With the optimal hunting route provided by the system's light screen, Chen Lan quickly found a patch of relatively lush grassland. In the middle of the grassland stood eight or nine tall fir trees. The fir leaves appeared exceptionally green against the backdrop of withered yellow grass.
It turned out that this group of roe deer was foraging within this fir forest! Chen Lan immediately covered his mouth and nose with his scarf to prevent his exhaled white mist from being directly blown out, which could easily alert the roe deer. He signaled to everyone to do the same, and they all nodded in understanding.
There were two pregnant does in this group of roe deer. Together with five adult roe deer, there were seven in total. They were likely a roe deer family. Following the old custom, they let the two pregnant does go, and the rest, needless to say, were caught.
Since Chen Lan and his companions were using crossbows, the process of hunting roe deer was mostly silent, causing no major commotion. Apart from the five roe deer on the backs of the five men, the surroundings remained as quiet as ever, as if nothing had happened.
Chen Lan, holding his crossbow, led the group to tread through the thick snow and continue wandering in the mountains. Looking up, everything was a vast expanse of white, truly a natural painting of a snow-covered forest.
The group actually found several frozen pheasants and wild birds in the forest. They were all frozen solid. The group didn't care about freshness; it was a natural freezer outside in this icy landscape. So, they unhesitatingly collected them all and took them away. Besides, in this bitter cold, having meat to eat was good enough; who would be picky? Anything caught was fair game.
After searching the mountains with the group for a while longer, Chen Lan noticed a cluster of small red dots on the system's light screen. He guessed it might be a rabbit warren. Indeed, following the route indicated by the system's light screen, they found a trail of rabbit footprints. They followed the footprints all the way to a pile of withered grass where the footprints disappeared. It was clear that the rabbit warren must be beneath this patch of withered grass.
Chen Lan didn't need to say much about the rest. Everyone was well-trained and immediately divided into groups to search for the entrance of the burrow, while others were assigned to look for other exits nearby. They busily set to work in an organized manner.
The three-step process for catching rabbits thus began: first, find the rabbit hole; then, block the entrance; next, smoke the hole with dry grass; and finally, wait for the harvest. This time, as expected, they caught a whole family of rabbits, with seven or eight plump rabbits captured in one go.
Chen Lan led the group, wading through the thick snow, and entered a dense forest. They immediately felt a different atmosphere. Everyone noticed how exceptionally quiet the forest was, so quiet that it seemed as if the drop of a needle on the snow could be heard. This unusual phenomenon alerted Chen Lan and the others, as it was not a good sign, indicating the presence of fierce animals nearby.
Chen Lan opened the system's light screen with his mind. As expected, several small red dots appeared on the screen. Following the route indicated by the system's light screen, Chen Lan soon found traces of wild boars having passed through. Due to their short legs, wild boars create a snow trench where they walk.
Chen Lan looked at the small red dots on the system's light screen, then at the several snow trenches and messy hoof prints on the ground. He then pointed to the hoof prints and whispered to Xu Mingxuan, who was always by his side, "Brother Mingxuan, look, these should be wild boar footprints. The hoof prints in these three snow trenches are as large as those of a half-grown bull. There should be three large wild boars, and the others should be slightly smaller."
Xu Mingxuan nodded without saying anything, but he couldn't help but feel a bit worried. These were several wild boars, and having too many people would make it difficult to operate. He was concerned that something unexpected might happen.
At this moment, Qingsong and Daye also walked over. Upon seeing the snow trenches and hoof prints, they immediately became excited. Qingsong said happily in a low voice, "Mingxuan, Daye, if we can capture this group of wild boars today, our winter hunt will be a complete success. We won't have to wander in the mountains every day in this cold weather."
Daye nodded in agreement, "Exactly. Let's do this properly today, and we can go back to sleeping on a warm kang tomorrow."
Chen Lan led the group through a dense forest, treading through the thick snow. They indeed saw a patch of wild chestnut trees not far ahead. Seven wild boars were under the chestnut trees, digging through the snow with their snouts, searching for chestnuts that had fallen in the fallen leaves during autumn.
It is said that wild boars have an exceptionally keen sense of smell, capable of detecting food buried under two meters of snow. The wild boars were all engrossed in eating, completely unaware that danger was approaching.
Chen Lan glanced at the exceptionally large wild boar. He recalled that wild boars are animals that even tigers fear. In the eyes of old hunters in Northeast China, an adult wild boar is even more dangerous than a tiger. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a saying in the Northeast: "One pig, two bears, three tigers," which shows how formidable wild boars are.
He had brought so many people out this time, and he had to ensure their safety. Therefore, he couldn't be careless. Chen Lan decided to change his usual hunting method and have everyone participate in this hunt, adopting a division of labor approach and taking them down one by one.
So, he made gestures to signal to everyone that he had something to say, and then used his hands to mime the hunting tasks. Chen Lan pointed to a leading, super large wild boar and then pointed to himself. This boar could be described as stout and strong, likely weighing five to six hundred pounds based on its size. It had two sharp tusks near its mouth, and its combat power should not be underestimated. Its body was covered with a thick layer of pine tar, as if it were wearing a thick armor, making it certainly difficult to hunt.
Xu Mingxuan nodded in understanding and then turned to point at the wild boars not far away on the opposite side, gesturing to Qingsong and Daye next to him. After understanding, Qingsong and Daye nodded, and then Qingsong and Daye each gestured to the people next to them. After much effort, everyone understood their hunting tasks and quickly entered a hunting state, each focusing on their target.
The wild boar Chen Lan was about to deal with was indeed tricky. Its thick armor might not be penetrated by carbon steel arrows. If he couldn't kill it with a single shot, it would be troublesome, as wild boars are very powerful attackers. Otherwise, they wouldn't even fear tigers.