Free Web NovelChapter 431: Chapter 431: Encounter on the Mountain
Before entering the deep mountains, Yi Roujing was the busiest. Occasionally, they encountered rabbits and pheasants hopping along the path, but Xu Ancheng and the others didn’t spare them a glance. Their important targets were the big game deep in the mountains, and they had no plans for these small creatures for now.
"This is wild boar droppings." Ni Yanqing, an amateur hunter who had visited Beidai Mountain several times, had mastered some of the basic skills. "Shall we go for the wild boar first?"
"Sure." Xu Ancheng had no objections, and Wu Guofang and the others agreed. So, the group tracked footprints and droppings, and after half an hour, they finally found a black-maned wild boar drinking by a small stream nearby.
"It’s pretty big, probably over two hundred pounds." Zhou Zeyuan crouched down, speaking in a voice only audible to those nearby, "Let me take the lead. If I can’t handle it, you guys come and help."
They all had military training and were recognized for their skills. Zhou Zeyuan’s weapon was a rope with a dagger tied to one end.
Zhou Zeyuan approached cautiously, without any superfluous movements. As soon as he spotted an opportunity and a target, he threw the long rope in his hand. The dagger flew swiftly, and with an echoing "whoa--" the dagger embedded itself into the wild boar’s neck, a fatal wound.
After the strike, Zhou Zeyuan instantly pulled back the dagger. Holding the rope in his left hand and the dagger in his right, he took a few running steps and leapt up, stabbing the dagger through the wild boar’s neck again. His left hand swiftly looped the rope around the boar’s neck, and five minutes later, the wild boar collapsed. frёeωebɳovel.com
Zhou Zeyuan grinned, flashing his big white teeth as he turned to Xu Ancheng’s group, raising an eyebrow with a proud look.
"You’re as skilled as ever." Ni Yanqing clapped his hands with a smile. "But the scent of blood is strong; we need to get the wild boar back as soon as possible."
"Since I caught it, I’ll deliver it, but I’ll need someone to help." Zhou Zeyuan had already had his thrill for the day, so he didn’t mind heading back now.
"I’ll go with you, and after we deliver it, I’ll come back." Wu Guofang spoke up. He knew Ni Yanqing and Hua Yiran were a couple, so it was most appropriate for him to go. He added, "You stay put; I’ll be back in an hour."
"Brother Wu, don’t worry about us. We’re just wandering around; if we don’t find anything else to hunt, we’re done for today. That wild boar should be enough to feed our group for quite some time." Ni Yanqing said. "We’ll head back soon too, so you won’t need to make multiple trips."
Ni Yanqing finished speaking and waved the hunting gun in his hand. "Besides, with this, we don’t fear big game."
"If you’re not back in two hours, I’ll head into the mountains." Wu Guofang left these words, then moved to carry the wild boar. Zhou Zeyuan watched with a bit of concern and quickly stepped to lend a hand, and the two headed down the mountain.
Afterward, Yi Roujing and the others mainly focused on gathering mountain mushrooms. The deep forest was quite humid, and as long as it rained, the mushrooms could grow for quite a while. Yi Roujing picked only the non-toxic ones; Hua Yiran followed suit, picking as well, while Xu Ancheng and Ni Yanqing kept watch around them.
"There’s movement." Ni Yanqing suddenly crouched down, pressing his ear to the ground, and immediately locked eyes on a direction deeper into the mountains.
Yi Roujing and Hua Yiran stopped picking and looked in Ni Yanqing’s direction. Yi Roujing took off her basket, found a good tree to climb, and quickly moved up to a vantage point, taking out binoculars to search.
The binoculars were a tool Xu Ancheng had brought along, compact and single-eyed. Yi Roujing liked it, so she hung it around her neck.
Encountering large animals in the deep forest could evoke fear, but Yi Roujing and her group were prepared, so they weren’t afraid. However, as Yi Roujing looked through the binoculars, her brows furrowed sharply; sometimes, people in the deep forests were more frightening than animals.
Yi Roujing stayed in the tree for only two minutes before climbing down, "There are people, four of them, two men and two women, dressed like villagers from down the mountain, carrying baskets and holding machetes. They’re all quite young, about our age, and they’re heading straight for us. We’ll see them in a few minutes."
Ni Yanqing was a bit surprised at this and immediately put the hunting gun into a cloth bag, placing a military water bottle and the mushrooms Hua Yiran had picked inside too. With so many things, you couldn’t tell from the outside that it held a hunting gun.
"Keep picking." Hua Yiran squatted back down to continue gathering mushrooms, as did Yi Roujing.
Five minutes later, the sounds grew closer, and figures became visible.
"Ah——" A sharp scream suddenly erupted, and Yi Roujing’s group instinctively turned their heads. They saw a girl dressed in coarse burlap clothes, pale with fright, sitting on the ground.
"Who— who are you?" The bolder of the young men raised the machete in front of his chest and peered at Yi Roujing’s group, asking.
"Who are you? Suddenly screaming like that scared the life out of us." Yi Roujing pretended to be startled and patted her chest in feigned relief.
"People, they’re people." The voice from the other side sounded delighted, and they started running towards Yi Roujing’s group.
"They really are people!" The girl who had fallen was now jumping up and down in excitement. "I’m sorry, I couldn’t see clearly just now and got scared, thinking it was some wild creature."
A young girl with large pigtail braids and a face with some freckles smiled simply. "We’re Zhiqing from Daihe Village. We came up the mountain today to gather firewood, but we lost our way and went deeper. Can you help us get back down?"
"We should first go back and find Tang." A slimmer, taller young man frowned slightly as he spoke. "We promised them we’d return to help them if we saw anyone."
"We need to go find a doctor first before helping them. Tang was bitten by a snake." The freckled girl said, still a bit frightened.
"He was bitten by a snake? A venomous one?" Yi Roujing frowned upon hearing this. "Lead the way. I brought herbs that can counteract the poison and provide some relief. Once we get down the mountain, we’ll take him to the hospital immediately."
The tall male Zhiqing’s face lit up with joy. "This way, comrade."
"But what if there are more snakes there? What if we get bitten? I want to go down the mountain first." The freckled girl, her expression fearful, seemed unwilling to take a step back.
"Then find your own way down." Ni Yanqing wasn’t going to coddle her. He started walking in the direction they came from. In no time, only the freckled girl was left in place, panicked. She gritted her teeth and immediately followed.
As they walked, Yi Roujing’s group and the Zhiqing exchanged names, learning that the tall one was He, and the silent girl was his younger sister, Little He. The freckled girl was Huang, and the shorter one was Rong.
"Were you six people here to gather firewood?" Xu Ancheng knew they were looking for two other Zhiqing, so he asked directly about the group size.
"Actually, we haven’t had any meat for a long time and came hoping for some luck." He sighed. "A few days ago, someone in the village caught a foolish roe deer. We’re not looking for anything that big, just something like a wild chicken or rabbit would suffice."
