nycdaug Chapter 81 Bear Hunting
Chapter 81 Bear Hunting
The bear cub was furry and looked very cute, but at this moment its limbs had been tied up by the Oroqen people, and it could not move.
"Holy crap?! They just caught him like that?"
Li Mu stared wide-eyed at the bear cub in the Oroqen old man's hands, hardly believing his eyes.
"Won't catching this attract a mother bear?" Li Mu had barely finished speaking when he realized his question was somewhat unnecessary.
After all, the Oroqen people are the masters of these mountains and forests. Their knowledge of prey and their hunting skills are something that outsiders like myself cannot match.
Sure enough, the old Oroqen man laughed and said, "Don't worry, we were very careful when we caught the bear cub and didn't disturb the mother bear. Besides, black bears in these mountains are usually solitary, so one cub won't attract other black bears."
"If they come, that's fine! Kill them when they come!"
"boom!"
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
A huge black bear suddenly burst out from the depths of the dense forest, its eyes bloodshot and its roar deafening. Li Mu's legs went weak.
The enraged mother bear charged suddenly at the Oroqen old man and several men, moving with the speed of a black lightning bolt.
The Oroqen old man reacted quickly, throwing the bear cub in his arms to Li Mu behind him and shouting, "Quick, take the cub and run! This mother bear has gone mad!"
Li Mu caught the bear cub and felt its weight. He didn't dare to be careless and quickly turned around and ran towards the edge of the dense forest.
The mother bear roared and chased after them relentlessly, while the Oroqen old man and several men blocked her path.
"Ali, go and stop it! Don't let it catch up with Li Mu!" the Oroqen old man shouted.
Ali immediately stepped forward, blocking the mother bear's path. He held a hunting knife, and the mother bear roared as she pounced on Ali. Ali was agile and dodged the mother bear's attack in a flash.
He seized the opportunity to slash at the mother bear with his knife, but the mother bear had thick skin and flesh, and the hunting knife only left a shallow wound on its body.
Its skin is unbelievably thick.
Ali swung his knife a few more times, but it only left a few white marks on the mother bear and could not cause her any real harm.
Enraged, the mother bear let out a deafening roar and pounced on Ali again.
Ali dodged the mother bear's attack with a swift movement.
"Brother! What do we do now?!"
"Ali, step back!" the Oroqen old man shouted, and then took out a huge bow and arrow from behind him and aimed it at the raging mother bear.
He suddenly released the bowstring, and the arrow shot towards the mother bear like a bolt of lightning.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow struck the mother bear squarely in the left eye, and she let out a piercing roar as her entire body trembled.
It frantically waved its claws, trying to pull the arrows out of its eyes, but all its efforts were in vain.
The Oroqen old man's archery skills were extremely accurate. The arrow pierced deeply into the mother bear's skull, and bear blood gushed out like a spring, staining the surrounding snow red.
The mother bear struggled a few times on the snow with her massive body before finally collapsing to the ground, where she remained motionless.
The Oroqen elder put away his bow and arrows, walked to the mother bear's side, examined the arrow wounds, and confirmed that the mother bear was dead.
Li Mu hadn't run far when he witnessed this scene, and he was deeply shocked.
"Good archery!"
"What should we do with the bear cub?" Li Mu asked.
The Oroqen old man looked at the bear cub, then at Li Mu: "If we leave it here, we can't take it back. Whether it lives or dies is up to fate. We'll drag this black bear back, and you can have its skin and paws as payment for this hunt. As for the bear cub, we Oroqen people believe in hunting only adult animals and not killing cubs. That's our rule."
"Row."
Ali and his group dragged the black bear back first, while the Oroqen old man led Li Mu to wander around some more.
"I've heard that you Han people grind the bones of wild animals into powder and add it to medicine to cure diseases. Is that true?"
Li Mu nodded: "That's true. Animal bones ground into powder can be used as medicine to strengthen muscles and bones, and it has a good effect on some rheumatism, fractures and other ailments. However, it also depends on what kind of wild animal the bones are. Tiger bones and deer bones are more effective."
Upon hearing this, the Oroqen elder exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? You Han people really know how to come up with solutions. Well, we Oroqen people also have our own methods of treating illnesses. For example, the bile of a black bear can clear heat and detoxify, and treat some feverish illnesses. And deer antler, when soaked in wine, can strengthen the body."
"I'm planning to sell the animal hides, are you angry, brother?"
"What's there for me to be angry about? We Oroqen people value generosity and openness. The animal hides you hunted are naturally yours to do with as you please."
If you'd like, you can trade some animal hides with us for some medicine or game; we can each get what we need.
The old Oroqen man laughed heartily, appearing extremely open-minded.
Li Mu was overjoyed. He had been worried that the Oroqen people would mind him selling animal hides, but now that the old Oroqen man had said that, he felt relieved.
"Thank you very much, brother. Once I've processed these animal hides, I'll definitely bring some to exchange for medicinal herbs."
"Let me teach you a few tricks for hunting foxes and weasels."
The Oroqen elder led Li Mu to the edge of a dense forest. The trees here were thick, a place where foxes and minks often roamed.
The Oroqen old man pointed ahead: "After it snows in winter, fox and mink footprints will be left in the snow. Follow the footprints and you will find their dens. But be careful, foxes and minks are very cunning. Dens usually have multiple exits. You have to observe carefully and don't let them trick you."
The Oroqen elder led Li Mu as they searched for fox and sable tracks in the snow.
Soon they discovered a string of fox footprints.
The Oroqen old man squatted down: "Look at these footprints. The front paws are wide and the hind paws are narrow. These are unique to foxes. And look at the depth of these footprints. This indicates that this fox is not light. It should be an adult fox."
The Oroqen old man stood up and continued to follow the footprints: "Stay close to me, we have to be careful, don't let the fox get away."
Soon they arrived at a thicket of bushes.
The Oroqen old man stopped and pointed to a cave ahead: "Look, that's the fox's den."
Li Mu looked in the direction the Oroqen old man was pointing and saw a cave hidden by weeds in front of him. The entrance was not big, but it looked quite hidden.
"Guess how many foxes are inside?"
Li Mu couldn't tell, so he could only guess: "One big and one small?"
"Wrong! Look at the weeds at the entrance of the hole; they're slightly flattened, which means a fox has just been in and out."