King of the Wilderness

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Spruce Grouse

When Lin Yu’an trudged to the permanent camp with a camera, he discovered that some areas on the edge of the shallow pit he initially excavated yesterday had already experienced minor collapses due to the rain.

The stones he painstakingly collected were also soaked by the rain, making them heavier and more slippery to move.

He didn’t rush to continue the excavation and wall building; instead, he first carefully inspected the drainage situation of the entire site.

Thanks to the chosen terrain, most of the rainwater flowed down the hillside towards the stream, without forming severe puddles within the camp, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

First, he made a simple temporary drainage ditch around the excavation area to guide the potentially returning rainwater elsewhere, then continued to clear the collapsed soil and carry on with the difficult excavation and stone-moving work under the camera.

The muddy ground made every step he took exceptionally difficult, and the slippery stones almost slipped from his hands several times, but he didn’t pause his efforts at all.

The camera kept recording the footage of his labor.

By noon, the stone walls of Lin Yu’an’s shelter, through his relentless efforts, extended upwards by another dozen centimeters. Although progress was slow, each added stone increased his sense of security a bit.

During breaks, he made timely checks on the traps.

The autumn rain made him have little expectation for harvest from the traps, as animals usually reduce activity on rainy days, and the rain can also dilute the scent of the bait.

Sure enough, after inspecting all of the elastic lasso traps he set up, they were all empty, and one even failed due to water pooling on the ground and soil loosening.

”As expected,” Lin Yu’an shrugged at the camera, not showing much disappointment.

”That’s hunting for you, full of uncertainties. All we can do is keep trying, keep adapting, and quietly accept the outcomes.”

He carefully repaired the broken trap and smeared fresh bait anew. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly glimpsed something unusual under a fallen dead tree not far away!

The dead tree, due to its age, had a hollow and decayed trunk, with thick moss covering it. Lin Yu’an curiously approached and lightly tapped the hollow trunk with his logging axe.

”Hmm? Inside there...” He seemed to hear some faint sounds.

He cautiously used the axe blade to peel open a small opening in the decayed bark and peered inside.

”Wow! Look what I found!”

Lin Yu’an’s face revealed a look of surprise. He pointed the camera at the tree hollow: ”Guys, this is a natural treasure! Plenty of dry pine cones and some unknown small nuts!”

It turned out this hollow tree hole was likely a ”granary” for squirrels storing winter food! Thanks to the tree hole’s high position and bark coverage, the pine cones and nuts inside remained quite dry, totally unaffected by the rain.

Lin Yu’an exclaimed excitedly: ”This is really a godsend! Although these nuts are unidentified in type, they seem rich in oil and can provide a good deal of energy. Thank you, nature, for your generosity!”

He did not take all of these ”windfalls” but instead took about half of the pine cones and a small handful of nuts.

”We can’t be too greedy; we need to leave some winter rations for these little guys, right?”

Lin Yu’an had a premonition that if he took all the nuts in front of the camera, he would surely face public condemnation when the program aired! So he only took a little to avoid unnecessary trouble later on.

In the afternoon, sunlight finally squeezed through the thick clouds, sparsely sprinkling through the forest. Lin Yu’an decided to seize the rare good weather to continue practicing his archery accuracy.

He arrived at a relatively open woodland area by the stream, using a dead tree as a simple target.

Lin Yu’an took out his brand new American Hunting Bow from his back, skillfully nocked a practice arrow, and said to the camera: ”Alright, it’s time for archery practice!”

”Fortunately, the draw weight of this bow is just right for me. It ensures a certain range and power without making me tire too quickly. But to truly hit where I point, I need a lot of practice.”

He took a deep breath, recalling the archery essentials in his mind: stance, nocking, drawing, aiming, releasing... Every move he made was to standard.

”Whoosh—!”

The first arrow flew off the string, with a slight whizz through the air, piercing the dead tree at the target’s center! He was well aware of this result. After this rebirth and months of exploration, he discovered the boost from the Spatial Golden Finger not only provided spatial storage benefits.

It seemed to have also enhanced his body, greatly improving his sense of distance, visual sharpness, and even a rather mystical Sixth Sense.

Lin Yu’an proudly remarked, ”Looks like I have quite the talent for archery, eh! I can now hit within ten meters every time!”

”This is nothing like shooting on a range. Field factors like wind direction, lighting, and even my own heartbeat can influence the arrow’s flight path.”

After boasting, he awkwardly collected the arrows and continued practicing.

The second arrow, the third arrow, the fourth arrow...

He continuously adjusted his stance, breathing, and aiming methods, setting targets further and further away. Sweat began to slide down his temples, and his arms grew sore from continuously drawing the bow, but he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Every sound of an arrow leaving the string gave him a feeling of primal strength surging within his body!

Just when he felt he was gaining insight into bow mastery, suddenly, a ”gobble gobble” sound came from the nearby shrubbery!

Lin Yu’an instantly paused, his gaze turning vigilant!

This sound... could it be a grouse!

He gently set down the bow, cocking his ear to listen, pinpointing the general direction of the sound.

Lowering his voice, he excitedly whispered to the camera: ”Did you hear that? There’s a grouse nearby! That’s a dinner opportunity knocking at my door! Hope my archery skills do come in handy!”

Quickly, he drew an arrow fitted with a sharp hunting arrowhead from the quiver and then stealthily, like an experienced leopard, quietly moved towards the sound of the grouse.

Pushing aside the dense branches, he indeed saw, about fifteen meters ahead, under a low spruce tree, a plump spruce grouse with grey-brown plumage leisurely pecking at the berries on the ground, completely unaware of the impending threat.

Lin Yu’an slowly crouched down, using a sturdy tree trunk as cover, then very slowly, very gently raised his hunting bow in hand.

His breathing became deep and steady, focusing all his attention on the grouse! He could see clearly every time it lowered its head to peck and could even sense its feathers gently fluttering in the breeze.

Gently drawing the bowstring back, the bow made a slight ”creak” sound, which seemed especially clear in the forest’s silence. The grouse seemed to notice something amiss and raised its head warily, its round eyes looking towards Lin Yu’an.

Now!

Lin Yu’an’s eyes focused, and just as he released the string, his wrist subtly lifted to offset the arrow’s descent.

”Whoosh—!”

The arrow flew like a flash of lightning, quickly tearing through the air!

”Thud!”

A dull sound of the arrow hitting flesh echoed!

The spruce grouse let out a short, plaintive cry, its body shuddered violently, and then it fell straight to the ground. Its wings flapped feebly a few times before falling silent.

Instant kill! A direct hit!

”YES!”

Lin Yu’an couldn’t suppress his inner excitement any longer, pumping his fist with a low cheer!

Excitedly, he aimed the camera at the grouse: ”See that, folks! I hit the spruce grouse with an arrow! My first successful hunt with a bow!”

”Spruce grouse, because they feed almost entirely on pine and spruce needles, and some berries and insects, they’re also known as spruce grouse.”

”As of 2012, they were listed as a ’Least Concern’ species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Ver3.1, which translates to: freely huntable and edible, not entirely legally protected animals.”

After introducing the grouse, he still couldn’t mask his excitement, telling the camera: ”This is unbelievable! It just appeared near me! We’ll have roast chicken tonight! Thanks to nature!”

He carefully extracted the arrow, wiping off the bloodstains, and Lin Yu’an, with his double-bounty of dry pine nuts and a fat spruce grouse today, returned to the temporary shelter, fully satisfied.