sbdcsierra Chapter 333 Li Ju'an Demonstrates Against the Wolf Pack
Chapter 333 Li Ju'an Demonstrates Against the Wolf Pack
The Lu brothers were trapped inside the grotto, as were Song Desheng, Lao Qian, and Lao Zhang. Sun Weimin and Sun Quande were trapped in a deeper grotto not far away. Both groups were dumbfounded.
Lu Zhiqiang slowly looked around at the deep cave, and immediately understood that this was not a masterpiece of nature, but more like a trap carefully set by hunters in the past, with the marks of time etched on it.
Inside the grotto, several skeletons lay scattered, their pale hue gleaming in the dim light. Undoubtedly, these were the remains of wild beasts that had strayed into this silent place. Even more chilling was the sight of a human skull lying amidst the piles of bones.
The skull reveals neither its age nor the identity of the inhabitants. This gives a glimpse into the depth of the grotto and the difficulty of escape.
Lu Zhiqiang recalled the moment he lost his footing and fell. His leg accidentally landed on a pile of dry bones. A sharp pain shot through him, and his ankle twisted violently. Fortunately, this tripping caused him to deviate from the direct trajectory of the fall; otherwise, the five-meter-deep abyss would have been enough to break his bones.
Not far away, Old Qian also stumbled and fell into the cave. Following closely behind were the figures of the male wolf and the bald old wolf. Their eyes gleamed with a strange light. The male wolf was not injured at all; his limp was just an act.
Two wolves followed behind the wolf's eyes, howling wildly at the people below, as if gloating and cursing.
Wolves are utterly cunning when hunting, but become rampant and arrogant once they gain the upper hand. Old Qian suddenly realized he had been tricked, and his anger flared up like gunpowder. He wanted nothing more than to fire several shots into the dark entrance of the cave to vent his frustration.
The two wolves were incredibly cunning, flashing past the cave entrance in a mere instant, too fast to even give him a chance to fire. Left with no other option, he had to suppress his anger, swallowing a large mouthful of rage.
The wolf howled at the sky, its eyes gleaming with an eerie green light, as if summoning its companions. Soon, more wolves closed in, forming an impenetrable encirclement, determined to trap and kill the hunters.
Song Desheng's heart sank, and his voice was filled with panic: "What should we do? Are we really going to be worn down to death like this?"
Seeing this, Lu Zhiqiang gripped his ugly revolver tightly, pointed it at the sky, and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed through the valley. He shouted, "I just heard a sound!" He tried to use this awe-inspiring sound to call for help from the hunters. Perhaps there were other hunters hunting nearby, which would give him hope.
In the distance, a long, drawn-out wolf howl appeared.
The wolf howl was peculiar. Normally, members of a wolf pack would howl to communicate. However, communication between different packs is extremely rare. Wolves have distinct territories, and territorial divisions mean that wolves from other packs are enemies.
Song Desheng shouted, "Why is another pack of wolves coming? Are they trying to divide us up? Can we even keep up with these two packs?"
The thought that Li Ju'an was still missing, and that all of them—two teams of hunters—had fallen into the wolf's trap, leaving Li Ju'an to travel alone, was too much for the wolves. One man plus a pack of hunting dogs—that wouldn't be enough for the wolves.
Lu Zhiqiang had the same thought as him and roared, "Damn it! These bastards dragged Li Ju'an away?"
A chill ran through the group. They didn't want to believe it, but wolves were far too cunning and much smarter than ordinary alpha wolves. They knew how to use old traps left by hunters to lure and capture wolves. The more they thought about Li Ju'an, the more hopeless they felt.
Suddenly, the howls of wolves in the distance grew closer and closer, as if they were rushing towards this area at high speed.
Sun Weimin heard it too, and he shouted in Lu Zhiqiang's direction: "See that? Another pack of wolves is coming. There's going to be a fight in this area soon. You guys are still searching the mountain for Li Ju'an? He's definitely gone."
Lu Zhiqiang shouted angrily, "What the hell is going on? You're still so petty. Have some decency!"
Sun Weimin loved hearing him break down. The more the Lu family broke down, the smug he became. He excitedly shouted, "If Li Ju'an hadn't been torn to pieces by the wolves, I'd be doing a handstand and crawling around the village, believe it or not."
“You’d better remember this, you said it yourself.”
Outside the deep and mysterious grotto, the two argued fiercely, shouting insults at each other across the cave. At that moment, the howls of wolves grew closer, carrying an undeniable threat. Then, two muffled but powerful gunshots shattered the silence; the sound was unlike the crisp crack of a traditional firearm, more like that of a meticulously modified over-the-horsepower pistol.
"Bang! Bang!"
Lu Zhiqiang and his companions huddled in the shadows of the cave, surrounded by darkness, their anxiety a constant companion. He cried out anxiously, "Why are more people coming? A hunter with wolves? Has Qin Pao gotten new wolf eyes again?"
In the vast heart of the Greater Khingan Mountains, hunters' attitudes toward wolves are always complex and nuanced. While wolves are abhorrent, they are also revered for their cunning and unpredictability. Many hunters spend their entire lives perhaps only to encounter one or two lone wolves in this boundless forest, reaping a meager spoils.
Hunting wolves in the forest is a thankless task.
The wolf howls drew closer, accompanied by bursts of gunfire.
The gunshot came firmly; it was a single-barreled, single-shot gun, what we call "one-on-one."
The group listened quietly inside the grotto when suddenly Old Qian exclaimed in surprise, "It's a single tube."
A moment later, the gunfire changed in the distance, the sound of a bolt being pulled back revealed a five-round fixed-magnitude bolt-action rifle, firing one shot and then pulling back the bolt. Old Qian's eyes widened, and he shouted, "Mosin-Nagant! A Russian gun!"
Only the Mosin-Nagant, an old rifle from World War I, is a bolt-action rifle with a five-round fixed magazine; you pull the bolt once to fire a shot.
The group listened for a while longer, noticing the gunfire changing from bolt-action rifles; they could tell the guns were being switched. The rhythm of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifles was very regular, the gunshots "bang bang" getting closer and closer to the trap inside the cave.
Song Desheng and Lu Zhiqiang, upon hearing this, shouted loudly, their excitement bordering on jubilation.
Even the clueless Lao Qian and Lao Zhang realized that this was not another hunter, nor Lao Qin who kept a wolf as a dog, but Li Ju'an carrying three guns.
Two eagles were perched on Li Ju'an's arm. He was afraid that the noise of the gunshot would be too loud and startle the eagles. When he came over, he had already cut two holes in the leather blindfold, covered the eagles' ears, and left their eyes exposed in the hood.
The two eagles were initially unaccustomed to the sound of gunfire, and the thin iron chains on their feet prevented them from flying away, but after a while, they gradually got used to it.
The hunting dogs were already used to the sound of gunfire. As the leader, Big Tiger led his companions, and they were excited by Li Ju'an's crisp gunshots.