pdf-ebookys Chapter 347 Lost Direction
Chapter 347 Lost Direction
Back home, Li Xiangyang placed the captured rabbit on the stone table in the yard and deftly began to skin it.
"Xiaoyun, we had a good haul today. We can stew rabbit meat for dinner tonight," Li Xiangyang said to his wife, who was standing beside him, as he skinned the rabbit.
Li Xiaoyun stroked her slightly protruding belly, a happy smile spreading across her face: "Look at you, you've only been back a few days and you're already busy going into the mountains."
"There's no other way, the head of the household has to support the family." Li Xiangyang looked up and smiled at his wife before focusing on his work again. His movements were clean and efficient, and he finished processing all three rabbits in no time.
"Oh, right, I checked the traps tomorrow, I have to go deep into the mountains." Li Xiangyang said softly as he handed the skinned rabbit meat to Li Xiaoyun.
Li Xiaoyun sighed, knowing she couldn't stop him, and could only nod: "Then be careful, don't make this soon-to-be mother worry."
Li Xiangyang stood up, walked to his wife, and gently hugged her: "Don't worry, I'm very experienced, and besides, Er Gou is with me."
After dinner, Li Xiangyang checked the hunting gear to make sure everything he needed for tomorrow was ready.
As dusk fell, the chirping of insects drifted in from outside the window, and the two went to bed early.
Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, Li Xiangyang got up.
"Awake?" Li Xiaoyun's voice came from behind.
"Okay, I'm leaving now." Li Xiangyang glanced back at his wife. "You sleep a little longer, don't get up to see me off."
Li Xiaoyun had already dressed and gotten out of bed: "I'll go prepare some dry food for you."
In the kitchen, Li Xiaoyun wrapped the corn cakes she had steamed the night before in oil paper, and also packed some pickled vegetables and cured meat inside.
Li Xiangyang put the food into his basket and checked the equipment again.
"Alright, I'm leaving." Li Xiangyang slung his hunting rifle over his shoulder and called out again, "Xuanmao! Xiaohu!"
Li Xiaoyun saw her husband off at the gate, watching his retreating figure: "Come back soon!"
Li Xiangyang waved and led his two friends toward the east end of the village.
The village was just beginning to awaken, with only a few houses having smoke rising from their chimneys.
The lights were already on at Wang Ergou's house, so he had obviously gotten up very early as well.
"Ergou, let's go!" Li Xiangyang called out from outside the courtyard gate.
"They're here!" Wang Ergou excitedly trotted over. "Ma Hongxia has prepared a lot of food, enough for three days. Anyway, traps don't always catch prey. There are bears roaming over North Mountain, why don't we go check that out first?"
Li Xiangyang thought for a moment: "Okay, but the terrain over there is complicated, so we need to be careful."
The two set off along the path on the east side of the village toward the depths of the northern mountains.
By mid-September, the mountains and forests had begun to turn yellow, and the morning dew soaked their trouser legs.
The sun had just risen over the mountain, and golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
"This way," Wang Ergou pointed to a path almost completely covered by weeds. "This is a shortcut; it'll save you a lot of time."
Li Xiangyang nodded and followed Wang Ergou as they parted the waist-high weeds.
The little tiger led the way, occasionally turning back to check if its owner was following, while the black cat nimbly darted through the grass, sometimes jumping onto tree branches to scout the surroundings.
The deeper you go, the denser the wild grass becomes, soon towering above a person's head.
The autumn wind blows, and the grass ripples and rustles.
The two had to use machetes to clear a path in order to barely make their way forward.
"Ergou, are you sure this is a shortcut?" Li Xiangyang stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "It feels even more strenuous than the main road."
Wang Ergou was also somewhat troubled: "It wasn't this difficult to walk through last year. It's probably because there's been a lot of rain this year, and the grass is growing particularly vigorously."
The two walked for a while longer, and the surrounding scenery gradually became monotonous.
Looking around, all you see are towering wild grasses and the occasional tree, making it almost impossible to tell which way is which.
"Something's not right." Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped. "Have we taken the wrong turn?"
Wang Ergou looked around blankly: "That shouldn't be the case, I remember it being this way..."
His voice gradually lost its strength.
Li Xiangyang climbed a big tree to try and find his way, but found that he was surrounded by undulating grass and could hardly find any obvious landmarks.
From above, the grass in this area looks like a maze, stretching out in all directions.
"Oh no, we're lost." Li Xiangyang climbed down from the tree, his face looking rather grim.
"What are we going to do?" Wang Ergou scratched his head. "I thought I knew this mountain very well, but I didn't expect..."
"Don't worry," Li Xiangyang patted him on the shoulder. "The mountains and forests change quickly in autumn, and the terrain will be different. It's not your fault."
He crouched down, carefully observing the marks on the ground and the direction of the plants' growth: "Judging from the direction these grasses are leaning, the wind must have been blowing from the northeast. And look at these dewdrops; the side that hasn't dried yet should be the shady northwest side."
Wang Ergou stared at Li Xiangyang in disbelief: "How did you figure that out?"
"Just experience." Li Xiangyang smiled and pointed in a direction. "We should go that way."
The two resumed their journey, this time with Li Xiangyang walking in front, stopping from time to time to observe the surrounding environment and make sure they were going in the right direction.
However, the autumn grass in the mountains was so dense that it almost completely blocked out the view.
Even with the help of Little Tiger and Black Cat, their progress was still extremely slow.
"Damn it, it's almost noon, why is it still foggy?"
Wang Ergou parted a clump of weeds and cursed.
Indeed, before anyone knew it, a thin fog had quietly enveloped the entire mountain area, and visibility suddenly dropped.
Li Xiangyang's brows furrowed even more deeply: "No, this is too dangerous. Let's find an open space and wait for the fog to clear before we leave."
The two struggled through the grass until they finally found a relatively flat clearing.
Li Xiangyang took out his water bottle, took a sip, and handed it to Wang Ergou: "Don't worry, the fog will usually dissipate by noon."
Wang Ergou took the water bottle, tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, then said somewhat dejectedly, "I was going to take you to find the bear, but I got lost first. I'm so useless."
Li Xiangyang smiled and said, "Unexpected things often happen in the mountains, it's not your fault. Even experienced hunters can easily get lost in this kind of weather."
Just then, Little Tiger suddenly pricked up his ears and growled in a low voice.
The black cat also raised its tail alertly, its gaze fixed on the grass in the distance.
"There's movement." Li Xiangyang immediately became alert and slowly raised his rifle.
Wang Ergou also groped his way closer, and the little golden eagle perched on his shoulder, eager to pounce.
A rustling sound came from the grass, as if some large animal was moving.
"Could it be a bear?" Wang Ergou asked in a low voice.
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "The footsteps don't sound right; they're too light."
Sure enough, the grass parted, revealing a wary rabbit. It glanced at the two of them, then turned to run away.
"Wait!" Li Xiangyang hurriedly stopped Wang Ergou from raising his gun. "Judging from its reaction, it seems to have been frightened by something."
"Could it be a bear?" Wang Ergou exclaimed excitedly.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Very likely. Let's go, let's follow it in the opposite direction it fled to and take a look."
The two set off again, this time with a clearer direction.
The fog gradually dissipated, and the view became much wider.