Tie Niu sniffed and whispered, "This smell is off. It doesn't smell like a roe deer, it smells more like... a wild boar?"
"Shut up." Du Jianshan lowered his voice. "You smell like a pig. Don't scare yourself with your nose. Look at the mark first."
He slowly moved to a sheltered spot on the snow-covered ground and gently brushed aside the dead leaves with the butt of his rifle. Sure enough, there were hoof prints underneath, with clear edges and staggered positions.
Tie Niu came over to look: "Look, the front hooves are spread apart, the hind hooves are solid, and the strides are big."
"Hmm." Du Jianshan nodded. "The deer was running so fast that it must have heard some noise earlier."
Tie Niu clicked his tongue: "So, should we still chase them or not?"
"Chase them." Du Jianshan shoved his gun into his shoulder. "We're already in the mountains, it's a waste not to chase them. Remember, don't go in a straight line, follow my footsteps."
The two followed the hoofprints, one after the other, deeper into the forest. The forest was eerily quiet, with only the crunching sound of boots on frosty leaves. The moment Tie Niu stepped on the ground, he froze.
"Be gentle!" Du Jianshan turned around and glared at him.
Tie Niu lowered his voice and chuckled ingratiatingly, "These leaves are even crispier than rice crusts."
"Even if it's crunchy, you still have to step on it," Du Jianshan said in a low voice. "Or why don't you fly over there?"
After walking another hundred steps or so, a "whoosh" sound suddenly came from ahead.
Tie Niu's heart tightened: "They escaped?"
Du Jianshan immediately squatted down and listened carefully: "No, it sounds like it's shaking its fur. It's still ahead, it hasn't gone far."
Tie Niu got excited: "Then I'll smuggle it from the left side?"
"Don't rush," Du Jianshan shook his head. "The wind is unstable; it will definitely smell if you move. You stay here, and I'll go ahead and explore."
Tie Niu was a little worried: "Are you alone?"
"What? You think I'd let a deer carry me away?" Du Jianshan laughed and cursed, already crouching low as he moved forward.
Tie Niu stood guard, his palms sweating. He listened to the faint sounds coming from the woods, his heart pounding with anxiety. After a while, he heard Du Jianshan's low call from ahead.
"tractor!"
"Yes!" Tie Niu immediately responded.
"Take thirty steps to the right front. There's an open space. Move slowly and don't stick your head out."
Tie Niu moved over as he was told, and as soon as he lay down, he saw a gray shadow at the edge of the open space.
"It really is a roe deer!" Tie Niu's eyes lit up. "It's quite big!"
"Don't make a sound," Du Jianshan whispered from the other side. "Wait until it lowers its head."
The roe deer pricked up its ears alertly, twitched its nose, and scratched the snow twice.
Tie Niu was extremely anxious and muttered under his breath, "Why aren't you bowing your head yet?"
"Wait," Du Jianshan said calmly.
It felt like half a lifetime had passed before the roe deer finally lowered its head to nibble on the grass roots beneath the snow.
“Now,” Du Jianshan said softly.
Gunshots rang out in the woods, and the roe deer leaped forward, kicking up a cloud of snow.
"Did you win?" Tie Niu jumped up.
Du Jianshan had already rushed out: "We hit them, they can't get far!"
The two chased after it, one after the other. The roe deer staggered and fell down next to a fallen tree before it had run a hundred meters.
Iron Ox, panting heavily, stared at the roe deer on the ground for a long time before suddenly laughing: "It really is a male, look at its horns."
Du Jianshan laughed and squatted down to check: "It's alright, the meat wasn't ruined."
Tie Niu wiped his face: "This trip was worth it. Just that one moment scared me so much my heart almost jumped out of my chest."
"This is nothing." Du Jianshan stood up and looked around. "In the mountains, the quieter the commotion, the bigger the trouble. Remember that."
Tie Niu nodded and then asked, "Are we still going to see that set?"
"Go." Du Jianshan slung his gun over his shoulder. "It's still early, we might run into something else."
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