Chapter 950: I Know Nothing About Any of It

As soon as Mu Xueli heard Wang An's words, she immediately leaned in and said

"Brother-in-law, after Old Five left yesterday, I went to find Old Xiao Pao. He told me that hunting man-eating bears is especially hard on the dogs. Ordinary black bears usually ignore dogs, but those man-eating things will kill a dog the moment they see one. It's like they know dogs are used to lead people to them."

Wang An paused upon hearing this and asked Mu Xueli

"Then what do we do? How did Old Xiao Pao used to hunt those things?"

Wang An actually already knew what Old Xiao Pao had said; it was just that he had heard it from Feng Chengmin.

Mu Xueli continued

"Old Xiao Pao also said that having too many dogs is useless. The more the dogs chase it, the more cunning the thing becomes, and it'll be even harder to find it later."

Wang An gave Mu Xueli a sidelong glance and said

"Stop telling me this useless stuff. Is there actually a good way or not?"

Seeing that Wang An was starting to get impatient, Mu Xueli finally got straight to the point

"Old Xiao Pao said the best way is to not let the dogs loose, and instead have the people lead the dogs while chasing."

Without looking up, Wang An said

"That's total bullshit. The grass is growing so damn high you can't even track a scent; what's the point of leading the dogs? This isn't winter with snow on the ground."

After a pause, Wang An continued

"Besides, can we outrun dogs? Or can we outrun a black bear? If we lead the dogs, with how sharp a black bear's nose is, it'll smell the humans and the gunpowder and bolt long before we get close."

Wang An suddenly realized that hunters with the title of "Gunner" were actually just ordinary; they simply had a bit more hunting experience.

Truth be told, Wang An himself was now referred to as a "Gunner" by people, but in his own eyes, his hunting skills were just so-so.

After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli agreed

"Yeah, that's right. Old Xiao Pao also said that when they hunted that man-eating bear back then, it was also before winter."

Wang An glanced at Mu Xueli and said

"Alright, stop listening to him. We'll just hunt it our own way."

As they spoke, Mu Xueli and Wang Li helped put armor on the dogs. The three of them each checked their leggings and cuffs once more, then mounted their horses and led the dogs out the door.

Traveling through the mountains during this season required great caution.

Although the great forests of the Northeast weren't as riddled with poisonous insects and snakes as those in the South, things like "grass-crawlers," "tree-stings," and giant black mosquitoes were still quite formidable.

Especially the grass-crawlers—ticks. If those bastards bit you, a severe case could land you in the hospital.

For this trip into the mountains, the three of them brought an extra item: mugwort ropes.

By twisting dried mugwort tightly into long braided ropes and lighting them on fire, they became the most commonly used mosquito-repellent tool in the region.

Of course, besides mugwort, "Old Bull-Dried" had the same repellent effect; lighting it to smoke out mosquitoes was equally effective.

It should be noted that the "Old Bull-Dried" mentioned here had nothing to do with cows; it was actually a type of tree lingzhi.

Furthermore, Old Bull-Dried was found everywhere in the forest, making it very easy to collect.

The reason Wang An brought mugwort ropes instead of sourcing Old Bull-Dried on the spot was that while Old Bull-Dried repelled mosquitoes, it produced an incredibly thick smoke when burning, which was very irritating to the eyes and throat.

After leaving the gate, due to the direction they needed to go, they didn't take the road to the west of Wang An's house. Instead, they first headed east, passing the small shop and the village headquarters, finally entering the mountains via the road through the center of the village.

When the three reached the entrance of the village headquarters, the village chief Sun Dafu, the accountant Li Youcai, the militia captain Sun Xiangfeng, and a group of militia members were gathered together, some sitting and some standing, discussing something.

In fact, Wang An had intended to stop by the headquarters to gather information; at the very least, he needed to know the approximate location of the man-eating bear.

Otherwise, searching the mountains aimlessly would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Seeing the three of them approaching with a pack of dogs, the group, who had been looking miserable, immediately beamed with joy.

Accountant Li Youcai stood up and greeted Wang An

"Xiao An, are you three youngsters heading out to hunt that grey-furred black bear?"

Wang An smiled as he dismounted and said

"Yep. Grandpa Sun came to see me yesterday. After his guidance, I figured that as a member of Kaoshan Village, I should step up and do my part when needed."

As he spoke, Wang An glanced at Sun Dafu.

Clearly, Wang An was giving credit to Sun Dafu in his capacity as village chief.

As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Sun Dafu laughed

"We were just discussing this. The village has decided to put up 200 yuan as a reward. Whoever kills that grey-furred black bear gets the 200 yuan."

Wang An joked with a smile

"Well, looking at it now, those 200 yuan are practically mine, hehehehe."

Wang An laughed, and everyone joined in.

It was evident that these past few days had truly exhausted the militia. Seeing Wang An step in, they were genuinely happy.

While 200 yuan was a significant amount in this era, it wasn't a sum that an ordinary person could easily aspire to.

After the laughter subsided, Wang An asked Sun Xiangfeng

"Uncle Sun, roughly where is that black bear located?"

Sun Xiangfeng thought for a moment and said

"East of the fifth ridge, where there are several small rocky hills. We thought we caught a glimpse of it yesterday, but by the time we got close, it had vanished."

As soon as Sun Xiangfeng finished, Wang An's brow furrowed. The amount of information was simply too meager; he wondered what these militia members had actually been doing while wandering the mountains for three days.

But the lack of information was one thing; the phrase "thought we caught a glimpse" was truly frustrating.

Did they actually see it, or the hell did they not?

Noticing Wang An's expression, Sun Xiangfeng added sheepishly

"We didn't get a great look at the bear, but we did find some bear droppings in that area. The scat wasn't even dry yet, so I reckon the bear is most likely right around there."

Wang An nodded helplessly

"Right, alright. As long as there's bear scat, that'll work."

He had no other choice but to accept it; this was a classic case of "knowing nothing about anything." Asking was a waste of breath.

After chatting some more useless nonsense with the group, the three of them mounted their horses and dove straight into the forest.

They didn't ride fast, so it took about an hour before they arrived near the small rocky hills Sun Xiangfeng had mentioned.

After searching for a while, they found the bear droppings that had been crushed by Sun Xiangfeng and his men.

Consequently, Wang An commanded Da Hei

"Da Hei, it's all up to you this time. Smell this pile of shit and see where that black bear ran off to."