PFC Chapter 274 Let's Team Up
Chapter 274 Let's Team Up
"What? You mean someone else is chasing it too?" Wang Ergou suddenly tensed up. "Then we have to hurry and chase after it! Otherwise, if they get beaten up, won't we have wasted our time?"
Li Xiangyang looked up at the sky and said softly, "Don't rush. With a leopard's speed, it's difficult for a human to catch up. Instead of blindly chasing, let's conserve our energy."
He crouched down and continued examining the goat carcass: "This goat hasn't been dead long; the meat is still fresh. Since we've found it, let's roast it first, don't waste it. Fill our stomachs before we chase after it."
Wang Ergou paced anxiously, "What if someone beats us up..."
"Don't worry," Li Xiangyang said confidently, "if it were that easy to kill, it wouldn't be a leopard."
Seeing Li Xiangyang's certainty, Wang Ergou could only nod in agreement.
The two quickly started a fire and began processing the goat meat.
Li Xiangyang skillfully skinned and gutted the meat, cut off several pieces of meat with a good balance of fat and lean, and grilled them over a fire.
Soon, the aroma filled the air, and even Little Tiger and Black Cat gathered around, watching eagerly.
"Here, eat it while it's hot." After cutting the meat and giving it to Xuanmao and Xiaohu, Li Xiangyang handed it to Wang Ergou before starting to eat. "It tastes good."
After giving the gold nugget on his shoulder, Wang Ergou ate it while asking, "Who do you think were those people chasing the leopard?"
Li Xiangyang narrowed his eyes: "It's hard to say. There have been quite a few hunters in the mountains lately, some from neighboring villages, others from elsewhere. If we encounter them, it's best if we each go our own way; otherwise, we can discuss teaming up."
After eating and drinking their fill, the two packed their things and continued on their way.
The black cat once again walked ahead, keenly sniffing the leopard's scent.
Little Tiger followed closely behind, occasionally letting out a low growl.
After traveling along the winding mountain road for about an hour, Xuanmao suddenly stopped again, his body tense.
Li Xiangyang immediately signaled Wang Ergou to stop and looked around warily.
"Something's up," Li Xiangyang whispered, raising his shotgun as he spoke.
A few low voices came from not far ahead.
Two figures could be seen moving through the bushes through the gaps in the leaves.
"It's a person!" Wang Ergou exclaimed in surprise in a low voice. "It seems there really are other hunters."
Li Xiangyang made a shushing gesture and cautiously approached.
As they got closer, the two people's features became clearer.
A middle-aged man and a young man, both carrying hunting rifles and leading dogs, were dressed like seasoned hunters.
“Isn’t that Zhou Guangming and his son from Taiping Village?” Wang Ergou recognized them.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "It really is them. It seems we've been chasing the same leopard."
Just as the two were hesitating whether to go up and say hello, a shrill scream suddenly came from afar, followed by a gunshot!
"Gunshots!" Wang Ergou exclaimed.
Li Xiangyang's expression changed: "Let's go, quick!"
The two ran towards the direction from which the sound came.
Gunshots echoed through the mountains and forests, startling a flock of birds into flight.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou rushed towards the sound, while Zhou Guangming and his son, who were not far away, were also attracted by the gunshot and ran in the same direction.
The four men rushed into an open area almost simultaneously. Three strangers stood in the distance, one of whom was holding a smoking shotgun and staring intently at the bushes on the hillside.
"Did you hit it?" a gruff voice asked.
“No, it just got a scratch from running too fast,” the man with the gun replied, frowning.
Li Xiangyang and Zhou Guangming exchanged a glance and stepped forward in tacit agreement.
"Oh my, isn't this Li Xiangyang from Xiaoliang Village and Zhou Guangming from Taiping Village?" The oldest of the three exclaimed in surprise when he saw the newcomers.
"Cheng Laosan? You guys are here to hunt leopards too?" Zhou Guangming recognized the other party.
“That’s right, let’s try our luck.” Old Cheng said with a chuckle, pointing to the two young men beside him, “This is my cousin and his friend. They dragged me up the mountain early this morning.”
"How was your luck?" Zhou Guangming asked.
The young man with the gun seemed a little embarrassed: "Haha, it's not obvious. I missed, just grazed it a little. That leopard was too agile; it darted into the bushes and disappeared in an instant. The hunting dogs couldn't catch it at all."
Wang Ergou secretly rejoiced; if someone else had hit it first, all his hard work today would have been for nothing.
"Alright, since you guys didn't manage to take it either, and we're all in the same boat, why don't we team up? Same number of people, multiple flanking maneuvers, and we'll split the spoils after we catch it, how about that?"
Zhou Guangming clearly hadn't expected to encounter so many people, and immediately made a suggestion.
Cheng Laosan and his two companions exchanged glances, agreeing that it was a good idea: "Sure, many hands make light work, we have no objections."
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou exchanged a glance, then smiled and said, "We have no objections either."
Since no one had any objections, the group immediately found a sheltered spot to rest temporarily.
Li Xiangyang generously took out the mutton he had found and shared it with everyone.
Immediately, everyone started a fire and began grilling meat, sharing their discoveries as they ate.
"I think this leopard was injured, but not seriously. It was very hungry, which is why it took the risk of attacking us yesterday," Li Xiangyang analyzed. "In my opinion, it's probably a fully grown male leopard, in its prime."
“I think Xiangyang is right, it must be starving,” Zhou Guangming added. “The weather has been changing a lot lately, making it hard to find prey.”
“That’s not right, Uncle Zhou. Even if it rained heavily in the mountains, it didn’t rain outside. We only found the leopard because we were chasing a herd of wild boars, and after we killed them, it attracted our attention,” Wang Ergou said, puzzled.
"You attracted it by killing the wild boar, but over there it entered the village and stole livestock. Combining this information, it seems it came down from the mountains chasing prey during a heavy rainstorm and got injured somehow. It looks like we must eliminate it as soon as possible, otherwise, if it gets its way with people, it will cause endless trouble."
After listening to what the others had said, Cheng Laosan wiped his hands and spoke.
Everyone nodded in agreement with his words.
"Alright, now that we have a general idea of its situation, let's split into three groups and search in different directions. Having familiar people together will make our teamwork much smoother."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and after agreeing on the signal method, the three groups split up and took action.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou proceeded along the mountain path to the east, with Xuanmao leading the way and Xiaohu following closely behind.
"Brother Xiangyang, which way do you think the leopard will run?" Wang Ergou asked in a low voice.
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "It's hard to say. It's like a frightened bird right now. Being chased by so many people and still managing to escape, it's clearly figured out that we're tracking it by temperature and will definitely go in circles. Finding it now is just a matter of luck."
Wang Ergou was somewhat disappointed: "So we're just going to search blindly like this?"
"Not entirely. Leopards usually prefer to stay in high places to better observe their prey. Besides, it's injured and needs to rest, right? Let's go to Luanshi Ridge first; there are many naturally formed caves there that would be suitable for it to hide in."