Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"Bang!"

A gunshot shattered the tranquility of Guapigou Village.

The bullet shot out of the gun barrel, streaking through the air like a meteor, but it missed the tiger that was peeking out from one side of the gate. Instead, it hit the red brick gatepost.

Sparks flew and bricks scattered everywhere. The tiger that had just poked its head out was startled by the sound of the Mosin-Nagant rifle firing and quickly withdrew its huge head.

Although he missed his target in his hasty attack, he forced the tiger to retract its head. Li Yunshan did not chase after it, because he was not sure whether the tiger had been scared away or was lurking near his house waiting for an opportunity.

So, after driving the tiger away with a single shot, he quickly retreated into the house, closed the door to the main room, and bolted it shut.

After doing all this, he leaned against the door and took a deep breath.

Having lived two lives, this was the first time he had ever been so close to a live tiger without any protection. It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.

Inside the main room, Gao Hongmei was already pale with fright, her eyes filled with terror.

Just now... just now, if she had walked out a few seconds earlier and left Li Yunshan's house, the tiger would have rushed up from behind her and carried her away.

Fortunately, she had a few more words with Li Yunshan at the entrance of his house, and Li Yunshan followed her out. Just as he saw the tiger leap past the gate, he carried her into the house.

Otherwise... otherwise... she didn't even know what the consequences would be.

Gao Hongmei looked at Li Yunshan with a look of horror. When she saw Li Yunshan also retreat into the house and lean against the door, taking deep breaths, she felt as if she had found a support and suddenly pounced on Li Yunshan.

"Ouch, you bumped into me and hurt me."

Gao Hongmei was plump and tall, and when she pounced into his arms, Li Yunshan couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

"Waaaaah... Li Yunshan, did I almost... almost... do that just now?!"

Gao Hongmei threw herself into Li Yunshan's arms, hugging him and sobbing uncontrollably.

Seeing her crying with tears streaming down her face, looking terrified, Li Yunshan's hands, which had been hovering in mid-air, finally landed on her waist and back: "It's okay, don't cry, why are you crying? I'm here."

He gently patted Gao Hongmei's back, shifted his feet slightly, and peered through the crack in the door. He didn't see the tiger, wondering if it had been scared away by the shot he had just fired, or if it was hiding in some secluded corner nearby.

Because Gao Hongmei was by his side, Li Yunshan didn't dare to go out. He could only hold Gao Hongmei, pat her back gently, and soothe her softly.

……

"Bang!"

The loud gunfire shattered the tranquility of Guapigou Village and served as a wake-up call for the villagers.

After hearing the gunshots in the air, the villagers, who had initially relaxed their vigilance and were wandering around in their own yards, immediately ran back into their houses and locked the doors after a brief moment of surprise.

"Old man, that gunshot just now..."

"It must be one of the village hunters who spotted a tiger and fired a warning shot. Old woman, come inside and check. The grandchildren are all here; they haven't run off to play, have they?"

"They didn't run away. I'm here watching over them, so don't worry."

"That's good, that's good."

In a farmer's house, an old man who had just gone inside was talking to an old woman.

In another part of the village, a middle-aged farmer was chopping wood in his yard with an axe. When he heard the gunshot, he ran to the gate with his axe and looked around to see where the shooting was coming from.

But what he saw almost made his legs go weak, because he saw a huge tiger running towards him at top speed.

"Oh my god, a tiger...it's a tiger..."

The moment he saw the tiger running towards him, the farmer was so frightened that his hand trembled, he dropped his axe, and scrambled into the house.

"Honey, what's wrong? What tiger?"

A middle-aged woman ran out of the house and asked at the entrance of the main room.

"Get inside right now! It's a tiger! A tiger! A tiger has entered the village in broad daylight!"

Without saying a word, the farmer roughly pushed his wife into the house, then quickly turned around, closed the main room door, took the door latch from the side, and put it on the door.

After doing all this, the farmer was so frightened that his whole body went limp. He sat down behind the door of the main room, his eyes glazed over, as if he had lost his soul, and he didn't dare to breathe.

His wife was terrified when she saw him like that, but she didn't dare to make a sound.

……

"Gunshots..."

Meanwhile, in another part of the village.

Uncle Zhou had just finished eating and was about to lie down for a nap when he heard the sudden gunshot. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, and he was instantly jolted awake.

"That gunshot...it's the sound of Yunshan's Mosin-Nagant rifle firing..."

Uncle Zhou was an experienced hunter. After hearing the noise, he was able to identify what kind of gun was firing just by the sound of the gunshot.

In general, of the nine hunters in the village, seven currently use shotguns and one uses a musket.

When a shotgun fires a bullet, the sound is like thunder, like the beating of a muffled drum, while the sound of a bird gun firing a bullet is similar to that of a shotgun firing a bullet.

The gunshot just now was exceptionally clear; in the entire Guapigou Village, only Li Yunshan's Mosin-Nagant rifle could produce such a sound.

"Yunshan wouldn't just fire a gun in the village randomly; there must be a reason why he did."

Thinking this, Uncle Zhou immediately climbed down from the pit and put on his cotton-padded coat.

As for why Li Yunshan was shooting in the village in broad daylight, it was most likely because he encountered the tiger that had entered the village the previous two nights.

Only this explanation can make sense of why Li Yunshan would fire a gun.

"Honey, where are you going?"

Uncle Zhou's wife saw that he had just lain down but got up immediately, and was even putting on his cotton-padded coat and buttoning it up. She quickly asked him what was wrong.

"Li Yunshan is firing shots. I reckon he's run into that tiger that came into the village. I need to go check it out right away."

Uncle Zhou buttoned up his cotton-padded coat and then bent down to put on his shoes.

"What are you looking at? That tiger is so ferocious, what's so interesting about it? Are you out of your mind?"

The old man's wife immediately stopped Uncle Zhou.

"I'm the head hunter in the village. If I don't step up now, am I supposed to let those villagers who don't have guns and whose legs go weak at the sight of a tiger do it? Get out of my way."

Uncle Zhou pried his wife's hand off, took his hunting rifle from the wall, loaded two bullets into the barrel, hung the ammunition pouch on his waist, opened the door a crack, and slipped out.

"Old woman, fasten the door latch and keep an eye on the house. I'll be back soon."

Uncle Zhou's voice came into the house through the door.

"Old man, don't be a hero."

"Uncle Zhou's wife called out."

"understood."

……

"Alright, let go now, I need to go out and see what's going on."

After holding Gao Hongmei and gently patting her back to comfort her for a while, Li Yunshan said that he released his grip on her.

But Gao Hongmei still clung to him, refusing to let go: "I won't let go, I'm scared."

Gao Hongmei squirmed in his arms.

With a soft, warm body in his arms, even though the weather was cold and Gao Hongmei was wearing thick cotton clothes, Li Yunshan almost lost control.

"Gao Hongmei, Gao Hongmei, is this how you test your ex-husband?"

Looking at Gao Hongmei, who was still somewhat panicked, Li Yunshan's mind raced with thoughts.

But Gao Hongmei clung to him tightly, and Li Yunshan couldn't break free, so he had no choice but to let her be.

Much later.

"Yunshan, Li Yunshan, are you there?"

Outside, Uncle Zhou's voice could be heard calling out.

"Oh, she's inside!"

Li Yunshan called out from inside the house in response.

After shouting, Li Yunshan looked down at Gao Hongmei, who had her head buried in his chest and tears still on her face: "Hongmei, Uncle Zhou is here, let go quickly."

Hearing the shouts from outside, it was Uncle Zhou, a hunter from the village. Only then did Gao Hongmei separate from Li Yunshan, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"You sit inside for now. I'll take you back later. Don't wander around until we've killed that tiger or made sure it's left the vicinity of our village."

Li Yunshan said.

For two consecutive nights, they brought a large, fat pig as bait, hoping to lure the tiger into a trap so they could shoot it dead.

After two nights of vigilance, they didn't see a single tiger hair. Whether it was the hunters in the village or ordinary villagers like Gao Hongmei, everyone became a little less vigilant.

If Gao Hongmei hadn't been more vigilant, why would she have come to Lin Xiulan and Dou Dou's house without knowing that the tiger had been killed or had left their village?

Moreover, in such a large village as Guapigou, with hundreds of villagers, it's likely that Gao Hongmei wasn't the only one who relaxed her vigilance; there must have been other villagers who also relaxed their guard because their hunters hadn't caught a tiger for two consecutive nights.

It's unknown whether other villagers, especially those who let their guard down and went outdoors, were attacked by the tiger or whether there were any casualties.

With worries in his heart, Li Yunshan removed the door bolt, opened the door to the main room, and went out.

"Yunshan, was it you who fired the shot just now?"

Seeing Li Yunshan come out, Uncle Zhou asked.

"Yes, Hongmei came to talk to me about something. Just as she finished talking and was about to go back, I saw a tiger leap past my gate."

"I pulled her into the house and went out with my gun when that beast returned and poked his head out to look into my yard."

"I fired a shot, but unfortunately I missed because I was too hasty at the start. It's a real shame," Li Yunshan said, nodding.

"It's good that nothing happened, what's the pity?"

Uncle Zhou was secretly alarmed after hearing Li Yunshan's words.

If what Li Yunshan said were true, if Gao Hongmei had gone out a little earlier, wouldn't she have been pounced on and carried away by the tiger from behind?

Although Gao Hongmei was an adult woman, the tiger was incredibly strong and could easily carry away a cow weighing two or three hundred pounds.

As for Li Yunshan saying it was a pity they failed to hit the tiger, Uncle Zhou didn't think it was a pity at all.

In that emergency, Li Yunshan was able to pull Gao Hongmei into the house and still had the courage to pick up a gun and fire a shot at the tiger.

Although they failed to hit the tiger, the courage to confront it at close range is something that not everyone possesses.

"Where's Hongmei?"

Uncle Friday asked.

"I was inside the house just now, and I was so scared that I cried," Li Yunshan said.

"oh!"

"Uncle Zhou, shouldn't we go check on the situation in the village?"

"Yes, nobody expected the tiger to suddenly come back to the village. We don't know if anyone in the village has been hurt. I have to go to the village right away."

"Let me go with you."

Li Yunshan said.

"What will happen to Hongmei if you leave? Are you going to leave her all alone in your house?"

"this……"

Li Yunshan hesitated.

To be honest, Li Yunshan wasn't entirely comfortable leaving Gao Hongmei alone in his house.

"I'll give her a ride home since it's on my way."

Li Yunshan thought for a moment and said that since he was going to walk around the village with Uncle Zhou later to see if any villagers had been attacked by tigers, he could take Gao Hongmei home.

After this incident, Gao Hongmei will probably not dare to run away again.

"Hongmei, come out, I'll take you home."

Li Yunshan called out into the house, and after a while, Gao Hongmei came out.