amaotonovel Chapter 427 White Badger
Chapter 427 White Badger
The two men kept a watchful eye on the bushes, their fingers on the triggers, ready to respond to any potential danger.
Suddenly, a white figure flashed past from the bushes, so fast that it was almost an illusion.
"What was that?" Wang Ergou squinted, staring at the white figure that quickly disappeared into the distant woods.
Li Xiangyang put down his hunting rifle, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "A badger."
"Really?" Wang Ergou asked, puzzled. "I've only ever seen grayish-brown badgers."
Li Xiangyang squinted, carefully observing the direction in which the white figure disappeared: "I shouldn't be mistaken. Some animals, due to genetic factors, lack the ability to synthesize melanin, so they are entirely white. This is very rare among wild animals, such as white deer. Encountering a white badger is definitely our luck."
"Then this hide..." Wang Ergou swallowed, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Priceless." Li Xiangyang took a deep breath. "Let's go, let's catch up and take a look."
The two immediately followed the tracks left by the white badger.
Little Tiger scouted ahead, sniffing the ground every now and then to confirm the direction.
The little goldfish hovered in the sky, helping them search for traces of their target.
The badger's footprints were clearly visible on the soft snow, and the two tracked it down smoothly.
Unbeknownst to them, they had ventured deep into the mountains and forests, going further than originally planned.
"That guy really ran a long way," Wang Ergou said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and panting heavily.
Li Xiangyang crouched down, examining the footprints on the ground: "Judging by how fresh the footprints are, it should be not far ahead. Let's slow down and not disturb it."
The two of them tread lightly and continued forward cautiously.
The woods gradually thinned out, revealing an open area ahead, where the badger's tracks led straight.
"Be careful, this place is too open, there's not much cover," Li Xiangyang whispered, raising his hunting rifle and cautiously observing his surroundings.
Wang Ergou nodded, raised his gun, and followed closely behind Li Xiangyang.
Just then, Xiao Hu suddenly stopped, his ears perked up, and his body tensed.
Li Xiangyang immediately made a gesture, signaling Wang Ergou to stop.
He carefully observed what lay ahead and suddenly saw a white badger gnawing on something at the edge of the open area, completely unaware of the danger approaching.
"See that? Next to that fallen pine tree," Li Xiangyang said quietly, pointing ahead.
Wang Ergou looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw the pure white badger.
"It's a bit far. I'll go to the left, and you flank it from the right. Don't alert it," Li Xiangyang whispered, and Wang Ergou nodded to indicate that he understood.
The two split up and carefully moved around the open area, trying to approach the white badger from two directions.
Li Xiangyang stepped on the soft snow, trying his best to make no sound with each step.
His breathing became very light, and his eyes remained fixed on the white badger, afraid that it might suddenly discover them and escape.
When he moved to a suitable position, he looked at Wang Ergou opposite him and saw that the other was also in position. He immediately raised his gun and aimed at the white badger.
At this critical moment, the white badger seemed to sense danger, suddenly raising its head and warily looking around. Its eyes were surprisingly pale red, appearing particularly eerie against its white fur.
Before Li Xiangyang could pull the trigger, the white badger sensed the danger and took off running at an astonishing speed.
"boom!"
Wang Ergou fired a shot, but due to the distance and the speed of the white badger, the bullet landed on the snow behind it, splashing up a cloud of snowflakes.
"Chase!" Li Xiangyang shouted, and immediately gave chase in the direction the white badger had fled.
The badger darted into a thicket, and the two men followed closely behind, but the thicket was so dense that their vision was obstructed, and they lost sight of it for a moment.
"Damn it, where did it go?" Wang Ergou looked around anxiously, trying to find traces of the white badger.
Li Xiangyang crouched down, searching for footprints in the snow: "Over here, it ran this way."
The two continued their pursuit, but the white badger's route became increasingly complex, sometimes circling and sometimes walking in a straight line, seemingly intentionally confusing the pursuers.
"That guy is really cunning," Wang Ergou said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and panting slightly.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Wild animals have a lot of instincts and escape techniques. But don't worry, it won't go far."
The tracking continued, and before they knew it, it was getting dark.
Winter dusk comes exceptionally early; the sun has already set, its afterglow spilling onto the snow. The mountains and forests are utterly silent, save for the occasional soft "plop" of snow falling from the branches.
"It's getting dark," Wang Ergou said with some concern, looking up at the sky.
Li Xiangyang also stopped and looked around. They had already walked quite a distance and were no longer close to the village: "Indeed, if we keep chasing them, we might not be able to get back."
Wang Ergou was somewhat unwilling: "Are we just going to give up like this?"
Li Xiangyang patted him on the shoulder: "Don't rush, we've already figured out its range, we can hunt it another day. Let's go, we don't want to lose the roe deer and not catch the white badger."
Wang Ergou thought for a moment and nodded: "That's true, let's go back."
The two turned back, and fortunately, Li Xiangyang had a good memory and knew the way. They soon found the tree where the roe deer had been hanging.
The roe deer was still hanging there unharmed. The two of them took it down, carried it on their shoulders, and walked back through the crunching snow.
The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, lashed against my face, feeling like countless tiny blades scraping my skin.
As night fell completely, the two finally returned to the village.
When she got home, Li Xiaoyun had already prepared dinner.
Seeing Li Xiangyang return, a smile immediately bloomed on her face: "You're back? How was it? Did you find anything?"
Li Xiangyang put down his catch, strode into the house, and rubbed his frozen hands: "Yes. Xiao Hu caught a rabbit, and Er Gou and I hunted a roe deer. We each got half."
Li Xiaoyun quickly poured him a cup of hot water: "Warm yourself up, your nose is all red from the cold."
Li Xiangyang took the water glass and drank it down in one gulp, feeling his body warm up immediately. "Oh, by the way, I also encountered a white badger today, but unfortunately I didn't manage to shoot it. I'll try again another day."
"A white badger?" Li Xiaoyun asked curiously, "What does it look like?"
Li Xiangyang described the appearance of the white badger, which Li Xiaoyun listened to with great interest, occasionally asking for details.
"This is the first time I've ever heard of a white badger," Li Xiaoyun said in surprise. "I really want to see what it looks like."
Li Xiangyang smiled and said, "You'll see him once I've defeated him."
After dinner, Li Xiangyang helped Li Xiaoyun clear the dishes, and the two sat on the warm kang (heated brick bed) chatting.