sjar Chapter 360 Hunting in Cooperation with Falcons
Chapter 360 Hunting in Cooperation with Falcons
Chen Xiangqian bet that once the ibex is startled, it will run around like a whirlwind, and hey, if it accidentally steps into a trap, he'll consider it his first successful trap-setting attempt.
The division commander's son was very interested in hunting. Li Ju'an looked at him and it was as if he was seeing himself in the mountains of the south in his previous life, following the old hunters. He laughed and said, "Just watch, I guarantee you'll have a good catch. If you still haven't caught anything after all this, Zhao the foreman will personally catch a lamb for you and treat you to roast lamb."
Chen Xiangqian jumped up and shouted, "I thought you were treating me to roast whole lamb, Brother Li. Turns out you asked Zhao to treat me. You're so cunning!"
Grandpa Zhao laughed heartily and said, "It's all a small matter, very simple. We have a argali sheep here, I'll roast it and cut off the leg meat for you nephews to have a good meal."
The atmosphere in Qingkedi Village is simple yet warm.
The three men set up a trap, then moved a small stool and set up a sunshade to play cards in the village.
There weren't many cards that the three of them could play, so when Grandma Zhang and Aunt Zhao joined in, there were five of them. Then, with Zhang's nephew joining in, there were six of them, and they started playing Pai Gow.
Zhang's nephew was still balancing a porcelain basin on his head. He was playing cards when he suddenly heard the high-pitched cry of an eagle overhead and shouted, "Oh no! Uncle, Aunt, you keep playing, I'm going to hide!"
He suddenly lifted his foot, his body rising to his feet, and was about to run away when a clear whistle pierced the air—it was Li Ju'an's signal. As the whistle faded, two magnificent falcons swooped down from the sky, landing steadily on Li Ju'an's strong arms, one after the other.
They held their heads high, their sharp eyes filled with curiosity about their surroundings, especially their fixed gaze on Zhang's nephew.
When Zhang's nephew first saw this scene, his gaze first swept over the falcon, then he hurriedly looked up at the empty blue sky, and finally fell back on the majestic falcon on Li Ju'an's arm. The panic in his heart was instantly replaced by a strange sense of relief.
A playful smile crept across his lips, his tense expression vanishing. He let out a long breath and joked, "Who was talking just now? I'm just going to the outhouse. Uncles and aunts, wait for me, I'll be right back."
After saying that, he didn't forget to reach out his finger and tease the falcon on Li Ju'an's arm, whistling twice in a nonchalant manner.
The two agile falcons, not to be trifled with, suddenly extended their sharp beaks and pecked him accurately. The force was so great that Zhang's nephew screamed in terror. He hurriedly withdrew his hand, rubbing the sore spot vigorously, and turned to run away like a frightened rabbit, his disheveled appearance drawing laughter from the onlookers.
Watching Zhang's nephew's retreating figure, Grandpa Zhao shook his head gently and sighed, "This child has lived in constant fear these past few years. But eagles are different from ordinary prey; they're not easy to catch."
Even the experienced hunters in Eagle Village often lament how difficult it is to catch golden eagles. In particular, those golden eagles that have grudges against people are like maggots clinging to bones, coming to take revenge every day, making it extremely difficult to get rid of their entanglement.
Li Ju'an played two rounds of cards and won 30 cents. Grandpa Zhao sighed and gave him 12 cents. Several women sighed and gave him 8 cents. Li Ju'an reached into his hand at Chen Xiangqian and said, "Give it to me."
Chen Xiangqian lost the most. He lost 1 cents in the first two rounds and then lost every round after that. After half a day, he had emptied his pocket of 2 yuan.
He pushed the cards aside and shouted, "I'm not playing anymore."
His aunts and sisters-in-law, used to the young man's behavior, teased him, saying, "Play a little longer, and we'll introduce your niece to you later."
Chen Xiangqian scrambled and stumbled after Li Ju'an, the laughter of the villagers echoing behind him.
Li Ju'an released his falcon to search for traces of other prey.
He discovered that with the falcon, the tracking speed was much faster. Hunting dogs could only detect a limited range of scents, and they still needed experience to locate prey. But with the falcon soaring through the air, its eagle eyes could clearly see any prey flashing by across mountains and deserts within a radius of several kilometers.
With a whistle, two eagles flapped their wings and soared into the sky.
Suddenly, a hawk let out a loud cry and excitedly swooped down on the herd of blue sheep on the Gobi Desert.
From afar, Li Ju'an also saw a row of black dots on the Gobi Desert. The herd of argali sheep was more than 1200 meters away from him. The distance was great, and the commotion was loud. Under the pursuit of the falcon, the argali sheep took off and fled frantically towards the high, bare rocks.
Li Ju'an set up his Mosin-Nagant hunting rifle, held it to his face, observed through the 3.5x scope, and aimed when the opportunity arose before pulling the trigger. He was wondering to himself, the goshawk wasn't a large falcon, but a medium-sized one, capable of hunting foxes, badgers, and rabbits, and it couldn't possibly pose much of a threat to the blue sheep.
He observed quietly for a moment, then a sudden realization flashed in his eyes. Among the herd of ibex, he spotted a figure that stood out from the crowd: a young ibex cub.
The little guy's legs were still quite immature, and he moved with a slight limp. He was closely following his mother sheep, trying to climb the rugged rock wall with a limp, learning survival skills.
Perhaps it was an innate trust in the bare rocks, but the little ibex, led by its mother, darted through the stone paths of the Gobi Desert without hesitation, deftly crossing patches of salt-alkali-covered rocks, all to escape the increasingly approaching and heart-pounding cries of eagles in the sky.
A high-pitched and sharp eagle cry pierced the sky, its power no less than that of a golden eagle's hoot, awe-inspiring and awe-inspiring.
At this moment, two young falcons spread their wings, their imposing presence no less than that of the golden eagle.
Several successful hunting experiences have boosted their confidence, and several live hunts have further fueled their confidence. They are so eager to reach out with their talons and grab and tumble the argali sheep.
Li Ju'an put his finger to his lips and whistled.
The whistles used by the eagle trainers in Yingtun include simple commands as well as simple hunting commands.
The area in front of the two eagles, where he was driving the herd, was where he would set his trap. If he could coordinate well with the eagles, the herd of ibex would be driven into the trap.
The whistle blew, and the two falcons, hearing the urging, excitedly swooped down, extending their sharp talons towards the little ibex.
The powerful wings of the eagle sliced through the wind, creating a fierce whooshing sound in the air, startling the herd of ibex. Suddenly, the change occurred; the ewes stopped fleeing, turned around, and used their hard heads to shield their young, lashing out at the eagle in the sky with furious cries.
The sheep are protecting their young.
Chen Xiangqian lifted his foot to rush forward.
Li Ju'an shouted to him, "Don't go! A beast protecting its young is in more danger than a seriously injured one."