Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

166 is under review and probably won't be released yet; I'm still making changes.

In the early morning forest, before the thin mist had dissipated, Liu Xiangyang led Xue Bingbing, Le Qi, and Le Yao away from the shelter.

Instead of leading them deeper into the woods, he took them along a path trodden by wild animals to a clearing where sunlight could penetrate, where the bushes and grasses were more lush.

"Look here." Liu Xiangyang squatted down and pointed to several fresh, black bean-like droppings. "They're from a wild rabbit, very fresh. It's nearby."

He gestured for the three to tread lightly and follow behind him, his sharp gaze sweeping across the bushes ahead, the javelin in his hand slightly raised.

Le Yao held her breath, Le Qi stared intently ahead, and Xue Bingbing paid more attention to her footing to avoid making any noise.

Suddenly, a patch of dense foxtail grass in front of him twitched slightly, and Liu Xiangyang's arm muscles tensed instantly. The javelin flew out like an arrow!

With a muffled thud and a short squeak, the javelin pierced through the grass and pinned a plump, grayish-brown hare to the ground.

"Wow! So accurate!" Yue Yao cheered softly.

Liu Xiangyang walked over, pulled out his javelin, picked up the still convulsing rabbit, and said, "Remember, you have to be quick. Once you've got your sights set, don't hesitate." He tossed the rabbit into the cloth bag that Le Qi handed him.

Continuing on, we came to a mixed forest, where figures could be seen darting about in the tall oak and birch trees.

"Up there," Liu Xiangyang lowered his voice, pointing to the middle of an oak tree, "a chipmunk, and more than one."

Leqi and Leyao looked up and, sure enough, saw two chipmunks with fluffy tails leaping nimbly among the branches, foraging for food.

"Using a gun would be too noisy and not worth it," Liu Xiangyang said. He picked up a pebble from the ground, aimed, and swung his arm. With a crisp "crack," the pebble shot out!

One of the chipmunks fell from the tree with a thud, while the other darted away in fright.

"This is amazing too!" Yue Yao's eyes lit up.

"It's just a little trick. You'll get used to it with practice. The main thing is to avoid alerting anything bigger." Liu Xiangyang walked over, picked up the chipmunk that had been knocked unconscious, treated it, and put it in the bag.

Next, they came to the edge of a small, relatively open meadow. Liu Xiangyang gestured for everyone to crouch down and hide behind the tall grass.

"Look over there, in the grass." He pointed about thirty meters away.

Several brightly colored male pheasants, accompanied by a few plain-colored females, were leisurely pecking at food in the grass.

"At this distance, a javelin is barely enough, and a slingshot is unsteady," Liu Xiangyang said in a low voice, then slowly took the double-barreled shotgun off his back. "Let me show you the sound and the power of this thing."

He gestured for Xue Bingbing and Le Qi and Le Yao to cover their ears, while he skillfully loaded a bullet, then slowly raised his gun and aimed at one of the largest and most ornate male pheasants.

"Bang!"

A deafening gunshot shattered the tranquility of the forest! A flock of birds in the distance took flight in fright.

The male pheasant that was targeted fell to the ground with a thud, while the other pheasants flapped their wings in panic and quickly fled into the depths of the dense forest.

Gunshots echoed through the valley. Liu Xiangyang quickly got up, walked over and picked up his prey. The male pheasant had a patch of blood on its chest and was already dead.

"The sound of gunfire will carry far, and the animals around will run away when they hear the noise, so we should avoid using guns if possible." Liu Xiangyang walked back and put the beautiful male pheasant into the bag as well. "This thing has firm meat, makes a delicious soup, and its feathers are beautiful. We can make a shuttlecock to play with when we get back."

"These feathers are so beautiful, the shuttlecocks made from them will be gorgeous." Le Yao happily opened the bag to take a look.

Around noon, they came to a clear mountain stream to rest, eat some dry food, and replenish their water bottles.

The stream babbled, and the banks were covered with lush aquatic plants. Liu Xiangyang filled his water bottle, then suddenly stared at the damp stones and grass by the stream and laughed.

"Looks like we can add a special dish for lunch."

"What is it?" Le Yao asked curiously.

"Forest frogs, also called hasma frogs." Liu Xiangyang put down his things, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "These things are plump right now, especially the females. They have oil in their bellies (referring to their ovaries), which is a good thing, even more nutritious than meat."

He gestured for Le Qi and Le Yao to watch from the shore, while he and Xue Bingbing went into the water. He had a keen eye and quickly spotted several forest frogs crouching among the rocks and under the roots of aquatic plants. Their skin color blended almost perfectly with the environment.

His movements were quick and light, as fast as lightning. He precisely pinched the frogs' hind legs, lifted them up, and threw them into another small cloth bag that Le Yao had quickly opened. Xue Bingbing followed suit and soon caught two frogs as well.

"These things are timid, so be quick or you'll scare them away," Liu Xiangyang said as he grabbed one. "The females have big bellies and hard lumps when you touch them; those are the most valuable... Hmm, this is a male, not bad either, the meat is tender."

In less than half an hour, they caught more than twenty plump forest frogs, most of which were female frogs with bulging bellies. This harvest made everyone quite happy.

After resting, they turned to another hillside in the afternoon to pick some mushrooms and wild vegetables. Just as they were passing through a sparse birch forest and approaching the sunny slope, Liu Xiangyang suddenly stopped and quickly raised his hand to signal everyone to stop and squat down.

His gaze was fixed on something about fifty meters ahead.

There, a roe deer, already quite large but with only two small bumps on its head, was leisurely munching on the newly sprouted grass and shrub leaves. Its fur was brownish-yellow, and it looked somewhat adorable in the dappled sunlight, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

"Good luck," Liu Xiangyang said in an almost inaudible whisper, but his eyes sharpened. He gently put down his basket and took out his javelin.

He gestured for Xue Bingbing and the other two to stay put, while he, like a predatory leopard, used the trees for cover and moved slowly but steadily to find the best throwing angle, while ensuring that he was always at a disadvantage.

The roe deer seemed to hear a slight noise, and it raised its head alertly, turning its ears to look around.

Liu Xiangyang stopped immediately, motionless, as if he were holding his breath.

The roe deer watched for a while, but found nothing, so it lowered its head and continued grazing, though it was clearly more alert than before.

Liu Xiangyang patiently found the right angle, raised the short spear, and twisted his waist to the side.

With a "whoosh!" followed by a "thud" of flesh being pierced, the short spear pierced the neck of the silly roe deer.

The roe deer seemed to have been struck by a heavy hammer, leaping forward suddenly, then staggering a few steps before collapsing to the ground with a thud, its limbs twitching limply.

Liu Xiangyang did not go forward immediately, but waited quietly for a while to make sure that the prey was no longer moving before walking over.

Xue Bingbing and the other two quickly followed.

The roe deer was dead; a short spear had pierced its neck from the side. The silly roe deer was larger than they had expected, probably weighing seventy or eighty pounds.

"Great! It's so big!" Le Yao circled around the roe deer, extremely excited.

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