Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 710 A Double Harvest in One Night, Fulfilling a Wish
The moonlight suddenly brightened, the stars twinkled, and thin clouds occasionally drifted across the night sky.

The mountains and forests were completely silent; not a sound could be heard.

The moonlight illuminated the white snow, casting dark shadows on the mountains, followed by the sound of footsteps on the snow, steady and unified.

It was Xu Ning and Lao Kuai who stepped out of the cave and casually picked up two burning wooden sticks from the fire.

However, the wooden stick was no match for the pine torch and went out in no time. Fortunately, the moonlight was bright enough to see the road ahead, but it was still pitch black in the distance.

Wang Hu wanted to turn on his flashlight, but Xu Ning waved him off. It was unwise to have a light on in the dead of night. If some animals, like moths, were to rush towards the light, even if they had guns, they wouldn't be able to react in time.

Old Kuai pointed to the deep ditch ahead and whispered, "This ditch is more than five meters deep, three or four meters wide in some places, and more than two meters wide in others. We'll have to jump across it later."

"Yes, I heard that black bear is up ahead. What's the name of this place?"

"Old Demon Kanzi".

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Just hearing the name sounds sinister."

"No one comes here after the narrow pass, so this place is quite complicated. Sometimes you can even hear tigers roaring from the narrow pass."

Wang Hu exclaimed in surprise, "There's a big cat too? When did this happen?"

"The last time I heard a tiger roar was four or five years ago."

Big cats aren't so easy to encounter; some mountain runners spend half their lives trekking through the mountains and never even hear a tiger roar.

They found a slightly narrower spot, Wang Hu turned on his flashlight to illuminate it, and then they sprinted and leaped across the deep ditch one by one.

After walking down the slope for a bit, I spotted a dark figure lying in the snow.

Xu Ning stared intently, not daring to be careless. He picked up the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, pulled back the bolt, and gave Li Fuqiang a look. The five of them then formed two groups and flanked the dark figures from both sides.

The dark shadow was lying on the snow crust, and its head seemed to be wriggling. When it heard a noise behind it, it suddenly turned its head and saw several dark shadows slowly moving towards it. It immediately opened its blood-red mouth and let out a deafening roar!

The sound was so loud it made people's eardrums go numb, but Xu Ning and the others were prepared and were not frightened.

After crouching down and getting a clear look at the dark figure, Wang Hu blurted out, "Big Black Bear!"

"elder brother?"

Xu Ning squinted at the front. This black bear lying in the snow crust was definitely not sleeping. Judging from its posture and state, it looked more like it was hunting.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from the bottom of the ravine. Black Bear turned his head and saw that the food in his mouth had run away. He was immediately furious and turned to run towards Xu Ning and the others!

"Tiger! Shine the flashlight on it!"

At this moment, a decisive action was necessary. Xu Ning darted two steps to the left and shouted, while Wang Hu raised his flashlight and pushed the switch up, immediately shining a beam of light on Hei Xiazi.

Only now could I see clearly that the bear had a horn stuck in its mouth—or rather, its mouth was stuck in the horn, so it could only open its mouth and couldn't close it. Drooling dripped down its lower lip into the snow, freezing into ice in the blink of an eye.

Li Fuqiang was moving closer to Xu Ning, while Lao Kuai hid behind Xu Ning. He was unarmed and certainly couldn't rush forward, and his face was expressionless, as if he wasn't surprised to see Hei Xiazi.

In the blink of an eye, after Xu Ning shouted, he leaned against the tree trunk and thrust the muzzle of his gun forward. At that moment, he was less than 40 meters away from Hei Xiazi, and getting closer and closer...

He quickly pulled the trigger, firing two shots in quick succession.

Both shots hit the black bear in the head. The black bear plunged into the snow, sending chunks of snow flying several meters away before its heavy body crashed down with a thud.

"Brilliant!"

"Bro, approved!"

Old Kuai laughed and praised, "That's some serious skill! Both shots hit you right in the head. Running in the mountains with you will definitely be much easier."

Xu Ning put away his gun and said, "There's still some noise down the mountain. This bear didn't hear them coming, so it must be thinking of catching the livestock down there."

"Yes, I do." Old Kuai nodded.

Li Fuqiang rushed over and said, "Then what do we do? Keep chasing?"

As Xu Ning ran forward, he shouted, "Chase it! Tiger and Stone, hurry up and bleed it to get its gallbladder, then!"

He took out a small cloth bag from his inner pocket and tossed it to Guan Lei, who was nearby. Guan Lei caught it and said, "Alright! We'll wait for you here."

Xu Ning instructed, "You two be extra careful."

Wang Hu casually handed Li Fuqiang a flashlight and replied, "I know!"

Xu Ning and Lao Kuai ran ahead, while Li Fuqiang followed behind.

After running to the bottom of the ditch, Xu Ning looked down and saw a trail of tracks and some reddish bloodstains.

"Big nose!"

Xu Ning and Lao Kuai spoke in unison.

Meanwhile, Wang Hu and Guan Lei, who were bleeding the black bear on the mountain, were staring at the large horn that the black bear was holding in its mouth.

"This thing looks like deer antlers, but deer antlers have eight lobes, this thing..."

Guan Lei said, "The horn of the Anadahan!"

"Holy crap, this time they really came for us..."

At the bottom of the ditch, Xu Ning spotted the trail of An Dahan, and his heart immediately raced. It was as if a ten-meter-long horse had taken the bait; all that was needed now was to lead it ashore.

Li Fuqiang glared and said, "What are you still thinking about? Hurry up and chase them away!"

"quick……"

Xu Ning took off running forward, while Lao Kuai warned from behind, "There's a big pit ahead!"

Old Kuai was not slow either. After passing Xu Ning, he pointed to the woods ahead and said, "There's a big pit here. We have to slide down the slope."

"Good! The commotion down the mountain just now was probably Big Nose. How far can it run now?"

Old Kuai said, "I've run about a mile."

"Now that we've got our hands on its fur, we're not going to let it go. Good luck tonight, bro..."

"It's alright, I already promised you, so I'll definitely help you to the end. Don't mention how hard it is."

Xu Ning, Lao Kuai, and Li Fuqiang leaped over the large pit and arrived at an old forest. This old forest had dense branches and half-person-high withered grass, which looked like arrows.

"It must be badly injured. The black bear's cries earlier were a sign that it had gotten into a fight with it."

After Lao Kuai finished speaking, Xu Ning nodded: "There's a saying, 'Strike while the iron is hot!'"

"What are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

Although they were just spouting nonsense, it was necessary to say something silly to perk things up at this time. Why? Because the wind in the mountains at night was more biting than during the day. The wind was like a blade, stinging your face when it blew, and making your back and knees ache when it got into your collar.

Xu Ning, wearing a face mask, kept his head down and searched for clues, while Lao Kuai helped him look around. Suddenly, Lao Kuai pointed ahead and said, "Look at that dark shadow up ahead, isn't that it?"

Immediately, Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang stopped and hid behind a tree, looking down the gentle slope ahead. The distance was about 60 or 70 meters, which was easy to miss in the dense old forest. However, Xu Ning still spotted the distinctive pair of large horns of the Andahan at a glance!
The left corner was broken, with a piece missing, while the right corner was fan-shaped with sharp spikes. Xu Ning held the grenade in his mouth, and his hand quickly became stiff after being removed from the grenade, but he held onto the Type 56 half tightly, saying with some excitement, "Yes!"

Li Fuqiang took two deep breaths and said, "What do you mean? I turn on my flashlight, and you just fire a gun?"

Xu Ning glanced at the surroundings and shook his head: "We can't use flashlights now, it's facing away from us, and its head is blocked by the camel's hump. Here's what we'll do, I'll go around it to the left, you guys stay where you are." "Okay."

Old Kuai said, "There are quite a few thorny old shoots in this forest, so be careful."

"OK."

Xu Ning gripped the 56 and moved quietly to the left, his movements light and careful not to make too much noise, lest he disturb the panting An Dahan.

This Andahan is not large, weighing about 700 kilograms. What is most striking is its long face, which is comparable to a donkey's face. It is long and thin, and its nose takes up a third of its face, which is why it is called Big Nose.

Xu Ning had given up hope of finding An Dahan, but unexpectedly he heard a bear roar. Thinking he couldn't leave empty-handed, he came out of the cave to hunt the bear. Little did he know that this black bear was also hunting, and it was hunting An Dahan. What a coincidence!

Despite the biting cold wind, Xu Ning focused intently on Andahan. He walked to the oak tree on the left, rested his gun on a branch, and then, with his eyes fixed on Andahan's head, which was only about 40 meters away, pulled the trigger.

He wasn't too confident, so he fired three shots in quick succession.

After three shots, Andahan, who hadn't moved much to begin with, lay lifeless in the snow.

"Pretty!"

Xu Ning strode forward and shouted, "Quick, check if they're dead! If they're not, finish them off!"

"okay!"

The three men ran straight to Andahan and saw blood flowing from under his head. Old Kuai pointed at Andahan's head and said, "Your marksmanship is really good. You didn't knock off his nose, but all three shots hit the back of his head and neck."

Xu Ning was in a good mood and said with a smile, "This is my first time firing this thing too, so I just fired it as I always do. Have you ever fired this thing before, brother?"

"I caught a small one, but then I released it."

Li Fuqiang asked in bewilderment, "Why were they released?"

"It's too small, only a little over 200 pounds. We can't eat it even if we don't put it in the pan."

"That makes sense. This one must weigh over 700 pounds, and it's male, except it's missing a horn."

Li Fuqiang nodded: "It is a bit of a pity. Would a specimen museum accept this?"

"Let's ask. If they accept it, we'll send it over. If not, we'll eat it ourselves. I've never eaten the meat of the Andahan before."

Old Kuai said, "This thing's blood can also cure diseases."

"Oh my god, I forgot the wine jug! This is terrible!" Li Fuqiang said, slapping his thigh.

Xu Ning took out his wine flask and asked, "Can I just mix it with other wine?"

"It's better when mixed with alcohol. As for what illness it cures, I don't know. I just heard it from other people."

Li Fuqiang took the wine jug, pulled out his dagger, and plunged it into An Dahan's neck. Blood flowed out from the cut, filling both jugs. They could only watch helplessly as the remaining blood stained the snow red.

"What a pity, hey... bro, what do we do now? We didn't bring any rope or anything."

Xu Ning said, "Let's leave it here for now. We'll deal with it after Hu Zi finishes dealing with Hei Xiazi."

"also."

Xu Ning did not prepare to gut the An Dahan. It was winter, and the ice and snow would freeze it solid, unlike in spring, summer, and autumn when the meat would easily spoil.

Old Kuai said, "We can grab its legs and pull it towards the cave."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, brother."

"Oh, don't be so polite, it's just a small favor."

Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang smiled, and then the three of them, holding onto Andahan's hind legs, slowly and laboriously walked towards the cave.

About half an hour later, Wang Hu and Guan Lei's voices came, and a beam of light shone over. Wang Hu called out, "Second Brother!"

"It's right here!"

Wang Hu exclaimed excitedly, "Second Brother, guess what's stuck in Black Bear's mouth? It's Anandahan's horn! Holy crap, this..."

He had just rushed over when he saw the An Dahan being dragged by Xu Ning and the others. He immediately stood there, his face showing surprise, and said, "Is this the Big Nose?"

"Hey! Didn't you guys hear gunshots just now?"

"Listen, I was thinking of sending a signal, so Lei and I came over."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "What signal? I was afraid it would run away, so I fired three shots. Did you two think we had taken over Mada Mountain?"

"Ah, one sound is a response, two sounds mean everything is alright, and three sounds mean something's happened."

"Haha, let's quickly lend a hand and put it back."

"Got it."

Wang Hu took a rope off his body and said, "I have a rope here, let's tie it on, it'll be easier to pull it this way."

Guan Lei asked, "Was that when Black Bear started fighting with it?"

"Hmm, look at these wounds. Does Black Bear have any wounds?"

Xu Ning didn't even look closely after killing Hei Xiazi. Guan Lei nodded: "Yes! Hei Xiazi's face was covered in bloody cuts, and his nose was also split open."

"What great luck today, catching two animals in a row! How much does that bear weigh?"

“It weighs about 400 jin, second brother. Look at this bear bile, it looks a bit yellowish to me.”

Wang Hu pulled a small cloth bag out of his pocket. Xu Ning took it, looked at it in the flashlight beam, and said, "A copper bladder?"

Old Kuai nodded: "It is indeed a copper gallbladder, but the bile is still a bit greenish. It just fought with Big Nose, so its gallbladder has become larger."

The bile is somewhat greenish with a faint yellow tinge; this is copper bile, but the quality isn't very good. This kind of copper bile is about 200 yuan more expensive than ordinary green bile.

"Keep it with you for now. You can boil some water in the lunchbox when you get to the cave later to soak it."

"Yeah, we threw the bear into the cave not far from the entrance."

"Black Bear isn't important, let's get this thing back first."

At 11:40 p.m., the night was alluring. They pulled An Dahan to a sheltered spot near the cave entrance, and everyone went about their tasks.

Sleep? Who could sleep at a time like this? Even Lao Kuai reached out to help disembowel An Dahan.

Wang Hu cut off two pieces of bear meat and the meat of the Angkor Khan, skewered them on tree branches, and roasted them next to the fire. Li Fuqiang and Guan Lei then broke open the Angkor Khan's belly, and Lao Kuai cut off the lantern-shaped parts and internal organs.

"These intestines are quite tasty, don't throw them away..."

"I won't throw it away. I'll cook it after the mine is cleaned up. Come over for a drink then, bro."

Old Kuai smiled and shook his head: "I won't go, I still have a lot of work to do at home."

"Then take some bear meat home. Bear meat has fat, which is perfect for the old lady to try. Even if she doesn't have good teeth, she can still chew it."

"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony with you."

(End of this chapter)