Chapter 149: What Kind of Luck Is This?

After securing the honeycomb, Han Li returned to his room, picked up a book, and lay down on the kang, though his mind drifted back to the events of the afternoon.

Singing and dancing occasionally during the long winter wouldn't be bad at all. Should he get some musical instruments?

However, Han Li was utterly clueless about musical instruments, completely devoid of any basic knowledge. He planned to discuss this with Yun Yingying later.

Imagining the howling wind and swirling snow outside while his room remained as warm as spring, with himself playing music and Yun Yingying singing, it felt like someone was missing to complete the picture—someone to dance.

Ah... He Mi's dancing posture today was truly breathtaking. With her wonderful figure and graceful moves, she managed to imbue a few simple steps with a unique charm. It would be quite pleasant if he played the music while she danced on the kang, but the probability of such a scenario happening was practically zero.

That evening, everyone gathered for dinner again, having wild mushroom stew made with the last two wild chickens.

At the bottom of the iron pot, the small chickens were stewed, while a ring of corn cakes was pressed along the upper sides. This was a mandatory skill for everyone after moving to the Northeast—simple, efficient, and fast.

After dinner, everyone dispersed. When only Yun Yingying was left in the room, Han Li pulled her into his arms, teased her playfully for a moment, and said,

"I plan to head deep into the mountains tomorrow morning. The outer edges barely have anything left, so I intend to go a bit further in. If I can't make it back tomorrow night, don't worry, and don't mention this to anyone else."

Yun Yingying's breathing had just calmed down. She pushed away Han Li's mischievous hand and said,

"I've heard the deep mountains are extremely dangerous. Why not just roam around the outer edges? Besides, none of us are relying on this to survive."

Han Li replied, "My skills won't cause any problems. Besides, being full and eating well are two different things. If I can't raise you to be plump and rosy, then I'd be a terrible partner."

"Even if you're fine during the day, what will you do at night? Although it hasn't snowed yet, the nights are freezing. The families with elderly members in the village have already lit their fire kangs."

With his hand continuing its mischief, Han Li said, "Did you forget what I told you about my secret base? If I can't return by nightfall, I'll head over there to spend the night."

"But..."

"Just trust me. Once I clear the paths, I'll take you deep into the mountains to hunt, and we can live like nomads for a few days."

After comforting Yun Yingying and sharing a few more affectionate moments, Han Li walked her back home.

Interestingly, Jiang Xiaoli did not ambush him while he was walking the dogs today, which left Han Li feeling just a tiny bit disappointed.

The next day, before dawn broke, Han Li packed up the items he had prepared the previous night and set off.

Since the sparrows couldn't see the path clearly yet, Han Li temporarily placed them inside his back basket. Before leaving, he glanced at the puppies. They were still too small and useless for now, but by springtime, they should finally come in handy.

Along the way, relying on his exceptional agility, Han Li traversed dense forests and scaled cliffs, flying effortlessly across patches of ground that were easier to navigate.

Han Li's clear objective for this trip into the mountains was to head toward unfamiliar, unexplored regions.

This way, when the heavy snow sealed off the mountains later, he wouldn't be completely in the dark. Moreover, during this season, all animals—whether black bears, wild boars, or wolves—were frantically storing up fat, which would significantly increase his chances of encountering them.

As the sky began to grow pale with dawn, the sparrows flew out of the back basket to scout the path ahead of Han Li.

Guided by the sparrows, Han Li advanced while scavenging everything in his path. Walnut trees, hazelnuts, chestnuts, and various wild fruits along his route were all harvested into his decomposition space, and he didn't even spare the fallen branches and tree trunks on the ground.

After Han Li crossed several mountain ridges, it was around ten o'clock in the morning. He found a sunlit spot to rest and eat something.

At that moment, he spotted a trail of rabbit tracks—an absolute pleasant surprise!

For the protagonists in novels, wild hares were merely snacks barely enough to fill the gaps between one's teeth, and catching them was as easy as gathering wild vegetables by the roadside. Yet, Han Li hadn't encountered these little creatures since arriving at Shanghe Village.

At the mere thought of braised rabbit meat and spicy rabbit heads, Han Li couldn't hold back his excitement. He followed the rabbit tracks forward.

Rabbits were rather foolish creatures; they always stuck to a single path to the very end, so following their footprints guaranteed he wouldn't go wrong.

Although there was no snow yet, making the rabbit tracks intermittent and hard to trace, this posed no major problem with the aid of Han Li's spiritual perception. It simply meant spending a bit more time searching for the trail.

When Han Li reached the vicinity of a dense patch of grass, the rabbit footprints disappeared altogether. Needless to say, the rabbit warren must be right around here.

Drawing from his previous experience of smoking out badgers, Han Li circled the area, sealing off all other burrows and leaving only a single exit.

Now that he was out in the open alone, there was no need for concealment. With a pile of stones, Han Li quickly built a short "highway" for the rabbits, leading straight to a wooden cage designed with a one-way door—easy to enter, impossible to leave.

Finally, all that remained was to use dry grass to smoke out the rabbit burrow and wait for them to rush straight into the wooden cage.

Not long after the thick smoke began to rise, an entire family of rabbits bolted into the cage. These were nine plump and lovely little bunnies!

He pulled them out one by one, dispatched them quickly with a stick, and processed them. Repeating this nine times, all the adorable bunnies entered the decomposition space.

Han Li felt even more thrilled right now than he had after hunting a dozen wild boars. This added a brand-new species to his hunting collection.

As Han Li continued forward in high spirits through a grove, he spotted a large Hericium erinaceus (monkey head mushroom) growing high on a tree ahead. He walked over and harvested it, only to notice immediately afterward that the bark on several nearby trees had been completely scraped off up to a height of over a meter.

What was this? Han Li hurried over to inspect it closely. He found numerous gouge marks on the tree trunks, soft, churned-up soil beneath the trees, and some brownish-yellow fur scattered nearby.

Han Li quickly scanned his memories and finally confirmed that these were the marks left by a rutting moose.

The moose, also known locally as the "Kandahan" or "Hantahan"—legend has it that the Water-Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast, the mount of the Bull Demon King, was modeled after it—was the largest animal in these forests and the biggest species of deer on Earth.

They possessed a body length of over two meters, short tails, and males bore wide, plate-like antlers with many branches, accompanied by a mane beneath the neck.

Their coat color was a mix of brown, yellow, and gray, with the lower parts of their limbs being white. They were adept swimmers and disliked living in herds.

Wild moose within China's borders generally weighed between 400 and 600 kilograms, while most in North America reached up to 700 kilograms, with record highs around 1,000 kilograms, making them the undisputed giants of the deer family. In 2008, they were listed as a Class II protected animal in China.

The most valuable part of a moose was its nose, a rare delicacy comparable to bear paws.

Moose began their rutting season in late August every year, lasting until late October or early November.

During rutting season, male moose would roar at dawn and dusk to attract females, and they would rub their antlers against tree trunks, leaving precisely the kinds of marks he was looking at.

After carefully verifying that the marks were still very fresh, Han Li promptly sent the sparrows out to search for the moose while he slowly followed the traces forward.

Before long, the sparrows returned with the news that several moose were ahead, and two of them were fighting.

Fighting? Could two male moose be competing for mating rights, with female moose nearby?

Following the sparrows, Han Li hurried toward the location, hearing the crisp sound of clashing antlers from afar.

In a clearing ahead, two moose were locking antlers, while seven or eight female moose grazed leisurely in the distance.

A moose's sheer size made it one of the most dangerous herbivores in the mountains. Both their massive antlers and sturdy hooves were lethal weapons; a single kick from a moose could easily kill a black bear.

Facing such creatures, Han Li didn't dare get too close. In the wild, they were just like Sun Wukong's golden-hooped staff—a graze meant severe injury, and a direct hit meant death.

Observing the surrounding terrain carefully, Han Li made a wide detour to approach from the direction of the female moose.

Using his decomposition ability, he rapidly dug several large pits in the ground to prevent them from charging and harming him.

Perhaps the intense crashing sounds of the two fighting males covered up Han Li's movements, but by the time he finished, the moose remained completely oblivious.

Han Li thrust several javelins into the ground before him and then pulled his crossbow from his back basket.

Despite their massive size, moose could sprint at speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour and possessed formidable jumping abilities, often leaping to feed on leaves high up in trees. Furthermore, they were strong swimmers, and above all, their stamina was off the charts.

Clearly, Han Li's current tools were insufficient to instantly kill such massive beasts; even a direct hit might allow them to escape.

Taking a deep breath, Han Li raised his crossbow and began aiming at the female moose ahead.

His targets were the joint areas of their front and rear legs, which would strip them of their ability to run away.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Three crossbow bolts streaked forward. Tossing his crossbow aside, Han Li drew his javelins and began throwing them in rapid succession.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The agonizing cries of the struck moose caused them to bolt forward instinctively. At that exact moment, the two male moose collided with their antlers, the sudden impact causing their racks to become inextricably entangled, leaving them trapped in place and bellowing loudly.

Han Li temporarily ignored them. The earlier barrage of crossbow bolts and javelins had left two female moose struggling and moving sluggishly nearby, and he was busy delivering swift finishing blows.

To preserve the integrity of their pelts as much as possible, Han Li aimed all his javelins directly at the moose's eyes.

"Puff! Puff!"

The eyes were indeed one of the weakest points of any animal. Throwing the javelins with force, Han Li pierced the moose's eyes and penetrated their brains. The agonized cries of the female moose grew fainter and fainter until life finally faded from them.

Only then did Han Li turn his attention to the two males with locked antlers. Right now, they resembled conjoined twins, their heads pulling in opposite directions—one wanting to go east, the other west—leaving them spinning helplessly in circles.

"Hahaha!"

Han Li burst into hearty laughter not far away. Windfalls came in the most unexpected ways—how was this any different from simply walking out and picking up two moose?

Han Li stopped laughing after a moment, unsure whether the two beasts might somehow break free. Eliminating them immediately was his top priority.

Drawing his javelins, Han Li approached the two moose. With their antlers hopelessly tangled, they were essentially stationary targets, making it remarkably easy for him to finish them off.