Chapter 73
Because Pei Liuniang was brought into the mountains, all hunting activities after entering the mountains had to be carried out like ordinary hunters.
How do ordinary hunters act?
Go into the mountains to look for traces of wild animal activities, and follow the traces to actively approach the areas where wild animals live. If you can find the traces quickly, it will be fine. If you can't find them, it will take two or three days or even longer.
Even if you see a wild animal, you cannot act immediately. You have to wait for the most appropriate time: if the wild animal moves in a group, you have to wait until it is alone; if the wild animal moves alone, you have to wait until the wild animal goes to a place where it is easy to shoot arrows or throw spears before you act, otherwise you may easily alert the enemy and fail.
It naturally took much longer than when Gu Ran came into the forest by himself, just checking the traps and then picking wild animals.
In addition, he also had to consider the accommodation situation for tonight. Fortunately, he had already found a cave to live in when he came in last time. Gu Ran decided to use that cave as his base for the next few days.
After Gu Ran entered the forest, he did not check the traps or catch bamboo rats. He went straight for the big beast and took Pei Liuniang directly to the other end of the deep forest.
This was Pei Liu's first time entering the depths of the miasma forest, not counting the last time.
Because he had escaped in a panic last time, and was injured and unconscious most of the time, he was just holding on to his breath and gritting his teeth as he walked along the way, not paying any attention to anything in the forest.
So the moment he stepped into the dense bamboo forest, all his senses became alert.
The forest he had been in before was completely different from the hot and rainy mountain forest here.
That was the forest in the east. Even in summer, there were layers of scorching heat, but the smell in the forest was dry and airy.
But the miasma forest in the south is different, just like the day he sneaked into the forest on Dunzi Island. It is hot, but the heat has a sticky touch and is very humid and stuffy. Even if you wear a mask to cover most of your skin, it is still extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing Gu Erniang walking briskly in front of him, Pei Liu wondered if it was because he had not yet adapted to the climate here?
Gu Ran had already passed through the bamboo forest. After hesitating for a moment in the direction of the mixed woods and the deep pool, he decided to go to the mixed woods.
The way to the deep pool is in a straight line. Whether going through the konjac field or taking a detour to the valley, it is faster than going through the woods and then taking a detour to the cave. However, she had encountered a group of wild boars in the woods, which means that there is a higher possibility that there are large beasts in the woods.
They came here to hunt big beasts, so Gu Ran immediately chose a forest where the chances of encountering big beasts were higher.
Sure enough, not long after they entered the woods, they recognized the roar of an animal amidst the birdsong.
Gu Ran and Pei Liuniang looked at each other, quickened their pace, and trotted towards the direction where they heard the beast's roar.
When they saw the place where the birds were jumping around in the forest, they slowed down their pace. However, when they arrived at the place where the big beast was struggling, the beast had already disappeared, leaving only bloodstains in its place.
What kind of big beast had just hunted here and now it has succeeded, so it ran away with its prey in its mouth?
Gu Ran and Pei Liu both came out from their hiding place and carefully identified the surroundings: without looking very hard, they could see the direction where the blood was spreading. The wild flowers and grass in this direction were all flattened, and there were traces of trampled hooves.
However, the footprints were too blurry to tell what kind of ferocious beast it was.
Gu Ran and Pei Liuniang exchanged glances.
Gu Ran: Do you want to go with me and take a look?
Pei Liu: Do you think you should follow?
Gu Ran: Still no? The big game we want to hunt isn't carnivorous, it's herbivorous.
Pei Liu: What is meat-eating? What is grass-eating?
Gu Ran: Large creatures that feed on other animals are carnivores, while large creatures that eat leaves, grass, and reeds are herbivores. Large carnivores are generally more aggressive and difficult to deal with than herbivores.
Pei Liu: I see. So, which do you think is more delicious, meat-eating animals or herbivorous animals?
Gu Ran: ..., each has its own flavor?
Pei Liu: Then let’s go and take a look.
Pei Liu looked at Gu Ran, picked up his javelin and raised it, saying: I have this, so I am not afraid of any big carnivorous animals.
Gu Ran hesitated for a moment.
Pei Liu encouraged with his eyes: Believe me, I am very good.
Looking at Pei Liuniang's eager eyes, Gu Ran couldn't help but nodded, and then the two of them followed the blood and footprints and slowly chased after her.
Finally, in a Metasequoia forest, they caught a glimpse of the big beast they had just hunted: a small but extremely ferocious yellow-throated marten, which was tearing apart a wild boar that looked to weigh no less than 100 kilograms.
The yellow-throated marten, a wolf of the Mustelidae family, is not as big as the most advanced carnivorous creatures such as the black bear, but in the southern forests where large hunting animals are relatively scarce, it is the top "carnivore". It has a slender body and short limbs, and weighs no more than five or six kilograms, but its explosive power when hunting is no less than that of lions and tigers. That is why it is not afraid of wild boars that are a hundred times more powerful and larger than itself, and can even gain the upper hand.
Looking at the small and clever yellow-throated marten that easily tore the wild boar into pieces, Gu Ran wiped her sweat, and Pei Liu glanced at her.
Pei Liu: How about it? Want to hunt it?
Gu Ran shook his head: No, let’s leave quietly and not be discovered by it.
Pei Liu: Why?
Gu Ran: Its meat is not tasty.
Pei Liu was stunned: Do you know what kind of mountain beast that is?
He had never seen such a small animal during his many years in the eastern forest, but considering that it was so small but could subdue such a ferocious wild boar, it was probably not an ordinary creature.
Gu Ran nodded: Let’s go back and talk about it first.
The yellow-throated marten is ferocious in nature. If it appears at this time, it will most likely be regarded as an enemy stealing its prey, and they are afraid that it will directly attack them.
He approached quietly and then retreated quietly. Gu Ran wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead.
You know, the yellow-throated marten is the natural enemy of the iron-eating panda.
The attack power of the iron-eating beast is not to be underestimated. Its body is also majestic, reaching several hundred kilograms in a minute. However, it regards the small yellow-throated marten as its natural enemy. They are just two human women, so when facing such a ferocious beast, they will naturally hide if possible.
When Gu Ran told Pei Liuniang about the power of the yellow-throated marten, Pei Liuniang was not convinced.
"Is it really that powerful?"
"Seriously." Gu Ran saw Pei Liuniang's disapproval, as if she was planning to go back and fight the yellow-throated marten to determine the real one. He quickly dispelled her idea: "Don't judge a person by his appearance, and the same goes for wild animals. Take you, our Pei Liuniang, for example. You may look skinny and weak, but aren't you also a very powerful character?"
Hearing Gu Ran praising him, Pei Liu's peach blossom eyes curved up from behind his mask: "Do you think I'm awesome?"
"certainly."
Otherwise, how could he have easily killed Feng Duojin, knocked down Aunt Shan, and killed Uncle Ying at the beginning of the year?
She now suspected that she was the one who murdered the entire Pei family, and that the title of the No. 1 thief was probably just a cover.
Seeing that Gu Erniang really had no intention of taking the little beast's life, Pei Liu also restrained himself and followed her to continue searching for other animal traces in the mountains and forests.
The first day, nothing happened.
Before dark, Gu Ran brought Pei Liuniang to the cave where they would spend the night.
I haven't been here for a while, and the straw mats in the cave have accumulated some dust and mud that fell from the ceiling. They are also crooked, as if they have been torn by something. The firewood piled in the corner is also scattered all over the ground. I guess some small animal has broken in.
So before entering the cave, Gu Ran lit a bundle of mugwort and took it in to fumigate. He smoked away some mosquitoes hiding in the corners, but did not see any small animals jumping out. He felt relieved and divided the bundle of mugwort into three small branches, placed them in three directions of the cave and continued to fumigate. Then he put down the bamboo basket, placed the hoe and sickle at the entrance of the cave, and then folded the straw mat in half and took it out. He then spread it out above the grass and patted it to shake off the dust and mud on it.
As for Pei Liu, he put the bamboo basket he was carrying at the entrance of the cave, dragged out the dry firewood inside, and lit a bonfire at the entrance of the cave with a fire starter.
After the bonfire was burning well, we put some of it into the cave to dry out the smell.
Gu Ran had already prepared for spending the night in the woods and took out another straw mat. This straw mat was not big, but thin and light. It could be rolled up and carried with you. After spreading it next to the campfire, the two of them could sit directly on it.
Then he took out a small pot from the bamboo basket, which was used to boil water.
Because they had to travel light, Gu Ran couldn't show on the surface that he brought too many things. As for food, he only brought a small pot like this, which was used to boil water.
The reason why the island forest is called the miasma forest is because miasma may spread from any place in the forest, and it is unknown whether the water source in the forest is polluted. Therefore, if you can avoid using the water source in the forest, try not to use it. But if you must use it, you have to choose: 1. Water from springs or stream sources, or 2. Water from fast-flowing rivers, because these waters are less polluted.
Gu Ran and Pei Liu both carried their own animal skin water bags with them - after Pei Liuniang moved to the small house, Gu Ran threw all the needlework to Pei Liuniang, such as spring clothes, summer clothes, etc., and then Gu Ran remembered that there were still those talisman leathers in the workshop!
The talisman skin is also animal skin, the skin of a rare animal brought from the world of cultivation, but I don’t know if it is useful in this world. It is like those talismans. When you take them out, the patterns on the talismans disappear and they turn into a piece of white skin.
When Gu Ran was selling bamboo rat skins, he tried to take them out and found that all the skins had turned pitch black. Some were slightly hard, some were slightly soft, and they were very tough and strong.
Gu Ran certainly didn't dare to exchange this animal skin of unknown origin for silver, so he thought about keeping it for his own use.
Then the harder ones were used to make leather boots and backpacks, and the softer ones were used to make water bags - after all, animal skin water bags are more convenient to carry than bamboo tubes, and who doesn't want to use a good water bag?
Therefore, this time when they went into the mountains, she and Pei Liuniang both used a hide water bag to carry their own spare water. They also brought a large spare water bag specifically for fetching water.
But water bags have a certain size, and the amount of water they can carry is limited. Since they are going into the mountains to hunt and will have to stay for quite a while, drinking water is naturally not enough, so they can only choose to get water in the woods.
So no matter what, you have to bring a pot for boiling water, which is the one in front of you.
While searching for animal tracks, they found a spring and then traced it back to the spring. They then used their spare water bags to fill them directly from the spring.
When Gu Ran brought the pot to the campfire, Pei Liu also took out the food and the spare water bag that she was responsible for bringing, and then poured the spring water in the water bag directly into the pot: just enough for one pot.
While the water was boiling, Pei Liu took out the food he was responsible for carrying: rice balls wrapped in oil paper and placed in a bamboo basket. These would be their food for tonight, and he placed them in the middle of the mat.
The two of them sat on the mat, boiling water and eating rice balls to rest. Gu Ran also told Pei Liuniang about the terrain from the outer circle of the forest in Xiaxi Village all the way to the deep forest, as well as the forest environment he had walked through, so that she could familiarize herself with the scenery of various places in Dayu Forest in advance.
It was the first time that Gu Ran spent the night in this cave. Although he could hear the howling of unknown animals in the night sky from time to time, he felt at ease because he had a companion by his side and did not go into the workshop. He did not feel panic.
When it was time to settle down and rest, the two of them discussed it and decided that Pei Liuniang would be on duty first while Gu Ran would go to rest. After two hours, it would be Gu Ran's turn to be on duty while Pei Liuniang would go to rest.
After four hours, it would probably be dawn.
Gu Ran did not hesitate. She was indeed tired after a day of hard work, so after discussing it, she went into the cave.
The cave became dry and fresh because it was first smoked with mugwort and then baked over a campfire.
However, Gu Ran was still worried, so she lit another bunch of mugwort and burned it on the cliff wall on one side of the cave entrance to prevent mosquitoes from flying in. Then she lay down on the straw mat. Because of the heavy workload during the day, she fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.
While Gu Ran was sleeping soundly inside, Pei Liu was outside by the campfire.
The bonfire was not very bright; he had done it that way on purpose.
Because the air in the forest is humid and stuffy, you will sweat profusely after just walking a few steps in the forest.
The campfire is maintained at night for two reasons: one is to boil water, and the other is to scare away unknown wild animals in the forest. Most animals are afraid of fire, so the purpose is to drive away the animals and keep the habitat safe.
But the temperature was already so hot and didn't drop at all just because it was late at night.
It was a bit too hot to sit by the campfire, so I just spread out the firewood and kept the fire burning.
Looking at the rising flames, Pei Liu looked a little dazed.
After being in Fujian for so long, he has not yet completely gotten used to the southern climate, especially the environment in the mountains and forests, which is extremely unfamiliar.
Not only that, it was also a rare thing for him to be able to spend the night with others in the woods.
He still remembered that he was thrown into the jungle for the first time to survive when he was seven years old.
That time, the reserve killers were thrown into the forest to compete for survival by raising Gu. There were about a hundred of them, all of whom were children like him, between the ages of seven and ten.
Each person only brought enough water and dry food to last for three days, and a knife.
To survive in the forest, one can only rely on the martial arts skills learned in daily life and the survival techniques learned from the teacher. In addition, the strong prey on the weak - stealing other people's dry food and robbing others of the food they harvested in the forest.
Therefore, in addition to considering finding a habitat in the forest and hunting food to ensure that they will not starve to death, they also have to face the intrigues of their companions.
There are threats from poisonous insects, snakes and various ferocious beasts in the forest. There is also the danger of being poisoned by eating poisonous weeds that you fail to identify. You must also always be vigilant against bullying from your own kind.
This predicament must continue for another ten days.
Only those who survive the ten days in the forest will be eligible for the next stage of training.
He remembered that during those ten days, all those who were thrown into the forest did everything they could to survive. Robbery and looting were minor matters. In more serious cases, some even took people's lives.
But no one will interfere.
Those who threw them into the woods did so in order to sort out the survival of the fittest among them.
Of the last hundred or so people who left the forest alive, only eighteen, including him, were able to do so.
When he spent the night in the woods like this, he never had any companions, because the ones he had been with at the beginning had died when they turned against him, and he had to continue to be on guard against the next person who might come to attack him at any time.
Although he had been stronger than ordinary people since he was a child, he could not resist the night attacks and ambushes that were difficult to guard against.
At that time, he was often alone when spending the night in the woods.
He never even had a chance to close his eyes.
Pei Liu glanced back at the cave and raised the corners of his mouth in joy.
But now, he was not alone, so even if he took a nap, he was not afraid of being attacked.
Will Gu Er Niang attack her by surprise?
If she wanted to kill him, she wouldn't have saved herself from the trap.
After these days, Pei Liu was also certain that Gu Er Niang would not reveal his past deeds.
Gu Ran didn't expect that she would sleep until the next morning. She opened her eyes and looked at the unfamiliar cave ceiling in a daze. Then she remembered that she was in the Dayu Forest. She hurriedly got up and walked out of the cave. She found that Pei Liuniang had already made a fire and boiled water.
Seeing her wake up, Pei Liuniang smiled at her.
Did Pei Liuniang stay up all night alone?
Although Pei Liuniang didn't seem tired at all, he still felt bad. "Why didn't you wake me up to keep watch? We clearly agreed that you would watch the first half of the night and I would watch the second half."
"It's okay, I don't sleep much."
"That won't work either." Gu Ran waved his hand, "Don't do this next time."
Pei Liu took the pot of boiling water off the campfire without saying a word.
"You!" Gu Ran walked over to Pei Liuniang and tried to persuade her earnestly. Seeing that she was unmoved, he snorted coldly, "Liu Niang, do you know what bad things can happen if you don't get enough sleep?"
"What bad thing?" He had never heard of bad things happening when he didn't sleep.
"Just..., stand up and stand in front of me."
Pei Liu didn't understand why, but he did as he was told.
When the two stood face to face, Pei Liu realized that he was still shorter than Gu Ran.
"Did you see that?"
Gu Ran stretched out his hand and gestured above her head.
"You need to sleep well to grow fast, otherwise you will always be short and never grow taller." Gu Ran said proudly, "Sixth Lady, you don't want to be a short person forever, do you?"
Gu Ran's words touched Pei Liu's sore spot, and his face immediately fell.
Who is the shorty?
"Also, if you don't sleep well, you will grow slowly, and then other functions of your body will not develop well. For example, look..." Gu Ran straightened up her breasts, which she had taken care of for more than a year and had become very good.
Pei Liu's gaze fell on Gu Ran's chest, and then quickly moved away. His ears turned red with embarrassment, but he didn't expect Gu Ran to reach out and pat his chest while speaking, which made him embarrassed.
"You can't grow here either, your chest is too flat, you are inferior to other women."
As soon as Gu Ran said this, Pei Liu's face immediately darkened and he reached out to shake off her hand that was still patting him.
Tsk!
Gu Ran glanced at Pei Liu and saw her squatting aside angrily, and he didn't take it seriously.
Not only is hers undeveloped, it's also kind of hard!
By the way, how old is Pei Liuniang?
Is it a bit late in development?
Don't just take advantage of your good-looking face and ignore other things.
It's really worrying. Should I give her some nutritional supplements when I get back?
Gu Ran finished washing up while feeling worried. Seeing Pei Liuniang had already grabbed the rice balls and started eating, he quickly ate a few as well. On the way, he wanted to talk to her about her development plans, but she looked unhappy. He guessed that she was too shy after what he said and was angry?
So I didn’t dare say anything more.
When he saw that all the rice balls she had brought were gone, he remembered that Pei Liuniang had a big appetite, so he asked, "Are you full?"
Pei Liu glanced at her and said nothing.
Gu Ran grabbed his bamboo basket ingratiatingly and took out a bag of rice balls from it: "If you're not full, I have more here. Look, it's eel flavored."
Then he handed the rice ball to her and said, "Take it with you. If you're not full, you can eat it anytime on the road."
Then he took out two more bags of rice balls from the bamboo basket and stuffed them into Pei Liu's hands.
Pei Liu looked at the three bags of rice balls, then at Gu Ran's smiling face. His previous anger gradually disappeared. He pursed his lips, took them all, turned around and put them in his bamboo basket.
Gu Ran immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Okay, let’s not talk about these things anymore.
"Where are we going today?" Pei Liu asked in a gentle tone after he finished packing.
"Going further up this valley, there's a forest full of big beasts. The trap I dug earlier is not far ahead. Shall we go take a look?"
Pei Liu nodded.
The two men put out the campfire, put on their bamboo baskets, and went back into the jungle.
Soon, Gu Ran brought Pei Liuniang to the trap where she had set up to capture the big beast last year.
Of course, because the trap was filled in years ago, the original pit has disappeared, replaced by a patch of wild grass and flowers. Although they are shorter than the flowers and plants around them, they are still lush and green.
The plants in the forest seem to have very strong vitality. They can find a way to survive if given a chance.
Although the pit is gone, there are still signs of the activities of wild animals around it: grass that has been trampled to the ground, the torn flowers and leaves on the wild flowers and vines, and the feces left by the wild animals.
Various traces indicate that this is still an area where animals frequently move around.
Of course, this is also the reason why Gu Ran chose to set a trap here last year.
Looking back now, this place is indeed the best hunting ground, which makes Gu Ran eager to dig another trap.
On the other side, Pei Liu heard that this was the place where he fell into the trap. He stared at it silently for a long time, but he really couldn't imagine what the trap looked like at that time.
"Sixth Lady, let's continue to the other side of the forest, but how about we dig a trap here as well?" Gu Ran suggested. "If we still don't get anything, we can come back and see. Maybe we can still find something with this trap."
Pei Liu nodded to Gu Ran without any hesitation, and then the two of them started working, one taking a shovel and the other taking a hoe.
It took the two of them a while to dig the original trap pit.
It is similar to the previous mixed trap, but it is much larger. In order to prevent large animals from escaping after being trapped by the rope, an additional layer of net rope is added to increase the difficulty for the animals to escape.
Watching Gu Ran pull up a lot of wild grass and branches around and spread them on top of the trap, Pei Liu watched her put the grass lid on it, and finally had a vague impression.
At that time, he was badly beaten by the old madman and fled to the miasma forest here. The trap was so hidden, and the pain was unbearable, so his vigilance and attention were reduced. If he was not careful, he might really step on it and fall into it.
However, it was a good thing that I fell into her trap.
If he hadn't fallen, he might have recklessly fled to another place in the miasma forest. I'm afraid...
Pei Liu couldn't help but glance at Gu Ran, feeling subtle.
Gu Ran stepped on the unstable side of the grass cover, then picked up a few weeds and casually sprinkled them on top. When he felt satisfied, he clapped his hands and said, "Okay, let's go find other big beasts!"
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