It is still very cold in the mountains at night, especially with the evening breeze.
"Awang, I feel a little cold!"
Chen Dazhuang shrank his neck.
"I'm fine. When I came out, my wife took into consideration that it would be cold at night and asked me to put on an extra sweater."
Chen Wang smiled and slowly swept the surroundings with the flashlight in his hand.
At this time they were walking in a forest. The moonlight could not shine in and it was still very dark around.
"Tsk, why are you showing off? It's like someone who has never had a wife!"
Chen Dazhuang smacked his lips, his tone sour.
Chen Wang just smiled and said nothing.
“Gu…Gu…”
The sound of an owl was heard, and it sounded very close.
However, this thing has no economic value and is beneficial to the ecological balance, so it does not fall within the scope of their hunting.
The two of them continued to move forward while chatting and laughing, and their spirits were not too tense.
Whether it was the dogs or the little monkey Jixiang, their insight at night was much better than theirs.
Any danger they could perceive had already been noticed by the dogs and Jixiang.
In places where there are not so dense trees and visibility is not so bad, Chen Wang will turn off the flashlight and grope forward under the moonlight.
Nowadays, teachers’ flashlights can’t be used for too long.
Even if you bring spare batteries, you have to use them sparingly.
After walking for about half an hour, Ruyi suddenly smelled prey and growled.
Dahei, Dahu and Yuanshuai, three adult dogs that were not tied with leashes, jumped out at the first moment.
Now there is a certain degree of tacit understanding between the dogs. Whenever Ruyi makes this roar when smelling prey, the other dogs know that there is prey ahead and will rush out immediately.
When they get closer, they will be able to smell the scent and locate the exact position of the prey.
Chen Wang and Chen Dazhuang also followed with their dogs.
Soon, through the light of the flashlight, the two saw three dogs gathered under a tree, blocking some prey.
When I got closer, I found that it was actually a hedgehog covered with hard thorns.
At this time, the hedgehog curled up its whole body under the tree, with its back to the three dogs, just like a round thorn ball. The three dogs had no way to bite it and could only bark in vain.
Although the hedgehog is small, not only is its meat a rare delicacy, the needles, fat, heart, liver, brain, etc. on its back can all be used as medicine. The hedgehog skin has even higher medicinal value.
Now that I have encountered it, I will naturally not let it go.
Chen Dazhuang walked forward, pushed the three dogs apart, and stretched out his hand as if to catch them.
The internal organs of this little guy can be used as medicine. It is best to catch it alive and process it later.
"etc!"
Chen Wang tried to stop him and took out a rubber glove from the medicine basket and handed it to him.
Chen Dazhuang reached out to take the gloves and put them on, then carefully reached out and pinched the top of the hedgehog's head.
The thorn in this area was not that sharp, and with the rubber gloves on, I was able to easily pick it up, opened the sack and threw it in.
We got the harvest so quickly. Even though it’s not a big deal, it’s still a good start.
It also proves that coming to the mountains to hunt at night was the right decision.
The two men continued to explore with the dog.
As time passed, the night grew deeper.
The sounds of various animals can be heard one after another in the mountains, including insects, birds, wolves, and the howling of cold wind, like a unique symphony performed in this silent night.
There are indeed more prey in the mountains at night.
The two soon reaped another reward.
It is a badger with a protruding nose like a pig's snout. It is an omnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae.
It is not big in size, weighing only about ten pounds. After removing the fur and internal organs, the meat probably weighs less than ten pounds.
However, badger skin is quite valuable, and the bones and fat oil have medicinal properties.
Ruyi was still the first to discover it. Several dogs rushed over to block the prey, and Chen Wang shot and killed it accurately.
In less than twenty minutes, the two men caught another snake.
The tiger rushed forward and bit it. Chen Wang was worried that it would be poisoned by the bite, so he rushed forward and shot it in the head.
This snake was bigger than the five-step snake, as thick as his arm, and probably weighed about 10 to 20 kilograms. However, neither of them knew what kind of snake it was, so they could only take it back and ask their master.
The continuous gains made the two more confident.
"Give us a valuable big one!"
Chen Dazhuang kept muttering to himself.
“Squeak!”
Suddenly, the little monkey Jixiang sitting on Chen Wang’s shoulder cried out.
The two of them looked delighted and looked at the little monkey at the same time.
The little monkey jumped off his shoulder and stopped not far ahead.
Chen Wang shone the flashlight over there and saw the little monkey turning its head to look at him, pointing at the ground and squeaking.
The two men hurriedly walked over, looked at the ground, and both showed surprise on their faces.
There were two rows of shallow animal footprints on the ground, in the shape of a plum blossom. A rough judgement was that it was from a relatively large animal.
"Brother Zhuang, have you ever seen footprints like this? Can you tell what animal it is?"
Chen Wang looked at Chen Dazhuang inquiringly.
It was the first time he had seen such footprints, and he couldn't help feeling confused and curious.
Chen Dazhuang stared at the footprints and after a long pause, he murmured, "It's the first time I've seen this either. I feel like it might be a leopard's footprint, but I can't be sure. I've never seen a leopard before."
"Leopard?"
Chen Wang was shocked.
This thing is a top predator, even more powerful than a lynx.
In the food chain, its position may be second only to tigers and lions. Even if fighting alone, a lion cannot do anything to a leopard due to its speed advantage.
"If it's really a leopard, this thing is very dangerous. How do you say it?"
Chen Dazhuang looked at Chen Wang and gave him the decision-making power.
"Danger and opportunity coexist. If we are afraid of danger, why would we come to the mountains at night?"
Chen Wang said with a chuckle.
"I feel the same way. Let's go. Let's follow them and see if there's any chance."
"Um!"
After making the decision, the two followed the leopard's footprints.
The footprints will disappear in some places, but if you keep walking forward, they will reappear after a certain distance.
This is normal because leopards are very good at climbing trees and sometimes they will jump onto trees, so naturally they will not leave any traces on the ground.
During the pursuit, the dogs and Jixiang played a very important role. Chen Wang and his companions could only follow the footprints, but the dogs and Jixiang could smell the lingering scent in the air.
The further they walked, the slower their steps became and the more nervous they became.
Chen Wang had already reloaded the hunting rifle in his hand with bullets and was holding it tightly in his hand, ready to raise it and aim at any time.
This feeling of tension and oppression was no less than when they fought those two black bears.
Although black bears are larger and stronger, their large size and slow speed also mean they are easier to shoot and kill for hunters with shotguns.
In comparison, cheetahs are fast, small in size, and good at climbing trees and jumping, so they actually pose a much greater threat to hunters.
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