Finally, I couldn't resist the devil's temptation. If I had just waited a little longer, those escaped animals would have returned.
Perhaps I could breed those pheasants for generations and have a steady supply of food. But right now, I don't want to worry about that anymore. I want to go back, back to civilized society.
On January 20th, I put the prepared pheasant meat into my basket and set off with my belongings and Top.
…………
It's not snowing today, but the cold wind is still biting.
Top and I had been walking north for a day, and now the camp where I had lived for several months was completely out of sight.
Because of the armor we were wearing, we weren't moving very fast. Top was right beside me, and it was very active, jumping around in the nearby bushes.
Whenever I call it, it darts over to my shoulder and sits down to rest for a bit.
My plan is to continue north and see if there's a way out where the migratory birds fly in.
Our luck seems to have improved quite a bit along the way.
As I passed through a grove of trees, I spotted three ringed chickens perched on the branches. These chickens are delicious, with meat that's somewhere between fish and chicken—tender, smooth, and flavorful.
I took out the blowgun, a weapon I had mastered back in my hometown, and it was no problem to deal with these prey.
Three arrows were shot out, and the three rather dull-witted pheasants fell one after another from the tree branch.
This chicken is larger than a pheasant. Looking at my prey, I felt very satisfied. This was the first time I had hunted so much prey since we set off.
I put the pheasant into my basket and continued on my way with Top. It wasn't until the sun was almost setting that we came to a meadow with a clear stream flowing through it.
Looking at the changed terrain, I felt like I had entered a new world.
The trees here are sparse, with large expanses of grassland and crisscrossing streams and rivers, making the view much more open at a glance.
However, in places I couldn't see, some white bones were scattered, lying quietly in the dense grass.
I looked up at the time and decided to camp here for the night.
"Top, go find some dry firewood nearby, and I'll set up the shelter for the night."
Upon hearing this, Top immediately began working, gathering firewood from the nearby bushes.
There are no bamboos here, nor willow branches like in my hometown, but there are plenty of sturdy vines we can use.
I cut some vines and tied an icicle knot on each of two nearby trees, ten meters above the ground.
Before setting off, I made some things to make the journey easier. One of them was a hammock woven from hemp rope, which would greatly increase the speed at which I could set up my shelter.
I tied the ropes at both ends of the hammock securely above the icicle knot, then laid some dry grass and leaves on the hammock as a mat, and that was about it for the night's shelter.
Actually, my rope is strong enough that I don't have to worry about it slipping after tying it on, but I still added an anti-slip icicle knot at the bottom for safety reasons.
I had just finished what I was doing when I heard Top scream from the bushes under the tree. Startled, I quickly slid down from the tree and ran towards Top.
Fearing an accident, Top wouldn't be too far from me. At that moment, following Top's voice, I reached back and gripped the crossbow slung across my back.
“What’s wrong, Top?” I shouted.
I soon found Top, who was standing there pointing to a spot and barking incessantly.
Following the direction Top was pointing, I saw soil being dug out of a hole, and a tail covered in scales came into view.
pangolin!
I recognized it immediately.
I had only heard about pangolins from the old hunters in the mountains before, but by our generation, they were almost extinct, and seeing one was more difficult than climbing to heaven.
I've heard that the meat of this creature is delicious, and its scales are also a valuable medicinal ingredient. Back in the 1990s, the price of a pangolin skyrocketed to two or three thousand yuan.
This is also one of the main reasons why pangolins disappeared so quickly; humans have always been the natural enemy of any species.
Pangolins are timid; when faced with danger, they either curl up into a ball or dig a burrow to escape. Seeing that Top wasn't very big, this pangolin probably opted for the second method—digging a burrow to escape.
I stepped forward and grabbed the pangolin's tail. If we could get this thing out, it would be a significant gain.
However, I clearly underestimated the pangolin's strength. At this moment, most of its body was already inside the cave, and its smooth scales were not so easy to grip.
I could only watch helplessly as its tail slipped slowly from my grasp; there was nothing I could do about it, after all, it was an expert in civil engineering.
Seeing that the pangolin had already gone into its burrow, the only way to get it out was to dig a hole alongside it. But I might not be able to dig as fast as it.
I heard from the old folks that they were trying to catch a pangolin that had escaped by digging a hole.
Three grown men took turns chasing after the pangolin and digging a hole. The pangolin kept digging deeper and deeper, and the three men were exhausted but still couldn't see its tail.
The old man was certain the creature was still inside the burrow, but human effort simply couldn't keep up with its digging speed. Once inside, the pangolin was like a fish in water—catching it was an impossible task.
Seeing that it was getting late, I decided to give up on continuing.
Top and I carried dry branches to the vicinity of the campsite and lit a campfire under the hammock.
The feathers of the ringed pheasant are quite soft and can be easily plucked by hand. I plucked all the feathers off a ringed pheasant and then burned off the excess fine downy feathers over a flame.
After finishing, I went to the stream to gut the rooster. I didn't throw away the internal organs because I had brought a mini version of a small golden pot with me.
After cleaning the innards and chicken meat, I put the pot on the stove and started rendering the chicken fat extracted from the chicken body. I will use this to stir-fry the chicken innards later.
While cleaning the chicken by the water, I noticed some taro leaves nearby. Both the leaves and stems of this type of taro are edible; back in my hometown, it's often used to cook duck, and the flavor is incredibly delicious.
I chopped some chicken and taro leaves, washed them in the water, and then took them back to the campfire at the campsite.
I first stir-fried the chicken giblets in the hot oil, then chopped the chicken meat into large pieces. When the chicken meat turned golden brown, I added the chopped taro stems and stir-fried them together.
Pour in a bamboo tube of water, and all you need to do is wait for the soup to boil, then add my refined salt and you're ready to eat.
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