sjar Chapter 359 Lowering the Rock Sheep Trap
Chapter 359 Lowering the Rock Sheep Trap
Li Ju'an's gaze followed the majestic figure soaring in the sky. He saw that the eagle's wingspan was as wide as 1.8 meters, making it look particularly awe-inspiring and imposing under the blue sky.
That was a golden eagle!
Seeing this, Grandpa Zhao knew what Li Ju'an was thinking. He smiled and slowly exhaled a string of smoke rings, his tone tinged with pride and smugness.
"When it comes to the king of the skies, the golden eagle is the one to take the crown! Not only does it fly high, but it is also incredibly large. What a hawk can catch is nothing but a piece of cake for a golden eagle. Hawks are good at taking the young, while golden eagles specialize in taking the big ones. Even those cunning weasels can fight it to a standstill."
Li Ju'an had long heard of the legends of the eagle trainers in Eagle Village, and knew that they trained a wide variety of eagles, from agile and nimble goshawks to magnificent golden eagles; there was no eagle that the eagle trainers could not tame.
He said, "What if we could tame a golden eagle that could fight an adult wolf?"
He gripped his hunting rifle tightly, knowing that dealing with this pack of wolves would be no easy task. Last time, the alpha wolf, known as "Wolf Eyes," led a massive army of twenty-eight wolves to invade the territory, luring Old Qian and Old Zhang from the security department into an ancient cave riddled with landmines, where they set a trap.
He dared not underestimate "Wolf Eyes" in the slightest, especially since this cunning fellow was the alpha wolf personally trained by Old Qin, the King of the Changbai Mountains. When dealing with hunters, its cunning and ability made it a double threat.
"Wolf Eyes" was exceptionally cunning, agile, and nimble. If the hunting dogs weren't so entrenched in their dens, the hunters would struggle to hit them accurately. He recalled their last encounter, attributing his victory largely to chance.
Last time, he was just lucky. A landmine happened to detonate a 37-year-old buried iron lump, which blew up seven or eight shrews at the same time.
Seeing how worried Li Ju'an was, Grandpa Zhao asked him what was going on. He was also incredibly surprised to hear that a wolf with eyes had appeared in Lijiatun.
He said, "Wolf Eyes has to grow up alongside a bear. Does the wolf with eyes in your village have a bear following him around?"
Chen Xiangqian blurted out, "That wolf's eyes grew up with the mother bear, and the two cubs were already sent to the city zoo by Qin Paotou through someone."
Li Ju'an didn't interrupt him. Seeing that Li Ju'an's expression was off, Grandpa Zhao suddenly asked, "The bear escaped again?"
Li Ju'an shook his head and said, "The two bears are still in the city zoo. But that wolf-eyed bear has taken three cubs that have lost their mother and disappeared."
Grandpa Zhao sighed and said, "This is really a troublesome matter. If the bear grows up, its strength will be incredible."
The villagers are very wary of raising wolves. Wolves are different from dogs; they are wild and can be tamed for a while, but they cannot stay obediently in the village forever.
There once lived a villager who went hunting in the mountains near the barley field. He encountered a lone wolf. For some reason, he didn't hunt the wolf that day. Instead, he shared his provisions with the wolf, and they traveled together. Over time, they became acquainted, and the wolf even helped him hunt.
This story became a popular tale in Qingkedi Village. Later, the lone wolf integrated into the wolf pack and would occasionally return to visit the hunter, bringing him some leg meat or fur from small animals to thank him for sharing the provisions he had received years ago.
After the women told him about the village hunters' cooperation with wolves, Li Ju'an quickened his pace in digging the deer burrow, saying, "Wolves have a spirit; they know how to repay kindness. If they repay kindness, they can also seek revenge."
Wolf Eyes was indebted to Old Qin, but Old Qin abandoned it because it was missing a tooth. It also got into a fierce fight with Li Ju'an's leader dog, Tiger, so it could no longer trust the hunter.
After hearing Li Ju'an's story about the wolf's eyes, the villagers in the barley field sighed and said regretfully, "It's karma. They shouldn't have raised wolves. Who knows if the arrival of wolves would have been a blessing or a curse?"
On a sunny hillside, Li Ju'an and Chen Xiangqian dug four deer burrows. The two of them were already panting after digging four, and it was clear they wouldn't be able to dig nine more. These four burrows would be enough for Grandpa Zhao during the winter.
He then made wire loops and iron traps, setting up dozens of animal trapping points along the edge of the salt flats.
The tiger barked as it spotted the tracks of pheasants and rabbits.
Li Ju'an believed that even a small gain was still a gain, and catching as many prey as possible was always good.
On the edge of that remote wilderness, he set up dozens of ingenious traps specifically to catch agile small pheasants and cunning hares. Then, his gaze turned to a rock face, a path frequently trodden by argali sheep.
He focused intently on one end of the wire rope in his hand, twisting it downwards into a loop. He abandoned the convenient pliers and relied entirely on the strength and skill of his hands to slowly twist it into a sturdy loop.
His movements were practiced and skillful. The other end of the wire, under his deft manipulation, was cleverly folded back and threaded through the handcrafted loop, forming a noose waiting for its prey. Throughout this process, he paid particular attention to ensure that the folded-back end was tightly wrapped around the upright rope, rather than the flexible loop, because the size of the loop was crucial.
The size of the ring must be such that the rope can pass through easily, while also giving the prey about to be caught enough room to move around; after all, his target was those robust ibex.
To match the size of these massive creatures, he had to make the snare larger than ever before. He cleverly attached another section of rope to the basic loop, expanding the trap's range, and then connected two smaller loops to the smaller one, creating a large figure-eight shape.
This lasso is a clever trap for the nimble ibex; once caught, there is no chance of escape. He carefully completed the final step, cleverly concealing the end of the intricately woven lasso in the dense bushes at the edge of a bare rock, binding it tightly to the thick roots of the bushes as if it were a natural part of their growth.
Chen Xiangqian followed suit, setting up his own lasso in a similar manner. His method of securing it was quite conspicuous; he directly tied the lasso to a protruding rock on the bare cliff, making it appear particularly direct and powerful.
Grandpa Zhao leisurely puffed on his pipe, a playful smile on his lips, and joked, "Young man, you've underestimated the sharp eyesight of the ibex."
Chen Xiangqian didn't seem to care, a confident smile playing on his lips: "The argali are fast. Who knows if they might be careless for a moment and fall right in? What if they do? If they do, we'll be rich!"