When Li Xiangqian ran over to look, he found that the biggest red deer was not lying on the ground.
Looking dejected, he said:
"Aw, how come you didn't get that one? That deer was really huge... if we could have gotten its penis..."
"That deer was too clever." Li Long shook his head, put his gun away, and drew his knife as he approached the fallen deer. "I couldn't hit him at all! The moment I fired, he sped off, and he even zigzagged. Can you believe that?"
"What do you mean, zigzagged?" Li Xiangqian walked over to the fallen deer and saw that one was a stag with antlers. Though they were short, at least he was male, which made Li Xiangqian feel a little better. He asked:
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean he changed direction as he ran, dodging the shots." Li Long examined the stag. The bullet had struck his head, and he was completely dead.
He drew his knife and slit the belly.
Slitting the belly without skinning the animal first took quite a bit of skill-one wrong cut could puncture the intestines or stomach, leaving a bellyful of shit that would be difficult to clean up.
Li Long was an old hand. His cut was just right, opening the belly without damaging the organs.
Feeling the heat rising from the deer's belly, Li Long was very satisfied.
The other one was a doe, apparently two or three years old, with no young and a lean build. She had simply been unlucky: after Li Long's first shot, she had run straight into his field of view in her fright.
After giving her belly the customary slit, Li Long said to Li Xiangqian:
"Section Chief, let's head back. I won't dress these deer tonight.