More than an hour had passed between releasing the red deer and Li Long's return, so he figured there probably wasn't anything inside.
Still, since he was already here, taking a look wouldn't delay anything, so he turned and headed up.
When he got within a dozen meters of the mine entrance, Li Long instinctively lightened his footsteps and flicked off the safety.
Whether there was anything inside or not, he would be ready.
Just as he was thinking this, two dark shapes suddenly shot out of the mine. Li Long instinctively raised his gun.
Bang, bang!
Bang!
He fired two shots straight away. One dark shape fell at the sound, but the other shot missed. Startled, the one he hadn't hit leaped into the air. Li Long adjusted his aim slightly and fired again. When that dark shape landed, its legs buckled and it collapsed.
Only then did Li Long see that the two dark shapes were Mongolian gazelles.
Neither was very big, around thirty or forty kilograms, with white rumps and yellow coats.
Li Long went over and found that one gazelle had been shot in the belly and the other in the head, both vital areas.
Hey, my shooting really is getting better!
Feeling just a little smug, he took his gun into the mine and checked inside. There was nothing else.
Li Long couldn't figure it out. Shouldn't the gazelles be out beyond the mountains at this time, roaming the red willow scrub on the Gobi Desert? Why had they come here?
But it didn't matter. Since he had shot them, he would take them back.
He put the safety on and slung the gun over his back, then grabbed a gazelle in each hand and headed toward the mouth of the gully.
The gazelles were