My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 248 Encountering a Leopard
Raising snakes is not difficult and doesn't take up much space. In the villages west of Fenglei Town, almost every household raises snakes, and there are even specially trained snake-hunting dogs called "snake dogs" for finding snakes.

This shows his fondness for snakes.

According to Wang Cunye, a few years ago, a young man in their area caught a "medicine-guarding snake," which is a snake that guards the vicinity of rare medicinal herbs.

The snake was enormous, about two meters long. It was caught along with some herbs, and the snake alone fetched over a thousand yuan just for being sold alive.

Later, I heard from someone that this was still too little. The snake used for guarding medicine is not an ordinary item; it is a rare and valuable thing with great uses. Even if it doesn't sell for tens of thousands, it can easily fetch several times more than the original price of one thousand yuan.

Although the income from snake farming cannot compare to this, given that Chen Ling almost sold his wine for an astronomical price last time, using snakes mixed with medicinal herbs to make wine is a good option. As long as it sells well, it's no worse than the so-called "snake-keeping for medicinal purposes".

Another reason is that Wang Cunye felt that if his son-in-law didn't learn some real skills and kept trying to sell wine by deceiving people, he might run into trouble if he was exposed or encountered a difficult person.

Besides that, it's what the old man mentioned before.

Keeping snakes can deter snakes and also keep out some small wild animals that are afraid of snakes. They will not go to places where the smell of snakes is strong.

On their way back, the two of them wandered around and found several snake nests. Now they just catch them to take home and raise casually, so they only caught non-venomous snakes, such as rat snakes, grass snakes, and black-banded snakes, which are relatively easy to raise.

After catching the snake, the two of them didn't linger and hurried back.

Although the days are relatively long in summer, it gets dark much earlier in the mountains than outside.

Given that wild animals are very active in the mountains and forests during this season, it's best to leave as early as possible.

Speaking of wild animals, if it weren't for Xiao Jin constantly scouting the area and leading them away from any unusual smells, they probably would have run into quite a few wild animals and livestock just by looking at the dense footprints along the water's edge.

Speak of the devil and he appears; some things just can't be ignored.

Despite being very careful, we were still in the mountains, and many things were beyond our control.

On their way home, they unexpectedly encountered a large group of wild boars, more than twenty of them lined up, leisurely strolling along the edge of the forest, rooting around on the ground with their long snouts, their bodies still covered in wet mud, as if they had just taken a bath somewhere.

Fortunately, the distance was relatively far. With Wang Cunye's eyesight, he could only see a few dark wild boars moving around, unlike Chen Ling, who could clearly see how many there were at a glance.

For the average person, it's only a blurry view, which is a relatively safe distance.

However, this group of wild boars is quite large and should not be underestimated.

The lead boar, whose sharp tusks were clearly visible to Chen Ling, walked at the very front, with the other members of the wild boar family following three or four meters behind.

There were also more than a dozen wild boars whose stripes hadn't faded yet, following behind in a daze, playing and walking, their four little legs moving as they hopped and skipped, frolicking along at the very back.

The father-in-law and son-in-law held their breath, not daring to disturb them, and only breathed a sigh of relief after the wild boar herd left.

The father-in-law patted his chest several times, saying, "Goodness, it's a good thing I brought Xiao Jin with me. Otherwise, without a dog to scout the way, who knows what we would have encountered."

It was Xiao Jin who gave them a timely warning, which is why they stopped. Only then did they realize that there was a herd of wild boars.

"I should have come back to catch snakes in a couple of days. It was because I took a roundabout route that I ran into this wild boar. Otherwise, the last few times I came here, nothing much happened. At most, I saw a few squirrels and porcupines, and oh, I also encountered two spotted foxes. Nothing else. The road was very peaceful."

The old man was now starting to regret it, regretting that he had walked a few more miles in the mountains and lingered for so long in order to catch the snake.

As the saying goes, "If you walk on the dark road too often, you're more likely to encounter a ghost."

After walking these mountain paths so many times, encountering wild animals is perfectly normal.

On his previous trips into the mountains, he would pick the herbs he could find and mark the ones he couldn't, without lingering for long. Since he would leave early after picking herbs, he would often return home before noon, or even shortly after noon, after wandering around the mountains.

Today we were catching snakes, and we took over several areas. We stayed in the mountains for a bit too long.

"Hey, it's okay, Dad. Look, we're almost at Wolf's Claw Rock. Once we pass Wolf's Claw Rock, we'll be out of there, and there won't be any wild things coming out anymore."

Chen Ling's words were true. After passing Wolf-Claw Rock, it was the outer edge of the mountain forest. Because it was close to human settlements and human activities were relatively frequent, there were no large wild animals in the surrounding area.

Wang Cunye also felt that his son-in-law made sense, so he hurried out of the mountains.

Unfortunately, to their surprise, they encountered another accident not far away.

There are still more than twenty fire rats left in summer, and the weather is still terribly hot. Walking in the mountains is much cooler, but the sky will become much darker when you go into the dense forest.

After passing through the bamboo forest and ditch they had come from, and just entering this mountain forest, Little Gold gave a warning after only a few steps. It alertly let out a soft, low growl, and the three little weasels also stood up warily from the grass, their little eyes wide open.

Then, a rustling sound of branches and leaves could be heard in the dim forest, followed by a series of low, hoarse growls, like the threatening growls of a cat guarding its food, but much rougher. Even from a distance, one could feel the ferocity in these growls.

Upon hearing the sound, Chen Ling and Wang Cunye felt their hair stand on end. Wang Cunye even stopped and grabbed Chen Ling's arm, saying, "Don't move, it's a leopard. There are leopards in the forest."

As he spoke, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he gestured for Chen Ling to quickly grab his hunting rifle for protection.

No sooner had he spoken than, while Chen Ling was still wondering why the leopards were out in the daytime, a small leopard, not much bigger than a tabby cat, suddenly darted out from among the branches and leaves, carrying something in its mouth. After a few leaps, it disappeared into the lush foliage.

After the little leopard left.

Little Jin was still staring at a spot on a tree in the distance, its neck fur bristling and its eyes fierce, showing no sign of letting up. The weasels were the same, running back to the two of them and pacing anxiously, all looking extremely tense.

“The earth leopard is still here, and the one that just left was the grass leopard. If these two can be together, then they must have taken leopard cubs with them.” Wang Cunye carefully looked in the direction Xiao Jin was looking, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

"It turns out we've encountered a leopard with cubs. I'll fire a few shots to scare it away."

Chen Ling reacted much faster than his father-in-law. Hearing that the roar in the forest was not right, he quickly took off the basket and other miscellaneous items on his back, raised the hunting rifle in his hand, and stood guard.

Even with his superhuman eyesight, he couldn't make out what was on the tree.

Only after hearing his father-in-law say it was a leopard, also known as a clouded leopard, did he realize what was going on.

Clouded leopards are almost never dangerous.

However, they cannot withstand stimulation during two special periods. If mountain dwellers encounter them when they enter the mountains, they will be ambushed or even retaliated against by being followed and attacked repeatedly.

During these two periods—one when they mate in winter and the other when they give birth in summer—they become unusually sensitive and irritable.

Especially now, when the leopard cubs born in late spring and early summer are still young and not yet ready to leave their dens to survive on their own, the male and female leopards will guard them very closely, and any human intrusion into their territory will be met with a fierce attack.

Even during the day.

Furthermore, it's not really daytime in the mountains anymore; it gets dark very quickly after 5 p.m.

During such a special period, it's no use running away from leopards; they will still hold a grudge.

We'll have to use guns then.

"Bang, bang, bang--"

Chen Ling raised his gun and fired several shots into the air, while also stomping his feet and shouting loudly, trying to scare it away.

This approach is indeed effective.

Amidst the gunshots and shouts, the branches and leaves on the trees in the distance swayed slightly again, and the leopard silently disappeared.

Not only did they leave, but something also fell from the tree, which looked like a deer's head, probably what they had left over.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Jin quickly ran over to retrieve it.

however……

Just as it bent down and bit the deer's head, a golden figure suddenly pounced from a tree three or four meters away.

Fast, swift, and fierce, yet graceful and agile throughout, moving silently.

It seemed as if a distance of three or four meters was nothing to it, and it arrived in the blink of an eye.

Surprisingly, the leopard that had originally left turned back and pounced on them, baring its fangs and claws.

Its claws, fangs, and body are disproportionately large, and just a glance at them is enough to send chills down your spine. In hunting, they are definitely deadly weapons that can deliver a fatal blow.

Moreover, it was a sneak attack.

If left unprepared, even wild animals two or three times its size can be killed in a sneak attack.

However, this sneak attack had no effect on Xiao Jin. It was as if Xiao Jin had expected it.

Xiao Jin was originally bending down to bite the deer's head, but at this moment it seemed to have eyes in the back of its head. Just as the leopard was about to pounce, it suddenly turned around and bit the leopard as well. Its face was full of ferocity, revealing its white teeth, like a wolf with golden fur attacking, its target being the leopard's throat.

A fierce battle ensued.

The leopard roared, the dog howled, and the two creatures locked in a fierce battle the moment they met, locked in a close and evenly matched fight.

It's so fast that your brain and eyes can't react at all; it's as if they're fighting each other in the blink of an eye.

The battle was fierce, the fallen leaves were stirred up into a mess, and blood spurted out and spilled on the ground.

"Aww~"

The battle came quickly and ended just as quickly, perhaps in less than ten seconds. The burly leopard let out a mournful cry, leaped up a tree with a "whoosh," and quickly disappeared among the branches and leaves.

Then Little Gold shook its fur, and as if nothing had happened, leisurely picked up the deer head and returned to Chen Ling and the other person's side with a clattering sound.

This sudden battle between the dog and the leopard was dazzling.

Wang Cunye was completely dumbfounded and stood there stunned.

It took him a long time to recover from his shock. Pointing at Xiao Jin, he said to Chen Ling, "This, this, just now, did you see that dog and the leopard, Lingzi? Just now, when Xiao Jin and the leopard were fighting..."

"No, that's not right. It was before they started fighting..."

The old man stammered, unsure how to describe it for a moment.

"I see. I see."

Chen Ling was also quite shocked. Looking at Xiao Jin, who had put down the deer head and was wagging its tail at him as usual to ask for credit, he nodded blankly: "We almost got tricked by the leopard just now. It seems that Xiao Jin deliberately lured it into the trap."

If you told people what happened earlier, they definitely wouldn't believe you.

Who would have thought that a leopard, a wild beast, would play tricks on people, deliberately lower their guard, and then launch a surprise attack?

Little Gold was also quite remarkable; it not only saw through the leopard's treacherous scheme but also turned the tables on it, winning the battle.

He didn't have any injuries.

This……

This is simply...

It's truly unbelievable that this happened to two animals.

In reality, Xiao Jin is an excellent hunting dog; Lynx even said it could be a master dog.

Master Dog's hunting skills are unparalleled among hunting dogs, on par with the alpha wolf in a pack.

It should be noted that the alpha wolf is responsible for devising the pack's hunting plans.

Hearing the word "plan" makes its wisdom clear.

Even more cunning than wolves are jackals, also known as red jackals or jackals.

They have very low standards and will stop at nothing to hunt, including ambushes and sneak attacks, attracting attention first while actually calling on their companions to encircle them.

The intelligence and cunning of wild animals are often more surprising than what is presented in some works.

Therefore, the ancient mountain people admired their wisdom and would make up some stories based on them. Although some of them became more and more exaggerated and demonized as they were passed down, others became more and more bedtime stories to scare little children.

However, it must be said that there are basically no weak wild animals that can survive in the mountains and forests.

The leopard's performance wasn't actually that exaggerated, but even so, it was still quite amazing.

"That damn leopard..."

Wang Cunye continued to curse angrily, constantly looking around warily with his head tilted back. This leopard was truly unexpected; not only was it cunning and treacherous, but it was also incredibly arrogant, almost managing to trick the father-in-law and son-in-law.

I still feel lingering fear when I think about it now.

If Xiao Jin hadn't gone to retrieve the deer's head, the leopard wouldn't have been lured out, and they would have been the ones to suffer.

“Don’t come here to collect herbs anymore. If you’re really interested in learning, go to Lutou Mountain over there. I’ll take you there a few times. The herb farmers there have explored almost the entire area. They know the place well, and it’s safer,” Wang Cunye said.

He was indeed a little worried. This time, he had been in the mountains for a while and had encountered wild boars and leopards.

I thought to myself that I shouldn't teach my son-in-law how to collect herbs anymore.

It's just too dangerous.

"Oh, it's alright, Dad. There are just a lot of wild things in the North Mountain. The West and South Mountains are much better. Su Su used to go mushroom picking in the West Mountain all the time. It's really nothing," Chen Ling said.

It's not that he doesn't really care about these things; it's just that with the Sun and Moon Cave Heaven by his side, he's skilled and daring.

"Don't take it lightly. In the past, when we gathered herbs, we were inseparable from both hunting and herb gathering. It was because there were many jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards in the mountains, and encounters while gathering herbs often resulted in death. Now that those things are less common, the herb farmers and hunters have gradually separated."

Wang Cunye earnestly reminded him.

Seeing his father-in-law's serious expression, Chen Ling nodded and quickly promised that he would not come to Beishan rashly in the future.

As for the things the old man mentioned, his brother-in-law Wang Qingzhong had also said quite a bit about them last time in Lutou Mountain.

Continuing deeper into Lutou Mountain from Fenglei Town, that is, the further into the Qinling Mountains you go, the more herb gatherers there are, and the more skilled they become.

They were often mountain dwellers who farmed the land, hunters who hunted, and herb gatherers who collected medicinal herbs.

Moreover, their hunting skills are often comparable to, or even superior to, their herbalism skills.

One reason is for self-defense. In the remote mountains, wild animals frequently appear, and one cannot survive without self-defense skills.

Another reason is for medicinal materials, which come from wild animals, such as musk, bear bile, tiger bone, leopard bone, and deer antler, all of which are quite valuable.

Further outwards, in places like theirs, farming remains the primary occupation.

Hunting and gathering herbs were used to supplement the family income, not as the main source of income.

After all, gathering medicinal herbs is too dangerous.

You never know when you'll encounter wild beasts and poisonous insects in the mountains, and the terrain where precious herbs grow is often treacherous. Many times, you risk your life to collect herbs.

If farming provides a stable income, there's no need to take risks.

Therefore, in recent years, they have rarely gone into the mountains to hunt; they just set animal traps and snares as usual.

Just like my father-in-law said, even in Fenglei Town, herbalists and hunters are no longer the same thing.

Many herb farmers have lost their hunting skills.

They no longer wished to venture deep into the Qinling Mountains to collect medicinal herbs.

This, to some extent, means that their sources of income have now become much more diverse.

This is a good thing.

They chatted casually, with the father-in-law mostly praising Xiao Jin, saying that it was fortunate they had it this time, and he praised Xiao Jin so much he didn't know what to do with it.

In the end, she just walked quietly beside Chen Ling, as if she were shy.

After traversing the mountains and forests and passing Wolf-Claw Rock, things went much more smoothly, and we didn't encounter any more wild animals.

After the father-in-law and son-in-law relaxed, Chen Ling was drawn to the deer head in his hand.

"Dad, come and take a look. This thing doesn't look like a deer's head, does it?"

(End of this chapter)