Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Chapter 121 Late at night, the red fox stares at people

Yu Qiutang and Yu Qiujiang trotted and ran quickly towards Yu Deshui's house. Yu Qiutang was holding the big black dog in his hand and carrying a gun on his back, while Yu Qiujiang was holding a crossbow and a knife.

The piece of rope brought from Yu Qiyuan's home was let Dahei smell it at a distance.

This hound has a good character and a pleasing temper.

Very spiritual too.

And judging from its size, it is not a leading dog that is good at biting, but a tracking dog.

This kind of dog has a particularly keen sense of smell and hearing, which just meets Yu Qiutang and his friends' needs at the moment. Because Yu Qiutang and Yu Qiujiang are his lifesavers, he seems to be grateful and listens to them especially.

No special teaching is needed, just some simple instructions and it will immediately understand Yu Qiutang's meaning.

Yu Qiutang didn’t know yet where the mule would end up, so he carried five or six mules on his back in case he needed to go into the mountains.

The control of guns and ammunition here is strict. Guns are easy to deal with, but bullets are in short supply. Lao Liu gave him half a box of bullets, which is only more than 400 rounds. He was quite careful with them every time he used them.

The first few times I went into the mountains, I usually brought 10 rounds of bullets.

When using it, try not to shoot if possible. If you really need to shoot, make sure every bullet hits the target.

But after the last bear hunt, he felt that he could use it economically, but he still needed to be prepared. Otherwise, if he encountered some danger and had no bullets, the gun could be used as a firewood stick.

It is worse than a knife or an axe.

Yu Qiujiang was working as a blacksmith. After hearing the news, he was worried about Yu Qiujiang going into the mountains alone. Going into the mountains late at night is a taboo, and the danger in the mountains at night is much higher than during the day.

But he also knew that Yu Qiutang was such a person.

If you don’t know, then forget it.

Now that I know about this and he is my third uncle, how can I just stand by and watch?

Yu Deshui is also Yu Qiujiang's third uncle, but because of their fathers' relationship, Yu Qiujiang has a lot of resentment towards Yu Deshui and does not have much affection for him.

The reason I was willing to go with him was simply because I was worried about Yu Qiutang.

Yu Qiujiang's blacksmith shop happened to be in the team, which was also the southernmost part of the village. Yu Deshui's home was on the north side. The two of them trotted along with the dog, and it took them more than ten minutes to reach the fork.

The big black dog, which had been searching very carefully, suddenly became very anxious and ran forward, pulling Yu Qiutang.

“The dog is reacting.”

Yu Qiujiang said.

Yu Qiutang also thought so. In front of him was a field of sorghum that had not yet been harvested, with heavy ears of sorghum hanging on the sorghum stalks.

From a distance, it looks like a dark curtain.

This place is flat and close to the canal, so it is considered to be the better land in the team. Generally, we grow some economic crops such as watermelons and gourds here. After a few years, we will plant some sorghum or corn in batches.

When Yu Qiutang was a child, he and his cousins ​​and childhood friends often liked to sneak in and hang out, especially to steal a watermelon or corn nearby, which made them feel very comfortable.

Several people sat together and feasted.

If it can be eaten raw, you can definitely just pick it up and eat it. If it cannot be eaten raw, you can also dig a small hole in the ground, make a simple oven, and have an original barbecue.

If we were discovered, it didn’t matter. We could just run directly from the sorghum field to the woods in front. The end of the woods was the foot of the mountain. It would be quite difficult to find a group of children at the foot of the mountain.

Among a group of children, there are always some who are more lively. Yu Qiutang used to be not the kind of person who could take the initiative to run to the front. Basically, he would follow behind others and do whatever his friends or brothers did.

If I really make a mistake and get beaten, I'll be punished along with you anyway.

So his brothers didn't exclude him and he could basically hang out with everyone.

It is actually very simple to gain recognition from your friends. You just have to appear loyal. Even if you don’t talk about eating together, you have to get beaten together.

The black dog ran to the edge of the sorghum field with no intention of stopping. It lowered its head and prepared to rush in.

Yu Qiutang held the dog tightly and looked at the dark sorghum field, feeling a little worried.

Parents in mountain villages teach their children from an early age that they should not go to sorghum fields at noon or at night.

This means that children should never enter the sorghum fields at noon, especially when the sun is high, at one or two o'clock, and in the middle of the night, as there may be wild animals hiding there.

Many people who have not lived in rural areas don’t understand how there can be any danger in the fields at noon when the sun is so high.

But as long as you stand in such a field and look at it at this time, you can immediately feel the oppressive feeling of the farmland, as if there are really some ferocious beasts hiding in it, ready to wait for people to enter and be torn to pieces.

This is definitely not groundless.

In nearby towns and villages, most children who were snatched away by wild beasts happened at noon, and very few were actually snatched away at night.

For example, in the village next to ours, a few years ago, a child was taken away by a leopard. The child was playing by the canal at noon, and the leopard rushed out of the cornfield and took the child away.

At that time, there were still people working in the fields nearby.

Many people have seen leopards carry people away, but it is difficult to find them if you rush in, so it is better to let experienced hunters bring hunting dogs to follow the scent and grope their way into the mountains.

But the clouded leopard is the top predator in the nearby mountains. It is fast, cunning, and powerful. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain in the mountains, several hunters working together were unable to do anything about it. They had to hire an old forest ranger, a sharpshooter, to injure the leopard and suffocate it to death in the cave.

But when the child was found, his spine had been bitten off and he eventually died.

"Come in?"

Yu Qiujiang's face was as gloomy as water.

There are only a few days left until August 15th. If there was a moon, it should be very bright, but today it is a cloudy day and it is so dark in the mountains and fields that it is scary.

The two walked for a long time before Yu Qiujiang could barely adapt to the darkness.

Yu Qiutang is slightly better.

"Enter!"

Yu Qiutang took a deep breath.

Things were piling up here, so I had to go in, whether it was dead or alive, I had to help Uncle San find the mule. Even if it was killed by something, selling the meat could still make up for the loss.

Otherwise, with more than a thousand yuan, even if my uncle's family could make ends meet again, it would be difficult for them to turn things around in a short period of time.

They are not like me, it's like they are cheating.

"Then come in."

Yu Qiujiang basically listens to Yu Qiutang in everything.

He has a calm personality, will not move around outside, and can remain rational at critical moments. He is Yu Qiutang's solid backing in the three-person team.

In comparison, Wang Haofeng is much more reckless.

But it also depends on one’s personality.

People are complex and comprehensive, and this is not just reflected in going into the mountains to hunt.

When Yu Qiutang makes friends, he mainly considers people’s character.

It doesn't matter about ability.

No matter how great the ability is, if the person is not capable, it will be useless and he will stay away from him.

With Yu Qiujiang's support, Yu Qiutang no longer had any worries. He loosened the dog leash a little, and the big black dog immediately rushed into the sorghum field.

He was almost pulling Yu Qiutang forward.

"Brother Jiang, follow closely."

Yu Qiutang shouted, with no intention of restraining the dog anymore, and just ran all the way. Yu Qiujiang hurriedly followed.

Gou Zi was small and could move through the sorghum fields, but Yu Qiutang was tall and there were many obstacles. Also, because he was blocked by the sorghum, he had to bend his body to see the road ahead.

Running was quite hard.

Fortunately, he has good endurance and better physical fitness than ordinary people, which enables him to persevere all the way.

Yu Qiujiang, who was following behind him, felt much more comfortable.

All he has to do is promise to follow Yu Qiutang.

Yu Qiutang is such a big target and is much easier to catch than a dog.

After running a few hundred meters, the dog suddenly stopped and began to sniff around.

He kept looking up into the distance, seeming a little unsure.

Yu Qiutang grabbed it and began to search and grope around.

When I stopped, there was no fresh air coming in, and I noticed that there was a foul smell around this place.

This doesn't smell like fox, it smells like real donkey piss.

Soon he noticed that not far ahead, a small field of sorghum was crushed, and the cowpeas planted in the middle of the sorghum field were also trampled into a mess. It was obvious that some small-scale fight had taken place here.

He reached over to take a closer look, but found it was too dark, even for him to see clearly.

I regretted that I left in such a hurry that I didn’t ask Yu Qiyuan for a flashlight.

Just as I was worrying, suddenly a bright light appeared before my eyes.

I don't know where Yu Qiujiang got a flashlight from, but he shone it at him.

He was ecstatic and took it quickly.

"Brother Jiang, you are so reliable."

Yu Qiujiang smiled.

He grew up with his younger sister, having to play both a brother and a father. There was no adult to rely on, and he had to take care of everything by himself.

Over time, this meticulous character is developed.

Yu Qiutang turned on the flashlight and pushed aside the nearby weeds and cowpea vines. Only then did he realize that the strong odor was because the mule used this place as a toilet and had a good defecation.

Moreover, it seemed that the mule was extremely frightened and even peed its pants out of fear.

But the strange thing is that apart from the mule's traces, there seems to be no trace of any other animals here.

Because it hadn't rained recently, the ground was dry soil and there wasn't even any animal paw prints left.

"What's going on?" Yu Qiujiang came over.

Yu Qiutang shook his head, looking serious, "It's a bit strange, the mule is so scared, why are there no claw marks of other things on the ground?
What kind of wild animal could be so powerful? "

Yu Qiujiang also shook his head at first, but soon he suddenly shouted: "Maybe it's not a wild animal?"

"It's not a wild animal...you said it's a human?"

"Yes, I think you think too much about wild animals. A mule is so big, and there is nothing else in the mountains that can scare him to poop and pee everywhere except a leopard. Even if a wolf comes, it can't do that."

As the saying goes, a bystander sees more clearly. Yu Qiujiang rarely puts forward his own insights.

Yu Qiutang thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case.

How could he have forgotten about the person? His uncle had said before that someone dragged him away, but when he looked at the rope, it didn't look like someone had cut it, so he assumed that he had encountered some wild animal.

Are you really thinking too much?
If it were a human, it would be much easier to explain.

When people wear shoes, the force-bearing area of ​​their footprints is large, and it is not easy to leave footprints on grass and dry soil.

The footprints on TV are all in relatively clean environments. In reality, there are no such nice places to step on.

"Wang!"

At this time, the dog had a target again and ran back and barked at Yu Qiutang.

Yu Qiutang, who was familiar with the dog's general behavior, immediately understood that the dog was looking for a new direction, so he stopped dawdling and continued to run ahead following the dog.

Unexpectedly, the dog did not run forward, but returned to the path they had just come from. He did not hesitate and followed closely.

Don't compete with the dog in sense of smell at this time.

Even if his sense of smell is stronger than that of an average person, a dog's sense of smell is dozens of times stronger than that of a human. If a dog can't find the mule, it would be useless for him to rely on himself.

Fortunately, the dog did not keep running back. After running for a while, it crossed two ridges of land and continued running horizontally.

A few minutes later, he ran out of the sorghum field and rushed directly to an empty space that had been harvested and all the corn grits had been dug out.

Yu Qiutang and Yu Qiujiang looked at each other.

no way.

Since you believe in the dog, you have to believe in it to the end.

The dog became more and more excited and actually sped up its running, with the mud kicked up by its hind legs forming a round wheel.

After running a few hundred meters and seeing the main road, the dog suddenly braked and turned back to run to the side.

"Can this dog do anything?"

Yu Qiutang could still hold on, but Yu Qiujiang was already exhausted and out of breath. It would be fine if he was just running in vain, but the main thing was that he was carrying a crossbow on his back and a nearly ten-foot-long sword in his hand.

Even if you hold a banana, your hands will feel tired after walking for a long time, let alone a knife weighing more than ten pounds.

He wanted to believe the big black dog, but his endurance did not allow it.

"How about you take a rest first and I'll catch up. Anyway, we're in this area, so there won't be much risk."

"Well... let's just follow," Yu Qiujiang hesitated for a moment, but still refused, "I feel like something is a little off tonight.

Just tell me, how could such a big mule just disappear like that?

Even I know that leopards and wolves will not come to our side, so the mule must have been taken away by someone.

But the mule was extremely stubborn. If the person wasn't its owner or someone close to it, why would it follow someone for no reason?

You must not kick people to death."

Yu Qiutang had no choice but to run while saying, "Brother Jiang, I understand what you said, but it's useless to think about it.

The fact is, the mule really disappeared.

And there are mule marks everywhere, otherwise why would this big black man be wandering around like crazy..."

"Hey, when you mention this, I suddenly have an idea."

"What?"

"You said Dahei was wandering around everywhere, could it be because he was cheated?"

"Cheated?" Yu Qiutang suddenly stopped when he heard this. Looking at the dog still running around, he nodded and said, "It's possible."

After thinking about it, he said, "But if this is true, then it can only mean one thing, someone knows the habits of dogs very well... but just knowing dogs doesn't mean they need to do this. There is only one explanation for being so attentive.

Damn it, this is a repeat offender!"

Yu Qiujiang nodded.

The two quickly began to recall those people in the village who could do this. After thinking about it, it was really hard to say.

There are many people who like to take advantage of small opportunities, but most people just can't hide or steal such a big mule.

In this era, all crimes are subject to more severe punishment. If you are caught and sent to prison, it will take several years to get out.

This is not as simple as stealing a dog or a chicken, it is not worth much money.

As a production tool, the mule was a valuable item at that time. And because it had special uses and was the public property of the production team, it was not something that could be easily provoked.

Really thinking about it.

The big black dog that had been wandering around suddenly rushed straight up into the distance.

It seems that there is no intention of hesitation at all.

Yu Qiutang and Yu Qiujiang hurried forward.

The dog did not stop. It first crossed the entire cornfield, jumped directly onto the beam, and ran forward quickly.

The hunting dogs were running at full speed, and Yu Qiutang could no longer keep up, let alone Yu Qiujiang. The two could only run far below.

"Kuroko!"

Yu Qiutang was running while calling Black Dog. There was a deep pit in front of the field.

In the early years, it seemed to be a troglodyte courtyard of a large family, with many brothers living downstairs. Later, it seemed that because of a quarrel between two sisters-in-law, they put rat poison in the soup in a fit of rage, which directly poisoned three of them to death and disabled two others, destroying the entire family.

Later, the remaining people naturally couldn't live there anymore, so they all moved away slowly.

The cave dwelling in the deep pit here collapsed, and later the team or the villagers planted many trees in the pit, mainly acacia trees. Every evening, many owls like to stay on the acacia trees and howl, which can be heard in half of the village.

Owls are considered unlucky birds here.

Rumor has it that if an owl lands on someone's tree, or calls in that direction, someone will die.

People began to connect what happened in the pit with the acacia trees and the owls, and the horror became more and more intense. In addition, as the trees grew taller and more lush, it seemed as if there was something hidden in the woods when you stood at the edge of the pit and looked down.

Gradually, few people dared to go to the pit to play even in broad daylight, let alone at night.

Even if some people's land is next to a pit, they will call many people to go together. If it is just a couple, they dare not go there at all.

As for children, their parents never take them to the nearby fields.

I’m worried about being “hindered”.

The so-called "hindrance" is a superstitious behavior. Literally, it means that the living people hinder the dead.

In fact, it means collision.

Yu Qiutang's elder brother Yu Qiuyang suffered from this when he was a child.

It was one evening, and everyone should have gone home early after work, but when Yu Dejin was going home, he left a stick of grass on the ground and forgot to pick it up, so he asked him to get it.

As a result, that night, Yu Qiuyang had a high fever and kept talking nonsense, like a patient with epilepsy, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't wake him up.

Finally, they found an old man next door, who beat Yu Qiuyang dozens of times with a peach branch and scolded the man who had killed him with the poison. Only then did Yu Qiuyang suddenly get better, his high fever subsided quickly, and he immediately became energetic.

This is a true story that Yu Qiutang experienced personally.

Later he realized that this was superstition, but he couldn't find a scientific explanation or verification for it. When he told the children about it, they didn't take it seriously at all and thought that he was just asking him to tell stories to amuse them.

But Yu Qiutang had always believed in his previous life that his brother's disappearance might have something to do with this kind of thing...

The two men finally climbed over to the ground beam, but before they could react, they watched the black dog rush straight into the deep pit.

When I ran to the edge of the pit, I could only hear the dog barking, but I couldn't see any trace of the dog.

It had long since disappeared into the dark bushes.

"This dog is really not honest at all," Yu Qiujiang looked helplessly at the deep pit shrouded in the night. Just at this moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew, and the woods immediately rustled. The cool wind blew on the two of them, making them feel cold. Even a cheating figure like Yu Qiutang felt a little palpitated.

“It’s really a bit weird!”

He shook his head and said with a smile, "The dog rushed in without caring about his life. There must be something going on down there. We have to go in and take a look."

"That's true."

Yu Qiujiang nodded.

In fact, he is more superstitious than Yu Qiutang. After all, he has not experienced the cultural baptism of the era of scientific explosion in later generations.

Nowadays, there are still many people who are actually very ignorant. They have lived in closed small mountain villages for a long time and have not been exposed to much knowledge. They cannot understand many things and have to rely on superstition.

As for Yu Qiutang, he didn't dare to say that he didn't believe in such things at all.

Rebirth is a reality. It's not surprising if there are a few ghosts or something like that.

"Wang!"

At this moment, a few dog barks suddenly came from the woods, followed by a burst of rapid mule brays.

“Ah-ah!!”

There are several kinds of mule calls. When it is in a good mood, it will make a "hui hui" sound, a bit like a pony.

If you are angry, you will make a "huffling" sound, which is a bit like a pig snoring.

Only when one is frightened or scared will he make this kind of "ang ang" howl, a bit like a donkey.

"Hurry up and take a look. Sure enough, it's here."

Hearing the sound, the two did not delay any longer and, relying on the light of flashlights, rushed into the woods along the slope of the deep pit.

As soon as I ran in, I found that the woods were really difficult to walk in.

Because few people come here usually, no one cleans up the fallen leaves and weeds on the ground, so they gradually accumulate and rot into a thick layer of "mud".

The two of them were not careful and stepped in. It felt like stepping into a pile of mud, very soft. When they pulled their feet out, they saw gray-yellow leaf mud all over their feet and calves.

Yu Qiujiang was even more miserable; his feet were pulled out, but his shoes were not pulled out and were stuck in the mud.

He had no choice but to bend down, fish out his shoes from the mud, and shake the mud off the tree next to him.

“It’s not easy to walk.”

Yu Qiutang nodded.

"I guess I have to take off my shoes before I go, or else they'll get dirty with every step I take."

"No, it's too dark. We can't see anything clearly. If there are acacia thorns in the mud, our feet will be pricked."

This kind of silt, after being rotted for a long time, contains strong pathogens. If your feet are pricked by it, it is really difficult to deal with.

"What should I do?" Yu Qiujiang put his shoes back on his feet while enduring the stench.

Yu Qiutang was embarrassed for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up, "How could I forget about the dog?"

Yu Qiujiang was also stunned and said with a smile: "Really, I am confused. If the dog can run inside, it must have found an easy way to walk."

"Just saying."

Yu Qiutang shouted "Dahei" several times into the darkness, and sure enough, he heard the sound of running and could vaguely see a figure. Thinking it was the black dog running back, he shone the flashlight under it.

"Fuck!"

He was frightened by the photo.

Where the flashlight shone, there were actually three red foxes. Judging from their size, they were all adult male foxes. The three of them were in an angled formation, staring at this side quietly.

(End of this chapter)