Hunting Skills: Setting Traps

"In these deep mountain forests, if you want to catch prey, the most important thing is learning to identify animal trails."

As he spoke, Niu Yuan pointed ahead. "For example, this is an animal trail."

"Oh?" Zhao Ya carefully looked in the direction Niu Yuan indicated, but found nothing besides the lush forest.

Seeming to notice Zhao Ya's confusion, Niu Yuan smiled faintly, then crouched down and parted the grass on the ground.

"Look, these are animal tracks. Judging by them, it shouldn't be very large."

As he spoke, Niu Yuan picked up a piece of dung and rubbed it between his fingers.

"The droppings are still fresh. It couldn't have been more than a day."

Niu Yuan then thoroughly explained the tricks to finding animal trails to Zhao Ya.

Listening to this hard-earned advice, Zhao Ya felt that saving him this time had truly been worth it.

After all, hunting experience accumulated over long years was immensely valuable, something money could not buy.

Thus, Zhao Ya listened with great care, occasionally speaking up to ask questions.

Only after Zhao Ya had understood everything did Niu Yuan continue. "Finding an animal trail is only the beginning. If you want to catch prey, you'll need a few more things."

"What things?"

"First, materials for setting traps. Then, a reliable bow and arrows."

"Setting traps is a profound craft. Even I only understand the basics. I've heard that old hunters who spend their lives hunting in the deep mountains can use whatever materials are at hand, such as old vines, to set traps, but I don't have that kind of skill."

"Vines and branches are fine for catching small prey like pheasants and rabbits, but they become a joke against large prey. It's best to use specially made materials."

"First, iron wire. Raw iron wire won't do—you need wire drawn from wrought iron, and the more flexible it is, the better. Then there are iron teeth..."

Zhao Ya took out some paper and wrote down every material he needed. Niu Yuan then demonstrated several times on the spot, and only after confirming that Zhao Ya had learned it all did he speak again.

"Then you'll need a fairly reliable bow and arrows. They don't need to be too large or heavy, because when hunting big prey, the bow isn't meant to kill in one shot. Its purpose is to harass the prey and make it bleed, gradually draining its strength."

"However, those three men you killed earlier should have been carrying bows and arrows. You can use theirs directly."

After explaining all this, Niu Yuan looked at Zhao Ya with great seriousness.

"Friend, I don't know what prey you came into these deep mountains to hunt, but remember this: this is truly a land beyond the law. The real danger often isn't wild beasts, but people."

"And you must have enough patience. Never act rashly. If you encounter a beast that is too powerful, or even a mutated beast, retreat when you should. After all, your life is what matters most."

Zhao Ya nodded to show that he understood.

Niu Yuan then took out his skinning knife, walked over to the giant deer's corpse, and began skinning it and cutting away the meat.

His movements were extraordinarily deft. The deer hide came off in one whole piece, and none of the valuable meat was wasted.

Zhao Ya watched from the side and nodded to himself.

Even if he had done it himself, he could not have done as well as Niu Yuan.

No wonder they said old hunters were all masters with a blade.

After Niu Yuan finished, he packed his haul into his backpack and cupped his fists toward Zhao Ya.

"Friend, until we meet again!"

With that, he turned and vanished into the forest.

Next came the ever-popular corpse-looting portion.

The three men did not have much money on them, but Zhao Ya found plenty of useful items.

Wrought iron wire, iron teeth, lasso ropes soaked in hemp oil, fine mesh nets...

They were basically all materials needed for setting traps.

Besides that, there was also a bow and arrows.

This kind of hunting bow used in the mountains was very different from an ordinary bow.

First of all, the hunting bow was very compact, and its arrows were specially made. Their heads were cross-shaped, with blades protruding from all four sides, making them extremely sharp.

Zhao Ya packed away everything he had gained, ignored the corpses on the ground, and turned to head back.

Although he had not caught any prey this time, Zhao Ya felt that he had gained a great deal.

After all, the hunting knowledge alone was immensely valuable.

By the time he returned to Dancing Elephant City, it was already completely dark.

Zhao Ya followed a concealed route back home. Zui'er, who had been sitting anxiously by the stove waiting for him, finally relaxed and hurriedly began cooking.

After dinner and his training, Zhao Ya went to bed early.

The next day, Zhao Ya did not go out. Instead, he began organizing his equipment according to what Niu Yuan had taught him.

The things he had taken from the three men were quite comprehensive. Apart from some consumables, he actually had everything needed to set traps.

Zhao Ya also practiced with the bow and arrows.

For the current Zhao Ya, archery was actually quite simple.

After all, having become a second-realm martial artist, both his strength and reaction speed far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Before long, Zhao Ya's archery had reached the point where he could hit a copper coin every time from thirty paces away.

He did not test any farther distances.

Because Niu Yuan had made it clear: when shooting in the forest, thirty paces was the maximum effective range.

Any farther, and it was meaningless.

However, after practicing archery for half a day, Zhao Ya found that the system had not reacted at all.

It seemed the system did not record repetitive training. It had to be systematic cultivation.

Zhao Ya sorted out all the items he needed, completed his daily training, and went to bed early.

Before dawn the next day, Zhao Ya left the city.

Following the markers he had left the day before yesterday, Zhao Ya soon arrived at the place where he had encountered Niu Yuan.

By then, the three corpses had long since vanished. Other than a few torn scraps of clothing, only a pool of dark red blood remained on the ground, proving that three people had once been there.

Zhao Ya was not surprised in the slightest. Following the method Niu Yuan had taught him, he carefully searched for animal trails through the forest.

"No. These tracks are too small. This should be a route rabbits often use."

He found several trails in a row, but Zhao Ya rejected every one.

After going to such lengths to enter the deep mountains, he naturally had not come to hunt rabbits.

Zhao Ya's target was large predators. Mutated ones would be even better.

Finally, after searching for more than two full hours, Zhao Ya found an animal trail that satisfied him.

"The tracks are huge. This should be a trail left by a black bear. And judging by how fresh these droppings are, it must have passed through here this morning."

Zhao Ya's spirits immediately rose.

The recipe for Blood-Replenishing Powder listed bear gall as one of its ingredients.

Moreover, the stronger the bear, the more effective its gall would be.

Zhao Ya followed the animal trail onward until he found a suitable spot, then began setting his trap.

Ordinary traps were useless against large prey like black bears, and would instead make them wary.

Zhao Ya directly used the most powerful double-sided four-set platform trap, thoughtfully adding sharp blades inside it.

After setting the trap, Zhao Ya investigated the surrounding area, silently memorized several animal trails, and then returned.

(End of chapter)