Chapters 90 and 89: Hunter's Training: Pangolin Xiao Ji...
The flower language of stray cats is "first come, first served".
The flower language of the Junior Detective League is "letting go".
Suddenly becoming the only parent present in the parent group, Zhuge Tongzhi, who had finished slacking off, began to stroll around the yard, looking for a suitable rope and exploring the simple and charming courtyard.
The girl, wearing jogger pants and a mosquito-proof jacket, nimbly climbed up the pile of firewood in the yard in a few quick movements, and sat on top of it, looking out over the vast fields.
This is the countryside of Chiba Prefecture, bordering Tokyo, with villages of all sizes scattered among the rolling hills. The village they are in is a very remote place, nestled deep in the mountains, with a small river running through it, and the villagers make their living by growing crops and fruit trees.
It really looks small on the map. Zhuge Tongzhi looked down at the satellite image exported from his phone, then casually opened the village street view map that Noah's Ark had found, swiping the screen at a speed he couldn't even perceive.
As she unconsciously processed the information she might need, she would occasionally hear a series of heavy knocking sounds. It was Professor Agasa fiddling with his new invention with the hunter.
Although Professor Agasa is undoubtedly a genius inventor, Zhuge Tongzhi still wonders if the professor's action of tapping a TV with a snowy screen is really just him adjusting the equipment.
I hope it won't actually explode while grilling.
However, this repair method might be used for all machines in the world. The black-haired girl twitched her lips as she watched the machine start to roar after being patted a few times, and then shifted her gaze to the uncle in the deerstalker hat next to her.
This hunter's name is Ishikawa Yu. He is a classmate of Professor Agasa in his fifties. After graduating from university, he did not pursue his original major but returned to his hometown to become a traditional, somewhat old-fashioned hunter.
Although he already had three sons and a daughter, his still-black hair and beard made him look much younger than the doctor, and he was also more robust and wiry. The eyes peeking out from under his deerstalker hat had a fierce look to them.
Of course, it could also be described as the keenness and sharpness of a hunter.
For example, Zhuge Tongzhi, who was secretly observing, was caught by the hunter uncle's sudden turn of his head. The fierce villain's face turned into a slightly stiff smile after he saw the girl on the woodpile. He should be a stern old man who is used to having a stern face.
However, when he stroked the children's heads with his rough hands, his movements were very gentle.
Ah, those adults who are two-faced.
Zhuge Tongzhi, who was not frightened, waved exaggeratedly at the uncle and responded to the clumsy adult with a bright smile. Then, Uncle Ishikawa beckoned her over.
Ah, those adults who take an inch and then a mile!
With a push of his hand, Zhuge Tongzhi slid down the mountain of firewood, and just before landing, he seized the opportunity to step on the bottom log, then nimbly leaped onto the ground and walked towards the uncle.
Incidentally, after the hunter's two eldest sons led them to their respective rooms, they disappeared, which gave her a slight sense of unease.
However, she wasn't completely unaware of where they had gone.
Because two guns were missing from the yard. Zhuge Tongzhi glanced at the row of hunting rifles neatly arranged by the yard wall, guessing they'd probably gone hunting in the mountains.
As usual, the black-haired girl with a small bun on her head had just walked to the oddly shaped barbecue grill when Ishikawa Yu patted her on the head like he was slapping a pumpkin. The uncle said in a deep voice, "Kid, go to the backyard and call all your friends over. We're going up the mountain."
"Going up the mountain?" Zhuge Tongzhi, who looked several inches shorter from being slapped, covered his head and asked in a clear, childlike voice, feigning ignorance, "Old man, are we going to stay in the mountains tonight?"
They didn't bring a tent.
“We’re going up the mountain to set traps to catch tomorrow night’s dinner,” the hunter uncle replied.
"Taro and Jiro will take care of dinner tonight, but you'll have to take care of the rest of the time yourselves." Ishikawa Yu looked down at the girl who was blinking without a trace of fear, raised his hand and gently pinched the child's cheek, his voice softening involuntarily: "This picnic is a training exercise to become a hunter, child."
"I know, Uncle Ishikawa." Caught off guard, Zhuge Tongzhi covered his cheeks with both hands and said like a goldfish, "And I'm not a child, I'm Zhuge Tongzhi. Nice to meet you."
"I'm going to find Ayumi and the others!" The child, who had added a lot of interjections to make himself look cute, left in a dashing manner, casually grabbing a few climbing ropes he had previously selected from the railing in front of the house.
After being solemnly introduced by the child, Ishikawa Yu watched the child run away and chuckled to himself, shaking his head with his old classmate and saying, "This child, even my daughter wasn't this unafraid of me when she was little."
"These kids are something else, each one more daring than the last." Professor Agasa stroked his beard and laughed, his originally white beard now streaked with black and gray after fiddling with the barbecue grill, making him look quite comical.
Ishikawa Yu didn't take it seriously, and just lightly kicked the barbecue grill in front of him, saying, "Doctor, are we really going to use this grill to grill meat tonight?"
Professor Agasa chuckled, clearly knowing his old classmate's concerns, and said with considerable pride, "Things are different now than when we were in school. Ishikawa, I'm a great inventor now."
"In my eyes, you're still that genius inventor who blew up the dorm's air conditioner while fixing it." The hunter's eyes sharpened for a moment. "That was the hottest summer of my life."
"So I improved the air conditioner later, and now its cooling effect is even better, isn't it?" Dr. Agasa said with a smirk, waving his hand in an attempt to justify himself.
Ishikawa Yu walked into the house with his hands behind his back, sighed, and said, "So, that year had the coldest winter of my life."
"Oh dear, this time it'll definitely be fine!"
The two men went into the house one after the other to pack the tools they would need for their mountain climb.
…
Backyard, in front of the fence.
With leisurely steps, Zhuge Tongzhi tied a slipknot in the rope in his hand, and like a Western cowboy, he swung three rings around the corner to find his prey.
Looking around, the four children crouching furtively in the corner stood out like searchlights in the dark. Ayumi Yoshida with a headband, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya with a heart-shaped haircut, and Genta Kojima with a triangular rice ball were squatting with a strange boy with a buzz cut, talking about something and bursting into laughter from time to time.
Zhuge Tongzhi, who was not invited, narrowed his eyes, and walked over silently like a cat. He quietly walked behind the four people, raised his two hands and floated them above the heads of Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko and Kojima Genta.
"What are you guys doing...?" A faint child's voice suddenly rang out from behind their ears. Before the four children could even gasp, they were startled by Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya and Genta Kojima's panicked screams.
"Aaaaaah! Hands! Hands are grabbing me!" The two boys jumped three feet high, turned around shakily to look at the unknown creature grabbing their shoulders, and breathed a sigh of relief when they found it was Zhuge Tongzhi with his arms crossed.
"Really, it's Zhuge-kun." Ayumi Yoshida wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and complained in a spoiled tone, "Why did you scare us like that!"
Zhuge Tongzhi raised an eyebrow at the three kids who were clearly up to no good behind his back, then turned to the buzz-cut boy who was carrying a still-moving cloth bag and asked, "What are you guys doing? Why didn't you call me?"
Noticing where the new girl's gaze was falling, the boy with the buzz cut panicked and tried to hide the cloth bag in his arms, but Zhuge Tongzhi had already noticed that the constantly bulging cloth clearly contained something alive.
A hare? An owl? She squinted as she watched the boy, realizing he had nowhere to hide, simply sling the cloth bag over his back as if burying his head in the sand.
"It's alright, Suerou." Yoshida Ayumi took Zhuge Tongzhi's arm and stepped forward, introducing them to each other: "This is Zhuge Tongzhi. She's also a member of our Junior Detective Club, a trustworthy partner!"
After saying that, the girl with the headband looked at Zhuge Tongzhi and shook his hand, saying, "Tong-chan, this is Ishikawa Suerou. The two older brothers who took us to the room earlier are his older brothers, named Ishikawa Taro and Ishikawa Jiro respectively."
What a simple and clear naming method. Looking at the somewhat shy boy in front of him, Zhuge Tongzhi extended his hand and said, "Hello, nice to meet you. May I see what animal you're holding?"
"Hello." Ishikawa Suiro barely managed to hold the struggling cloth bag with one hand, and extended his right hand to shake hands with Zhuge Tongzhi. This very procedural etiquette helped him regain some confidence. He said, "Okay, but you can't tell anyone else."
"This is something Suiro secretly raised himself. His older brothers and father don't know about it," Yoshida Ayumi whispered in his ear. Zhuge Tongzhi twitched his lips at the high level of secrecy.
Could they be hiding some nationally protected animal?
"I know, I won't tell anyone." The black-haired girl raised her hand to make her promise, and then watched as Ishikawa Suiro opened the cloth bag in his arms, revealing a small creature with brown and black scales covering its forehead.
This little creature had a cone-shaped, smooth head like a pebble, a long, thin snout, and its whole body was covered in scales and had a flat tail. Although its head had been covered with cloth just now, it was now being held very obediently in Ishikawa Suerou's arms.
This animal is...
"A pangolin?" Zhuge Tongzhi's eyes widened. The boy with the buzz cut who was holding the little pangolin nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Its leg is injured, so I'm keeping it in the yard for the time being."
"I brought some medicine. Can I take a look at the wound?" Zhuge Tongzhi asked, and he clearly felt that Ishikawa Suerou's attitude had become more friendly. The boy squatted down and put the pangolin on the ground. "It's okay, I've already bandaged it."
"It can't run away yet." He carefully untied the cloth that was caught on the pangolin's claws, revealing the part of its hind leg that was carefully wrapped in white cloth. It looked very clean, obviously the dressing had been changed.
There was one more child squatting in the corner of the yard. Zhuge Tongzhi squatted down in front of the little pangolin, tentatively reaching out to touch the gentle and harmless creature, and asked softly, "How did this child get hurt? Shouldn't we call an animal protection organization?"
"I... I got caught in an animal trap on the mountain." When he said this, Ishikawa Suerou's originally fluent voice became choked again, and his voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible: "I'll be fine in a few days, no need to call."
Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the boy who was silently stroking the pangolin and could easily tell that the innocent child was lying clumsily, his eyes darting away from him.
"It must be because it's so cute!" Ayumi Yoshida smiled sweetly as she explained to her new friend, gently stroking the little pangolin with one finger.
After hearing Yoshida Ayumi's explanation, Ishikawa Suerou's voice suddenly rose again, and he instructed his friends present: "You absolutely, absolutely must not tell your brother and the others."
"Hmm." Zhuge Tongzhi nodded, clapped his hands, and stood up, but then suddenly changed the subject: "But—"
Suiro Ishikawa nervously picked up the little pangolin from the ground. The still very young creature stuck out its tongue and tickled his arm. The short-haired boy looked at the aggressive girl with unease.
“You’d better hide it quickly. Uncle Ishikawa just called us up the mountain, and you’ll probably be going with us,” Zhuge Tongzhi said, reminding Ishikawa Sueiro, “Your two older brothers should be coming down the mountain after their hunt.”
"Ah! Then I'll go hide Xiao Ji first!" Ishikawa Suerou hurriedly ran away with the pangolin in his arms. It seems that Xiao Ji is the name he gave to the little creature in his arms.
Zhuge Tongzhi watched as Ishikawa Suiro darted into a bush not far from the backyard, then turned to look at the three little ones who looked reluctant to leave, clapping his hands and calling out, "Alright, alright, come and get the rope."
Without any explanation, she quickly put a climbing rope on each of the three children's wrists, and then braided the other end together and tied it to Zhuge Tongzhi's own wrist, making it look as if one person was leading three people.
"Eh, this is so weird." Yoshida Ayumi looked at the rope on her wrist, then at Zhuge Tongzhi, who was holding three ropes.
Although the rope was quite long, it was really strange, giving me a bizarre déjà vu feeling that I was about to blurt out but couldn't quite put into words.
"This is to prevent everyone from getting lost. We didn't have enough materials, so we just made this up." Zhuge Tongzhi quickly gave an irrefutable explanation, and then half-pushed and half-pushed the three of them towards the front yard. "Let's go, the professor and the others are still waiting for us."
"Hurry up and set up the traps! Uncle Ishikawa said he'd teach us how to become cool hunters!" She romanticized the hunter's training a bit, and the Junior Detective League quickly abandoned the pangolin, cheering excitedly as they ran towards the front yard.
Now, it was Zhuge Tongzhi who was dragged away by them.
Fortunately, while running, she could still find time to think about why the young pangolin had appeared in this hunter's courtyard.
Moreover, the wound on the animal's leg, both in terms of the extent of the injury and the degree of mobility after the injury, does not look like a pinching injury.
Zhuge Tongzhi was carried along by the three little ones as they ran. He turned his head to look at the vast forest beside him and thought:
Pangolins are also animals that are prohibited from being hunted privately in Japan.
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Author's Note: Zhuge's habit of looking at maps was something she herself was unaware of.
I get used to looking at maps when I go to a new city.
When entering a new building, I get used to looking at the fire safety plan.
With Noah's Ark, I will search for as many geographical images as possible.
These are all prerequisites for O to take effect.
Hehe (shyly)
…
I didn't mention barbecue, lol
I estimate it will take two more chapters (?)
High probability of releasing poison without warning late at night
…
Mwah!
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