Wang An had always been obsessed with hunting the hanging sheep.
Mainly because, compared to the already precious deer velvet blood, hanging sheep blood was a true, world-class rarity.
Unfortunately, these creatures lived year-round on peaks at altitudes of three to four thousand meters; catching them was simply too difficult.
Correct—*catching* them, not killing them.
If the goal were simply to kill them, then with the marksmanship of Wang An and his companions, they would have a very good chance of success if they lay in ambush in one spot and waited patiently.
However, the most precious thing on a hanging sheep was its blood. If the blood wasn't drained in time, there would be very little left after death, and the actual efficacy of the blood would be greatly diminished.
In that case, the immense effort spent killing the sheep would be somewhat for naught.
Bringing dogs along for this trip into the mountains was actually useless. The only reason he brought them was to let them roam a bit and re-familiarize themselves with how to track prey.
Since Wang An's injury, the dogs hadn't entered the mountains. He worried they might forget their hunting skills or become unfamiliar with the terrain—or in local terms, he feared they had "returned to raw."
Actually, the term "returned to raw" was primarily used to describe a problem with starchy foods like potatoes. Once a potato is roasted or boiled and then allowed to cool, it "returns to raw," meaning it loses its mealy texture and tastes like a raw potato again.
In short, the purpose of bringing the dogs this time wasn't for them to hunt, but to let them readapt to the rhythm of mountain hunting.
As for bringing the lynxes, it was because Wang An wanted to see if the two lynxes could be of some help while the golden eagles were catching the sheep.
After all, when Wang An was training the eagles, he had also brought the two lynxes along for training. Although the training hadn't been particularly successful, Wang An still wanted to give it a try.
The main reason was that hanging sheep stayed on high peaks where dogs couldn't climb; only animals like lynxes could make it up there.
Racing ahead without any delay, the four of them arrived at Qingshigang, pulling the sled behind them.
While feeding the horses, Wang An said to Dahei, Xiaohei, and Xiaobai
"You three keep a close eye on them. Don't let them run too far; just let them wander here in front of the sled, got it?"
After nearly a year of growth, the four former adolescent wolves were now adults—at least in terms of size.
The three gray wolves each weighed nearly one hundred and twenty jin. Xiaobai had grown almost as large as Xiaohei, weighing over 130 jin.
One must realize that wild wolves in the deep mountains lived lives of feast or famine, but these four wolves had never gone hungry, and their daily meals were quite decent.
Whether it was steamed rice, leftover steamed buns, or cornmeal mixed with boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, or squash, they were certainly well-fed every meal.
Mainly, since last year, Wang An's family had no longer lacked grain.
The potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash grown in the back garden were measured by the ton.
Because there were so many of these vegetables, while he was forced to recover from his injuries, Wang An had used a crawler tractor to dig a genuinely large deep pit and built a new cellar.
Many people say, "Wolves roam the world eating meat, dogs roam the world eating shit," but this is a completely incorrect saying. The wolves living in the Greater and Lesser Khingan ranges eat almost anything; when they are desperate and cannot find prey, they will even eat the fecal pellets of herbivores.
This was no exaggeration, as many veteran hunters had seen wolves eating fecal pellets with their own eyes, and eating them to their fill.
There was no helping it; in these mountains, it wasn't just humans who struggled to survive—animals actually had it harder.
Staying alive was the first priority!
Therefore, these four wolves and the female wolf at home had always been raised like dogs, eating the same food as Dahei and the others.
The reason Wang An gave orders to Dahei, Xiaohei, and Xiaobai together was that as time passed, the white wolf's intelligence had increased significantly, becoming higher than the other three. Although it wasn't as smart as Xiaohei yet, it could understand some of Wang An's commands.
However, what left Wang An feeling quite helpless was that Dahei, Erhei, and Sanhei—the three pure black hunting dogs—were the three old veterans who had accompanied him in his earliest battles in the forest, and they were now beginning to age.
A small patch of white tips had begun to appear in the originally glossy black fur on their backs.
This meant that in two years at most, their physical strength would decline sharply. Whether chasing or biting prey, they would become powerless.
Normally, the lifespan of a Northeast "Big Stupid Dog" is only about 12 years, 15 at most. Hunting dogs, due to frequent injuries and physical exhaustion, have shorter lifespans; if they don't die from an injury, living naturally to 10 years is considered long-lived.
Of course, this wasn't absolute; it was just the case for the vast majority of dogs.
After giving instructions to the two dogs and one wolf, Wang An patted their heads and turned to Mu Xueli, Wang Li, and Huang Zhong.
"Let's go. We'll cross this large stretch of rocky beach first. I reckon those hanging sheep are on that large cliff to the south."
The actual Qingshigang was a corner of Hanging Sheep Peak, but the area of Qingshigang itself was quite large. Crucially, there were many small hills, rock piles, and large gullies around it that a horse pulling a sled could never pass through.
Wang An beckoned to the four eagles and two lynxes. The four eagles flew up from the sled's rack, circling above Wang An's head, while the two lynxes stood up lazily, stretched, and then slowly walked toward him.
Seeing the lazy demeanor of the two lynxes, Wang An wanted to give them a kick.
Unfortunately, the two lynxes didn't put up with him at all. If Wang An actually dared to hit them, they would certainly turn around and bolt, without giving him a second glance.
Wang An still needed their help, so although he was dissatisfied internally, he only moved his lips and didn't dare shout a single unkind word.
And so, the four people led the two large lynxes, with two golden eagles and two goshawks circling overhead, heading toward the higher peak to the west of Qingshigang.
After walking for about an hour, the four of them climbed the mountain closest to the main peak. Looking from the summit of this mountain toward the main peak, they saw a dozen or so small dots leaping across the distant peak as if it were level ground.
Barring any special circumstances, those dozen or so dots were their targets for this trip: the hanging sheep.
The four of them each took a look through their scopes and found that the chance of hitting them with a Type 56 semi-automatic was not high at all. Of course, if Wang An were holding a Type 79 sniper rifle, he could certainly kill one or two of them.
However, even if he killed one, bringing the carcass back would be a considerably difficult task.