Chapter 23: I Just Saw My Great-Grandmother!

The weasel was significantly larger than the Eurasian Sparrowhawk. It would have been difficult for the hawk to subdue it alone, but the sparrowhawk’s sharp talons were clamped tightly around the weasel's head. The hawk pressed its entire weight onto the weasel's skull, making it impossible for the creature to break free.

The sparrowhawk's wings and tail were fully spread. No matter how much the weasel struggled, the hawk refused to loosen its grip.

This situation was actually quite dangerous. If Yue Feng had been too far away to arrive in time, and if the hawk hadn't been holding the prey's head to muffle its mouth, the weasel could have been dragged into the bushes like a small cart. At best, the hawk's feathers would be damaged; at worst, it could lose its life.

However, Yue Feng was not far away. Upon hearing the squeaking sounds, he rushed over in less than five seconds to help.

Yue Feng stepped forward and raised his right foot. Seizing the moment when the hawk flared its wings in a rhythmic motion, he brought his foot down hard on the weasel's flank.

With just one blow, the weasel was severely injured and stopped struggling violently. Fearing that the hawk might release its grip and get bitten if he reached for the prey too quickly, Yue Feng did not rush to swap the prey out. Instead, he kept his toe pressed against the weasel's abdomen and ground his foot forward.

With a loud *crack*, Yue Feng snapped the weasel's spine.

In the next second, a thick, foul stench began to waft from the base of the weasel's tail near his feet.

Realizing something was wrong, Yue Feng immediately stepped back.

"Did you catch it? Did you catch it!" Xiao Tao arrived a beat late to look, only to be hit head-on by the weasel's freshly released stink bomb.

"Holy crap, it stinks!" Xiao Tao felt a jolt go through his skull, and his mind went momentarily blank.

"The weasel farted! Hold your breath!" Yue Feng grabbed Xiao Tao by the collar of his jacket and pulled him back. The two brothers stumbled back a few steps, unable to steady themselves, and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.

"Are you feeling better?" Yue Feng asked with concern, fanning the air near Xiao Tao's nose with his hand.

"Cough, cough, cough..." After a long moment of violent coughing, Xiao Tao finally recovered.

"Brother Feng, if I'm lying to you, I'm not a man! Damn, that weasel's fart was so stinky, for a second there, I thought I saw my great-grandmother!" Xiao Tao said with exaggerated seriousness.

Yue Feng grinned. "Alright, take a breather here. I'm going to swap out the hawk. If we dawdle, the hawk might tear the pelt to pieces, and then it won't be worth anything! Give me that partridge you just caught!"

"Okay, okay!"

Yue Feng took the partridge and quickly returned to the site of the battle.

By now, the weasel was completely dead. The sparrowhawk was still gripping the weasel's head tightly, pecking away at its eyes.

Seeing this, Yue Feng felt both shock and joy.

This sparrowhawk was incredibly fierce. Not only did it peck eyes when catching wild chickens, but when it caught a weasel, it started eating from the eyes as well.

If the hawk knew how to systematically blind its prey first, even without Yue Feng's help, this weasel would likely have been taken down! It might have just taken a bit longer.

The stench of the weasel's gas had mostly dissipated. Yue Feng covered the hawk's talons with his glove and casually placed the partridge in front of the sparrowhawk.

Unable to see the prey under the glove, the hawk naturally released its grip and began devouring the partridge.

Yue Feng took the opportunity to remove the weasel and handed it to Xiao Tao.

To be fair, a weasel caught after the onset of autumn has very soft and warm fur. This was a male, weighing just under a pound and a half. The fur was sleek and oily, completely intact and flawless. If this were sold to a supply and marketing cooperative, it would be considered a top-tier, flawless pelt, worth at least 20 to 30 yuan.

With this weasel in their bag, even if the two of them didn't catch anything else, the trip would have been worth it.

Yue Feng glanced at the hawk on the ground, which was taking several large gulps of blood, before taking the partridge away. He placed the hawk on his arm and gave it a sip of water.

Although the smell had mostly cleared, Xiao Tao was still a bit dazed, so Yue Feng rested by the hawk for a while.

"Brother, I heard there are superstitions about killing weasels. Is it okay for us to take it back?" Xiao Tao asked hesitantly.

Yue Feng smiled. "The old folks say, 'Hunting weasels or foxes won't bring wealth!' Even if you make money, you won't be able to keep it; most of it will be spent on yourself.

But we don't need to be afraid. Hawks hunt these things in the wild naturally. Since this weasel died here today, it's just the hawk overcoming its tribulations; we're just bystanders at most!

If there really is some kind of spirit or ghost, let it try to take revenge on the sparrowhawk! If it's not afraid of a living hawk, it shouldn't fear a dead one either!

I looked closely just now—this is a male weasel. A top-grade pelt like this will sell for at least twenty to thirty yuan!"

"It's worth that much?!"

Hearing the price, Xiao Tao was stunned. His New Year's red envelope had only been twenty cents, which was considered high among his peers and could buy a pile of candy at the corner store.

"Yeah. A weasel caught with a trap or a snare might not be worth much, but a flawless one caught by a hawk is definitely worth that price! When we sell the pelt later, you'll get a share too!"

"Hehe, alright!! Where are there more weasels? Maybe we should stop catching chicks and specialize in catching weasels!"

Xiao Tao was truly a practical boy. One moment he was worried about the consequences of killing a weasel, and the next, upon hearing the price of the fur, he was already planning to hunt them exclusively.

One couldn't tell if he was brave or just reckless.

Yue Feng rolled his eyes. "Weasels have territories, and they like to be active at night. Even if we wander around with the hawk all day, we might not encounter one or two. Don't get any ideas!

No wonder the chicks around here look so haggard today; they were probably harassed by weasels last night!

Let's move a bit further ahead to see if there are any more partridges. If not, we'll head up the mountain to catch some flying dragons!"

"Got it!"

Yue Feng, with the hawk on his arm, led Xiao Tao in a loop around the riverside bushes, and just as he suspected, he was right.

Under two different thickets, there were remains of chicken feathers and bones left behind by weasels. Even the patch of land where Yue Feng usually caught partridges had been ravaged by them. The main flock of chickens would be unlikely to return for a few days, making it difficult to catch any more in this spot for a short while.

Having finished the first hunting ground, Yue Feng led Xiao Tao up the gentle slope south of Trap Gully and onto the mountain ridge, continuing to search for signs of prey along the ridge.

The flying dragons on the mountain were as reliable as ever. After walking only a few steps along the ridge, Yue Feng discovered a small group of five flying dragons.

These were likely birds that had just matured from the spring breeding season; one was an adult, and the other four were slightly smaller.

At that moment, all five birds had their heads down, pecking at food under a tree. Even when Yue Feng approached within twenty meters, they showed no sign of alertness. The hen looked up and clearly saw Yue Feng, but she didn't run; she just continued feeding her chicks in a daze.

As a seasoned hawkman, Yue Feng had no intention of coddling such foolish birds. He decisively deployed the hawk. The large hen leading the group was taken down by the sparrowhawk in a single move.