The fragrant muntjac, also known as the musk deer, is the source of the famous and incredibly valuable musk produced within its body.
Of course, musk rats also have musk, but it is only present during their mating season; once the season passes, the musk is excreted along with their waste.
Furthermore, the amount of musk in a musk rat is very small and its price is relatively low, far lacking the value of the musk from a fragrant muntjac.
In contrast, the musk of a fragrant muntjac remains in its body permanently. The older the male muntjac, the more concentrated the musk becomes. Unless faced with an emergency danger, a male muntjac will not bite through its musk gland, which would result in a waste of the musk.
Naturally, this is also a self-defense mechanism for the muntjac, similar to how a weasel releases a foul stench when pushed to its limit, except that once a muntjac's musk gland is punctured, that special, concentrated fragrance can be released for a long time.
After taking the gun, Wang An's eyes remained locked on the flickering silhouette of the fragrant muntjac. Without even lowering his head, he skillfully chambered a round, making almost no sound in the process.
Once the bullet was loaded, Wang An carefully raised the gun to his shoulder and stood up very slowly. A moment later, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Following the "bang" of the gunshot, Wang An sprinted forward as fast as a leopard.
Mainly because the distance was too great and the visibility was poor, Wang An only had this one shot. Although he knew he had definitely hit it, he didn't know exactly where it had struck or if the muntjac was actually dead.
If he hadn't killed it and the muntjac bit through its musk gland before dying, it would be no exaggeration to say Wang An would have slapped his own thigh in frustration.
The reason was simple: musk was just too damn valuable!
Seeing Wang An run off with the gun, Huang Zhong hurriedly picked up the burlap sack Wang An had left on the ground and ran after him.
However, given Wang An's running speed, how could Huang Zhong's short legs possibly keep up?
Soon, Wang An reached the spot where he had spotted the muntjac. He saw that the animal's neck had been shattered by the bullet; the muntjac was lying on the ground, legs twitching, looking as if it were on the verge of death.
Seeing this, Wang An's tense heart finally relaxed.
Although there was no one around for the time being, Wang An still chuckled and muttered to himself
"Holy shit, this big fragrant muntjac... this is fucking satisfying, hahahaha..."
Squatting down, Wang An felt the muntjac's musk gland and found that it was as large as a chicken egg. The smile on Wang An's face deepened.
A musk gland this large and intact would fetch at least 3,000 yuan, even at the supply and marketing cooperative's purchase price.
Of course, Wang An wouldn't sell it to the cooperative. Much like pig stones or ox gallstones, there were many private buyers for this stuff, and a private buyer would normally start at 5,000 yuan for a single muntjac musk gland.
Yes, 5,000 yuan and up, because the price of musk has been incredibly expensive since ancient times, several times more expensive than ox gallstones.
Moreover, musk had another impressive function: when made into a sachet and worn by women over a long period, it was said to act as a contraceptive, though Wang An didn't know if that claim was accurate.
After feeling the gland, Wang An pulled out his hunting knife and very carefully extracted the musk gland intact.
Looking at the furry, egg-sized gland in his hand, the corners of Wang An's mouth curled up again.
Good stuff! Absolutely good stuff!
A while later, Huang Zhong finally caught up, panting heavily. As soon as he reached Wang An, he couldn't help but ask
"Big Brother, what did you see? Did you hit it?"
Wang An casually put the musk gland away and pointed to the muntjac in the grass, saying with a smile
"Look, do you know what this is?"
Huang Zhong looked closely and frowned
"Is this... a silly roe deer?"
Wang An smiled and was about to speak when he heard Huang Zhong say again
"No, silly roe deer don't have tusks. This thing has tusks, so it's definitely not a silly roe deer."
From Huang Zhong's words, it wasn't hard to tell that he had never seen a fragrant muntjac, or rather, he didn't recognize one.
But it was normal not to recognize it, as these creatures are typically solitary and extremely timid.
Most importantly, their hearing, smell, and vision are as exceptional as those of a sika deer, yet their body size is very small. The largest male fragrant muntjac is only about 30 jin. One could say that before a person even gets close, the animal has already hidden or run far away, giving people no chance to see it.
Finally, Huang Zhong couldn't help but ask
"What is this, Big Brother?"
Wang An replied
"This thing is a fragrant muntjac, also called a musk deer."
Huang Zhong nodded and looked at the muntjac with curiosity, smiling
"There are deer this small? Even smaller than a silly roe deer, hehehe..."
Seeing that Huang Zhong didn't understand the matter of the musk, Wang An didn't explain much. With a swift stroke of the knife, he slit the muntjac's throat and pressed on its belly a few times. Once most of the blood had drained, Wang An said
"Alright, let's go. Home."
As he spoke, Wang An threw the still-dripping muntjac over his shoulder and led the way forward.
They were currently on the outskirts of the mountain; it would be perfectly fine to gut the muntjac once they got home. If he gutted it now, he wouldn't be able to carry it on his shoulder.
After a while, seeing that Huang Zhong was struggling to keep up while carrying the burlap sack, Wang An said helplessly
"You take the gun and carry the sack for me."
To be fair, Huang Zhong's physique was truly pitiful—weighing seventy or eighty jin and standing less than 1.4 meters tall. Walking with Wang An was genuinely difficult for him, because while Wang An walked normally, Huang Zhong had to jog the whole way to keep up.
In an attempt to prove his value, Huang Zhong said stubbornly
"It's fine, Big Brother, I can carry it."
However, as he spoke, he was clearly out of breath.
Wang An rubbed Huang Zhong's head, then reached out and snatched the burlap sack off his back, saying with a laugh
"Enough, don't try to be a hero. Just carry the gun."
Huang Zhong looked at Wang An and took the gun somewhat awkwardly, saying
"Thanks, Big Brother. Am I... a bit too useless?"
Wang An laughed loudly and told the truth
"Yep, you're indeed not of much use right now, hahahaha..."
After handing the gun to Huang Zhong, Wang An rubbed his head again. With the muntjac on his left shoulder and the burlap sack in his right hand, he strode forward, while Huang Zhong, carrying a Type 56 semi-automatic, jogged after him once more.
This scene looked exactly like a father leading his son.
(End of Chapter)