Chapter 81: Deep Mountain Hunting

The next morning, Lin Heng woke up feeling like his waist and limbs weren’t his own. A slight movement caused his whole body to ache. A series of intense physical labor had been too much for him, as he wasn’t used to working in the fields.

“If you’re really too tired, just rest at home and don’t go,” Xiulan said, noticing his movements.

“It’s fine, I’m okay. A little exercise will help,” Lin Heng shook his head, sitting up and massaging his legs and waist.

“I’ll help you, lie down,” Xiulan said, going to the wardrobe to get some safflower oil. She poured a little onto her hands and massaged Lin Heng’s limbs and back.

“Feeling better?” After finishing, Xiulan asked.

“Much better, safflower oil really works,” Lin Heng nodded and got up, putting on his clothes.

As a well-known external medicine in traditional Chinese medicine, it was invented during the Qing Dynasty and is still in use today, which shows its effectiveness.

“Don’t wake up the baby, I’ll make breakfast. You go ahead and call your uncle over to eat.”

Xiulan said quietly.

Lin Heng nodded. Xiaoxia was sleeping soundly, and this plan helped avoid her bad habit of kicking off her blanket.

As Lin Heng stepped outside the yard, he saw a figure in black clothes quickly descending the hill across the river. Upon a closer look, it was his uncle-in-law, no doubt.

He was amazed. When he woke up this morning, it was already 5:30, which meant his uncle-in-law must have left home at 5:00.

Shaking his head helplessly, Lin Heng headed toward the old house.

When he arrived, he saw his uncle had just gotten up, and his mother was about to cook.

“Mom, don’t worry about it. Xiulan is already making it. Just ask Uncle to join us for breakfast,” Lin Heng said.

“Yes, Hongmei, you don’t need to cook. I’ll go to Lin Heng’s house and eat,” his uncle said.

After washing his face and grabbing his things, he left.

As the two came out of the door, Lin Heng noticed his uncle-in-law was already walking on the street.

“Quanwa, you really run fast!” His uncle shouted.

“I have to! What if you guys run off?” His uncle-in-law laughed.

“Li Baiquan, you’re also going?” Tian Baishun walked over from not far away, carrying a hunting rifle and a dog on a leash.

“Yes, more people, more fun. We’ll bring back a big wild boar this time,” Li Baiquan chuckled.

“Come on, let’s all eat together at my place. My wife is cooking,” Lin Heng invited everyone into the house.

Xiulan had made sauerkraut noodles, and each person took a big bowl, sitting around the table, eating while talking.

“By the way, which direction are we heading today?” Lin Heng asked after taking a bite of noodles.

Tian Baishun suggested, “Since there are four of us, let’s go to Taibai Mountain. That direction has a lot of things, and the forest is large.”

“Sure, sounds good to me.”

“I don’t mind, whether it’s far or near.”

Seeing that his uncle and uncle-in-law both agreed, Lin Heng had no objections. “Then let’s go to Taibai Mountain.”

The direction to Taibai Mountain was the same as to Baishigou, just a little further south.

There was still a small road leading to Taibai Mountain, which was easier to walk than directly going through the forest.

“Let’s go!” After finishing the meal, Lin Heng was the first to grab his things and stand up.

The other three followed suit, grabbing rifles and backpacks as they walked out.

“Be careful,” Lin Heng reminded as he sent them to the door.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

Lin Heng waved his hand and smiled in response.

The four of them made their way to the western side of the village, where they entered the mountain. Heading southwest and walking for about 20 kilometers, they would reach the foot of Taibai Mountain.

This time, Lin Heng didn’t bring Xiong Ba, as Tian Baishun’s dog had tried to bite Xiong Ba earlier in the yard.

He also didn’t want others to know about Xiong Ba’s special nature.

Once they entered the mountain, Tian Baishun released his hunting dog. “I know this road well; I’ve been through it more than ten times. I’ll lead the way.”

“I suggest we start looking for prey right here. There’s no need to wait until we reach Taibai Mountain,” Lin Heng said to the group.

“How about this, we split up a bit and look for signs of prey?” His uncle-in-law, Li Baiquan, suggested.

“Sure, notify each other if there’s a major find,” Lin Heng’s uncle said, heading left.

Lin Heng walked to the right, following his uncle-in-law to see how he tracked the prey.

They walked for a while, covering one side of the mountain, but they didn’t find any traces. Just before crossing a ridge, Lin Heng smelled a foul odor.

“Who set the trap and killed a rat?” His uncle-in-law, Li Baiquan, immediately spotted a stone trap in the distance.

“This place is no good, people come here often,” he said, shaking his head. Then he pointed to another trap nearby. “Look, this is a ‘Yama Hanging’.”

The “Yama Hanging” is a kind of spring-loaded trap. It uses a rope to bend a tree on the ground, setting off a mechanism when an animal steps on it, launching the tree into the air, hanging the prey.

“It’s simple, I’ll show you,” Li Baiquan said, grabbing a wooden stick to trigger the “Yama Hanging.”

With a loud “bang,” the tree straightened, and the rope and stick flew up into the air.

“Actually, there’s a wooden stake with a hook nailed into the ground, a small stick passes through the hook to hold the rope in place. Then you cover it with branches and leaves, and it’s done.”

Li Baiquan explained and demonstrated to Lin Heng.

“Got it,” Lin Heng said, finally understanding how to set it up.

“Let’s go. There’s probably nothing on this ridge,” Li Baiquan said, continuing ahead.

Lin Heng walked alongside him, but by noon, they had already crossed three mountains without much success.

He had spotted three squirrels and two crows but didn’t get the chance to act.

Li Baiquan had found signs of wild boars, but they were too old to track accurately.

They hadn’t collected any mushrooms, except for precious ones like Ganoderma.

Lin Heng ate a cornmeal bun while scanning the surroundings. The forest here had trees mostly over 15 meters tall, thick and towering, with many dead, decaying trees on the ground.

In the distance, he could already see Taibai Mountain. The temperature on the mountain was around -10°C, still winter.

Taibai Mountain is known for its long winter, lasting over 300 days, with only about 50 days of spring and autumn. From a distance, it appeared to be covered in snow and mist, exuding an imposing and majestic aura.

“Lin Heng, this place should have something. Be careful, I found some badger droppings, it was definitely recent,” his uncle-in-law called out from afar.

“Got it, I’ll pay attention,” Lin Heng replied, focusing his attention.

“Ganoderma!”

Instead of finding any prey, Lin Heng spotted a cluster of red Ganoderma.

There were eight mushrooms growing around a tree stump—three large and five small.

“Great luck,” Lin Heng couldn’t help but smile, especially since they were freshly sprouted, not yet hardened.

He searched around a bit more, but there was nothing else, and he began to miss Xiong Ba.

“Buzzing!!”

As he searched, Lin Heng suddenly heard a buzzing sound and froze, thinking it was a hornet’s nest.

He carefully searched for the hive, and after a while, confirmed it was coming from his left front.

Looking closely, he realized, with relief, that it wasn’t a hornet’s nest—it was a wild bee hive.

He stepped closer and confirmed it was indeed a beehive emerging from a stone crevice.

“Uncle-in-law, come here, good stuff!” Lin Heng quickly called out.

“What is it?” Li Baiquan hurried over, thinking it was a game.

“Wild honey! I don’t know how to harvest it, come help me, we’ll split it,” Lin Heng said.

When hunting in a team, the division of labor is based on contribution. Anything discovered alone naturally belongs to the person who found it, but if help is needed, some of the reward should be shared.

“This is a good find, a large nest, and quite a few bees,” Li Baiquan grinned as he looked at it.

The natural wild honey from the deep Qinling Mountains is highly nutritious and can be sold for four to five yuan per pound.

“I found this when I was picking lingzhi, but I’ve never harvested honey before,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

“No problem, leave it to me,” Li Baiquan chuckled and patted his chest.

He first gathered some pine needles, then wrapped them with fresh tree leaves. After lighting it, thick smoke billowed out. He held the smoke in front and walked ahead, while Lin Heng followed, holding a knife and a plastic bag, still a bit nervous.

“Don’t be afraid. Even if they land on you, don’t harm them, they won’t sting,” Li Baiquan reminded him.

He placed the smoke near the stone base, and the bees, disturbed by the smoke, flew out in a flurry. Instinctively, they recognized the smoke as a forest fire signal.

“I’ll light another one,” Li Baiquan said, feeling one smoke source wasn’t enough, and lit another.

After the bees were sufficiently dazed by the smoke, he began dismantling the stone base.

“This place is relatively loose, much easier. I once dug up a wild honey nest under a tree root, had to dig and chop, it exhausted me.”

Li Baiquan continued working while chatting. Lin Heng noticed that the bees weren’t as terrifying as he’d imagined, and he relaxed a lot.

Soon, after dismantling the stone, the honeycomb started to show, and Lin Heng saw many capped, plump honeycombs.

“Great! This should yield at least four or five pounds of honey. Pass me the knife.”

Li Baiquan’s smile widened as he turned around.

“That’s great,” Lin Heng said with a broad smile, feeling pleased. It was only the afternoon of the first day, and they had already made such good progress.

Li Baiquan dug a bit more, exposing more of the honeycomb, and then carefully cut the first piece.

“This one alone weighs two pounds,” he said as he brushed away the few remaining bees from the comb and placed it in the plastic bag Lin Heng had prepared.

Lin Heng broke off a piece of honey, eating it along with the comb. It was so sweet that it felt a bit overwhelming, but after a while, he could still smell a floral fragrance.

“I should bring these bees back and keep them at Red Maple Mountain,” Lin Heng said with a smile. Bees are very beneficial to people. Not only honey, but the sound of their buzzing also has healing effects on the human body.

Studies show that beekeepers who frequently tend to their hives often live 5 to 10 years longer than average, and having a beehive near your home can make a person calmer, less likely to get angry or irritable.

“That’s a good idea. If you get a beehive, I can help you harvest them. I got my bees from the wild hills,” Li Baiquan said, still cutting the honeycombs. “Right now is the time when bees are splitting their colonies, and the newly split bees are easier to catch. Just some honey will attract them.”

After finishing, Li Baiquan covered the hole with stones, covered it with some tree leaves, and restored the area to its original state.

“Alright, when we get back, I’ll make two beehives with wooden boards,” Lin Heng nodded, thinking it would be convenient to have a couple of beehives at home for honey.

“With the honeycomb, we’ve got at least seven or eight pounds. The pure honey should be four or five pounds.”

After finishing, the two returned to a safe spot. Li Baiquan looked at the bag of honey and grinned.

“Yeah, we’ve each made ten yuan,” Lin Heng grinned in response.

“Turns out you’re lucky. Following you, I’m lucky too,” Li Baiquan said with a laugh.

Lin Heng added another layer of plastic to the honey and placed it in his backpack to divide later.

“By the way, did you find any traces of the badger?” Lin Heng asked.

“No, I think it’s in the three-way creek down there. With the light fading, we’ll probably have to find a place to sleep in the creek tonight,” Li Baiquan said.

“In that case, let’s search around here. This area might have some activity.”

The three-way creek is where three streams converge, forming a small basin filled with trees, rocks, and large wetlands. There must be traces of animals around here.

Lin Heng and Li Baiquan split up again and began searching.

As the sun began to set, various animals started coming out of the mountains. The golden hunting hours were between four in the afternoon and midnight.

Around four o’clock, Lin Heng spotted his first viable target: a gray squirrel sitting on a pine tree. He used his slingshot to shoot a clay pellet, hitting it squarely on the head.

With good technique, it’s hard to miss a target within range with a slingshot.

The squirrel fell from the tree with a soft thud. By the time Lin Heng reached it, it was already lifeless.

He continued on but didn’t find any more game. He did, however, come across a small patch of chicken oil fungus. This time, he collected it, as it would be good to cook with later, perhaps stewing it with the squirrel.

While walking down the mountain, Lin Heng spotted a large tree that seemed to be a spruce, around ten meters tall, with huge elliptical fruit balls hanging from its branches.

It was a rare species native to the Qinling Mountains, quite beautiful, but it held no real value for him.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up two fruit balls and tossed them into his basket. This species produces pine nuts, and he hoped to see if there were any squirrels nearby.

“Ah, there really is one,” Lin Heng thought as he spotted a red squirrel on a nearby tree. Although it was a bit high up, he decided to give it a try.

Just as he was about to act, a loud gunshot rang out in the distance, followed by a series of echoes.

The squirrel on the tree immediately dashed away in fear.

Lin Heng quickly moved toward Li Baiquan to regroup, wondering if someone had shot something.

“Did you get any game?” Lin Heng asked.

“A little squirrel, how about you?” he showed his collection.

“I didn’t catch anything, but I was lucky enough to find a patch of Foshou ginseng, about six or seven pounds of it,” Li Baiquan said, showing Lin Heng the roots. The plant resembled human hands and had high medicinal value. Wild ones could be sold for seven or eight yuan per pound.

“You’re luckier than I am,” Lin Heng said enviously. “Dried, it should weigh one or two pounds.”

“Ha, it’s your luck. Following you, I’m also doing well,” Li Baiquan grinned.

“Do you think they shot something big over there?” Lin Heng asked as they walked.

“Unlikely. I bet it’s just some pheasants or maybe a white weasel,” Li Baiquan shook his head.

“White weasel?” Lin Heng asked, not familiar with the term.

“Yeah, we call them that here,” Li Baiquan explained.

“But who knows, maybe they were lucky.”

“Could be,” Lin Heng nodded.

After walking for about a kilometer, they finally saw Tian Baishun and Lin Heng’s uncle, Lu Honghai.

Lin Heng asked first, “Did you catch anything?”

“Two golden pheasants, we found them today,” Lu Honghai said.

“We found them together, I shot the gun, and we each got one,” Tian Baishun added, shaking the two grayish-brown female pheasants.

“Not bad,” Lin Heng nodded. It was clear the pheasants wouldn’t last long. They could have a good meal tonight.

“What about you guys? What did you get?” Tian Baishun asked curiously.

Li Baiquan chuckled, “We got wild honey, Foshou ginseng, and Lin Heng shot a squirrel.”

“You guys are really lucky,” Tian Baishun said, looking at Lin Heng. Though Lin Heng hadn’t caught much, the things he collected were quite valuable.

Compared to the pheasants, their finds were things they could sell for a long time.

“It’s probably around five o’clock, we should find a place to sleep tonight. Let’s hunt again after we find a spot.”

Lin Heng glanced at the sky.

“Sounds good, all the nearby animals have probably been scared off.”

Lu Honghai nodded.

The four of them headed down the mountain together. Though it was summer, it was still a high mountain, and the forest was cool during the day. At night, the temperature would only be around eight to nine degrees Celsius.

They all knew the importance of finding a shelter, as bad weather could quickly turn dangerous in the mountains.

Many hunters had died in the Qinling Mountains, most from environmental factors rather than from wild animals.