Chapter 108: Forest Musk Deer? A Bold and Reckless Fellow

With Xiong Ba, Lin Heng examined the other two fishhooks set earlier. The hooks were rusty, and the corn had even sprouted.

When they reached the last fishhook set for trapping wild chickens, Lin Heng heard flapping sounds from a distance.

“There’s something!”

Lin Heng smiled with excitement and quickly grabbed Xiong Ba’s tail, worried it might get bitten.

As they approached, they saw a black-legged grouse struggling wildly, blood dripping from its mouth, the hook caught on its lower jaw.

But it was much stronger than the wild chicken earlier, which had swallowed the hook and died from the internal injury caused by the hook tearing its throat.

Lin Heng rushed over to pin the grouse down, tying its wings and legs with a rope before removing the hook. He wasn’t about to make the stupid mistake of showing off the hook and letting the fish fall back into the water.

The same applied to the grouse. After securing it, he pried open its mouth and checked the injury on its jaw. Luckily, it wasn’t fatal.

“It’s good it’s still alive, even though it’s only about a pound. At least we can take it home,” Lin Heng chuckled.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to bring food back for their wives and children, but small game wasn’t worth the trip, so it would just be eaten.

The catfish they had caught earlier was saved for later, not eaten. The same went for this live grouse.

When Lin Heng returned to camp, his elder brother had already come back, chatting happily with his son Lin Wei while processing mushrooms.

“Lin Heng, you got… What the hell, how did you get this, and it’s alive?”

Lin Yue jumped up when he saw the grouse.

“Of course, I didn’t shoot it. It was caught by the fishhooks I set earlier. The wild chicken swallowed the hook and died, but the grouse didn’t, and the hook was caught on its mouth,” Lin Heng explained with a grin. Fishermen might not catch fish, but they could catch anything else.

“Woof woof!” Xiong Ba strutted proudly, as if claiming half the credit.

“We’ll have meat today!” Lin Wei jumped around excitedly like a primitive man.

Lin Yue, already thinking ahead, said, “The fishhooks have yielded results, so the other traps should have too. Let’s finish eating and go check.”

“I agree,” Lin Heng smiled. He dropped the wild chicken on the ground and tied the live grouse to a tree trunk.

“This wild chicken is big enough. Let’s eat half and save the rest. We’ll make a stir-fried chicken with shiitake mushrooms today.”

“Got it, I’ll start the fire,” Lin Yue said.

Lin Wei rushed to gather dry wood.

Once the chicken soup was ready, the routine followed: Xiong Ba got the innards, half of the meat was kept aside, and the other half chopped into small pieces and stir-fried with shiitake mushrooms.

In no time, a fragrant dish of stir-fried chicken with mushrooms was ready, served in a small wooden bowl made by Lin Heng.

They then cooked rice, and it was a meal worth savoring. No words were needed as the three of them ate in silence until the plates were empty.

The shiitake mushrooms were tender and fragrant, and the wild chicken had a great chew—tougher than farm chicken, with more flavor, and some bones were even soft enough to chew through.

However, compared to farm chicken, the meat was much less.

After the meal, the three of them belched contentedly and stretched.

“The sun’s only been up for half the day, and it’s already so hot. It’s really exhausting,” Lin Heng sighed, his clothes drenched in sweat.

But the creek water had cleared up. It wasn’t as murky anymore, and it would likely be clean by tomorrow, making it a good opportunity to wash clothes and take a bath.

“Bro, let’s go check the traps. I have a feeling there’s more today,” Lin Yue said eagerly.

“We won’t make it to the Sancha Gou Canyon today. We’ll have to wait for the sun to dry it out. For now, let’s check the traps where I set the musk deer snares,” Lin Heng replied after thinking for a moment.

“I’m coming with you, Second Dad!” Lin Wei called out.

“Let’s go then.”

With knives, bows, and arrows, and carrying baskets, the three set out.

They walked straight, not picking any mushrooms unless they saw ganoderma. Their main goal was to check on the musk deer traps.

After more than half an hour, they arrived at the forest.

“Hmm? The snare didn’t catch anything. What’s going on?” Lin Yue asked, confused.

Lin Heng carefully observed and concluded, “It’s probably because of the rain that the trap was triggered automatically. There are no traces of any prey.”

“Is it another empty trip, Second Dad?” Lin Yue sighed in disappointment.

“Don’t worry, there are still a few more,” Lin Heng reassured, smiling. He reset the snare and moved on to the next one.

They went through two more empty traps, and the mood grew darker. Had the wild chicken and grouse from earlier been the beginning or the end?

At the final trap site, Lin Heng had set up three snare traps. As they arrived, Lin Heng froze for a moment, then suddenly sprinted toward the area.

“Woof woof!” Xiong Ba followed, excitedly running after him.

“Don’t bite it, Xiong Ba!” Lin Heng yelled, his voice shaking with excitement.

“Woo! Woo!”

In the distance, a desperate cry and frantic struggles rang out as a gray figure was suspended in mid-air, pulling at branches and shaking violently.

“Damn, there’s prey!”

“We hit the jackpot!”

Lin Yue and his son, who were behind collecting mushrooms, were startled and immediately ran toward the snare, tossing aside the mushrooms they were holding.

“Dad, is that a muntjac?” Lin Wei asked as they ran, having never seen live game before.

“No, it’s a musk deer. Second Dad caught it!” Lin Yue said excitedly. This musk deer was likely more valuable than decades’ worth of ginseng!

Xiong Ba and Lin Heng reached the site, and Xiong Ba circled around, while the musk deer struggled harder, defecating and urinating in fear.

“Woo!”

The miserable sound echoed through the canyon.

“Don’t be scared!” Lin Heng comforted, holding the deer’s head and gently patting its body.

The musk deer was small, weighing only about twenty pounds, smaller than a farm dog.

As always, Lin Heng stayed calm and steady. He first put a rope around its neck and then through its legs, ensuring it couldn’t escape. He then released the snare and placed it gently on the ground, continuing to comfort it.

“Xiong Ba, stay away and don’t scare it.” Lin Heng patted Xiong Ba’s head.

Live animals were far more valuable than dead ones, so he didn’t want to frighten it to death.

“Woo!”

Xiong Ba gave him a reproachful look before walking off, tail wagging. The look seemed to say, “You’ve forgotten me for this new pet.”

“Bro, you hit it big!” Lin Yue ran up, panting, congratulating him.

Lin Heng smiled wryly, “This is a female musk deer, not a male, so no musk.”

Lin Heng couldn’t help but feel disappointed. This was the same musk deer he had spotted a while ago.

Had it been a male, the musk would have been worth over a thousand dollars.

“Ah, let me take a look,” Lin Yue said, walking over to check.

“Ha! It’s a female alright,” he laughed.

“No worries, we’ll raise it and catch a male for breeding,” he continued, slapping his brother on the back.

“I’m thinking the same,” Lin Heng said with a smile. He was serious about raising musk deer, as they were profitable.

Musk was expensive, and the meat and fur could be sold too.

“Well, if we didn’t catch a male, we’ll just make do,” Lin Heng sighed.

“Second Dad, let me touch it!” Lin Wei ran over, eager to feel the animal.

Seeing wasn’t enough for him. He reached out to touch it.

“Brother, help me tie its legs. I’ll carry it back. I’m not sure it won’t try to escape,” Lin Heng said cautiously.

This hunter was extremely cautious, not giving any opportunity for escape.

No choice—his past experience with catching fish had left him paranoid, even though the rope around its neck was secure.

“Okay,” Lin Yue agreed, helping to tie the legs.

Lin Heng checked the musk deer again, ensuring it didn’t continue to howl. He even tied its mouth shut.

It was tightly bound, poor thing. It had no idea that a month ago, Lin Heng had only caught a glimpse of it, and now here it was, in his hands.

Carrying the deer back to camp, Lin Heng was so excited he didn’t know what to say.

He hadn’t expected to catch it, especially since he’d failed so many times before. But somehow, after all the disappointments, this one last hope had paid off.

It felt just like when you’ve been fishing for days with no success, then finally give up and toss your rod aside, only for it to catch something right after you let go.

Hunting, like fishing, is full of uncertainty. You never know when the game will appear. Sometimes, no matter how much you bait, you just can’t catch anything.

He looked at the poor, struggling musk deer for a few minutes, touching it a few more times.

After checking the tightness of the rope around its neck, Lin Heng finally untied its legs and mouth, afraid the heat would kill it.

Not fully trusting it, he tied another rope to its legs, attaching a wooden stick behind it.

This way, even if the rope around its neck broke, the deer wouldn’t run fast, and there would still be a chance to catch it again.

“Brother, we’re ready. Let’s go check the snares and traps we set.” Lin Yue urged, feeling optimistic about today’s chances.

“Okay.”

Lin Heng nodded and looked at his nephew. “Lin Wei, I’ll tie the deer by the stream. Keep an eye on it, don’t let it run away.”

Lin Wei wanted to follow them to the mountain but nodded in agreement, “Alright, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

After tying the musk deer by the creek, it began struggling and making noises again. Lin Heng didn’t mind for now; once it got tired, it would stop.

“Let’s go, check the other traps.”

Lin Heng was filled with renewed confidence as the two brothers set off upstream together. Along the stream, not only had Lin Heng set traps, but their father and Lin Yue had placed many others too.

The two of them walked up the slope along the riverbank, picking mushrooms and checking the rope traps along the way.

“Damn, the King of Hell trap here also triggered automatically. The chances of catching anything are slim,” Lin Yue said helplessly. They had checked about ten traps, and six of the eight King of Hell traps had triggered by themselves.

The rain had softened the ground, making it too easy for these spring-loaded traps to trigger on their own.

“Don’t worry, there are still rope traps. Can’t say for sure yet,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

While repairing the traps that had triggered automatically, the two continued walking forward, occasionally picking mushrooms.

Soon, they reached the spot where Lin Heng had shot the duck last time. Still, they didn’t find any game, and both were feeling a bit discouraged. They picked some mushrooms, no longer holding out much hope for anything else.

“Woof woof!!”

While picking mushrooms, they heard Xiong Ba barking excitedly ahead, but his bark was more urgent than the usual happy barks when finding mushrooms.

“Could there be something trapped?”

“Let’s go see!”

Lin Heng and Lin Yue both called out and started jogging toward the source of the barking, quickly covering a few hundred meters.

From a distance, they saw Xiong Ba standing by the riverbank, the grass around him flattened, but no sign of any game.

“Is this a regular rope trap?” Lin Heng asked, noticing it wasn’t one he had set.

“It’s mine, just a regular rope trap,” Lin Yue nodded.

The two ran over excitedly, and near the flattened grass, they found a badger lying dead on the ground, its body stiff.

“It wasn’t killed today. Probably a day or two ago,” Lin Heng said, pinching the badger’s body and looking at its eyes.

“Luckily, it doesn’t smell yet, and it’s still good to eat. Brother, you’ve made it big this time. This is a big badger, over 20 pounds.”

Lin Heng laughed. Badger fur was also quite valuable.

After inspecting, Lin Heng noted the badger’s eyes were still clear, indicating it was likely trapped yesterday. If it had been trapped four days ago, even in rainy weather, it would have started to smell by now.

“Looks like it tried to come to the river’s edge to catch fish as the water rose but got trapped and strangled,” Lin Heng continued.

“Haha, I didn’t expect to be this lucky,” Lin Yue said, lifting the badger to inspect it.

“This isn’t luck, it’s inevitable. We’ve set at least a couple of hundred traps, so we’re bound to catch something,” Lin Heng said with a smile. They were counting on probability from the start.

“Brother, put the badger in the basket. Let’s keep going up,” Lin Yue said with a smile.

“Alright.”

After securing the badger, they continued their journey.

On the way, they not only needed to reset the traps but also set two more rope traps after finding new signs of game.

“Brother, looks like I’ll need to head back tomorrow. Otherwise, the badger will spoil,” Lin Yue said as they walked.

“Definitely. You should take it back and call Dad to help. After another couple of days, I’ll head back too,” Lin Heng nodded.

Without realizing it, the two arrived at the spot where they had picked mushrooms last time. The giant mushroom tree hadn’t grown much this time, probably due to not having enough nutrients stored up.

“No mushrooms this time?” Lin Yue said, surprised. He had recognized the giant mushroom tree from the last time.

Just as Lin Heng was about to speak, he suddenly noticed something moving on the tree branches across the creek. Looking carefully, he saw a few monkeys climbing the tree, watching them.

“Golden snub-nosed monkeys. That’s rare,” Lin Yue said with a laugh.

“Oooh oooh!” Lin Heng called to them, not interested. Unless he was starving, he didn’t care about these creatures.

Not to mention, even if he could hunt them, he didn’t feel comfortable eating monkeys, given how much they resembled humans.

“Oooh oooh!” The monkeys across the river responded, standing on the tree, not afraid of humans.

“Damn it,” Lin Heng shook his head speechlessly, continuing forward with his brother as they crossed the creek.

On the other side, they began walking back.

“These damn monkeys are so bold,” Lin Heng muttered as they passed the two monkeys still watching them from the tree.

“This is nothing. I heard in some villages, monkeys even come down to steal sweet potatoes drying in the yard,” Lin Yue laughed.

After a quick glance at the monkeys, the two continued on, not bothering with them.

“Woof woof!!”

Xiong Ba, meanwhile, provoked them with a few barks, prompting the monkeys to start chattering back.

On the return journey, they didn’t find any game near the creek, but they did reset the traps.

The recent rain would likely attract many animals to the river to catch fish, and Lin Heng still felt there was hope.

“Brother, there’s something here. A golden pheasant has been eaten, only feathers are left.”

As they neared the camp, Lin Yue made another discovery.

Lin Heng looked closely. There were feathers everywhere. This golden pheasant had been hoisted up by a small King of Hell trap and had been eaten.

“Not sure if it was a clouded leopard, wild cat, or a civet. The tracks are similar,” Lin Heng said, inspecting the footprints on the ground but unable to follow them.

Waiting for a rabbit by the tree was pointless. Wild cats and clouded leopards had excellent eyesight and sense of smell.

“I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to check the traps in the Three Forks Gorge. Maybe we’ll have some luck,” Lin Yue said regretfully. The pheasant meat would have been delicious.

“Let’s go back and process the badger,” Lin Heng said with a smile. It wasn’t the time to hunt pheasants.

In the winter, when the leaves fell, hunting pheasants would be easier. They would be perched on the branches, and even without a flashlight, it would be easy to spot them.

Unlike now, even if a pheasant called, it was hard to tell the direction unless it was very close.

When they returned to the camp, Lin Heng first went to check on his prized muntjac. It was lying in the grass, seeming to realize it couldn’t escape and was too tired to make any noise.

On the other side, Lin Wei was happily shouting. His dad had caught a badger, and it was amazing.

After checking on the muntjac, Lin Heng went over to help with the badger. He was already skilled at skinning and gutting it.

“It must have died yesterday. The intestines haven’t changed color,” Lin Yue said, smiling as he examined the badger’s intestines.

“Yeah,” Lin Heng nodded. Not spoiling was the best news. If it had spoiled, that would have been a huge loss.

They had spent several days regretting it and wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

The badger’s lungs and spleen were boiled and fed to Xiong Ba, while the heart, liver, kidneys, stomach, intestines, and other parts were prepared for stir-frying for dinner.

These couldn’t be taken back, so they would be eaten on the mountain.

The badger meat was heavily salted and would be taken home the next morning.

The only thing they didn’t need to worry about spoiling was the badger’s lard.

“If only it had been alive, we wouldn’t have to worry about it spoiling,” Lin Yue sighed, feeling a bit envious of Lin Heng’s muntjac.

“Haha, Brother, you’re being too greedy,” Lin Heng laughed.

“Hey, what are you two talking about? Did you catch anything?” A voice called from the distance.

“Dad!” Both of them exclaimed in unison.

“Grandpa, our harvest is huge! Second Uncle caught a live muntjac and a live grouse, and Dad caught a badger!” Lin Wei shouted excitedly.

“Muntjac, badger!!”

Hearing this, Lin Father quickly quickened his pace and rushed over to inspect.

Looking at the dismembered badger and the live muntjac, he clapped his hands and said, “Good, good, good! This trip up the mountain wasn’t in vain.”

Lin Father was even more excited than the two of them. He couldn’t stop looking and touching.

(End of chapter)

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