bookrandom Chapter 112 Just 1 point away
Chapter 112 Just 1 point away
As dawn broke and the sky began to lighten, the wolves around them quietly dispersed.
Wang Ergou got up and stretched his limbs, thinking that he should wake Li Xiangyang up in a little while, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a lithe figure out of the corner of his eye.
The figure appeared and disappeared in the morning light, moving lightly and silently.
Wang Ergou's heart jumped into his throat.
"This...this figure...this movement..." Wang Ergou's hands began to tremble. "A leopard...a leopard!"
He held his breath, afraid of disturbing the figure.
The black cat reacted even faster than him, its ears perking up instantly and its tail bristling.
Wang Ergou's heart was pounding, and he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet.
That's a leopard! If we could hunt one, its pelt would be worth a fortune.
In an instant, his drowsiness vanished without a trace, and his eyes turned red.
He suppressed his excitement and gently nudged Li Xiangyang's shoulder.
"Xiangyang," his voice was extremely low, almost a whisper, "wake up, you've struck it rich, you've really struck it rich this time..."
"A leopard! There's a leopard ahead..." Wang Ergou's voice trembled. "If we could catch that, why would we need to hunt elk?"
"Leopard? Where is it?" Li Xiangyang suddenly snapped out of his daze and instinctively gripped his gun tighter.
"Over there, in the woods," Wang Ergou pointed excitedly into the distance, his voice barely audible, "We just passed that clearing..."
Li Xiangyang looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a lithe figure moving lightly among the shadows of the trees in the morning light.
It was indeed a leopard, and a rare snow leopard at that.
This mysterious creature is covered in a thick layer of fur, with gray and white as the main colors, which blends almost perfectly into the environment under the snow.
Its silky smooth fur is covered with round spots of all sizes, each spot as clear as an ink drop, yet gradually blurring at the edges, blending naturally with the base color.
It is more robust than an ordinary leopard, and its long, bushy tail is almost two-thirds the length of its body, like a long whip covered in silver frost.
Those amber eyes were bright and piercing, their pupils narrowing to thin slits in the morning light.
Its robust forelimbs and thick shoulders displayed astonishing explosive power, yet each step landed on the snow with a lightness as if it were nothing, without even making a sound.
"Don't rush to shoot." Li Xiangyang held down Wang Ergou, who was itching to fire.
"How do we fight?" Wang Ergou's hands were trembling with excitement.
"Don't move yet." Li Xiangyang observed the snow leopard's movements. "It's very wary; getting too close or too far won't work. We need to be patient."
The snow leopard seemed to be searching for something, stopping every now and then to sniff the ground.
Its movements were elegant and composed, as if it were completely unaware of the danger.
The black cat's tail stood up higher and higher, and all its fur stood on end.
"Get ready," Li Xiangyang said softly. "It's heading that way; we need to take a shortcut."
The two slowly rose, their movements extremely gentle.
Li Xiangyang pointed to a path, which was a slightly higher ridge from which one could look down at the woodland below.
“Remember,” Li Xiangyang cautioned, “don’t panic. We can only wait and see.”
Wang Ergou nodded and quietly followed Li Xiangyang toward the ridge.
The snow was very deep, and we had to be extremely careful with every step we took, for fear of making a sound.
Fortunately, it wasn't fully light yet, and the morning mist made them difficult to spot.
"It's looking for food," Li Xiangyang observed the snow leopard's movements. "It looks hungry."
This discovery gave him a glimmer of hope.
A hungry beast, focused on its prey, often lowers its guard, which may present an opportunity.
The two finally managed to climb to the ridge and found a secluded spot to lie down.
From here, you can clearly see the open area below.
“It will definitely pass through there,” Li Xiangyang said, pointing to a low-lying area. “There’s a frozen river over there; the chances of finding prey there are higher.”
Sure enough, the snow leopard's route was heading in that direction.
"Don't rush. Wait until it's fully within range. If it's too far away, you won't be able to hit it accurately."
Li Xiangyang whispered his instructions.
Wang Ergou was enduring a lot of hardship.
That's a snow leopard! If we manage to catch it, we'll be rich!
"Your marksmanship is excellent," Li Xiangyang said in a low voice. "I'll hold it off while you find an opportunity to strike its vitals."
Wang Ergou nodded and took a deep breath to calm himself down.
The snow leopard was getting closer and closer, completely unaware of the danger, intently searching for something in the snow.
Just then, a wild rabbit darted out of the snow.
The snow leopard reacted extremely quickly, pouncing in an instant.
"The opportunity has arrived!" Li Xiangyang's eyes lit up.
He raised his gun and fired a shot at the ground in front of the snow leopard.
"Bang!" The gunshot rang out sharply in the silent mountain forest.
The snow leopard was startled by the sudden noise and stumbled, while the hare ran away.
It looked around warily, ready to flee at any moment.
"Attack!" Li Xiangyang shouted in a low voice.
Wang Ergou held his breath, aimed at the snow leopard's vital points, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!" Another gunshot.
The snow leopard suddenly sidestepped, and the bullet grazed its fur.
"Damn it!" Wang Ergou cursed under his breath.
Startled, the snow leopard leaped away.
Upon seeing this, Li Xiangyang immediately fired another shot.
The shot hit a tree trunk in front of the snow leopard, forcing it to change direction.
"Quick! Fire another shot!"
Wang Ergou quickly loaded the gun, but the snow leopard was simply too fast.
By the time he took aim, the snow leopard had already leaped more than ten meters away.
"Bang!" Another shot missed.
The snow leopard disappeared into the depths of the forest in the blink of an eye, like a shadow.
"Chase!" Wang Ergou stamped his feet anxiously.
"Don't chase them, you can't catch them," Li Xiangyang stopped him. "Although snow leopards aren't as fast as cheetahs, they can still reach speeds of 80 kilometers per hour in a short burst."
Wang Ergou punched the snow in frustration: "So close, so very close..."
"Alright." Li Xiangyang patted his shoulder. "It's lucky we even encountered a snow leopard; those things are inherently difficult to hunt."
"Sigh..." Wang Ergou sighed deeply, "It's really tough, we're not going to get rich this time."
"If you want to get rich, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future," Li Xiangyang said with a smile. "Let's go, we should continue on our way."
After all that effort, I still couldn't hit it. It would be a lie to say I wasn't frustrated.
The two composed themselves and began packing their things.
It was already broad daylight, and the sunlight shone on the white snow, so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.
“Oh, right,” Li Xiangyang suddenly said, “you did a good job on night watch.”
Wang Ergou was flattered: "Really?"
“Yes,” Li Xiangyang nodded, “Many people can’t stay up past midnight. It’s already quite an achievement that you’ve managed to hold on until dawn.”
Wang Ergou chuckled: "I'm just afraid of losing face. Besides, if I'm unreliable, would you dare take me into the mountains in the future?"
"Indeed. Let's eat something quickly to fill our stomachs. We can't catch the snow leopard, and we can't afford to lose the elk too."