mtl008 Chapter 410 Emerging wisdom out of desperation
Chapter 410 Emerging wisdom out of desperation
The next morning, Li Xiangyang got up early, looked at his sleeping wife beside him, and gently lifted the quilt and got off the kang (a heated brick bed).
"You're up so early?" Li Xiaoyun turned over groggily, her voice still heavy with sleepiness.
"Yeah, Er Gou and I set up a trap in the mountains yesterday, we need to go check it out." Li Xiangyang picked up his cotton-padded coat from the chair and put it on. "You sleep a little longer, I'll make you some fish soup when we get back."
Li Xiaoyun nodded, then shrank further into the blankets: "Okay, be careful."
Li Xiangyang tiptoed out of the house. The chill of the winter morning hit him in the face, and he shivered. His breath condensed into frost in the air.
In the yard, when the little tiger saw its owner come out, it wagged its tail and came up to rub against his leg.
"Sweetie, I'm not taking you today." Li Xiangyang patted Xiaohu's head, turned and walked to the kitchen, took a few bites of the leftover pancakes from last night, and drank a bowl of hot water to warm his stomach.
After finishing his meal, Li Xiangyang, carrying his hunting rifle, pushed open the courtyard gate and headed towards Wang Ergou's house, facing the rising sun.
The village was quiet, with only a few wisps of smoke rising from the rooftops and the occasional crowing of a rooster.
As soon as I arrived at Wang Ergou's house, I saw him already standing in the yard waiting for me.
"So early?" Li Xiangyang asked with a smile.
"I couldn't sleep, thinking there might be something in the trap, so I got up early this morning," Wang Ergou said excitedly, rubbing his hands together.
The two walked together, passing through the village and following yesterday's route towards Xiaoqingling.
Two deep rows of footprints were left on the snow in the early morning. As the sun gradually rose higher, it shone on the snow and sparkled, so brightly that it hurt one's eyes.
"Do you think our trap will yield any results?" Wang Ergou asked as they walked.
“Based on the badger’s activity patterns, it should happen,” Li Xiangyang said confidently. “But you never know, anything can happen in the mountains.”
The two walked and talked, and before they knew it, they had reached the halfway point of the mountain.
As the altitude increased, the snow became thicker and thicker, and with each step, half of the lower leg would sink in, making walking extremely difficult.
"Be careful, the road is slippery," Li Xiangyang warned, leading the way.
After finally reaching the place where the traps were set yesterday, they found that the traps had been triggered, but the place was empty.
“This is…” Wang Ergou looked at the ground in confusion.
Li Xiangyang squatted down and carefully observed the tracks on the snow.
The snow around the trap was rummaged through, with large patches of blood and a few badger hairs scattered on the snow.
Even more striking is that, in addition to the badger's paw prints, there is another set of paw prints that clearly do not belong to the badger, which are much larger and wider apart.
"It looks like it was carried away by something." Li Xiangyang frowned, his fingers lightly tracing the unfamiliar claw marks. "I think they're lynx footprints."
"Lynx?" Wang Ergou exclaimed in surprise. "There are lynxes in this forest?"
“It should be.” Li Xiangyang stood up, looked around, and said, “Let’s look for it.”
Li Xiangyang followed the trail of blood and lynx footprints, with Wang Ergou close behind. Both men had their guns loaded, ready to respond to any unexpected situations.
The bloodstains stretched deeper into the forest, with drops of badger blood occasionally falling onto the snow, forming bright red dots on the pristine white surface.
As we ventured deeper, the trees grew denser, and the sunlight was blocked by the branches and leaves, making the forest dim.
“The footprints are getting fresher; it should be not far ahead,” Li Xiangyang said in a low voice, raising his hunting rifle and cautiously observing his surroundings.
Just then, the bushes in front of them suddenly shook, and a low growl came from behind.
"Lie down!" Li Xiangyang grabbed Wang Ergou, and the two quickly crouched down and hid behind a large pine tree.
Almost simultaneously, a large lynx sprang out of the bushes, carrying half a bloodied badger in its mouth.
Sensing an intruder, the lynx looked around warily.
"Don't move," Li Xiangyang whispered, slowly raising his hunting rifle and aiming at the lynx.
The lynx put down the badger from its mouth, sniffed the air, and suddenly looked in the direction where Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou were hiding, its eerie green eyes gleaming coldly in the shadows.
"boom!"
Li Xiangyang decisively pulled the trigger, but the lynx reacted extremely quickly, leaping to the side the instant the shot rang out, the bullet only grazing one of its hind legs.
The wounded lynx let out a mournful howl and turned to flee.
"Don't let it get away!" Wang Ergou shouted and fired a shot, but missed.
Li Xiangyang quickly got up and chased after it: "The lynx will be in even more danger if it's injured; we can't let it roam freely in the mountains!"
Lynxes are incredibly fast; even when injured, they can still move nimbly through the snow and forests.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou followed closely behind, struggling to catch up on the rugged mountain road.
The lynx darted through the forest, its agile movements leaving only a trail of shallow claw marks and specks of blood.
Its grayish-brown fur blended almost seamlessly with the withered trees and bushes of winter; if it weren't for the occasional falling snowflakes that startled it, the two would have almost lost track of it.
"Watch out, there's a cliff ahead!" Wang Ergou suddenly shouted.
Li Xiangyang narrowed his eyes. The terrain ahead did indeed drop sharply, and the lynx seemed to be fleeing in that direction.
"It's trying to lure us to the edge of the cliff, then suddenly turn around and attack," Li Xiangyang said in a low voice, stopping in his tracks and reaching out to stop Wang Ergou. "We can't fight it head-on."
The two held their breath, standing silently in the snow. The cold wind howled, and the leaves rustled in the forest, masking their breathing.
“Split up. I’ll go left, you go right, forming an encirclement,” Li Xiangyang quickly devised a strategy. “Remember, don’t chase too closely, lest you provoke them into a desperate act.”
Wang Ergou nodded, gripped his hunting rifle tightly, and quietly maneuvered to the right.
Li Xiangyang then slowly moved forward along the bushes on the left, taking each step carefully and trying not to make a sound.
He kept his eyes fixed ahead, ready to respond to any possible lynx attack.
The bloodstains on the snow became increasingly visible, indicating that the lynx's injuries were more severe than he had imagined, making it even more dangerous.
Just as Li Xiangyang was carefully moving his feet, a series of rapid snapping sounds of branches and leaves suddenly came from the forest.
His heart tightened, and before he could even utter a warning, he saw a grayish-brown shadow dart down the steep slope on the right like an arrow released from a bow.
"Ergou, watch out!" Li Xiangyang shouted a warning.
Wang Ergou reacted quickly. Upon hearing Li Xiangyang's reminder, he fired a shot without hesitation, attempting to scare away the lynx.
The lynx, enraged by its missed shot, showed no sign of backing down. Instead, it sped up and lunged at Wang Ergou with its gaping maw.
"boom!"
Li Xiangyang quickly opened fire to provide support.
However, the lynx was too fast, and the bullet only grazed its ear.
At the critical moment, Wang Ergou rolled to the side, barely avoiding the lynx's claws, but his hunting rifle was thrown aside.
The lynx missed its first attack, quickly adjusted its position, and pounced on Wang Ergou again.
In his panic, Wang Ergou kicked a fist-sized rock at his feet.
In a moment of quick thinking, he instinctively curled up, grabbed a stone, and prepared to deliver a powerful blow to the lynx when it pounced.