The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Li Baoyu pointed to a large, rocky mound and said excitedly to Zhao Jun, "Brother, the other day I saw all the paw prints heading down there. There should be an Earth Granary over there."

Zhao Jun nodded and just said, "Aren’t we still missing one trap? Where did you bury it? Go find it, quickly."

"We’re not going for the Bear Den?" Li Baoyu was very surprised. He sized up Zhao Jun for a few moments before asking cautiously, "Brother, did you get scared when you missed the Black Bear last time?"

It was a fair question. Even a veteran Cannon Shooter with one or two decades of experience would be terrified to hunt bears again after being startled by one just once.

Zhao Jun shook his head. He wasn’t scared; he just knew something was wrong with the Jumping Stone Pond below.

’In his last life, his Hua Long and Huang Long had died right here in this Jumping Stone Pond.’

Zhao Jun just said to Li Baoyu, "Hurry up and find the trap. Once you do, we’ll go catch some hazel grouse."

"Okay." Li Baoyu gave Zhao Jun a suspicious look, then went to dig through the deep snow for the eighth trap.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jun stood on the slope, staring down below for a long time.

Only when Li Baoyu fished the trap out of the deep snow with his Fraxinus mandschurica stick did Zhao Jun pull his gaze away. He took the trap from Li Baoyu and put it in the satchel slung across his chest.

"Brother, are we really not going after it?" Seeing Zhao Jun about to leave, Li Baoyu asked again, unwilling to give up.

Zhao Jun couldn’t explain why. He just said, "Let’s go," and started skiing down the slope.

At that moment, Li Baoyu simply assumed that Zhao Jun had been spooked by the Black Bear. He didn’t overthink it and, instead, started to worry about him.

The two of them made their way out of the mountains. When they reached the outskirts of the hunting grounds, Zhao Jun led Li Baoyu into a stretch of secondary forest.

Yesterday’s heavy snowfall had left the branches and twigs laden with snow. Zhao Jun gestured to Li Baoyu, who then took the net out of the satchel on his back.

Zhao Jun took the rifle from his shoulder and handed it to Li Baoyu to carry. In return, he took the net from Li Baoyu’s hands.

Zhao Jun wrapped the excess wire from the net around a Fraxinus mandschurica stick and stuck his other Fraxinus mandschurica stick into the deep snow.

Li Baoyu did the same, but since he didn’t have a net, he left both his sticks behind.

The two of them stopped skiing. Instead, they began to walk slowly across the snow on their skis, lifting their feet high and setting them down gently.

Zhao Jun held the net with both hands, his eyes scanning his surroundings with intense focus.

WHOOSH...

With a soft sound, something burst out from the snow. It was a small bird, shaped like a quail but a couple of sizes plumper, with slightly more ornate feathers.

This was the hazel grouse.

Its meat was tender and delicious, no less so than a Flying Dragon’s. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The hazel grouse flew up from the snow. Before it could get too high, Zhao Jun casually swung the net. He didn’t aim very well, nor did he manage to cast it over the bird.

But the hazel grouse dropped from mid-air, falling right back onto the snow.

The snow that had just fallen yesterday was especially soft and loose. The moment the grouse landed, it sank right in.

Zhao Jun brought the net down, positioning it directly above the hazel grouse.

The hazel grouse then tried to fly up out of the snow, crashing headfirst into the net. It saw the light above and kept struggling in the mesh, refusing to drop back into the snow.

Watching the hazel grouse thrash in the net, Zhao Jun bent down and grabbed it through the mesh.

Li Baoyu came over and helped Zhao Jun untangle the hazel grouse from the net.

The hazel grouse wasn’t large. Li Baoyu held it in his left hand, pinning its two legs against his palm with his ring and pinky fingers. He used his middle finger and palm to press down on the bird’s body, restraining its wings and stopping it from struggling.

With his free thumb and forefinger, Li Baoyu then pinched the feathers on the back of the grouse’s neck to control its small head.

Then, with his right hand, he drew the Invasion Blade across the grouse’s neck. A spurt of fresh blood sprayed from its throat, followed by a steady drip.

After a short while, the hazel grouse went still in Li Baoyu’s hand. He held it upside down to let the blood drain completely.

By this time, Zhao Jun had already netted a second hazel grouse.

Li Baoyu went over and repeated the process.

Zhao Jun made two passes through the woods, netting a total of three hazel grouse. Li Baoyu slaughtered and bled each one. Once the blood was drained, he stuffed them into his satchel one by one.

The two headed south again. After walking for more than a li, they came to another stretch of secondary forest.

In winter, hazel grouse, much like roe deer, feed on the tips and buds of branches in secondary forests.

Therefore, they often rested in these kinds of woods.

Furthermore, they tend to burrow into the snow after a heavy fall. The perfect moment to catch them is when a passerby startles them, just as they erupt from their snowy cover.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu caught hazel grouse all the way home. Every time they passed a secondary forest, the two would go in and make a pass.

By the time they left the hunting grounds, Li Baoyu had not only filled his satchel but was also carrying a long string of hazel grouse in his hand.

The two entered the village and went straight home.

It was already past two in the afternoon when they got home. As they parted ways at their doors, Li Baoyu said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, I’ll start a fire right away. We can roast the hazel grouse."

"Ah... alright," Zhao Jun agreed. He had to admit, after being on the move since morning, he was truly hungry.

The two separated and went to their respective homes.

Zhao Jun entered his house and greeted Wang Meilan.

"Son, you must be hungry. Mom will make you something to eat right now."

"No need, Mom." Zhao Jun quickly stopped Wang Meilan. "Baoyu is going to roast some hazel grouse for us in a bit."