HLnovel Chapter 375 Are you disgusting?
Chapter 375 Are you disgusting?
Chen Xiangqian was quite surprised.
The bear that stood upright looked to be about the size of an adult man, with a plump and agile body. It knocked on the door of the dugout in a methodical and serious manner.
In a panic, he scrambled to the corner of the wall, his cannon aimed directly at the rickety door. His chest heaved violently, as if torn his clothes, each breath accompanied by heavy, rapid panting. His forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, reflecting on his face, contorted with fear.
He could clearly hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest, each beat like a war drum, almost bursting out of his chest.
The muscles in his cheeks trembled uncontrollably, his whole body tense like a fully drawn bowstring, only his hands gripping the gun firmly. The muzzle of the gun was steadily pointed at the unknown darkness outside the door, his only support and defense at this moment.
Chen Xiangqian secretly rejoiced, thankful that he hadn't let his guard down for a moment. If he had rashly opened that door, he would probably already be a bloody mess under the bear's claws, his skull shattered by the bear's paws, and his life extinguished in an instant.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder, his scalp tingling slightly, as if the shadow of the bear's paw still lingered above his head, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
The knocking outside the dugout lasted for a while, then fell silent.
Chen Xiangqian's fear at this moment was even greater than before, reaching its peak.
I'm not afraid of bears that suddenly appear; I'm afraid of bears that suddenly disappear.
His eyes darted quickly across the several windows of the dugout, which were in four directions. The bear didn't look like a black bear, nor did it look like a bear. It should be the Gobi bear that Grandpa Zhao from Qingkedi had mentioned.
The dugout was spacious yet incredibly dark, as if it had swallowed up all the light, inspiring fear. The figure of a Gobi bear seemed poised to silently slip in through any window at any moment, or perhaps it would forcefully smash open the door and burst into this refuge.
Chen Xiangqian felt a sudden heat in his crotch, and fear instantly froze his soul like ice, scaring him so much that his very spirit seemed to have vanished. He finally understood what Li Ju'an often told him: hunters who heard a tiger's roar or a bear's howl for the first time could be so frightened that they would wet their pants and be unable to sleep for nights on end.
He initially thought it was Li Ju'an talking nonsense, a frightening story fabricated to dissuade him from going into the mountains for exploration, just to scare him and prevent him from going into the mountains.
However, Chen Xiangqian was filled with remorse after experiencing that night firsthand.
Suddenly, breathing sounds came from the doorway again. But this time the breathing was much lighter, and there was a rustling sound. The door was knocked on again.
Chen Xiangqian was so frightened that he clung to the foreign cannon and had no motivation to fight back.
Father, dear Father, Heaven is against me! Another wild beast has appeared!
He knew that the creature from earlier that day must be Weasel spirit; he was so unlucky because Weasel spirit had been watching him. He regretted it deeply; why did he have to be so talkative as to say Weasel spirit was a beautiful young woman? Now he had offended Weasel spirit and even summoned the bear.
Li Ju'an's voice appeared, followed by the barking of hunting dogs.
"Chen Xiangqian! Is he inside?"
Li Ju'an's voice was loud and clear, full of vigor.
Chen Xiangqian was stunned, his arms still stiff and trembling as he hugged his knees. Fear burst forth with rage, and he unleashed all the fear that had almost buried him through his anger. He pointed the cannon at the door and fired with a bang.
Bang! The cannon roared loudly, blasting a large hole through the door, the force of the impact riddling it with holes of all sizes. He shouted angrily, "Don't touch me! They're all pretentious monsters! We've been told by our superiors, no ghosts, no monsters allowed!"
The dugout doors were already flimsy, and the old-fashioned cannons were not very accurate. When they were fired, not only were the doors riddled with holes and many bullets pierced through them, but the door frame and beams were also damaged and smashed to pieces.
Li Ju'an, behind the door, cursed loudly: "You son of a bitch, Chen Xiangqian! I'll curse your ancestors for eighteen generations!"
The hunting dogs barked angrily, and Big Tiger and Flower Ears had already climbed in through the window. They barked and rushed to his feet, ready to tear him apart.
Chen Xiangqian was stunned. When he saw that it really was the sound of hunting dogs, he felt like he had seen his own mother again.
Ignoring the furious tiger's barking, he grabbed it and hugged it tightly, laughing and crying as if he were seeing a family member. He wiped his tears and snot all over the tiger's back fur, sobbing uncontrollably, and cried out, "Mom! Oh Mom! Li Pao, you are my family! You are closer than my own father!"
Li Ju'an was unharmed. He had sensed something was wrong from the noise inside the door and, to be sure that the person inside wasn't Chen Xiangqian but some other thieves sneaking into the mountains, he moved to the outside.
Groups of outsiders often come to the Xing'an Mountains, not to rob tombs, but to dig for treasure, looking for gold bars left behind. These people are capable of all sorts of shady dealings, so local hunters are extra careful, on guard, and wary.
Li Ju'an tied the horse and the little ibex to a large jujube tree, then stepped through the broken wooden door. Shining his flashlight, he saw Chen Xiangqian hugging the hunting dog and crying, as if he had seen a relative.
He laughed and scolded, "Aren't you disgusting? Big Tiger, yell at him!"
Big Tiger barked loudly at Chen Xiangqian again, hurling insults.
In Li Ju'an's view, the division commander's son was incredibly bold, not afraid of the hunting dogs at all. Just now, the dogs had bared their teeth and attacked him, but this hothead didn't dodge or evade; instead, he just hugged the lead dog and howled. It was fortunate that Da Hu had been constantly being sent to find Chen Xiangqian these past few days.
Da Hu knew that this child wasn't very bright, so he didn't argue with him.
After Chen Xiangqian finished crying, he was still sobbing. With tears still in his eyes, he called out, "Li Pao, that bear just now! I saw a really big bear, just like the Gobi bear that Uncle Zhao talked about."
Li Ju'an set up a large bear trap next to the jujube tree. It was a very simple and crude trap, with iron chains attached to two large bluestone slabs next to it.
He tied the horse and the little ibex to the trunk of a jujube tree. The two animals were a little restless, neighing and pawing the ground. This noise was bait, meant to lure nearby large predators closer. If any wild animal approached, the four large traps below were even more effective than bear traps.
Li Ju'an inspected the large animal trap and said, "Of course. Besides your footprints, there are only bear footprints on the ground. There must have been another bear here besides you."
He used his flashlight to find many burnt spots along the ground, indicating that this was a territory frequented by wild animals that often foraged for food nearby. Late autumn, approaching winter, was the peak hunting season for bears. Bears must build up fat reserves and fatten themselves before winter to survive the food-scarce winter.
Chen Xiangqian's expression changed: "Is there really a bear following me?"