain along the way, and headed into the mountains, feeling equally cheerful, even experiencing a sense of breaking free from a cage.

It was a very contradictory feeling.

Upon leaving the county town, he spotted a watermelon stall west of the city and bought seven or eight large watermelons; he figured that if Sun Jia Qiang was still at the wooden cabin, he must be craving big watermelons by now.

As the jeep passed through Passing Qingshuihe Village, Li Long could see many people harvesting wheat in the fields surrounding the village, with several wheat stacks already piled up on the village threshing floor.

Threshing hadn't begun yet, so there was no sound of tractors or horse-drawn rollers.

Li Long didn't stop; he drove the jeep along the mountain road, passed through Shankou, and headed straight for the wooden cabin.

Since Ha Li Mu and the others weren't due back yet, Li Long planned to go directly to check whether Sun Jia Qiang was there.

As they passed through the woods, the sound of the jeep startled several birds into flight.

The originally quiet mountains gained a bit more noise.

A gray shadow darted across the left front of his field of vision before diving into the forest.

Li Long gripped the steering wheel with his left hand and reached with his right for the rifle on the passenger seat, then let go.

Never mind; it ran too fast, and by the time he got out, the creature would surely be gone.

It was a gray wolf, seemingly not fully grown, possibly a cub from last year.

He hadn't expected that after just over a month away from the mountains, the wild animals here would have become so bold.

He wondered if Sun Jia Qiang might encounter any danger.

When Li Long arrived at the wooden cabin, he found the door locked.

However, the dried mushrooms airing on the table in front of the cabin proved he was still around; most likely, he had gone out to pick mushrooms.

Li Long got out of the vehicle and opened the cabin door.

The main room was much as he had left it; it was evident that Sun Jia Qiang hadn't been sleeping here.

Instead, two large woks sat here; there was a fire in the stove with a kettle of water heating on top, still warm.

But there was truly nothing left inside this house; at least the steamed buns were gone, the flour sack held only a shallow layer of residue at the bottom, and the rice was completely finished.

Li Long guessed that if he had arrived two days later, Sun Jia Qiang might have gone hungry.

There was still quite a bit of the cured meat, however; it seemed Sun Jia Qiang wasn't quite accustomed to using it for stir-frying or cooking meals.

Of course, it was also possible that this fellow was too lazy to bother, making do every day with steamed buns and thin porridge.

Li Long then opened the door to Let Xiao Fang and discovered several bags sitting on the shelves inside.

Although unopened, Li Long could smell that the bags contained dried mushrooms.

There were morel mushrooms and black tiger palm mushrooms, but the majority were straw mushrooms.

He didn't know why Sun Jia Qiang had gathered so many straw mushrooms; this kind wasn't valuable, and the procurement station didn't accept them.

Li Long examined the shelves; other supplies were basically exhausted, leaving only a few packets of tea and a bag of salt, with canned goods and sugar cubes completely gone.

The bedding on the floor hadn't been tidied; presumably, Sun Jia Qiang would get up each day, make a quick breakfast, head out to pick mushrooms, and see no need to arrange anything further.

Li Long opened both doors to air out the place.

Although it was still morning, Li Long didn't plan to go far; he went nearby to find some wild celery and some lovage, picked some straw mushrooms, and returned to prepare lunch.

He figured Sun Jia Qiang probably hadn't cooked a proper meal in a long time, so Li Long intended to make a good one, then go pick mushrooms in the afternoon.

It was currently the peak season for black tiger palm mushrooms; finding the right spot, one could gather a hundred kilograms in an afternoon—Li Long was confident of this.

With less than ten kilograms of fresh mushrooms needed to produce one kilogram of dried, one could earn quite a lot in a single day.

Mainly, Li Long had spent two years exploring this mountainous area and knew it extremely well.

He generally knew which areas were likely to yield black tiger palm mushrooms.

This included morel mushrooms as well.

After gathering the ingredients, he washed them at the spring, then set up a stove outside to prepare for stir-frying.

He added charcoal to the stove in the large wooden cabin and lit it, preparing to steam rice.

By the time the food was ready, Sun Jia Qiang still hadn't returned, so Li Long ate first, placed the portion saved for Sun Jia Qiang on the shelf in the small wooden cabin, banked the stove with coal dust, then drove off toward the gully near Brother Brother Yushanjiang.

Currently, the coal at the wooden cabin was nearly used up; Sun Jia Qiang had brought some wind-fallen timber and branches, using the branches for kindling.

There was still some coal dust for banking the stove, but it wasn't burning well anymore.

Li Long planned to haul back two bags of coal while out picking mushrooms; using them immediately, gathering two bags daily would quickly accumulate a substantial amount.

There would be no need to specifically drive the tractor over just for a load.

The open-pit coal mine was relatively close to Brother Brother Yushanjiang's winter dwelling, so driving the car here was more convenient.

Moreover, several gullies nearby contained abundant black tiger palm mushrooms, making them easy to harvest.

Some of the grass was beginning to turn yellow, though most remained green.

The shaded parts of the mountain gully were still quite cool; Li Long carried a bag to the open-pit mine, used an iron shovel to dig away the weathered coal, and scooped out the larger, better-burning chunks beneath to fill the bags.

After filling two bags of coal and seeing plenty remained, Li Long loaded two more bags into the vehicle, then shouldered his rifle and went to pick mushrooms.

Li Long found that the majority of black tiger palm mushrooms grew in the sparse pine forests on the northern slopes of the mountains, where pine trees stood scattered here and there, interspersed with numerous shrubs.

The black tiger palm mushrooms grew among the pine needles and moss within these areas.

Compared to morel mushrooms, black tiger palm mushrooms were larger and particularly easy to spot; one glance revealed several, each roughly bigger than Li Long's palm.

After searching just a few spots, the large hemp sack Li Long carried was nearly full.

He stuck to his old tradition: when picking black tiger palm mushrooms, he removed the roots, snapping them off even if they came up with roots attached.

Previously, he preferred slicing black tiger palm mushrooms before drying them, but later Chen Hongjun told him that buyers primarily accepted whole dried mushrooms, so Li Long began placing them whole directly into the hemp sacks.

Those for his own consumption would be sliced, while those for sale would remain whole.

This way, neither purpose was neglected.

Seeing that this hemp sack was nearly full, Li Long carried it back to the jeep, then returned to fetch another sack.

Unknowingly, the two sacks of Black Tiger Palm mushrooms were filled; Li Long knew he would have to move to another area tomorrow.

This stuff didn't grow as fast as morels; once this patch was picked, it would take a long time before another patch grew back.

What struck Li Long as strange was that he had covered quite a large area today yet hadn't encountered a single large animal.

Mainly because he had encountered a young gray wolf right upon entering the mountains, Li Long had felt there should be plenty of wild game here, and he might even shoot one or two while picking mushrooms.

He hadn't expected not to encounter a single one.

This made him wonder if, before descending the mountain, he should try his luck at Hot Spring Gully or the Salt Mine Cave.

Of course, encountering one nearby would be best.

Li Long glanced at the nearby mountains, placed the sacks in the back of the jeep, and couldn't help walking toward the steeper slopes.

He wondered if he might get lucky; if he could encounter a Beishan goat, that would be wonderful.

Having not exercised in the mountains for several days, Li Long felt slightly out of breath while climbing the steep slope, making him feel he still needed to enter the mountains regularly for activity.

Otherwise, if his physical strength declined severely later on, that would not do.

Of course, he also knew his physical strength was far superior to that of an ordinary person, but who ever complains about being too strong? One only thinks the stronger, the better.

Li Long climbed that steep mountain and discovered the mountain shape opposite had some distinctive features: layer upon layer, yet quite a few pine trees grew on the steep slopes.

There were also some ancient trees that must have been extremely old; some tree stumps were even hollow.

Yet the summit over there was bare; one could see sand, rocks, and such, with occasionally one or two creeping pines adding a touch of green.

Li Long was quite curious, so after descending the slope, he walked in that direction.

Perhaps there would be some harvest.

Just halfway up the climb, Li Long faintly heard shouting voices from above the mountain.

The sound carried quite far; Li Long clearly heard two words: "Help!"

He immediately quickened his pace climbing upward, and just as he neared the summit, he saw a human figure tumbling and crawling down from the top, with a large brown bear chasing close behind!

That brown bear stood over two meters tall, somewhat similar to the one he had injured in summer, with brown-black fur and thick flesh; as it ran, its whole body rippled like waves, roaring as it charged.

One could tell that if that person hadn't tumbled and crawled down the slope so quickly, the brown bear would likely have grabbed and eaten him! The distance between the man and the bear was currently less than thirty meters; it was only because the bear was being careful descending the mountain, not wanting to roll down, that the distance remained as it was.

Otherwise, given the bear's speed, that person would truly be finished.

Li Long was about over a hundred meters away from the bear; by now he had no time to run, so he found a mountain rock, raised his rifle, and took aim at the bear.

This creature was huge, making it an easy target; Li Long led his aim slightly and pulled the trigger:

"Bang! Bang!"

Two shots rang out; the first hit the bear's belly, but the second missed as the bear stumbled after stepping into a hole.

The bear rolled down a few meters before being blocked by a rock, then quickly scrambled up and fled diagonally in another direction.

Clearly, this bear was not stupid; it knew someone in the distance could hurt it, so the direction it ran was away from Li Long.

Li Long hurriedly raised his rifle and gave chase; as he passed the person, he realized the man was in his fifties, with messy hair and a long beard, clearly indicating he had been in the mountains for some time.

After seeing Li Long, that person said nothing but instead followed along.

He didn't appear to be seriously injured; Li Long didn't know why he wanted to follow him.

Just as the bear was about to climb to the summit, Li Long raised his rifle to take aim, but unexpectedly, the bear was quite clever; it lowered its body and rolled into the shrubbery, causing Li Long's shot to miss.

Not a single mistake, every single character, every single content, all in one look!

Naturally unwilling to give up, he grabbed his rifle and continued running forward, soon reaching the summit.

He could see sparse pine woods on the opposite side, with the bear running within them; that shot seemed to have little effect on it!

Li Long ran in pursuit, but after passing through this patch of woods, he found he had lost the trail.

Beyond the woods lay a stretch of shrubbery, followed by some scattered rocks.

Although Li Long could smell a faint scent of blood, there were even stronger scents of wild beasts in the vicinity.

He found bloodstains on the leaves of a shrub and followed the trail inward; because he needed to locate the target, his movements slowed, and by the time he exited this patch of shrubbery and reached the pile of scattered rocks, he gave up.

This was different from the previous time he tracked the thief who stole goods; back then, Li Long had eventually found the other party's hiding place.

This time, the bear's endurance seemed even greater than his own; it kept running, and not much blood was flowing from its body, occasionally dripping a single drop; even if he found it, who knew if it wouldn't be until nightfall.

Forget it.

As Li Long turned back, he glanced at that mountain with the bare summit.

To his delight, he discovered moving shadows up there.

There was movement!

Li Long immediately turned in that direction.

He had run only halfway when he saw the person who had been chased by the bear; upon seeing Li Long, that person's originally brisk pace immediately became stumbling, and he walked while calling out to Li Long for help:

"Young comrade, thank you for saving me; look, could you do me a favor and guide me out of the mountains?"

Li Long glanced at him, paid no attention, and ran directly toward the bare mountain at high speed.

He wasn't stupid; he saved people because he was kind-hearted, but this man clearly wanted to take advantage of him.

Just now he had run so fast he could almost keep up with Li Long, and despite being chased by a bear, he hadn't been seriously injured, indicating this person's legs were agile, stronger than an ordinary person's.

And he still wanted Li Long to escort him out of the mountains?

Get real.

Seeing Li Long ignore him and continue heading up the mountain, that person hurriedly waved his hand:

"Young comrade, it's dangerous over there! There are bears and wolves on the mountain; it's unsafe for you to go alone. Let's go down the mountain; I have food at the foot of the hill, don't run up anymore..."

Li Long turned a deaf ear to his words and quickly climbed up the bare mountain.

That person ultimately lacked the strength and endurance of Li Long; falling further and further behind, watching Li Long's figure grow smaller and smaller, he couldn't help but start cursing.

Li Long truly had no time to deal with such an oddball; in his view, he hadn't asked this person to repay his life-saving grace, yet this person pushed his luck and tried to deceive him; it was better to stay far away from such people.

If he hadn't discovered the Beishan goat, and if Li Long's temperament wasn't quite good right now, he might have even beaten the man up.

Li Long finally reached the place where no grass grew.

Previously, with vegetation present, climbing the mountain had been relatively smooth, but here it became quite troublesome.

Gravel and sand falling from the bald summit sank halfway down upon being stepped on, and pebbles frequently slipped into his shoes, causing great inconvenience.

Occasionally ahead, patches of weeds grew among the gravel; such spots were relatively easier to traverse.

Ahead, a herd of Beishan goats numbered over a dozen.

Li Long could see the one with the longest horns, which must have had more than twenty segments; this goat was already very old.

There were also half-grown kids, alongside the majority of prime adults boasting ten-segment horns.

Those were Beishan goats aged four or five, or perhaps five or six years, constituting the main force of the herd.

These goats had originally been running and grazing in the mountains, evading their natural enemies, never expecting Li Long to chase them down.

Their survival here relied entirely on this terrain, which neither bears nor wolves could easily enter, and once inside, movement became difficult.

Beishan goats ran with extreme agility in the mountains; even across these gravel slopes, their speed remained high as they quickly dashed toward the more distant summit.

Li Long stopped fifty or sixty meters away from the herd.

He realized that as he continued climbing upward, he might trigger a landslide or something similar.

Even now, while ascending, large sheets of gravel were rolling down the mountainside, posing great danger.

Fortunately, below the summit lay first a grassy slope, then shrubs, and finally a pine forest, which could block much of the falling gravel and sand.

Otherwise, the entire mountain would collapse.

Li Long raised his rifle, aiming at a young Beishan goat lagging behind.

However, this goat perhaps sensed the danger; it suddenly leaped vigorously, bounding forward in a few jumps to join the others, turning around the far side of the mountain and vanishing from Li Long's sight.

Somewhat unwilling to give up, Li Long waited a while, but seeing no reappearance and deeming further ascent unrealistic, he circled around the mountain, seeking a spot to cut off the goats' line of sight.

Having spotted a herd of Beishan goats, he truly could not resign himself to leaving without taking one down.

He also wanted to taste just what made these cliff goats so special.

Struggling through the gravel, Li Long walked while looking upward; he even spotted what appeared to be several snow lotuses growing in the gravel piles near the summit.

These snow lotuses grew in such an advantageous location that ordinary people could never hope to harvest them.

His steps were deep one moment and shallow the next, and he frequently had to stop to empty the sand and pebbles from his shoes.

Only because he wore high-top rubber boots was he spared; otherwise, his shoe soles would likely already be filled with sand.

Continuing forward, Li Long passed two patches of creeping pines and vaguely spotted leaping figures atop the summit, prompting him to quicken his pace around the slope.

Li Long accelerated, fearing the Beishan goats would circle around him, though primarily the climb itself was making him anxious.

Large swathes of gravel cascaded down the mountain after he stepped on them, sometimes even triggering avalanches of rock.

Li Long no longer cared about this; after all, the stones at the summit were already weathered and would eventually fall with time, so this little bit made no difference.

Finally, after walking over a hundred meters, he reached the other side of the slope.

He then saw that most of the Beishan goats had climbed to the summit; Li Long now guessed the peak was flat, rendering the goats invisible once they reached it.

However, the climb from their ascent point to the summit was not easy, steeper even than where Li Long stood; the goats ran up one by one, and some, failing to judge their footing properly, slipped back down after jumping.

Li Long immediately aimed at the last one: this was a prime adult.

The distance to that Beishan goat was merely seventy or eighty meters, and Li Long was confident he could hit it with a single shot.

"Bang!"

Just as Li Long fired, a white figure flashed past behind that goat, then was struck by his bullet and shoved backward with a thud.

Li Long saw clearly that it was a half-grown kid; the spot where this young goat landed was uneven, and it seemed to roll away in that direction.

The Beishan goats that had not yet jumped up panicked instantly; two leaped desperately upward while the rest jumped toward the opposite side!

"Bang!" Li Long fired again; a leaping adult goat, three or four years old, was hit by the bullet and also rolled down.

Li Long hurriedly climbed upward, but after only a few steps, large sections of rock beneath him, including those above, began falling, forcing him to dodge aside and continue circling around.

Although troublesome, he had no choice but to do so.

Hopefully, he would still be in time! (End of Chapter)