Chapter 97

After Li Long parked his bicycle at the winter camp and drank some milk tea to warm his stomach, he and Halimu each took a rifle, carried ropes and plastic sheets, and walked into the mountain forest.

Heading east from the winter camp, they walked for over a kilometer along the mountain before Halimu made a turn in front. A mountain pass extended northward here, but the exit was very small, and no mountain path had formed there.

"Look, there's a gully leading in here. In this gully, there grows a lot of that medicinal herb you Han people call... what is it, fritillaria." Halimu pointed it out to Li Long and said, "In summer, around May or June, the flowers that hang upside down bloom everywhere. It's very beautiful."

The two did not enter the gully, but Li Long memorized its location—at the mouth of the gully, there was a row of uneven pine trees and several quite large wind-felled logs.

"Over there," Halimu pointed again toward a gully below the Fritillaria Gully, "starting from April or May, a lot of mushrooms grow in that gully, lasting until August. Those mushrooms are actually quite good-looking, different from ordinary mushrooms."

Halimu spoke to Li Long as if he were pointing out the landscape:

"We aren't interested in these things, but when summer comes and the snow melts, you can come over and take a look. I know you're looking to get into medicinal herbs; there are quite a lot of them in this area of gullies."

After finishing talking about this place, Halimu led Li Long to continue walking east:

"There's a patch of shrubs over there with no tall trees. When spring arrives, red deer will come by. I even saw a fawn here when I was herding sheep, but it was too clever. I didn't have any bullets left at the time and wasn't carrying a gun, otherwise I would have caught it."

There are red deer here? Li Long immediately became excited and asked, "Then will there be any here now?"

"I don't know. Let's go, let's go over and see." Halimu led Li Long toward that patch of shrubs.

The snow was very deep, and every step took a great deal of effort. However, both of them were very excited, wanting to see if there were any big red deer over there.

What surprised Li Long a bit was that there were tracks of something having passed through the snow in the shrubbery. Halimu searched nearby and saw some droppings; he picked them up, examined them, and said:

"Red deer have been here, but it looks like they came three or four days ago."

Li Long was excited yet somewhat disappointed; if only they had come a few days earlier!

"The snow is too thick, and it's not easy for the red deer to find food. Their range of activity is quite large now, so it's uncertain whether they will come back later." Halimu carried his gun and pointed to the east, saying:

"Let's go, continue. I remember that before we moved to the summer pastures in spring and summer, we went there and saw a herd of wild boars and roe deer. Let's go over and see today. Even if there aren't any, you can memorize this place for later; you can come over to hunt when you have time."

Li Long memorized this area again. The shrubbery was only 800 meters away from Fritillaria Gully; although it wasn't a straight line, as long as he found Fritillaria Gully, this side would be easy to find.

The two walked forward for another kilometer or so, and just as Li Long was struggling with his head down in the snow, Halimu suddenly stopped.

"Li Long, there's movement!"

Li Long suddenly stopped.

Only then did he realize that there was still a significant gap between him and a qualified hunter; he hadn't discovered anything at all just now.

Once he stopped, he immediately heard it—across a mountain ridge, there was a snorting sound, not just one, but a whole group!

"A herd of wild boars?" Li Long looked toward Halimu.

"Should be." Halimu nodded, took the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle off his back, and said, "Let's go up slowly and take a look. If we're discovered, we'll open fire immediately. It'll depend on luck."

Li Long thought that was the only way. Because he discovered that the snorting sound was quite close to the ridge, and if the two of them went up, there was no guarantee they wouldn't be discovered.

Li Long also took the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle off his back and even flipped out the triangular bayonet.

The ten bullets in the magazine were fine. He pushed a bullet into the chamber, staggered his position with Halimu, and the two moved forward in parallel toward the ridge slowly. Although both were as careful as possible, the snow was so thick that every step they took inevitably made a sound.

Li Long could even feel the snorting sound on the other side of the ridge getting a bit quieter.

But they couldn't not go up.

Fortunately, this ridge wasn't very high; they were only a dozen meters from the top now. Halimu looked at Li Long, sensed that Li Long had the intention to rush up, shook his head slightly, and then continued to walk up slowly, only his movements in stepping on the snow became even more careful.

Three minutes later, the two moved to the top of the ridge, and then they saw over a dozen wild boars standing in an orderly fashion on the slope near the opposite side of the ridge, all turning their heads, lifting their heads, or facing them directly!

The slope on that side was relatively gentle, feeling like thirty or forty degrees, and one could see down at a glance. The snow-covered ground had been dug up in large patches, and many grass roots were exposed.

"Shoot!" Just as the wild boars were stunned, Halimu raised his gun and fired at the nearest wild boar!

Li Long also knew this was the only shot, so he also raised his gun and fired at a female wild boar a dozen meters away!

In his line of sight, a spray of blood burst from the wild boar's shoulder. The wild boar let out a miserable shriek, turned its head, and ran!

The sound of gunfire exploded the herd of wild boars, which had been almost stationary, and they scattered and fled in all directions!

Li Long's posture of holding the gun didn't change; he kept aiming at the small female wild boar that was still fleeing, and fired another shot with a 'bang', but this shot missed.

Hearing the gunshot, the female wild boar increased its fleeing speed and dashed down the mountain. Because the snow was too slippery, it almost fell, which gave Li Long a chance!

He learned from the previous opportunity, made an allowance, aimed at the head of the wild boar as it rushed down, and pulled the trigger again. A larger spray of blood exploded on the wild boar. That wild boar was finally hit in a vital spot, could no longer flee, fell to the ground, and began to twitch.

!.

Li Long breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the other wild boars, they had already vanished without a trace.

And twenty or thirty meters in front of Halimu, a not-so-large male wild boar was lying there.

It was only fifty or sixty kilograms, about the same size as the one he had shot.

Halimu had already slung his gun on his back and was looking at Li Long.

"Not bad, two wild boars. You might not be able to carry them back on your bicycle."

"It's fine. Once gutted and skinned, the rest won't be that heavy; I can take them away."

It was said that the reinforced Permanent 28-inch bicycle could carry even 400 kilograms. After these two were cleaned, they wouldn't total more than 100 kilograms; how could he not be able to take them away?

Moreover, Li Long knew that for the next period of time, he needed to learn more hunting skills.

To give the simplest example: skinning. When spring and summer alternated and Halimu and the others moved to the summer pastures, if he hunted deer or roe deer then, would he have to sell them with their skins on? He would inevitably have to skin them before selling them.

So, if he didn't know how to skin them, wouldn't he be unable to even sell them?

Therefore, Li Long had to take the first step now, starting with skinning and gutting.

(End of chapter)