Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1417 Halim pays for road construction, Li Long shoots wolves with crossbow

Halim didn't come empty-handed this time either; he brought Li Long a pair of red deer calves, two pairs of red deer antlers, and a bunch of baby roe deer antlers.

Handing these things to Li Long, Halim said somewhat apologetically:

“Our guns have been taken away too. Now we can’t hunt wolves without guns. My lads have seen a lot of wolves while herding sheep in the mountains, and without guns, they can only scare them away. This has made things more difficult for us, as we can’t fight off wolves even when they appear. I just hope there will be fewer wolf attacks in the next few years.”

Li Long knew that there wouldn't be many wolf attacks in the future. The main reason was that a wolf's pelt, teeth, and thigh bone were worth one or two thousand yuan, and the price would increase in the future. Some people would go into the mountains specifically to hunt wolves. If they were caught by the forestry bureau, so be it; if not, they would make a profit.

Therefore, there will be fewer and fewer wolves in the forest in the future, while wild boars will give birth to many offspring at a time, which is a scourge to the forest.

These past two years may be a bit tough, since the prices of wolf pelts and fangs are not high at this time. Most of the herders in the mountains have switched to settled herding, while the people in the plains are still thinking about how to make money by farming. Hunting is not yet on their radar.

Li Long laughed and said, "Hire more young men. Anyway, your cattle and sheep herds are quite large. Let them carry knives and sticks. They won't be at a disadvantage if they encounter three or five wolves."

Halim said with a wry smile, "That's all we can do. By the way, I came to see you this time because it's important. The road you built for us to the summer pasture is now being used only by me."

When we were preparing to move our farm this year, we found many damaged sections of the road. Some were washed away by flash floods, and others had collapsed. So I'm planning to repair the road. Could you help me contact the relevant people?

The summer pastures are excellent, but they are too far away. So some of the old herders in the original small tribes no longer plan to go into the mountains and have sold their cattle and sheep to Halim. Others, like Yushanjiang, plan to settle down at the foot of the mountain to graze their livestock, which would be more convenient for them.

So it's not wrong for Halim to say that he's the only one left on the summer ranch.

Li Long paused for a moment upon hearing Halim's words. To be honest, he hadn't been to the mountains for a while, let alone walked along the road to the summer pasture. Thinking about it, and since he didn't have much to do right now, Li Long said:

"Okay, I'll contact someone for you right away. I'll also go in and take a look around. I haven't walked this road in a long time, so I don't know what the situation is like now."

Halim took a plastic bag from the cloth bag he was carrying and placed it on the table. He opened the bag, took out a wad of cash, and said:

"This is 5 yuan. I don't know if it's enough for road repairs. I'll use it first, and if it's not enough, I'll go get more."

Li Long laughed and didn't refuse, asking, "You have money now?"

Halim chuckled and said, "We still have enough money to repair the road. The price of beef and mutton is slowly rising. In the spring, I sold some of my culled sheep to Yushanjiang and saved some money. Plus, I sold some cattle and sheep after returning from Dongwozi last year, so I still have some money."

Looking at the money, Li Long felt a pang of emotion. Back then, when Halimuyushanjiang and the others were herding livestock in the mountains, they basically traded goods with him. These mountain herders rarely used money and didn't have a strong concept of it.

Later, because I had received so much from them, I wanted to help them repair their winter shelters, build roads, and install water pipes to make their lives easier. These herders were very grateful to me.

For a time, Li Long actually considered himself a benefactor to these herders, and he became somewhat arrogant. As a result, he received commendations from the national, regional, and county levels.

As Li Long went through more experiences later on, he realized that they were actually moving in the same direction and growing together. In the beginning, it was the herders who helped him.

Therefore, Li Long always obliges any requests made by the herders in the mountains, as a way of repaying them.

Now that Halim has taken out money to repair the road, Li Long is impressed that the herders have finally developed. Whether it is Yushanjiang, who has grown into a big boss in the cattle and sheep market, or Halim, the big rancher in front of him, they have grown into the most powerful group of people in this era. They have their own confidence and the ability to take the initiative to change their lives.

“Okay, I’ll take the money and contact the road construction team for you right away.” Li Long said with a smile, “I still want to go in and take a look around the mountains. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the scenery of the summer pasture. I wonder if the grass has grown up yet.”

Seeing that Li Long had accepted the money, Halim relaxed and said with a smile, "We went to the grass sprouts the day before yesterday. They've just sprouted, and there's still snow on the high mountains to the south. The summer pasture is still a bit chilly, so remember to wear warm clothes when you go."

Li Long laughed, tapped the table, and said, "I've lived in the mountains for so many years, I know this stuff. By the way, I got two crossbows through someone. Even though we don't have guns anymore, these things are still pretty powerful, enough to take down a wolf."

Halim was quite interested when he heard about the weapons, so Li Long took him to the backyard, took out the two crossbows that Lao Du had helped him get from his car, and then placed a wooden board as a target on the backyard wall at a distance of twenty or thirty meters. He aimed, cocked the crossbow bolt, and fired. The bolt pierced through the wooden board, showing that it was indeed very powerful.

Li Long pointed to the crossbow and said, "It would be even more powerful if we could add a scope to it, but we don't have that technology yet."

Harim was genuinely interested in this thing. He asked Li Long to teach him how to operate it, aimed for a while, and then fired, only to find that it had missed, grazing the edge of the wood and embedding itself in the wall. Harim ran over and pulled hard to get the crossbow bolt out.

After running back with the crossbows, Halim said to Li Long, "These are great. Buy me a few too, and a few dozen arrows. I want each of my lads to carry one, so they won't be afraid of wolves."

These crossbows were specially made by Lao Du for Li Long, and they were of very high quality. The crossbow strings were made of thin steel wire, the kind that is twisted together from several strands, the crossbow arms were made of elastic steel plates, and the handles and grips were made of dark red cork, which was sanded until very smooth. There was also a specially made leather case for easy storage.

Each crossbow came with 50 steel arrows, stored in a special quiver, which looked very professional. When Li Long received it, he mentioned that Lao Du had done a pretty good job.

Old Du was quite proud of himself at the time, saying that after the technicians made this thing, it was very practical, but rather rough. He felt that it was not presentable to give it to Li Long, so he specially asked an old craftsman to help decorate it, and that's how it turned out.

Now this thing is not only a practical tool, but also a bit like a work of art. Li Long felt that it was a luxury for him to use this thing to practice on targets.

Of course, it's just a matter of who uses it, so what difference does it make?

“If you’re using it yourself, I’ll give you one; if you’re making one for your lads, it’ll be a while before I can get it for you,” Li Long said. “This thing takes time to make.”

"Okay, give me one first, I'll go into the mountains for a bit. I've run into a lot of wolves and wild boars at the summer pasture these past few days. I don't have a gun, and although I wanted to shoot, I couldn't. Now that I have this, even if I don't shoot, at least the wolves won't frighten my horse."

Harim and Li Long were not polite either. Not only did they take the crossbow from Li Long, they also ordered six more separately.

Li Long didn't calculate the money with him, but Halim said that the money would be deducted directly from the 5 yuan, and he would give Li Long more if it wasn't enough.

After Halim left, Li Long thought he would take some time to go for a walk in the mountains in the next couple of days.

He left the antlers and roe deer antlers that Halim had brought at the purchasing station, and had the two pairs of red deer calves take them back to the yard. Mingming and Haohao had been saying lately that the house was a bit lonely, and these two red deer calves would keep them company.

The baby deer was still quite small and had some trouble eating grass at this age, so Li Long thought he should get some milk powder or milk and feed the two children morning and evening to help them develop their life skills.

After the two fawns were released into the yard, they first looked at the black dog in alarm, and then one after the other hid in the corner and lay down.

The black dog looked at the two of them with some curiosity. It had seen Li Long bring the fawns over every now and then over the past two years, and the black dog was used to it. It barked twice at the two fawns in a friendly manner, as if to say hello. But the two fawns became even more frightened, stood up, and darted straight into the backyard.

This left Xiao Hei completely bewildered, not knowing what was going on, and he looked at Li Long with a very innocent expression.

Li Long ignored the dispute between the animals and let the deer get used to the place in the yard, while he took the money to Meng Hai's place.

Meng Hai's company had already started operations and was very busy this year. When Li Long arrived at the company, there was only one gatekeeper in the company compound; everyone else was gone.

Li Long wrote a note to the gatekeeper, telling him to come to the purchasing station to find Meng Hai when he returned.

Near the end of the workday, Meng Hai drove to the purchasing station. He knew the way well, went to the backyard and entered the reception room, wiped the sweat from his face, and said to Li Long:

"I took on a job from the Transportation Bureau to repair roads. I went there to check on it this morning and had lunch there too. I just got back to the company and they told me you needed to see me, so I rushed over."

Li Long poured him a glass of water and said with a smile, "I see that none of the machinery in the company yard is here. It seems you've been quite busy lately, and you've taken on more than just this one job."

"Yes, there's another project: building a two-story house for someone. The foundation is being laid right now," Meng Hai said with a smile. "Although the project isn't huge, building a house still requires some technical expertise, and none of the small companies in our county dare to take it on."

"Can safety be guaranteed?" Li Long put down the teapot, sat down and asked. "Our technology should be able to meet the requirements, but we must ensure quality and safety."

"Don't worry about that," Meng Hai said confidently. "Last year we built a lot of single-story houses and accumulated a lot of technology. Although building a two-story house is a first for us, we have no problem with the technology."

Seeing that Meng Hai was confident that he could handle these matters well, Li Long didn't say much and simply told Meng Hai about Halim's request.

Meng Hai picked up his teacup, took a couple of sips, and said with a smile, "Hey, luckily I recruited another batch of people at the beginning of this year, so it shouldn't be a problem to send a shift of people to repair the road now."

These new recruits can get some experience. The veterans in our engineering company all participated in the construction of this road, so I'll let them experience firsthand how our company got to where it is today.

Li Long placed the 5 yuan that Halim had given him on the table and handed it to Meng Hai, saying, "Take a look and see if this money is enough. We'll make up any difference, whether it's more or less. Now that Halim has money, he doesn't need me to advance the funds."

Meng Hai was also familiar with Halim. He said, "Now he's a big rancher. That summer ranch is his entire pasture, with several thousand cattle and sheep. He must have a lot of money. Whether he has enough money or not, we need to go to the site and see the extent of the road damage."

Li Long didn't say anything more. He also planned to go and take a look, but he definitely wouldn't go with the construction team. He would treat it as a relaxing vacation after finishing up his busy work period.

My family doesn't really like going to the mountains; my parents prefer to go to big cities to experience the hustle and bustle. My older brother likes to visit historical sites, to see the buildings left by the ancients, and to experience the scenes described in the classical Chinese texts they studied.

As for my sister-in-law, she doesn't want to go out. She feels most comfortable staying at home. She always feels uneasy when she's outside; it's not her territory, and she can't control it.

The two kids go wherever it's lively, whether it's in the mountains or the city.

Li Long was the only one who enjoyed wandering in the mountains. His rise to prominence began there, as he felt that the Tianshan Mountains held endless treasures waiting to be discovered.

Meng Hai hurriedly left with the money, as he was very busy. Li Long noticed that the former militia company commander had become much thinner and darker, but his spirits were high. It seemed that he was wholeheartedly focused on his career, and he was willing to be thinner and darker.

When Li Long returned home with his father, Li Qingxia, for dinner that evening, Mingming and Haohao were shouting and yelling as they surrounded the two little deer in the yard.

The two little deer were terrified by the two two-legged creatures, squeaking and running around trying to hide.

Despite its very thin calves, barely thicker than chopsticks, it was incredibly agile. With Xiao Hei's help, the two children couldn't catch it for quite some time, and ended up panting heavily from exhaustion.

Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang kept advising them, "Don't chase them like this. Feed them something, and they'll come over. If you keep chasing them like this, they'll only be more afraid of you."

"That's right, I'll get you some milk powder so you can feed the two baby deer. Stop chasing them, you're scaring them to death."

The two children finally stopped, somewhat embarrassed, when they saw Li Long and Li Qingxia enter the courtyard.

Li Long didn't pay much attention to it. He watched as the two children took the bowl of half-full milk powder handed to him by Sister Yang and used it to lure the two little ones. He then asked Gu Xiaoxia if the two children had finished their homework. After receiving an affirmative answer, Li Long stopped paying attention.

At that time, protective measures for wild animals were not so strict. Li Long's idea was that as long as they weren't creatures like marmots that easily spread plague, they would generally be fine. When he brought the two little ones back, he had already checked them and found that they didn't have any grasshoppers or anything like that, and they were generally healthy.

After watching the two children play for a while, Gu Xiaoxia and the others called Mingming and Haohao to eat. The two children were also hungry, and they went to the table to grab steamed buns to eat. Li Long immediately told them to wash their hands and made sure they washed them properly with soap before they were allowed to eat.

The two children were quite obedient in this regard; after washing, they even held up their hands for Li Long to check.

At the dinner table, Li Long asked his family if they wanted to go for a trip to the mountains since the May Day holiday was approaching. Gu Xiaoxia, on the other hand, planned to take Sister Yang and her two children to Wucheng for a visit during the May Day holiday. She said that since she could drive, and the school was on holiday, she would take the children to go sightseeing and buy some summer clothes.

Gu Xiaoxia also mentioned that she would pick up Han Fang and they would go shopping in Wucheng together. Li Long didn't say anything more. He planned to go to the mountains by himself to get some fresh ingredients and make some organic food for his family.

The morel mushrooms that the purchasing stations buy now are mostly dried; there aren't many fresh ones, and it's better to get them yourself. Besides morel mushrooms, Li Long prefers the small mushrooms that grow near the yurts on the summer pasture—they're fleshy and crunchy.

On May 1st, early in the morning, Gu Xiaoxia and the others drove east, while Li Long tidied up the house, got some alfalfa for the two fawns that had started to behave, poured water, locked the door, and went to the purchasing station.

Old man Li Qingxia was busy at the counter. Early in the morning, people came to sell fritillaria bulbs and dried mushrooms, and two employees were helping with weighing and bookkeeping. Seeing Li Long arrive, the old man casually asked, "Are you free now?"

Li Long said, "We're going into the mountains today."

Li Qingxia waved her hand impatiently and said, "Go on, go on. I'm destined to be a busybody, always doing work for you, while you guys are running around everywhere."

Li Long chuckled, then went to the back and said something to Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang, who were organizing people to brush the leather, before driving away.

He went to a naan shop and bought a few naan. There were canned goods and a crossbow already packed in the car. Since there was no need to bring any more supplies for Halim and the others into the mountains, Li Long left without even going past the department store.

I drove onto the Urumqi-Yining Highway, heading west until I was almost at Mahe, then turned south, kicking up a cloud of dust as I entered the mountains. It had been a long time since I'd been in the mountains, and seeing the old grass peeking out from the edge of the hillside felt quite familiar.

Occasionally, people would pass by the roadside. Li Long would see them carrying bags and sticks, knowing they were gathering medicinal herbs. Passing a checkpoint, Li Long saw two unfamiliar faces from the forestry police station bustling about at the entrance, so he didn't stop and drove into the mountains. He habitually turned right after entering the mountains, heading towards his wooden cabin. It had been a long time since he'd been here; he wondered how the cabin was doing, whether it had collapsed.

The road that had been paved was now overgrown with grass. Driving to the cabin, Li Long found no signs of human activity nearby and didn't know if Pollati had been there recently.

Li Long got out of the car and walked around. He noticed a lot of wild boar and wolf droppings on the grass, clearly indicating that this place had become a paradise for wild animals. Wild grass grew in the cracks of the wooden floorboards in front of the house. Both wooden doors were ajar, the locks broken, and the inside was covered in dust, suggesting that no one had been here for a long time.

Because of the hot spring resort, the area was less frequently used. Li Long went out, grabbed a large broom from a nearby shack, swept the area, cleaned away the dust, then closed the door and drove away.

On the way back, they turned onto the hot spring resort. The gate was tightly shut, and the open space in front of it was now overgrown with weeds. Li Long opened the gate, went inside, and opened the door to let in some fresh air—the room smelled musty and unpleasant.

The hot spring water was still flowing, but he didn't intend to soak there. After staying for about ten or twenty minutes, feeling that the stale air in the room had dissipated, he locked the door and left, like a routine patrol. He was only there to prove that someone had been to the villa, and that it wasn't abandoned.

Just as he got into the car and was about to start it, he heard a humming sound coming from upstream. Li Long immediately stopped what he was doing and listened carefully. Although he hadn't been to the mountains for a long time, his eyesight and hearing were still excellent, far exceeding that of ordinary people.

That sound just now seemed to belong to a wild boar. A little while later, sure enough, grunting sounds came from upstream again. Li Long smiled. He got out of the car, took out a crossbow from the trunk, put on his quiver, drew an arrow, put it in his mouth, strung the bow, and then secured the arrow. He also strung the hand crossbow, but didn't secure the arrow, slung it over his back, and walked upstream with the long crossbow in hand.

This thing can only fire single shots, so you only have one chance to fire. Li Long thought to himself as he walked, "If only the technicians on Lao Du's side could make a repeating crossbow. What a pity."

Of course, this was just wishful thinking. If Lao Du's technicians could actually develop a repeating crossbow, it would be a sensation in this era. After all, at this time, the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow only existed in books; the actual product hadn't been built yet.

So at this moment, he missed the 56 semi-automatic engine territories ...

He slowly walked uphill with his crossbow in hand, until he reached the vicinity of the earthen pools where he had first soaked in the hot springs. There he saw a group of wild boars playing in the stream and on the bank.

The stream water became murky, and several wild boars were rooting around in the water. It was unclear whether they were eating the roots of the weeds in the stream or simply playing in the water and mud.

Two wild boars were rolling around in the mud on the bank. Were they scratching themselves, or were they building up their armor?

The hot spring contained sulfur, and the surrounding area had a rather unpleasant smell. The wild boars didn't smell Li Long, and because Li Long moved very quietly and was downwind, they didn't notice him. When Li Long was about thirty or forty meters away from the boar herd, he hid behind a tree, raised his crossbow, and began searching for his target.

At a distance of over thirty meters, this crossbow is very powerful. Li Long tested it and found it could easily penetrate a ten-centimeter-thick wooden board. So, against a wild boar, a hit to a vital spot would basically be enough to kill it instantly.

He spotted a small female wild boar weighing forty or fifty kilograms. The boar was rooting in the mud by the stream, its body turned sideways to Li Long, making it an easy target.

Li Long slowly moved his crossbow and aimed at the area below the wild boar's shoulder blade.

The surrounding sounds were chaotic, and it felt like there were many things in the forest, but there was no sense of danger.

Just as I was about to pull the trigger, I heard a humming sound coming from behind me.

Li Long turned his head and saw two wild boars, each about the size of a rabbit, looking up at him without any fear, seemingly curious about what these two-legged creatures were doing.

He was startled, but there was no time to deal with the two little guys. He quickly turned around, intending to take care of the target he had just set his sights on.

The herd of wild boars had been startled by the two grunts. Whether they were rolling in the mud or rooting in the grass by the stream, they all looked in this direction. When they saw Li Long, one large wild boar grunted loudly, turned around, and ran upstream, while the others scattered and fled. One of them slipped and fell, bumping into the wild boar that Li Long had originally intended to target.

Li Long was already about to pull the trigger, but seeing that the target had been knocked off course, he had no choice but to slightly adjust the position of his hand rest. The crossbow bolt shot out with a whoosh, but missed and hit the sow's belly.

The sow let out a miserable cry and staggered into the woods. Li Long cursed his bad luck. Without even reloading the crossbow, he tossed it aside, then grabbed his hand crossbow from his back and, as he ran, pulled out a steel bolt, nocked it, aimed at the sow, and fired. The sow collapsed against a tree, not quite dead yet, whimpering softly.

Li Long switched the crossbow to his left hand, stepped forward, drew his knife, and slit the throat of the sow, giving her a final end. When he turned to look for the two baby boars, he found they had vanished.

This hunt, though bumpy, was still somewhat fruitful, but it's a world of difference compared to when I had a semi-automatic crossbow. It seems I'll really have to get used to it if I want to hunt in the future. Even though I'm quite strong, crossbows and hunting are inherently unpredictable, and it's easy for things to go wrong or accidents to happen.

The wild boar herd had vanished without a trace. Li Long decided to start dealing with the female wild boar right there.

It had been a long time since he'd skinned an animal. Li Long put away his crossbow and placed it aside. When he picked up the knife to skin it, he felt surprisingly rusty, even tearing the wild boar's hide in two places. Although he'd eventually throw it away, it showed that infrequent use of the equipment really could cause his skills to deteriorate.

He chuckled to himself as he gutted the wild boar. After cleaning the stomach, he decided to discard the rest. He pulled out the intestines, heart, liver, lungs, and other organs, leaving them aside, assuming they would be digested by the wild animals in the mountains overnight.

After washing the blood and filth out of the wild boar's cavity with the stream water, Li Long picked up the boar and prepared to head back when he heard the howling of wolves in the forest.

Li Dong was stunned for a moment, then thought: Are the wolves in the mountains so bold now? They even dare to attack people directly! He could hear rustling sounds in the forest, obviously more than one was approaching him, probably because they smelled the blood emanating from when he was processing the wild boar.

He immediately placed the wild boar's roe on the pigskin spread on the ground, then quickly cocked both crossbows, one long and one short. Without a gun, the crossbows were his hunting weapons, and with the machete made from cannonball leather tucked into his waistband, Li Long felt that two or three wolves would be no match for him.

He wasn't afraid of the wolves' attacks, but he was struck by their audacity. Was it because the wolves had become less cautious after the guns were collected during the Lunar New Year, leading to their increased boldness? Or was it because spring was approaching and these wolves were eager to replenish their energy, so they came running at the scent of blood? Li Long had no idea what exactly made these wolves dare to charge at him.

However, as the wolf's footsteps drew closer, Li Long's expression changed. He could hear at least four wolves. These guys were in a pack; no wonder they were so bold.

He immediately took two crossbows and approached the woods. He found a large pine tree, leaned against it, and used the tree as cover to aim his crossbow at the nearest footsteps.

A scraggly gray wolf appeared in the woods, about ten meters away from Li Long. It was startled to see Li Long pointing his crossbow at it, leaping back a few steps before opening its mouth wide, revealing its sharp fangs.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Long aimed at its gaping maw and pulled the trigger. The crossbow was clearly calibrated, its accuracy extremely high. The bolt, at a distance of over ten meters, exerted tremendous power, penetrating the wolf's mouth and protruding from the back of its head.

The wolf's scream was only half-sounded before it collapsed to the ground.

The half-scream immediately startled the other wolves that were about to approach, causing them to hesitate. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Long quickly cocked his crossbow and loaded it with an arrow. The hand crossbow was less powerful than this long crossbow, and he felt that it was better to use this big machine unless absolutely necessary.

Another wolf howl rang out, and then Li Long heard the sound of three wolves lunging at him at once, moving swiftly. He gave a wry smile, guessing that the wolves hadn't heard the gunshot and therefore hadn't sensed any danger.

Although one of the wolves was dead, he was still prey in the eyes of the other three. He hesitated for a moment, then aimed to his left. The wolf on the left made a lot of noise and was probably the biggest of the three.

Sure enough, through the trees, Li Long saw the gray wolf charging towards him. It was a size larger than the one he had just shot, and its fur was smooth and glossy, indicating it was exceptionally well-nourished. Moreover, this creature moved very erratically, darting left and right, clearly demonstrating its experience in avoiding danger.

Li Long hesitated to pull the trigger, mainly because he couldn't predict its movements. When it was only five or six meters away, the creature leaped out from behind a tree, and Li Long seized the opportunity to pull the trigger. The crossbow bolt pierced through the wolf's chest, going straight through.

The wolves in the middle and on the right had already pounced. Li Long didn't have time to reload; he threw away the long crossbow, picked up the short crossbow, and pulled the trigger on the gray wolf on the right.

The wolf howled in pain as a crossbow bolt pierced its abdomen. Despite the close proximity, the bolt was powerful; though it didn't kill the wolf, it successfully slowed its movements.

Li Long tossed aside his crossbow, drew his machete, and aimed at the gray wolf charging at him. The creature wasn't very large, but it was well-proportioned and its eyes gleamed with ferocity. Li Long guessed that this might be the alpha wolf of their small pack.

When the wolf saw Li Long raise his machete, it suddenly stopped, scraping its paws against the ground and picking at clumps of mud. The wolf was positioned slightly higher than Li Long, giving it a somewhat condescending air.

At a distance of three or four meters, Li Long guessed that if the wolf were to take advantage of the situation and pounce, it would be right in front of him in one go. The fact that the wolf knew to stop and not directly meet his machete showed that it was also quite intelligent.

However, facing only this one wolf, Li Long wasn't worried at all. His original plan was that if all three wolves surrounded him and he missed his shot, he might have to use his tree-climbing skills, but now it seemed unnecessary.

The man and the wolf faced off, and Li Long was actually looking forward to fighting the wolf.

He took a step forward, and the wolf took a step back.

His eyes still held a fierce glint, but he was not reckless.

He's a formidable opponent.

Suddenly, the wolf let out a short howl. Out of the corner of his eye, Li Long sensed a dark shadow approaching from the side. He turned and saw the gray wolf, shot by a crossbow, lunging at him! The crossbow bolt that had struck its belly had somehow been pulled out. Li Long instinctively kicked out.

Ah, at this moment, the wolf suddenly leaped up without a sound and charged towards Li Long, its fangs bared, aimed directly at Li Long's throat!

Damn it, those two wolves have actually learned to cooperate!

Li Long's kick landed solidly on the wounded wolf's stomach, the force so great that it sent the wolf flying. However, his sidestep gave the alpha wolf an opening. At this point, it would be difficult to hit the alpha wolf with a powerful swing of the knife!

In the critical moment, Li Long remained calm. He placed the machete in his left hand and stabbed it fiercely at the alpha wolf! The machete wasn't sharp, but Li Long was strong enough. Just as the wolf's front paws reached Li Long's shoulders and were about to tear his clothes, the machete struck it squarely in the chest!

Li Long could even hear a heavy cracking sound. The wolf whimpered as Li Long stabbed it, sending it flying to the ground.

Li Long. Strike while the iron is hot. Before the alpha wolf could get up from the fall, Li Long strode over and stomped his left foot heavily on the wolf's neck.

The wolf didn't have time to get up. It raised its front paws, trying to defend itself, but Li Long stomped them and their necks onto the ground. The cracking sound of bones breaking echoed continuously. The wolf's body trembled, and pinkish blood foam spurted from its mouth. Then it lay still.

In less than ten minutes, Li Long had killed four wolves. He was slightly sweaty, but he was not afraid at all. Instead, he was very excited.

Wild boars are no big deal, just kill them. They're protected animals, and their numbers will only increase in the future; they're great at destroying forests and crops.

Wolves are truly protected animals. If these guys hadn't been so blind as to try and surround him, Li Long really wouldn't have had a reason to kill them. Of course, you could also take all of the above as nonsense; he just wanted to hunt and his hands were itching.

The four wolves killed them swiftly. Li Long hadn't moved much, but it had taken a lot of effort; he could still feel his heart racing. However, now wasn't the time to rest. He went over and gathered the four wolves together; they would be a hassle to go down the mountain again. Li Long only wanted to take the wolf teeth and the wolf thigh stones; he couldn't and didn't want the rest, including the wolf pelts.

Just then, he suddenly heard a chewing sound. Li Long was startled, pulled out his machete, and turned around to look. He saw a creature with golden hair tearing off a piece of wild boar liver and eating it next to the wild boar entrails he had thrown away.

Li Long was also greatly surprised after seeing it. Was this an animal meeting? It was a lynx! He looked around again, wondering if a tiger would come along next.

There were no other animals around, and the forest was silent. Li Long raised his machete, hesitating whether to throw it and leave the lynx behind.

But before he could make up his mind, the lynx looked up and saw Li Long's movements. It bared its teeth at Li Long, made a threatening expression, and then dragged the wild boar liver into the forest.

The movements were extremely swift, giving Li Long no time to hesitate at all.

Li Long chuckled and put away his machete. Luckily, this guy didn't eat a couple of bites of the wild boar's mane; that would have been quite disgusting.

Having learned his lesson from the lynx, Li Long quickly strung up his two crossbows, one long and one short, and placed them aside with arrows before starting to collect the wolf teeth and wolf thigh stones.

Fortunately, after he had removed all his teeth and hip stones, nothing else bothered him. Li Long guessed that the lynx was probably still watching in the nearby woods, waiting for him to leave so it could continue to enjoy these delicacies.

He didn't linger any longer. He put the wolf fang and the hip stone into his pocket, slung the crossbow behind his back, carried the wild boar in his left hand and the long crossbow in his right, and walked towards the hot spring resort.

With these gains, Li Long decided not to go any further; he needed to get home quickly to process the wild boar meat. Although it was May, the weather would still be very hot at midday. The mountains were alright, but Li Long couldn't stay there indefinitely.

When they arrived at the car in front of the mountain resort, Li Long took a bag out of the trunk, put the wild boar roe in it, and then drove quickly out of the mountains towards the county town.

Back home, Li Long took Kelangzi to the kitchen to clean up. The two little deer had originally wanted to get closer to Li Long and try to befriend him, but when they smelled the blood on him, they immediately scattered.

Little Black kept barking softly, clearly knowing its master had hunted a delicious meal and wanting some. Li Long rinsed the wild boar's belly and then hung it to dry.

He deftly dismembered the wild boar with his short knife, cutting off a piece of meat from its belly and tossing it to Xiao Hei. He took another piece to cook and eat, and planned to freeze the rest, intending to take some to his older brother's house in the afternoon.

Originally, we planned to have Dad have lunch at Sun Jiaqiang's house, but now that we've gotten some good stuff, we'll bring him back so the two of them can have a nice braised wild boar meal.

While the wild boar meat was stewing, Li Long took a moment to call his father, Li Qingxia. Upon hearing that Li Long had returned and even caught a wild boar, Li Qingxia couldn't wait to come back. When he arrived and heard from Li Long that he had also hunted four wolves, Li Qingxia was speechless with astonishment. He then looked his youngest son up and down worriedly, fearing he might be injured. Parents really do worry a lot.

P.S.: Gifts have already been sent to the two winners of the two-month prize draw. Keep up the good work, everyone else! (End of Chapter)