The three returned to the camp to find that several people had not yet rested.
Captain Xu called everyone together, told them about the day's events, and reminded them to be careful, careful, and even more careful.
"Have you eaten yet?" Captain Xu then noticed the pot on the table.
"Not yet, weren't we waiting to eat with you, Captain?" Zhang Shan said.
"In situations like this, don't wait. You can eat first. Alright, everyone has been busy all day and is hungry. Hurry and eat."
After dinner, back in the room, Sun Chaoshu was still a bit curious, so Ye Hao told Sun Chaoshu and Lu Bingsheng some more details about the incident.
The next day, they woke up before dawn. Captain Xu led the way, and the group of seven walked deeper into the mountains.
The group walked through the forest, startling a flock of birds. Just as they passed a thicket of bushes, a pheasant flew up from the side. With a bang, the pheasant fell from the sky. Ye Hao looked over and saw Captain Xu, who was at the front, lowering his gun.
"Captain Xu, didn't you say it's best not to shoot and hunt in the mountains?" Ye Hao was a bit puzzled by Captain Xu's action.
"Niu Jianwen was injured, wasn't he? Today, I'll hunt some pheasants to send down to him for nourishment. There's not much meat down the mountain, and eating meat helps recovery," Captain Xu explained.
Sun Chaoshu was the first to run over and pick up the pheasant, then excitedly ran back, "Captain Xu, your marksmanship is incredible! You hit such a small pheasant head with one shot. Can you teach me later?"
"Haha, practice makes perfect. This is all from feeding bullets. When you get your guns later, I'll teach you."
"How much longer? I can't wait. Entering the mountains without even a weapon makes me uneasy."
"Alright, guns need approval from above. Today, when I go down the mountain, I'll talk to Old Man Li and have him make you a few bows. You can play with those first."
"Okay, no guns, but bows will do. We'll use them for now."
"Captain Xu, no need to trouble yourself so much. I can make crossbows," Lu Bingsheng spoke up at this moment.
"You can make crossbows too?" Captain Xu was a bit disbelieving.
"When I was little, I read books at home, and they had instructions. I've made them myself before."
"Good, then tell me what materials you need, and I'll find them for you."
"Bamboo is the best material for making crossbows, but we don't have bamboo here. Let me think of other wood... Captain Xu, we should have Manchurian ash here, right? It has good toughness and can be used for crossbows. Anyway, we don't need to use them for a long time; this will work in the short term."
"Yes, there's plenty of Manchurian ash in these mountains. Tomorrow, we'll bring axes and cut some branches. Comrade Xiao Lu, what else do you need?"
"The rest is just finding some rope and soaking it in oil. There's nothing else. We just need to make simple crossbows; it's not like we're going to war."
The group continued their patrol, chatting and laughing. Before returning to camp in the afternoon, Captain Xu led everyone to where he had set his traps. Their luck wasn't as good as yesterday; there was nothing in the snares. However, no one was discouraged. This kind of thing was all about luck; if they caught prey every day, the animals in the mountains would have long been extinct.
After everyone returned to the camp, Captain Xu prepared to send the pheasant to Niu Jianwen and the others. However, at this moment, Ye Hao volunteered to go, taking the opportunity to check on the Comrades who had come down from the mountain.
"Do you remember the way? Getting lost in these mountains would be disastrous," Captain Xu was a bit worried.
"Don't worry, I've walked it twice, I've remembered it already."
Seeing Ye Hao's confidence and considering his physical strength, Captain Xu let him go.
"Take this, and return it to Captain Li when you get back. Take this knife too." Captain Xu handed Ye Hao the flashlight he had borrowed from Captain Li's family yesterday and his own knife.
Ye Hao took the large blade, slung it behind his back, and carrying the pheasant and flashlight, walked down the mountain.
Leaving the camp, Ye Hao ran wildly. After two or three kilometers, seeing no one around, Ye Hao released Ao Xue from his spatial dimension.
"Awooo~~~"
As soon as Ao Xue was out of the spatial dimension, she let out a wolf howl.
Ye Hao quickly patted Ao Xue's head. It wasn't particularly far from the camp, and he didn't want Captain Xu and the others to hear.
Ao Xue, who was excitedly howling, was suddenly patted by Ye Hao and immediately deflated, looking at Ye Hao pitifully.
"Alright, when we're further away, you can howl as much as you want. Let's go." Ye Hao said, continuing down the mountain.
This was Ao Xue's first time entering the mountains, and she was exceptionally excited, running ahead of Ye Hao one moment, then diving into a thicket of bushes the next, like a joyful husky.
Just as Ao Xue ran into another thicket, she saw two pheasants suddenly fly up, startling her. Ao Xue immediately reacted, 'I'm a wolf, why would I be scared of pheasants?' She directly pounced on one of the pheasants in the air. As expected of a wolf who grew up drinking spring water, one pounce covered almost ten meters, and the pheasant was caught in Ao Xue's mouth.
Ao Xue caught the pheasant and didn't eat it immediately. Instead, she carried it to Ye Hao, put it down, and gestured for Ye Hao to eat. Ye Hao stroked Ao Xue's large head and said, "Ao Xue is so good. You eat it; this is the first prey you've hunted outside."
Ao Xue seemed to understand Ye Hao's words, and she ate the pheasant in a few bites.
After eating, Ao Xue had boundless energy with nowhere to release it, so she continued to dive into the forest. This time, rabbits and pheasants suffered. In just a short while, two pheasants and three wild rabbits had met their demise.
Every time Ao Xue caught prey, she would first bring it to Ye Hao, and only ate it when Ye Hao told her to. "What a good baby."
Ye Hao was very happy watching Ao Xue play so joyfully outside. In the past, Ao Xue was always in the spatial dimension, which was only so big, and for a wolf the size of a Northeast Tiger, that was too confining.
Now that she was released into these mountains, Ao Xue's true nature was unleashed. He would have to let her out more often in the future. If a wolf is confined for too long, it becomes a dog.
Ao Xue seemed curious about everything in the forest. She even wanted to jump up and bite the squirrels in the trees, but squirrels are squirrels after all, jumping around in the trees, and Ao Xue couldn't do anything about them.
After jumping for a long time and not catching a single squirrel, Ao Xue became a bit impatient. She let out a howl that scared all the squirrels away. Looking at the fleeing squirrels, Ao Xue glanced disdainfully and walked away with proud, small steps.
All along the way, Ao Xue was getting familiar with this mountain forest. Ao Xue, who had only been weaned for a short time, was taken into the spatial dimension by Ye Hao and had never experienced the true wilderness. Ye Hao planned to often let Ao Xue out in the future, as this was where Ao Xue truly belonged, not in the cramped spatial dimension.
The man and the wolf quickly arrived at Li Family Village. Just before reaching Li Family Village, Ye Hao put Ao Xue back into the spatial dimension. If the villagers saw a wolf the size of a Northeast Tiger, wouldn't they be scared to death? Ao Xue, who was put back into the spatial dimension, was a little unhappy.