Li Long had already raised his rifle when he spotted the wolf, but it reacted with remarkable alertness. The moment it noticed people nearby, it darted into the Pine Forest and vanished.
"A wolf?" Harimu guessed at once when he saw Li Long's movements.
"Yes, possibly the one I ran into the day before yesterday-grayish-white fur all over, with a black mark on its face too." Li Long described it as he advanced with his rifle ready.
The two chased it into the valley ahead, but there was no sign of the wolf. Instead, two snowcocks came flapping and hopping toward them.
Bang! Harimu reacted with lightning speed and fired straight away, actually hitting one of the snowcocks. Feathers flew as it fell into the snow.
Li Long still lacked confidence with moving targets. He held his rifle ready and waited until the other snowcock lost momentum and landed in the snow before firing with a bang.
Feathers burst out. The snowcock's body jerked upward, then dropped and lay still.
Li Long went over and picked it up for a look. It was not very big, with a hint of grayish yellow in its snowy-white feathers, and weighed only a little over a kilogram. The shot had hit its belly, leaving a large, bleeding hole.
Li Long looked farther into the valley and could just make out more snowcocks hopping and fluttering into the Pine Forest in the distance.
There were also signs of scratching in the snow along the valley floor and on the sunny slope. The small patches of shrubs and grass buried under the snow were probably what the snowcocks ate.
Harimu tucked the other snowcock under his arm and continued deeper into the valley.
"There should be more ahead. These fellows can't fly far," he said.