Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 622: Little Fox Sends Meat, Little Xu Cannon Kills Brown Bear
At 3:22, the water in the pool downstream of Heishitang was gurgling, and the autumn wind was blowing the leaves...

Xu Ning squatted with the gun in his hand for about two minutes, but still did not see the brown bear. He squinted his eyes and slowly moved to the right, then controlled the gun and himself to turn backwards.

When he turned his face to the back, he seemed to see a small animal under a barked pine tree. When the animal saw him looking at it, it immediately retracted its head behind the tree.

Xu Ning's heart tensed a little, his index finger on the trigger not daring to let go. Since the pine tree was not thick, he could tell that it was definitely not a brown bear, so what could it be?
Three or four seconds passed in a flash, and the little animal hiding behind the pine tree showed its head. It was a red-skinned creature with yellow, red and white skin! It was a Northeast Asian species of red fox.

The red bear squinted its red eyes and opened its pointed mouth to bar its teeth at Xu Ning. After its whole body appeared from behind the tree, Xu Ning moved the muzzle of the gun to the side, but he did not put down the 56 and a half, because he always believed that the brown bear was nearby and was staring at him in some hidden place.

However, when the red-skinned man appeared at this time, Xu Ning's thoughts began to waver.

According to common sense, there are very few small animals with a keen sense of smell in places where brown bears appear. The bears' bodies or hair will have a strong fishy smell, and small animals will immediately find a place to hide after smelling it.

However, this red-skinned bear was an old friend of Xu Ning. Xu Ning had seen it more than once in Nanshan. The first time was when he was hunting with a dog, the second time was when he was fishing for bears with frozen fish, and the third time was when the red-skinned bear led him to search the granary, where he found two little black bears, which he then sold to Lao Fang of Taipingtun.

The red fox grinned at him playfully but made no sound. When it saw Xu Ning move the gun away, it slowly walked to his feet and sniffed the pine tree.

Xu Ning observed the red fox and felt that it was two or three times fatter than last winter. Because it was not an adult last year, it should have matured this year. The color of its body was brighter than before. The color of the fox's fur also changes with the seasons. Like roe deer, deer and other livestock, they all have this characteristic.

"I don't have anything on me, so hurry up and leave. I'll bring the things back and you can come back and find me."

Xu Ning has great respect for the red-skinned and yellow-skinned horses, or perhaps it can be said that those who hike in the mountains have a superstition about these animals.

He had heard from his grandfather when he was a child that when Qing'an first established a forest farm and built houses, a young couple named Zhang found a stone hole when digging the foundation, and there were small animal bones in it...

Later, Mrs. Zhang became famous in Qing'an, and the reason is self-evident.

Therefore, Xu Ning would not easily harm this kind of creature, so he had to persuade the red-skinned creature to leave in a kind voice.

However, the red fox in front of him had no intention of leaving. It sniffed the tree roots twice, then came over and pulled Xu Ning's trouser leg, then ran wildly towards the woods in the west.

After running two steps, it stopped and barked softly when it saw that Xu Ning didn't move.

Xu Ning frowned and said, "You want me to follow you? Do you know what I am doing?"

The red fox jumped twice on its front legs, as if it was anxious for him to catch up. Xu Ning was a little unsure. Although this red fox had led him to find two little black blinds before, it couldn't be that it would lead him to find whatever he wanted, right?

This matter was indeed a bit mysterious. Xu Ning didn't dare to believe it, nor did he want to believe it. If it was a blue wolf, a black wolf, or even a spotted wolf, he would have believed it.

"A dog can smell the scent of a black bear, but a red one can... It's not trained either. Fuck, why are you biting me?"

When Xu Ning was daydreaming, the red fox suddenly turned around and ran back, biting his trouser leg, but it did not kill him, just pulled Xu Ning's trouser leg.

"Let's go! Isn't it enough that I listen to you? If you can really find a brown bear, I'll get you some more fish or something."

When the red-skinned man saw him walking forward, he loosened his mouth and leaped into the depths of the woods, looking back from time to time to see if Xu Ning was following him.

After walking about three miles forward, the red fox disappeared into the bushes. Xu Ning held his gun and looked around vigilantly. After walking another five or six miles forward and crossing the mountain, he arrived at Shetanggou.

So he is now in the middle of Heishitang and Shetanggou, with hillsides on the east and west sides and a deep ditch in the middle. There are miscellaneous trees such as willows, lindens, oaks, and various shrubs. It is an area where roe deer and deer often move around.

Xu Ning stood there waiting for half a minute, then he heard a rustling sound in the bushes. He lowered the muzzle of his gun and looked up, and saw the red-skinned fox struggling to pull a leg with its mouth. The leg was bitten off at the root. He glanced at it and it should be a roe deer leg.

Suddenly Xu Ning grinned and said, "I thought it wasn't that mysterious... You want to give me a roe deer leg? Oh, thank you very much, well... this leg must be two or three days old, you can eat it yourself."

The red-skinned man certainly didn't understand what he said. He just dragged the roe deer's legs to his feet, then gritted his teeth and whimpered twice.

"Oh, I really don't want it. It's been outside for two or three days and it smells stinky..."

The red-skinned man gave him a resentful look, threw down the roe deer leg, turned around, and disappeared into the woods.

Xu Ning sighed: "Look, you're still angry. The main reason is that it stinks. It's inedible."

He glanced at the roe deer's leg helplessly and saw obvious bite marks on the leg. He didn't think much about it because the teeth of carnivorous animals are very sharp and it is easy to tear the roe deer's leg off.

After standing there for two or three minutes without seeing the red-skinned creature appear, Xu Ning thought that the red-skinned creature must have left, so he turned and walked towards Heishitang. Because it had not rained in the past few days, the ground in the mountains was relatively hard, and even if there were any traces, they would be covered by fallen leaves, making it impossible to track them.

He thought it would be safer to go back to Heishitang and wait for Li Fuqiang and the other two to come. If he encountered a brown bear by himself, he would not be willing to take the risk even if he had 56 and a half in his hand.

They have just gotten married and are very much in love with each other. How can he be irresponsible to his wife and family?
Xu Ning had read a book before, and the content of the book coincided with his current mood exactly, that is, when a wolf is hungry, it will hunt desperately in an attempt to fill its stomach and stay alive, and when a wolf is full and satisfied, it will lie down in its den to enjoy and raise its cubs.

To put it bluntly: people will choose to take risks when they are penniless, hungry, or at the critical moment of life and death. When people live a happy life with no worries about food and clothing, they will enjoy the comfort and are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone.

But life is always contrary to one's wishes. At first, he wanted to kill the brown bear very much. After seeing Red Skin giving him a roe deer leg, Xu Ning calmed down immediately and thought about waiting for Li Fuqiang and the other two to come...

However, just as he was walking towards Heishitang, he suddenly saw a fat and big-eared animal staring at him on the gentle slope covered by branches and leaves on the left side of the hill.

Xu Ning was startled. He quickly picked up the 56 and clearly saw the fat and big-eared figure. It was the brown-skinned bear!

The brown bear was more than two meters tall when it stood up, but its body was hidden by the branches, leaving only its head exposed. It waved at him playfully.

Xu Ning's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. He picked up the 56 semi-automatic rifle and without even aiming, he just put his index finger on the trigger and fired.

Bang!
When the brown bear saw his movement, it immediately got on all fours and ran wildly down the mountain, with branches scratching against its body, making a rustling sound.

The bullet did not hit the brown bear because the distance was far, about 70 meters, and there were many branches and leaves, and the environment caused the gun to miss.

Xu Ning watched the brown bear running down the mountain without panicking. He stared at the brown bear's trajectory and fired two shots in advance.

I don’t know what happened, but both shots missed.

"Fuck it! I haven't played Gunner for over two months and I've already given birth!"

The next moment, the brown bear let out a deafening roar.

Ouch!

The bear's roar and the gunshots caused the birds and animals in the forest to flee in panic, and the sound of leaves scraping against each other could be heard everywhere.

At this moment, the brown bear was moving very fast, and the distance between it and Xu Ning was getting closer and closer.

Xu Ning gritted his teeth and took two steps to the left, hiding behind a thick tree. He did not fire his gun in a hurry, and waited until the brown bear ran down the mountain, only about 30 meters away from him.

He clearly saw the brown bear's head, then raised his gun and fired three shots in succession!

The first shot, as the brown bear's head moved up and down, grazed the bear's spine, leaving a burn mark on its back.

When the brown bear sensed danger, it quickly stopped moving its limbs. While it was paused, the second bullet landed on its forelimbs. If it had not stopped, the bullet would have definitely penetrated its head.

It let out a wailing sound, then turned and ran towards the hillside on the right, roaring as it ran.

Xu Ning slapped his thigh in anger and cursed, "Fuck! Who the hell pulled out a gun? Damn it..."

He originally thought that there was something wrong with his shooting, but after firing five shots he realized that there was something wrong with the gun. Normally, when calibrating a 56 semi-automatic rifle, only three shots are needed to know the landing point, thereby further increasing stability and accuracy. However, the 56 semi-automatic rifle in Xu Ning's hand had a problem with the gas guidance. It must be because of sand and dust getting into it, or the spring was weak.

After the bullet is fired, it always deviates to the right.

Since there was no problem with his shooting skills and he knew that the trajectory of the bullet was to the right, he naturally couldn't let the brown bear in front of him escape. After all, it was meat that was delivered to his doorstep!
Without giving it time to think, Xu Ning ran after him.

Now a joke occurs. He just said that he should be more cautious, enjoy the warmth, and be responsible for his wife and family, but as soon as he saw the brown bear, he forgot everything he had thought before.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand why Xu Ning has this mentality.

Everyone knows that it is difficult to quit being a money-grubber. He is cunning and may cheat his family or even himself. Xu Ning happened to be what people called a money-grubber, so it is normal for him to do such a thing.

To put it bluntly, Xu Ning hasn't changed at heart. He has only changed on the surface to make others like him.

Of course he knew what kind of person he was, so he made the decision after just a brief pause.

So his mother, who knows him well, once said: A dog will always eat shit...

His own father who doesn’t know him very well also said: He looks kind with a smile on his face, but he’s actually a bad guy!
Back to the point, Xu Ning was running madly through the forest with his 56mm rifle. When he saw the brown bear's rear end, he raised his gun and fired. Bang, bang, bang! After three consecutive shots, Xu Ning had seven bullets in the magazine. He chased forward while paying attention to the bear's movements.

Why was Xu Ning chasing so eagerly? Because this brown bear was most likely the one that killed Li Shan and injured Hu Zhiyong last year, and it was also the one that Xu Ning dreamed of killing!

The brown bear fled towards Heishitang, so Xu Ning did not chase it too closely. He had to conserve his energy to prevent the brown bear from counterattacking.

However, after chasing for two miles, they entered Heishitang. As soon as the brown bear's front foot stepped into the pile of stones, Xu Ning stood at the edge of the woods. The terrain here was relatively high and the view was better.

The brown bear climbed onto a big rock with its head down. When it was about to jump down, Xu Ning decisively picked up the 56mm rifle and fired a shot at the brown bear's head!
Bang!
Then I saw the brown bear fall from the big rock and land heavily on the gravel beach.

Xu Ning was not very happy because hunting the brown bear today was a bit embarrassing. He had to use up all the bullets before he killed the brown bear.

Moreover, this brown bear was quite large, so it should be a big target, so the marksmanship should not be too bad, but...

Xu Ning let out a breath, took small steps forward with the gun in hand, jumped onto a large rock and saw the brown bear lying on its side below. Without any mercy at all, he fired two more shots at the head.

Bang bang!

When the first shot was fired, you could clearly see the brown bear's body moving, and it was only after the second shot that the brown bear completely stopped breathing.

"Fuck it... He's still pretending to be dead. It's really not easy..."

Xu Ning squatted on a rock and looked at the brown bear. There was indeed a scar under its left eye, a wound on its flank, and a bloody hole on its left forelimb.

This brown bear must have weighed more than 1000 kilograms. According to the description of Li Feng and Li Ye, when they saw this brown bear, it barely weighed about 700 kilograms. However, that was winter and it had nothing to eat. It was all thanks to its fat body that it survived. It was already very good that it didn't starve to death.

After a spring and summer, it is normal for it to grow to more than 300 kilograms in autumn. After all, brown bears can grow to 1500 kilograms.

At this glance, the brown bear in front of me seems a little small.

Xu Ning raised his wrist and looked at the watch. It was 3 minutes to 4, which was 3:57.

At this time, he glanced at the 56mm gun. There were some scratches on the surface of the gun, and part of the white skin was exposed on the barrel.

Just as he was about to dismantle the gun, he suddenly heard Li Fuqiang's shout.

"Brother! Brother!"

Xu Ning stood up and responded: "Brother! It's right here!"

Li Fuqiang came out of the woods holding a big axe and shouted, "What's going on? Why are there gunshots?"

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Isn't this just beating a brown bear?"

Li Fuqiang asked in surprise: "Is he hitting you?"

"Yeah! He's lying on the ground."

After Li Fuqiang jumped over from the big rock and saw the brown bear lying on the gravel beach, he laughed and said, "Oh my god! It's my brother! This bear must weigh 1000 pounds. Is it the one that killed Li Shan before?"

"It should be. I see there is a scar on its eye."

Li Fuqiang placed the axe on the stone, clapped his hands, looked at the brown bear and said, "You finally killed this bear! How do you feel now? Do you feel relieved?"

Xu Ning smiled and nodded: "Relax! Hey, brother, has anyone else touched the guns at home?"

Li Fuqiang immediately stopped smiling and asked, "What's the matter? No one should touch it."

"Why do I feel like this gun isn't working well? The trajectory is biased to the right..."

"To the right? No, this gun was cleaned by Hu Zi and me."

Li Fuqiang walked up to him, looked down at the gun, and said, "Take it off now and look at the spring inside."

"When did you two clean your guns?"

"Leizi applied it the night before his wedding and put it in the cellar after applying it."

Xu Ning frowned and asked, "I took it from the wall in the west room."

"Then Hu Zi and I didn't touch anything. Didn't you wipe it when you took it from the wall in the west room?"

Xu Ning said depressedly: "I thought you guys had finished wiping."

"Who took it out of the cellar?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "Don't worry about who took it. Anyway, I'm fine. I killed the brown bear. This is also my fault. You guys cleaned the guns before, and I'm used to it. I must clean it more often in the future!"

Li Fuqiang nodded: "Let's take it apart when we get back to see if there's something wrong with the spring inside."

"Well, why didn't Shitou and Huzi come over?"

"I came here directly from the 28th Field. They had to go back to get their guns and food, but Lianfang must have driven a four-wheeler to take them there. I estimate she will be here soon."

Xu Ning took out a cigarette and a match from his pocket and handed them to Li Fuqiang. Li Fuqiang asked, "Why do you still have cigarettes?"

"These pants belong to my brother. My mom gave them to me without washing them. You smoke a cigarette first and I'll cut them open."

Li Fuqiang took out a cigarette and said, "Let me do it. It's so bloody. You have to wash your hands after you're done."

"No, I have to gut it and take out its gallbladder myself! Otherwise I'll have nightmares when I get home..."

"Hahaha, okay!"

At this time, Guan Lei and Wang Hu rushed to Heishitang carrying their old scoops and cloth bags. They saw Li Fuqiang squatting on a rock smoking, stretching his neck and shouting twice.

"Hurry up and come! The three of us are too late. This brown bear has already been killed by my brother!"

"What the hell? My second brother killed the brown bear alone? Oh my god! It's still my second brother's nature!"

Guan Lei ran over and saw the brown bear lying on the ground. He said, "Awesome! Brother, how did you kill it?"

After Xu Ning finished bleeding the brown bear, he said, "This may sound a little mysterious to you..."

"What's the matter? Second brother."

"I felt something was wrong when I put my gun down. I held the gun for two minutes and then I hit a red fox. It led me to the direction of Shetanggou, about three miles away.

Then it gave me a roe deer leg, but the leg was a bit smelly, so I didn’t want it... Later, the red-skinned man left, and I also walked towards Heishitang, thinking that I would wait for you there, but I saw it on my way back!

It stood up and waved at me, and I raised my hand and shot it..."

After saying that, Wang Hu, Guan Lei and Li Fuqiang were all a little confused, because the red-skinned man actually gave people meat, which was indeed a bit mysterious.

"Brother, didn't you oil the gun when you took it out of the cellar?"

Xu Ning used a sharp knife to cut open the brown bear's stomach and said, "I didn't take it out from the cellar. I took it from the wall of the west room. I thought you had already cleaned it."

"Oh, where to clean it? I saw it hanging on the wall of the west room a few days ago, and I thought you had already cleaned it."

Guan Lei said: "I haven't touched a gun for a while, so I don't know what happened."

At this time, Xu Ning already knew who took the gun out of the cellar. There were only a few people in the house, so who else could it be except Xu Laonian?

But it’s not someone else’s fault for not cleaning the gun. It can only be said that Xu Ning was too careless!

(End of this chapter)