sjar Chapter 352 The Powerful and Terrifying Gobi Bear
Chapter 352 The Powerful and Terrifying Gobi Bear
Two male pheasants, one large and one small, were being held perfectly by Li Ju'an, wing to wing, in his hand. Their strong, powerful legs were still kicking vigorously.
Grandpa Zhao laughed heartily, and Li Ju'an and Chen Xiangqian were also pleasantly surprised and very satisfied.
Over the past two weeks, the falconry has made considerable progress. I estimate that in a few more days, we'll be able to try our skills with the argali sheep in the Gobi Desert. Argali hides are extremely popular in town, far exceeding the value of sheep hides from ordinary villagers; their scarcity drives up the price.
Those merchants with a penchant for novelty tirelessly traveled between various villages, just to search for those rare and unusual items that were hard to find in the town.
As night fell, in the kitchen of the Zhao family's old house, the firewood roared and the water in the pot was boiling.
Li Ju'an skillfully processed the freshly captured rooster. He deftly slit its throat to bleed it, plucked its feathers, and then cut open its abdomen to clean out its internal organs. The fresh, warm entrails became a delicacy for the two falcons. They flapped their wings, excitedly enjoying their meal, and in no time, they had the rooster's internal organs completely cleaned.
Li Ju'an handed the cleaned pheasant to Grandpa Zhao and stewed a large pot of fragrant stone pot roasted chicken.
The pheasant meat is firm and has a texture that is incomparable to the chickens from farms in later generations. The thigh meat is firm yet tender, and with one bite, chicken juice bursts in your mouth.
The three of them breathed on the scalding hot stewed chicken, reluctant to swallow it.
Looking at Li Ju'an's two falcons and the hunting dogs lying on the ground, Grandpa Zhao said, "Li Pao, raising these dogs is not easy, it takes a lot of effort."
"Isn't it?"
Li Ju'an and Chen Xiangqian walked side by side on their way to the barley field. They not only trained eagles but also had a team of hunting dogs, skillfully conducting a series of hunts. These hunting dogs did not need their owners' frequent urging; the lead dog would follow the subtle scents left by the prey to track it, while others would follow the trail and intercept the prey.
Li Ju'an only needed to hear the hunting dogs' urgent and passionate barking to raise his gun and deliver a fatal blow to his prey.
Although people often say that hunting dogs are mostly carnivorous, in reality they are almost self-sufficient and, while hunting, they also earn food for the hunters.
Li Ju'an led the chestnut horse over and tied it to the wooden beam outside the door. The chestnut horse was laden with a lot of unharvested meat, mostly roe deer meat and elk meat. There was also a very large elk antler, quite imposing, with what looked like seven or eight forks.
Grandpa Zhao watched with envy, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Hunting dogs are fiercer in the mountains. But if they came to our Gobi Desert, these hunting dogs would probably go hungry."
Chen Xiangqian and Li Ju'an listened attentively. After hearing about the harsh Gobi environment of the barley fields, they both took a deep breath and nodded.
Grandpa Zhao told stories about the Gobi Desert.
The barley field is located in the Gobi Desert, where the edges meet lush grasslands and are interspersed with desert and semi-desert landforms. The bare rocky Gobi adds a touch of desolation to the landscape.
In this complex and varied landscape, besides the argali sheep and snow leopards, the most common sight is the sand lizard darting swiftly across the ground. Their backs are covered with yellowish-brown or grayish-brown scales, and they move with agility and steadiness.
As night fell and the stars twinkled, Li Ju'an suddenly heard several long and mournful howls coming from afar.
Chen Xiangqian's expression hardened, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes: "Are there still some thugs around? They've chased us all the way here?"
During his stay in the village, he had already heard the story of revenge and escape between Li Ju'an and Qingpizi. After Wolf Eyes' failed attack on the hunters, he disappeared, but the hunters all knew that Wolf Eyes wouldn't give up so easily.
Wolves are very vengeful and petty. Once they suffer a loss, they will definitely seek revenge, especially since so many hunters went into the mountains with Li Ju'an.
Wolf Eyes' target group for revenge is very large.
Grandpa Zhao glanced at his pipe and chuckled, saying, "There are no wolves in this area, only jackals. But if you ask me, the jackals here are nothing! If you happen to run into a lone wolf, you're in big trouble."
On the vast Gobi Desert, a sizable group of jackals inhabits the area, and their territory is often marked by the presence of robust prey such as blue sheep. Jackals are natural-born masters of social living, and their groups range from as few as thirteen or fourteen individuals to even larger numbers.
As night falls, the Gobi Desert is gently shrouded in a mysterious darkness. A pack of jackals emerges in the gloom, seemingly wandering aimlessly, but in reality, searching for their next meal. The precision with which they divide their tasks is astonishing.
Some jackals stand on high places, their sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, acting as watchdogs. Their presence ensures that no movement on this land escapes their watchful eyes. To avoid encountering jackals, the locals do not venture too far from their villages alone, but rather stay together in groups.
Chen Xiangqian asked, "Master Zhao, what is a lone wolf?"
Grandpa Zhao took a deep drag on his pipe, squinted, and exhaled a smoke ring. He chuckled and said, "You guys are familiar with this lone ranger carrying a gun, aren't you? Guo Xiong, I suppose."
The national bear, locally known as the Gobi bear, is a reclusive member of the brown bear family. Although it weighs less than 300 pounds and doesn't appear particularly robust, this spirit of the Gobi possesses unimaginable agility and speed, and its explosive power over short distances is truly astonishing.
Compared to the sprinters of the grasslands known for their speed, the Gobi bear's running speed may be slightly inferior, averaging only around 30 kilometers per hour. However, its broad paws, strong hind legs, and especially its sharp and tough claws that are deeply embedded in the sand, allow it to demonstrate astonishing grip and explosive power with every stomp, making its short-distance sprints incredibly swift.
The Gobi bear has an excellent body structure, allowing it to evade danger by twisting its body.
Li Ju'an routinely hunts bears in the bear enclosure during winter. Even in winter, hunting brown bears in the best hunting grounds, Tiancang, is very difficult, and hunting dogs have a high chance of being injured or killed. Now, the national bears of the Gobi Desert are wandering around this bare rocky terrain, and you never know when you might bump into one.
Chen Xiangqian gasped and said, "A Gobi bear? One slap from that thing could knock my skull off."
Gobi bears are extremely powerful, even daring to kill packs of wolves. They also have strong fighting skills, with broad and powerful forearms and large, wide hands. When fighting, they will stand upright and launch a fierce attack on their enemies with their fleshy paws.
Especially when Gobi bears are driven to the brink of extreme hunger, they become exceptionally ferocious and bloodthirsty. For the sake of survival, they will launch relentless attacks on any creature that enters their territory. Their four canines, sharp as blades, can easily tear through the tough hides of their prey, striking at vital organs.
Grandpa Zhao gazed into the distance, sighed softly, and slowly took off the dog-skin hat that had been with him for many years. Then he gently rolled up his sleeves, revealing several old scars.
Although Li Ju'an was somewhat prepared, when his eyes fell upon the shocking sight beneath Old Zhao's sleeve—a section of white bone protruding from his elbow, chilling and terrifying—and the faint, mottled scars on the back of his head, he still couldn't help but feel an indescribable shock.
The old man had an old injury on the back of his head; a piece of his scalp had been torn off, and the skull was visible.
Li Ju'an and Chen Xiangqian took a deep breath, a chill ran down their spines, and goosebumps rose on their skin.