diskusbooks Chapter 110 (The Importance of)
Chapter 110 (The Importance of)
The tree was so thick that it would take three people to hug it; two people could easily hide in it.
The black cat crouched at Li Xiangyang's feet, its ears standing straight up and its eyes fixed on the front without blinking.
“Towards…towards the sun…” Wang Ergou’s throat was dry, and his voice was trembling. “Tell me, what exactly is that thing up ahead?”
Just as Li Xiangyang was about to answer, he heard a "crack" sound from deep in the woods, as if some enormous creature had snapped a branch.
This startled Wang Ergou so much that he almost accidentally fired his gun.
"Can you please not be so tense? I'm really fed up. Don't worry about anything, if he dares to come, we'll just raise our guns and shoot. As long as you shoot accurately, nothing will touch you. Take a deep breath," Li Xiangyang said helplessly, trying to comfort him.
"Hehe," Wang Ergou chuckled, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, "This isn't my first time venturing into such deep mountains; the noises are terrifying. But now that you mention it, I'm not scared anymore."
He took a deep breath, slowly adjusted his breathing, and his grip on the gun became much firmer.
Seeing this, Li Xiangyang nodded in satisfaction.
He knew all too well that the unknown was the most frightening thing, just like when he first ventured into the deep mountains.
Once you actually see it, you're not afraid anymore, just like how calm Wang Ergou was when he was hitting the squirrel.
"Crack!" Another sound of a branch breaking.
This time, Wang Ergou was no longer trembling with fear. Instead, he gripped the gun handle tightly and stared intently in the direction from which the sound came.
"Judging from the noise, it should be a bear, but it's not hibernating; it must have been startled."
"A bear? Then...then do we're rich?" Wang Ergou's eyes lit up. "Look at us..."
"Shh!" Li Xiangyang quickly interrupted him, "Listen!"
A faint barking sound came from afar, growing louder as it approached.
“Hunting dogs,” Li Xiangyang said, frowning, “it seems they’ve become someone else’s prey.”
"How did they become theirs? Whoever has the guts can fight them..."
"Stop!" Li Xiangyang said sternly. "The worst thing you can do when hunting is to intercept someone. Unless they ask for your help, we can't touch them."
Before Wang Ergou could say anything more, Li Xiangyang continued, "Don't be so unconvinced. Imagine if we spent several days chasing after them, only to have someone else snatch it away. Wouldn't you want to rip them off...?"
Before he could finish speaking, a gunshot rang out.
Immediately following was a piercing roar, clearly indicating that the bear had been shot.
"Damn it, that commotion clearly missed its mark. It might run this way."
As Li Xiangyang spoke, he raised the muzzle of his gun forward.
"Listen, if that beast comes at us, take him down first. We're just defending ourselves, not intercepting him; we'll explain later."
Wang Ergou nodded vigorously and raised his gun as well.
The commotion deep in the forest grew louder, and the rustling sound of snow being cleared was clearly audible.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou held their breath, listening to the approaching footsteps.
Suddenly, a huge black bear rushed out of the bushes.
Blood was flowing from its chest, clearly from the shot it had just taken.
The black bear looked both angry and panicked, and let out a low roar the moment it saw the two.
"Don't shoot! It looks like it wants to escape; let's not provoke it rashly."
Li Xiangyang reminded him in a low voice.
Wang Ergou reluctantly nodded.
The black bear stood upright, reaching a height of over three meters, its paws waving in the air.
But it was mostly probing, its eyes constantly scanning its surroundings, searching for an escape route.
Wang Ergou's gun was steadily aimed at the black bear, his finger already on the trigger.
Sure enough, once he saw his prey, he wasn't nervous at all; instead, he was eager to try.
Just then, the barking of dogs in the distance suddenly drew closer.
The black bear suddenly turned its head to look at the two people, made its choice, and launched a deadly charge towards them!
"beat!"
At this point, there was really no need for Li Xiangyang to say anything; anyone would have fired.
The difference lies in accuracy.
"Bang! Bang!" Two gunshots rang out almost simultaneously.
Li Xiangyang's bullet struck the black bear squarely in the heart, while Wang Ergou's shot was equally decisive, piercing the bear's throat.
The enormous creature charged forward a short distance with its momentum before crashing to the ground, less than two meters from the two people.
Soon, a burst of urgent barking came from afar.
Three hunting dogs were the first to rush out.
Three men with guns followed closely behind.
The leader was an old hunter in his fifties, his facial muscles taut, his eyes fixed on the black bear lying on the ground.
"Damn it, who intercepted my prey?!" he roared, panting heavily. "I chased them for two days and two nights, and it was almost..."
He noticed halfway through his sentence that the black bear had fallen less than two meters away from the tree where Li Xiangyang and the others were hiding.
Looking at the two bullet holes on the black bear, one in its heart and one in its throat, both were fatal wounds.
The old hunter's expression changed immediately, and his angry look gradually calmed down.
"Brother, I'm really sorry," Li Xiangyang quickly explained, "This beast was injured and ran towards us, and it looked like it was going to pounce on someone. We had no choice."
“Yeah, uncle,” Wang Ergou chimed in, “we wouldn’t have fired if it hadn’t come at us.”
The old hunter was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Which village are you from?"
“Xiaoliang Village, my name is Li Xiangyang, and this is my partner Wang Ergou,” Li Xiangyang answered truthfully.
"Xiaoliang Village?" The old hunter's eyes lit up. "You're the young man who learned hunting from Old Zheng?"
Li Xiangyang was taken aback: "Brother, do you know Master Zheng?"
"Haha," the old hunter laughed heartily, "What a coincidence! My name is He Mancang, and I'm from the same village as Old Zheng. We're pretty close; we were even drinking together the other day. He mentioned you before, saying you're quite skilled, and seeing you today, I can confirm his reputation is well-deserved!"
He pointed to the bullet holes in the black bear's body: "Those two shots were well-placed. We chased it for two days but couldn't hit any vital organs. Judging from the situation, it definitely wanted to attack you. So, the bear skin and paws are ours, and you get half of the rest of the meat. Is that a fair division?"
"Brother, you're too kind," Li Xiangyang waved his hand. "To be honest, we're heading deeper into the mountains, and carrying meat would be inconvenient."
"Hey, that's easy. I'll take you home on my way back. Meeting is fate, let's eat and drink our fill before you go, okay?"
The other two hunters laughed and chimed in, "Yes, yes, perfect timing for a rest. Chasing that beast these past two days has exhausted us."
"That's great," Li Xiangyang agreed with a smile.
Soon, the group worked together to skin and bleed the meat, then built a fire to roast it.
The wine was brought by He Mancang and his group, and the coarse grain cakes were prepared by Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou, which made up a sumptuous wild game meal.
Since they still had to go into the mountains, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou didn't dare to drink too much, only taking a small sip, and no one else tried to persuade them to stop.
"Brother, you handled things beautifully today. Excellent. I'll treat you to drinks another day. If it were anyone else, they might have tried to steal our prey."
After all, it was Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou who took down the prey, He Mancang said embarrassedly.
“Not at all,” Li Xiangyang waved his hand. “We know the rules in the mountains: whoever’s prey belongs to them. If this beast hadn’t tried to hurt someone, we wouldn’t have fired rashly.”