Chapter 188: Musk in the Forest

“No way, I’m beat!”

After dinner, Lin Heng flopped down on his rattan bed. Today’s trek had been even longer than before.

Old Man Gao chuckled as he looked at him. “Already worn out? You’ve got to train more. We only hiked about fifteen kilometers today. Back in the day, when we were marching in the army, we’d carry forty to fifty pounds on our backs and cover fifty or sixty kilometers a day. Now that was exhausting.”

Lin Heng shook his head repeatedly. “You guys were elite light infantry. I can’t compete with that, Grandpa.”

There was no way he could match the stamina of seasoned soldiers.

Old Man Gao laughed heartily. “With your build, if you trained properly, you’d be a solid recruit.”

Li Baiquan chimed in with a smile, “Lin Heng’s definitely got potential. With how accurate you are with a bow, you might just become a sharpshooter with a gun!”

Lin Heng quickly waved his hands. He had no desire to join the army. “I’m only good for hunting. I can’t stand being tied down by rules…”

…

As they chatted, the three of them slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, they made a simple breakfast of sauerkraut and noodle dumplings, then set off into the mountains.

They followed the stream upstream. The gully had dried up, but the cliffs on both sides still loomed tall and steep. From the gray rock crevices, clusters of wild orchids peeked out, their green leaves swaying gently in the breeze—refreshing and calming to the soul.

The valley was strewn with large rocks—white, black, gray—all kinds.

The sun was out again today, but it was still bitterly cold. The wind howled through the canyon, which never got much sunlight, so snow still covered the ground.

After walking about five hundred meters, the three of them found a path leading up the mountain and eagerly began their search for game.

Old Man Gao looked toward the towering Mount Taibai in the distance and said, “We’re not far from Mount Taibai now. Let’s head straight that way.”

They were already within the Mount Taibai range. Here, the trees were shorter, and in some places, there were wide grassy patches or thick blankets of moss. Compared to the tall forests, this terrain was more complex, which meant a richer diversity of wildlife.

They had barely started climbing when Li Baiquan pointed to the opposite slope. “Look! Golden snub-nosed monkeys again!”

The monkeys were chattering noisily. Lin Heng and Old Man Gao spotted them immediately.

They were perched on a few fir trees across the way, munching on hanging strands of lichen. Even as they ate, they squabbled and fought. Lin Heng saw one fall from a tree, but it bounced right back up and scampered up again like nothing had happened.

Old Man Gao sighed in admiration. “The ecosystem here is incredible. With all this mist and cloud, maybe today we’ll get lucky.”

Li Baiquan nodded. “Let’s split up and explore. Just don’t go too far.”

With that plan, Lin Heng took Xiong Ba and headed off on his own. Once they were a bit away, he rubbed Xiong Ba’s head and said, “You’ve been eating well these past few days. Time to earn your keep—go find me a muntjac or something.”

“Awoo~”

Xiong Ba lifted his head like a person and started sniffing around.

They were at high altitude now, with a thin layer of snow still on the ground. This area was already at 3,000 meters, and Mount Taibai’s peak reached up to 3,700. Even with the sun out, the snow in the forest hadn’t melted yet.

After walking a few hundred meters, Lin Heng spotted a red squirrel darting away from behind a tree root.

Xiong Ba gave chase, but the squirrel quickly scampered up to the top of a pine tree.

“Hiding more chestnuts again?”

Lin Heng laughed and searched around the tree’s base. Sure enough, he found a stash of chestnuts and acorns hidden in a hollow.

The chestnuts were all large, plump, and smooth—top quality.

“Chirp!”

From the top of the pine tree came the squirrel’s indignant protest. Lin Heng’s behavior was clearly shameless.

He grinned. “Relax, I left you some acorns. I don’t eat those.”

He picked up another pound of chestnuts, thoroughly pleased. He didn’t bother trying to hunt the squirrel—the pine tree’s branches were too dense, and if an arrow got stuck, climbing up to retrieve it wouldn’t be worth the trouble.

Snagging a few chestnuts without effort? Pure profit.

After two hours of searching this mountain, with no real results, Lin Heng turned toward Mount Taibai.

On a slope up ahead, he spotted a grassy patch. Even in winter, there was still a hint of green. Lin Heng figured there might be something there.

Not far into the woods, he suddenly noticed some hoofprints.

“Xiong Ba, find it!”

He rubbed the dog’s head, excitement rising. These tracks were definitely fresh—probably from yesterday.

Man and dog followed the trail a short distance and soon found droppings—fresh ones layered over old ones.

A classic latrine spot. Whether it was musk deer or muntjac, these animals had the habit of using fixed spots to relieve themselves, usually not far from their dens.

Lin Heng crouched down for a closer look and quickly identified it. “This is musk deer droppings!”

Being able to identify game by its droppings was a key skill for hunters, and Lin Heng had just recently picked it up.

He was so sure because his family had two musk deer. Though smaller than muntjac, musk deer droppings were larger—shaped like kidney beans. Muntjac droppings were round, like soybeans.

Slowing his pace, Lin Heng and Xiong Ba began searching the area.

With signs of prey nearby, the mountain wind didn’t feel quite so cold anymore.

They weaved through the woods and soon reached a patch of shrubs. The area was covered with low bushes, grasses, and patches of green moss.

Lin Heng didn’t act rashly. He found a good hiding spot and quietly observed his surroundings.

The worst thing in hunting was being reckless. As long as you stayed still and hidden, your chances rose significantly.

After half an hour of careful watching, Lin Heng spotted a patch of white amidst the green shrubs.

“Found it!”

His heart leapt. It was the white fur on the chest of a musk deer.

He waited a bit longer, and when the deer moved, he caught a glimpse of its backward-curving canine teeth.

A male musk deer!

Lin Heng’s heart raced. That meant musk—worth at least a thousand yuan if he bagged it.

But then he hesitated. Maybe he could set a King Yama’s Noose Trap nearby and catch it alive. That would be worth even more.

After thinking it over, Lin Heng shook his head. “No, better a bird in the hand than ten in the bush. I’ll take the shot.”

Who knew what might happen later? Better to act now.

The deer hadn’t noticed him yet, and he was over 300 meters away. If he got closer, he might have a shot.

He set down his bow case, pulled out his compound bow, and nocked an arrow. Then, he slowly crept forward, picking a good angle.

In just a few minutes, he closed the distance to 200 meters. The musk deer still hadn’t noticed him.

Gritting his teeth, he moved in even closer. After more than ten minutes of careful approach, he found himself just over 70 meters away.

Such a large target at only 70 meters—Lin Heng could hardly believe it. He drew his bow, aimed for three seconds, and loosed the arrow.

With a sharp whoosh, the arrow released from the fifty-pound draw bow shot out at a speed of seventy to eighty meters per second—at this distance, it hit its mark in barely a second.

Almost the moment the animal heard the sound, the unstoppable Hunting Arrow had already pierced through its body.

“Woof woof!!”

Instinctively, it tried to flee, but Xiong Ba bolted after it.

Lin Heng, on the other hand, strolled forward unhurriedly. That musk deer wasn’t going to get far. An arrow straight through the belly—there was no surviving that.

Three minutes later, he heard Xiong Ba barking. By the time he caught up, the musk deer was already lying motionless on the ground.

Clearly, it was dead.

Lin Heng picked it up and gave it a look. “Feels a bit light,” he muttered.

He estimated it weighed around thirteen or fourteen jin—maybe fifteen pounds. What he really wondered was how much musk it had.

Judging by the size, it had probably bred before, so the musk content might not be that high.

Still, no matter what, it’d easily fetch a thousand yuan. Just the thought made Lin Heng grin from ear to ear.

“The resources around Mount Taibai really are abundant,” he said with a sigh. It was only his first day here, and he already had such a good haul.

He let Xiong Ba lick the blood, then slung the musk deer over his shoulder and began the trek back. It was already past two in the afternoon, and by the time he returned, it’d be close to dusk.

He had wandered quite a distance from his uncle-in-law, Old Man Gao, and the others, so he planned to regroup with them.

Not long into his walk, he heard a gunshot echo from a mountain across the way.

When he finally met up with the others, he saw his uncle-in-law holding a large, grayish hare.

Li Baiquan was just about to boast about his catch when he spotted the musk deer Lin Heng was carrying—and froze in place.

“Lin Heng, you got a musk deer?!”

He was stunned. Lin Heng’s luck was unreal. He’d been hunting for years and had never bagged a musk deer.

And yet Lin Heng had gotten three this year alone. It was enough to make a man jealous.

Lin Heng laughed. “I was just wandering through the woods and stumbled upon it. Xiong Ba deserves some credit too.”

He’d been following Xiong Ba’s lead the whole time, and the dog had really come through.

If not for Xiong Ba, he probably wouldn’t have gone in that direction—and would’ve missed the deer entirely.

“Looks like I need to get a dog too,” Li Baiquan said, eyeing Xiong Ba with admiration. That dog was not only impressive but also incredibly useful.

When they met up with Old Man Gao, he was carrying two hazel grouse. His eyes lit up when he saw the musk deer and he laughed, “You’re something else. First day at the foot of Mount Taibai and you already got a musk deer.”

“All thanks to Xiong Ba—he found it,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Old Man Gao shook his head. “Don’t be modest. These things are super alert. You can’t get one without skill and patience.”

“Haha, well, I guess I’ve got a little skill,” Lin Heng admitted with a grin.

Old Man Gao clapped him on the shoulder and said with a chuckle, “We won’t take any of the musk, but you won’t mind if we have a taste of the meat, right?”

“Of course not,” Lin Heng laughed. “You could eat the whole thing if you wanted—I’ll cook it.”

“I’ve never tasted musk deer before. I hear it’s really nourishing,” Li Baiquan added with a grin.

All three had caught something and were starving, so they headed straight back to camp.

It was only five o’clock, still over an hour before sunset.

Lin Heng first removed the musk sac and laid it on a rock to dry.

Then he handed over the skinning job to Old Man Gao, while he and Li Baiquan rebuilt the stove with some mud to vent the smoke outside.

Each of them had brought a small pot, so Lin Heng cut off a leg from the musk deer and sliced the meat for stir-frying.

He used the bones and two ribs to make a soup, adding chestnuts and wild yam that his uncle-in-law had just dug up.

Musk deer meat was almost entirely lean. Lin Heng added some pork belly for richness, and as soon as it hit the pan, the aroma was mouthwatering.

He tossed in some yellow bean paste and pickled radish slices from home, and soon a fragrant pot of stir-fried musk deer was ready.

While the rice cooked, the three of them sipped yellow wine and dug into the stir-fry.

Old Man Gao took one bite and nodded. “This meat is tender—better than beef.”

Li Baiquan nodded in agreement. “No wonder these animals are getting rarer.”

Lin Heng took a few hearty bites, then smiled and raised his cup to drink with the others.

They didn’t have much wine, so they sipped it slowly.

The musk deer meat was even more delicate than venison, with a finer grain. Thinly sliced, it was soft and full of rich, meaty flavor. Chewy, but not tough.

“If I can bag a wild boar this trip, I’ll be satisfied,” Li Baiquan said with a tipsy smile.

“That’s not hard,” Lin Heng replied with a laugh. “Wild boars are way more common than musk deer. Just need to look carefully.”

“Yeah, this area probably has plenty,” Old Man Gao agreed.

After finishing their wine, Lin Heng brought over the rib soup. “Here, have some.”

“Mmm, smells amazing. This wild yam is delicious too.”

Old Man Gao took a sip and nodded in satisfaction. He already felt the trip was worth it.

The soup had simmered for over an hour, and the meat had fallen off the bones. The yam, added half an hour ago, was so soft it nearly fell apart when picked up with chopsticks.

Wild yam cooks much faster than the cultivated kind—ten to twenty minutes is usually enough. The farmed variety can take two hours and still stay firm.

The flavor of the soup was even better than regular pork rib soup. Musk deer bones were richer in nutrients than pig bones.

Lin Heng made a mental note to bring the leftovers home for his wife and kids—and let his parents and older brother have a taste too.

In the end, there was still plenty of soup left—not because it wasn’t tasty, but because they were simply too full.

Between the meat and the rice, they were stuffed.

After dinner, Lin Heng tied up the musk sac with a rope and hung it to air dry. Once it was fully dried, he’d wrap it in paper for storage.

The deer hide was also hung up to dry for later use.

The next morning, everyone woke up feeling warm and energized.

Li Baiquan chuckled, “That musk deer meat really is something—my whole body feels warmer.”

Old Man Gao nodded. “It’s definitely nourishing. And the yam and chestnuts are great supplements too. No wonder we feel so strong. But we shouldn’t overdo it. Let’s eat the hazel grouse and pork I caught today. Lin Heng should take the rest of the musk deer meat home for his family.”

Lin Heng had been generous the night before, sharing over four jin—nearly five pounds—of meat with them.

Li Baiquan agreed. “Absolutely. We’ve still got pork offal left too. Let’s skip the musk deer meat today.”

“The organs are edible too, but they probably won’t keep until we get back,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Old Man Gao laughed. “Then let’s make pork offal noodles for breakfast. Lin Heng’s cooking is top-notch.”

(End of Chapter)