Chapter 248 Encountering a Leopard
Raising snakes is not difficult and does not take up much space. In the villages to the west of Fenglei Town, almost every household raises snakes, and there are also hunting dogs "snake dogs" specially trained to find snakes. Use.
The love for snakes is evident from this.
According to Wang Cunye, a young boy from their place caught a "medicine-keeping snake" a few years ago, which is a snake that guards near rare herbs.
The snake was very big, almost two meters long. It was caught together with the herbs and the snake. The snake was sold alive for thousands of dollars.
Later, I heard people say that the sales of this product are still low. The Medicinal Snake is not a simple thing. It is a rare and good thing. It has great effects. It is not a problem to sell tens of thousands of dollars. It is not a problem to double the price on the basis of one thousand yuan. of.
Although the income from raising snakes is not comparable to this, since the last time Chen Ling sold wine, it almost sold for a sky-high price, using snakes mixed with medicinal materials to make wine is also a good way, as long as it can be sold. No worse than the so-called "medicine-preserving snake".
Furthermore, Wang Cunye felt that if his son-in-law didn't learn some real skills and kept cheating and selling wine, he would be prone to problems if his secret was exposed or he ran into difficult people.
Other than that, it’s what the old man said before.
Raising snakes can prevent snakes and some small beasts that are afraid of snakes. They will not go to places where the smell of snakes is strong.
On the way back, the two of them found several nests of snakes, and now they just catch them and raise them at home, so they caught all non-venomous snakes, such as cauliflower snakes, grass-headed snakes, black-headed snakes, etc., which are easier to breed.
After catching the snake, the two of them rushed back without stopping without staying any longer.
Although the days are longer in summer, it gets dark much earlier in the mountains than outside.
In addition, wild beasts are very active in the mountains and forests this season, so the sooner you leave, the better.
Speaking of wild beasts, if Xiaojin hadn’t been able to detect the situation anytime and anywhere, and take them away in advance whenever he found the slightest abnormal smell, he would probably have bumped into quite a few just by looking at the dense footprints of wild beasts and wild animals by the water. .
When it comes to Cao Cao and Cao Cao's arrival, there are some things that I can't help but talk about.
Although we have been very careful, after all we are in the mountains and many things are out of people’s control.
On the way home, they inadvertently encountered a large group of wild boars. There were more than twenty wild boars lined up one by one. They were walking leisurely on the edge of the mountain forest and combing the ground with their long trunks. Back and forth, there was still wet mud on his body, as if he had just taken a bath somewhere.
Fortunately, the distance was relatively far. With Wang Cunye's eyesight, he could only see a few dark wild boars moving. Unlike Chen Ling, he could not clearly see how many of them were there at once.
Ordinary people can only see it vaguely, which is a safer distance.
However, this group of wild boars is quite large and cannot be underestimated.
The leading boar, with Chen Ling's eyesight, could clearly see its sharp tusks. It was walking at the front, and only three or four meters away were the other members of the wild boar family, scattered in all directions. Followed behind the big boar.
There are more than a dozen little wild boars that have not faded their patterns, and they are lazily behind, playing and walking, jumping around with their four little legs, and following behind like they are having fun.
Weng and his son-in-law held their breath and concentrated, not daring to disturb them. After the wild boars left, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
My father-in-law even stroked his chest several times: "Good guy, it's a good thing I brought Xiao Jin with me. Otherwise, if I were walking here without a dog to explore the way, I don't know what I would encounter."< br>
It was Xiaojin who gave the warning in time and they stopped. Later they saw a herd of wild boars.
“I knew I would come back to catch the worms in two days. It was because I wandered around a few more places that I encountered this wild boar. Otherwise, nothing happened to me the previous few times I came here. At most, I saw a few squirrels and porcupines, and oh, I also encountered two spotted foxes, but nothing else. It was a peaceful journey. "
The old man regrets it now. He regrets it. Catching snakes, walking a few more miles in the mountains, and staying a little longer.
As the saying goes: If you walk too much at night, you will easily encounter ghosts.
After walking a lot on this mountain road, it is normal to encounter some kind of wild beast.
The first few times he went into the mountains, he picked the herbs that could be picked and left a mark on the ones that couldn't be picked. He didn't stop much at all. In addition, he came out early to collect the herbs and walked around in the mountains, often before noon. , and even returned home shortly after noon.
Today I was trying to catch snakes and took away several places. I stayed in the mountains for a little too long.
“Hey, it’s okay dad, look, aren’t we almost at Langdiao Rock? After passing Langdiao Rock, we’re basically out, and there won’t be any wild things coming out.”
What Chen Ling said is true. After passing Langdao Rock, it is on the outskirts of the mountain forest. Since it is close to human settlements and human activities are relatively frequent, there are no large beasts in the large area around it.
Wang Cunye also felt that his son-in-law was right, so he hurried out of the mountain.
Unfortunately, what they didn't expect was that they encountered another accident before they had gone very far.
There are still more than twenty fire rats left before summer, and the weather is still very hot. Walking in the mountains is much cooler, but when walking in the dense mountain forests, the sky will become much darker.
That is, the bamboo forest and river ditch that we walked through. As soon as we entered this mountain forest, after walking a few steps into the forest, Xiao Jin issued a warning. He let out a slight low whimpering and growling alertly. Three little weasels He also stood upright from the grass warily, his little eyes widened.
At this time, I only heard the sound of branches and leaves in the dark dense forest, and then there were low and hoarse roars, like the threatening sounds made by cats when they are guarding food, but they are much louder than those of cats. It's a lot thicker, and just listening from a distance, you can feel the ferocity in this sound.
Hearing this sound, the hairs on Chen Ling and Chen Ling's bodies stood up. Wang Cunye even stopped and grabbed Chen Ling's arm: "Don't move, it's a native leopard. There are native leopards in the forest. ”
As he spoke, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he gestured with his hand to signal Chen Ling to quickly get the shotgun as a precaution.
As soon as he said this, when Chen Ling was still wondering why the native leopard was out and about during the day, a small leopard, not much bigger than a tabby cat, suddenly jumped out from among the branches and leaves, with something in its mouth. The thing, after a few leaps, disappeared among the lush branches and leaves.
After the little leopard left.
Xiao Jin was still staring at a place on the tree in the distance. The hair on his neck was fluffy. His eyes were fierce and showed no signs of relaxation. The little weasels were the same, running back to the feet of the two of them, spinning anxiously. , all looked nervous.
"The native leopard is still there, and the one who just left is the grass leopard. If these two can get together, they should leave with the leopard cub." Wang Cunye looked carefully in the direction Xiao Jin was looking, not daring to Not the slightest bit careless.
"It turns out that we encountered a local leopard with its cubs. I'll fire a few shots first to scare it away."
Chen Ling's reaction was actually much faster than that of his father-in-law, when he heard the roar in the forest. Something was wrong, so he quickly took off his backpack and other sundries, raised the shotgun in his hand, and kept on guard.
Even with his far superior eyesight, he couldn't clearly see what was on the tree.
When I heard my father-in-law say it was a native leopard, that is, a clouded leopard, I suddenly realized.
Clouded leopards rarely hurt people.
However, during the two special periods, they cannot stand the stimulation. If the mountain people encounter them when they go into the mountains, they will be attacked by sneak attacks, or even followed in retaliation and carried out continuous sneak attacks.
In these two periods, one is when they mate in winter, and the other is when they give birth to cubs in summer, they will be extremely sensitive and irritable.
Especially at this time, the leopard cubs born at the turn of spring and summer have not yet grown up and left the den, and it is not time to leave and survive alone. The male and female leopards will guard them very closely, and humans will intrude. Their territory will attract fierce attacks.
Even during the day.
Besides, it’s actually not daytime in the mountains anymore. It will be dark soon after five o’clock.
In this special period, it is useless to retreat if you encounter a leopard. They will still hold grudges.
The only option is to use a gun.
“Bang, bang, bang——”
Chen Ling raised his gun and fired several shots into the sky, while stamping his feet and shouting loudly, trying to scare it away.
This is indeed effective.
Amidst the gunshots and shouts, the branches and leaves on the distant trees swayed slightly again, and the native leopard left quietly.
Not only did they leave, but something also fell from the tree. It looked like the head of a deer, which should be what they had eaten.
Seeing this, Xiao Jin quickly ran over and prepared to take it back.
However...
Just when it leaned over and bit the deer's head, a golden figure suddenly pounced on the tree three or four meters away.
Fast, swift, and ferocious, yet elegant and silent throughout.
As if the distance of three or four meters was nothing to it, it was there in the blink of an eye.
It turned out to be the native leopard that had left, and it turned around and rushed over with its teeth and claws.
Its claws are extremely huge in proportion to its fangs and body. Just looking at it from a distance makes people shudder. It can definitely deliver a fatal blow in hunting. Sharp weapon.
Not to mention a sneak attack.
If you are not prepared, even wild animals two or three times larger than it can be killed by its sneak attack.
But this sneak attack had no effect on Xiao Jin. It seemed as if it was expected by Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin originally leaned down to bite the deer's head, but at this time, as if there were eyes behind his back, he suddenly turned around when the leopard was about to pounce, and actually faced the pounce. The coming native leopard bit him, with its white teeth showing ferociously, like a golden-haired wolf attacking, and its target was the native leopard's throat.
A fierce battle broke out.
The leopard's roar and the dog's howl made the two guys bite into each other the moment they met, fighting inextricably.
People's brains and eyes can't react at all, as if they are fighting together in the blink of an eye.
The battle was fierce, and the fallen leaves were messed up, and blood splattered on the ground.
"Ouch~"
The battle started quickly and ended very quickly. Perhaps not even ten seconds passed before the sturdy leopard let out a shrill cry. , jumped up to the tree with a "swish", and quickly disappeared among the branches and leaves.
Xiao Jin then shook his hair, and as if nothing happened, he picked up the deer head in his mouth and returned to Chen Ling and Chen Ling.
This sudden battle between a dog and a leopard is dazzling.
Wang Cunye was dumbfounded and just stood there.
After a long time, he came back to his senses in shock, pointed at Xiao Jin, and said to Chen Ling: "This, this, the dog and the leopard just now, Ling Zi, did you see, when Xiao Jin and the leopard were fighting just now..."< br>
“That’s not right, it was before they fought...”
The old man hesitated, not knowing how to describe it for a while.
“I saw it, I saw it.”
Chen Ling was also deeply shocked. He looked at Xiao Jin who put down the deer head and shook his head at him to take credit, and nodded blankly. : "We almost let the local leopard play tricks just now. Xiao Jin seems to have deliberately lured it to the bait."
This guy, people will definitely not believe what he said just now.
Who would have thought that a native leopard, a wild animal, could actually play tricks on people, and would deliberately let people relax their vigilance and kill them.
And Xiao Jin was also amazing. Not only did he see through Tu Baozi's plot, he actually used it to win the battle.
There are no injuries on the body.
This...
This is simply...
What happened to two animals is really unbelievable.
But in fact, Xiao Jin is an excellent hunting dog. Bobcat even said that he can be a master dog.
Master Dog’s hunting ability is the best among hunting dogs, and he is no different from the alpha wolf in the pack.
It should be noted that the alpha wolf will formulate the hunting plan of the wolf pack.
When you hear the word plan, you understand its wisdom.
What is more cunning than the wolf is the jackal, that is, the red dog and the pagouzi.
Their bottom line is very low, and they will do whatever they can to hunt, including ambushes and sneak attacks, being the first to attract attention, and actually summoning their companions to outflank them.
The intelligence and cunning of beasts are often more surprising than what some works show.
For this reason, the ancient mountain people admired their wisdom and would make up some stories based on them. Although some became more exaggerated and demonized as they spread, others became more and more used to scare little children. Bedtime stories.
But it has to be said that there are basically no weak beasts that can survive in the mountains and forests.
The performance of this native leopard is actually not too exaggerated, but even so, it is already amazing.
"What a bastard leopard..."
Wang Cunye kept scolding angrily, and kept raising his head and looking around vigilantly. This leopard was so unexpected, not only cunning and cunning, but also so arrogant that he almost They fooled the couple.
I still feel scared when I think about it now.
If Xiao Jin hadn’t gone over to pick up the deer head, he really wouldn’t have lured the local leopard out, and it would be them both who would suffer.
“It’s better not to come here to collect medicinal herbs in the future. If you are really interested and want to learn, go to Lutoushan over there. I will take you there a few times. The medicinal farmers over there have explored almost all the places. The place is familiar and safer," Wang Cunye said.
He was indeed a little worried. This time he went into the mountains for a long time, and he met wild boars and native leopards one after another.
I thought it would be better not to teach my son-in-law how to pick herbs in the future.
It is too dangerous.
"Oh, it's okay, dad. This means that there are a lot more wild things in the North Mountain, and the West Mountain and Nanshan are much better. Susu often went to Xishan to pick mushrooms before, and it's really okay." Chen Ling said.
It’s not that he really doesn’t care about these things, it’s just that he is bold with the sun, moon, cave and sky nearby.
"Don't worry about it. In the past, those who collected herbs over there used to hunt and collect herbs without separation. That's because there were more jackals, tigers and leopards in the mountains, and people often lost their lives when collecting herbs. Now there are less of those things, and the herb farmers and The hunters slowly separated."
Wang Cunye reminded him seriously.
Seeing the seriousness on his father-in-law's face, Chen Ling nodded and quickly promised that he would not come to Beishan rashly in the future.
As for the things the old man said, my second uncle Wang Qingzhong also said a lot last time in Lutou Mountain.
Continuing deeper from Lutou Mountain in Fenglei Town, that is, the deeper you go into the Qinling Mountains, the more people pick herbs and their skills become higher.
They are often not only mountain people who farm the land, but also hunters who hunt and farmers who collect medicines.
And the ability to hunt is often as good as gathering medicine, or even better.
The first is for self-defense. In the remote mountains, wild beasts appear frequently, and it is impossible to survive without some self-defense ability.
The other is for medicinal materials, which come from wild animals, such as musk, bear bile, tiger bones, leopard bones, deer antlers, etc., which are all relatively valuable.
The further outside, like here, farming is still the main focus.
Hunting and medicine gathering are to supplement the family income and are not the main source of income.
After all, the risk of collecting herbs is too high.
You never know when you will encounter wild beasts and poisonous insects in the mountains. The terrain where precious medicinal herbs grow is often dangerous, and you often risk your life while collecting herbs.
If you can have a stable income from farming, there is no need to take risks.
So in recent years, they rarely even go into the mountains to hunt, so they usually put down the animal trap and put the cover on.
Just like what my father-in-law said just now, even over there in Fenglei Town, medicine farmers and hunters are no longer the same thing.
Many drug farmers have lost the ability to hunt.
I don’t want to go deep into the Qinling Mountains to collect herbs anymore.
To some extent, it means that their sources of income are actually now broader and more diverse.
That’s a good thing too.
While chatting about one thing or another, the father-in-law mostly praised Xiao Jin, saying that he was lucky to have it this time, and Xiao Jin didn't know how he got better.
In the end, he just walked quietly beside Chen Ling, as if he was embarrassed by the praise.
Just like this, we walked through the mountain forest and passed the Langdao Rock. The rest was much smoother and we didn’t encounter any more wild animals.
After Weng and son-in-law relaxed, Chen Ling was attracted by the deer head in his hand.
“Dad, come and take a look, this thing doesn’t seem to be a deer’s head, right?”
(End of this chapter)