Chapter 381: Chapter 287: Hunting (2)
Director Roland gave a faint smile.
"My family is all vacationing in Italy, so it’s more interesting to stay here in the Crown Territory. I go on a hunt once every year, but this is my first time on the Tundra. I promise I won’t hold you back. Besides, venturing into the Tundra could give me more inspiration for my new film."
’Just listen to him.’
’Now that’s what I call being smooth.’
’"Give me more inspiration," he says. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?’
’Makes it impossible for me to refuse.’
Feng Mountain thought for a moment. "Alright then. Do you know how to ride a snowmobile? We’ll be on the Tundra for a whole day, and I don’t have the energy to babysit you."
"No problem," Director Roland said with a nod.
"Then let’s head out. Everyone else stays home." Feng Mountain finalized the hunting party, and the others looked disappointed.
Three snowmobiles, towing sleds, drove out of the camp.
They plunged headfirst into the vast Tundra, shrouded in the polar night.
The temperature was now close to -50 degrees Celsius. A cold current from the Arctic Ocean swept across the Tundra, and most of the Thunderbirds and grouse had sought refuge from the wind and snow deep within the Moonlight Forest.
First stop: the Moonlight Forest.
The three snowmobiles zipped through the primeval forest, their engine noise echoing through the silence. They occasionally startled Thunderbirds and grouse hiding in the canopies.
These individual stragglers weren’t Feng Mountain’s target. Hunting them one by one was too much trouble; he needed to find a large flock.
First, they headed to the dead-tree den to ask Prince and Princess for help. When it came to finding prey, nothing was better suited for the job than a Taiga Wolf.
AWOO!!
Hearing the roar of the snowmobiles, Xiong Da and Xiong Er had already run out to the snowy clearing in front of the den.
By the time Feng Mountain arrived, the two little guys were trying to haul their chubby bodies onto the vehicle’s seat. They struggled for a long time but just couldn’t climb up, whining anxiously.
"You two need to lose some weight. You can’t even climb onto the snowmobile." Feng Mountain hopped off his vehicle, tucked a Polar Bear cub under each arm, and tossed them onto the seat.
Hearing the commotion, the White Wolf Pack ran out from nearby. When Prince and Princess saw Feng Mountain, they wagged their heads and tails excitedly.
Feng Mountain hugged Prince and Princess, then looked at the White Wolf Pack. "I need two wolves to help me. I’m going hunting in the woods."
Learning that their master was going hunting, Prince and Princess immediately let out a series of whimpers, and the Wolf Pack gathered together at the sound.
"I don’t need that many. Two or three is enough. If you all go, who will look after Xiong Da and Xiong Er?"
AWOO!
Xiong Da and Xiong Er, who had been chewing on the snowmobile seat, heard their names called and quickly tried to jump off the vehicle. They face-planted in the snow, scrambled unsteadily to their feet, and tumbled their way over to their "parents."
Brimming with maternal love, Princess gently licked the snowflakes off Xiong Da.
Prince lifted his hind leg and kicked away Xiong Er, who was trying to act cute beside him.
’Hmph!’
’The fatherly love is there... just not a lot of it.’
Seeing this, Feng Mountain shook his head and chuckled. He looked over at Lao Liu in the Wolf Pack, the one with the worried-looking eyebrows. "Just have Lao Liu and one other wolf come with us. You two stay here in the den."
WOOF WOOF!
Prince turned his head and barked twice at the Wolf Pack.
Lao Liu and another White Wolf ran out from the pack and sat down beside Feng Mountain.
Helpers acquired.
Feng Mountain didn’t linger. He patted Prince and Princess on the head and got up to walk toward his snowmobile.
Meanwhile, this was the first time Director Roland had ever seen a Wolf Pack, and also the first time he’d seen humans and wolves interacting so amicably.
On top of that, the pack’s Alpha Wolf had a goofy look to him, and then there were the two little Polar Bears.
No matter how he looked at it, the strange combination was just bizarre.
So he couldn’t help but ask Yves in a low voice.
"Buddy, this Wolf Pack knows Feng? They’re so close... and why are there Polar Bears here?"
Yves pointed at Prince and Princess. "That Husky and the White Wolf are the boss’s pets; he raised them since they were pups. The boss also found the Wolf Pack on the Tundra. The two little Polar Bears were adopted from Kaktovik Town."
Director Roland was speechless.
’What a complicated set of animal relationships.’
’You could make a whole documentary about these cross-species connections.’
When Feng Mountain got back on his snowmobile, Lao Liu and the other White Wolf expertly climbed onto the sled and slipped under the waterproof tarp.
Before leaving, Feng Mountain said to Prince and Princess.
"Remember to come home in a couple of days. We’re having a Christmas event at the house, so don’t be late!"
AWOOO!
WOOF WOOF!
Prince and Princess nodded in response.
Director Roland was once again struck with awe. How were all the animals in the Crown Territory so intelligent? They could even understand human language.
They set out on their hunt once more.
The group continued deeper into the Moonlight Forest. The White Wolf Pack had long since cleared out the nearby animals; not only were there no Thunderbirds or grouse, but even the squirrels had been scared off and relocated.
They traveled along the edge of the woods for an hour.
Feng Mountain, who was in the lead, raised a hand to signal a stop. The three snowmobiles slowly came to a halt.
Without the engine noise, the only sounds in the woods were the whistling of the wind and snow, and the occasional, faint cackle.
It was the distinctive call of a Thunderbird.
Feng Mountain patted his leg, and Lao Liu and the other White Wolf emerged from under the waterproof tarp.
"Go find the Thunderbirds. A large flock, preferably."
The next moment, the two White Wolves shot off with a WHOOSH. With their all-white fur as camouflage, you wouldn’t even notice two wolves moving across the snow unless you were looking for them specifically.
While the White Wolves were out searching for prey, Yves took out weapons from the vehicle. They were .22 pistols, and even Director Roland was given one.
About ten minutes later.
The RUSTLE of footsteps came from not far away. Lao Liu then emerged from a thicket, a low growl rumbling in his throat as he gestured with his head in a certain direction.
"Found them?"
"Let’s go. Lead the way." Feng Mountain waved at Lao Liu, and the three men followed behind the White Wolf.
Before long, the group arrived near a grove of spruce trees.
Lao Liu lay flat in the snow, looking up into the spruce canopies. Feng Mountain followed his gaze and saw a flock of black-and-white feathered grouse perched on the tangled branches. A quick glance told him there were no fewer than thirty of them.
’This is the one!’
Feng Mountain pulled out his .22 Magnum pistol. Nash, Yves, and Director Roland followed suit, drawing their pistols as well.
"Fire at will. Get as many as you can."
Before his words had even faded, Feng Mountain pulled the trigger.
The muzzle report of a .22 Magnum pistol is very quiet, almost negligible in the wild. Plus, with a capacity of 20+1 rounds, it was incredibly convenient for hunting small game.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The series of gunshots was perfectly masked by the sound of the wind and snow.
The flock of grouse hiding in the spruce branches didn’t even have time to react. One by one, they were hit and fell from the branches, thrashing their wings in their death throes on the snow below.
Of the thirty-odd grouse, more than twenty were hit. Feng Mountain had accounted for the majority of them, with Yves and Nash getting the rest. As for Director Roland, he was just along for the ride.
Finally, the deaths of their flockmates caught the attention of the other grouse, which flapped their wings and fled into the distance.
Lao Liu, who had been lying in the snow, suddenly shot out. He ran under the tree, snatched up a grouse that wasn’t quite dead yet, and dropped it at Feng Mountain’s feet before turning back for more.
This professional attitude made Director Roland click his tongue in amazement.
A dog could easily do this with training.
But this was a pure, wild Taiga Wolf.
Feng Mountain picked up the still-breathing grouse, drew his Hunting Knife, and swiftly cut off its head. Then he crossed its two feet and hung it upside down on a branch.
He did this while the grouse’s body was still warm to drain the blood, preventing it from coagulating and ruining the taste of the meat.
Nash and Yves also got busy, chopping heads and draining blood.
Soon, all twenty-plus grouse were processed, and the freezing temperature sealed the wounds on their necks.
The number seemed high, but each grouse only weighed about a pound or so. After plucking and gutting, there wouldn’t be much meat left.
Nash gathered the grouse, which were now frozen solid, and loaded them onto the sled.
Feng Mountain pointed to the twenty-some heads. "Lao Liu, eat up!"
Though they were just discarded heads, they were still packed with nutrients. For a wolf, the high-protein brain was a delicacy.
Lao Liu wolfed down the heads, replenishing the energy he had just expended.
Just then, the other White Wolf returned, also letting out a low growl to indicate it had found prey.
After a short rest, the four men followed the White Wolf.
They heard a chorus of cackles before they even got close.
It was the call of Thunderbirds, and from the sound of it, there seemed to be a lot of them.
Feng Mountain crept downwind, hid behind a snowdrift, and carefully peeked over the top.
They were no more than thirty meters away.
Under a stand of spruce trees, in a thicket not yet buried by the snow, a dense flock of white-feathered Thunderbirds was pecking at berries on the bushes.
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