Reborn in 72, I hunt to support my family and spoil my younger sister rotten.

The next morning, before dawn, Li's mother was already up preparing breakfast.

"Mom, it's so early, why are you up so early?" Li Xiangyang came out when he heard the voice.

“You need to eat well to have the strength to go into the mountains,” said Li’s mother while she was busy.

After breakfast, Li Xiangyang began packing his things. A hunting rifle was essential, along with a hoe, rope, and a sharpened wooden stick he had prepared the night before.

"Brother, I want to go too!" Li Xiaohua suddenly appeared beside Li Xiangyang, looking at him expectantly. "I want to see how you use a gun."

"No, it's too dangerous in the mountains." Li Xiangyang refused without even thinking.

“I promise I’ll be good,” Li Xiaohua said, tugging at Li Xiangyang’s sleeve sweetly. “I’ll watch you while you hunt, and I definitely won’t run off.”

Before Li Xiangyang could say anything, Li Xiaohua rushed over and hugged his arm: "Brother~"

"Alright, alright," Li Xiangyang smiled helplessly, "but you have to promise me you'll behave when we get to the mountains."

"Mmm!" Li Xiaohua nodded repeatedly.

Before leaving, Li's mother gave both children an extra layer of clothing and specifically told Li Xiangyang, "Don't go too far."

After entering the mountains, Li Xiangyang was extra cautious. He had seen tiger tracks in this area a few days ago. Although wild animals generally don't venture out easily in heavy snow, he couldn't be careless.

He carefully observed the traces around him and made sure there were no signs of large wild animals nearby before leading Li Xiaohua to continue on.

"Brother, what are we planning to play today?" Li Xiaohua asked curiously.

"It would be best if we could run into a roe deer," Li Xiangyang replied as they walked. "And if we're lucky enough to spot a deer, that would be even better, so we can make you and Mom a warm winter coat."

"Then, could you make me a scarf?" Li Xiaohua's eyes lit up. "I've seen some people in the village wearing them, and they're so warm."

“Of course, no problem,” Li Xiangyang said affectionately, patting his younger sister’s head. “I’ll also make you a fur hat.”

Not long after they started walking, Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped.

He crouched down and carefully examined the tracks on the snow.

Shh! Here...

He carefully brushed away the newly fallen snow with his hands, revealing a pile of dark brown, round, granular feces underneath, still slightly warm.

It is oval in shape, with a smooth surface, and is larger than that of a roe deer, but not as rough as that of a red deer.

"Looks like we're in luck today, we actually have some prey. This temperature must have been left at most half an hour ago," Li Xiangyang explained softly to his sister.

Li Xiaohua stared wide-eyed at her brother.

She also remembered that a few days ago, the eldest son of her second aunt in the village said he was going to go hunting in the mountains, but he didn't even see a rabbit after searching all day and came back looking dejected.

But my brother was able to spot the prey just by looking at the marks on the ground. That's amazing!

Li Xiaohua felt that her brother was more capable than anyone else in the village.

She quietly straightened her back and thought with pride: This is my brother!

There were several obvious depressions in the snow. Although the falling snow had covered part of them, the depth and shape of the depressions indicated that they were hoofprints.

Li Xiangyang intently observed the plants emerging from under the snow.

The emerald green grass stems stood out against the white snow, and the neat cuts still bore traces of freshness.

He gently stroked the broken stubble, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

Roe deer like to tear grass with their lips, leaving messy marks.

The grass stem in front of us had a clean cut, clearly indicating that it had been bitten off directly by front teeth.

Moreover, the stems are very close to the ground, almost biting off at the root, which is a unique habit of sika deer.

He carefully examined the depression in the ground.

Although the snow covered some of the tracks, the size and spacing of the hoof prints were still clearly discernible.

These traces indicate that at least three to four adult sika deer once roamed this area.

This discovery made Li Xiangyang even more excited.

In winter, sika deer develop thicker and softer fur to protect themselves from the cold.

He continued his search and soon found more signs of disturbance in the bushes.

The new shoots of several holly and lichen plants had been completely eaten, and the surrounding snow had been trampled into a mess.

“Found it.” Li Xiangyang’s lips curled up slightly.

"Brother, is it a roe deer?" Li Xiaohua asked curiously.

"No, they're sika deer. They're not far away," Li Xiangyang whispered.

"Really?" Li Xiaohua lowered her voice, looking around excitedly.

Li Xiangyang nodded, picked up a leaf from the ground, and gently let go of it.

The leaves drift westward with the wind, which means the wind direction is favorable to them, and the deer cannot smell their scent.

"Stay here and don't move," he instructed his sister. "I'll go check on things."

Li Xiangyang slowly felt his way forward, taking each step very lightly.

This is a technique he learned on the African savanna: the ball of the foot should land first, and then the weight should be transferred to minimize the sound of footsteps.

Forty meters...

Thirty meters...

A faint rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.

Li Xiangyang immediately stopped and held his breath.

The head of an adult male deer peeks out from the bushes, its beautiful antlers standing out against the snow.

It cautiously looked around, its wet nose twitching incessantly, trying to sniff out any signs of danger.

Li Xiangyang remained motionless.

At this distance, the Type 56 rifle is perfectly capable of hitting the target.

But he knew he couldn't rush to fire.

Behind the buck, other sika deer peeked out one after another.

Li Xiangyang silently counted: one... two... three...

It really is a small group.

At the critical moment, a gentle breeze suddenly blew in from the east.

Oh no! Li Xiangyang's heart tightened.

Sure enough, the lead stag suddenly raised its head and its nose twitched violently a few times.

The next second, the entire herd of deer shot off like arrows.

Li Xiangyang immediately raised his gun, but the buck was too fast.

Firing rashly in this situation would not only miss the target, but also alert the enemy.

He quickly adjusted his stance, moving the muzzle of his gun in the direction of the deer herd.

He observed while hunting in Africa that panicked prey often chooses the most familiar route to escape.

Sure enough, the deer did not run away randomly, but chose a relatively open route.

This reminded Li Xiangyang of the tracks he had seen on the way here; that must have been their usual route.

"Wait..." He silently calculated the distance and angle.

Just as the deer herd was about to rush out of range, Li Xiangyang decisively pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

The sound of gunfire echoed through the valley.

The lead buck stumbled suddenly, but instead of falling, it sped up even more.

Blood dripped down its hind legs onto the snow, starkly contrasting against the pure white background.

"Brother!" Li Xiaohua called out worriedly from a distance upon hearing the gunshot.

“Don’t worry,” Li Xiangyang raised his hand to signal his sister to be quiet, “it won’t go far.”

Wounded deer will instinctively seek out places to hide.

In this kind of terrain, there aren't many places to hide.

More importantly, Li Xiangyang knew that his shot had hit the buck's hind leg.

With this kind of injury, it can only run a maximum of one kilometer.

Li Xiangyang frowned slightly as he looked at the intermittent bloodstains on the snow.

Normally, he could easily catch up, but now...

"Brother, it's all my fault for insisting on coming along," Li Xiaohua said to him, blaming herself.

She knew that if she hadn't been there, her brother would have caught up with her long ago.