Chapter 627: Chapter 522: Clash of Tiger and Bear—The Bear Remains, but Where Is the Tiger?
They walked along the tributary for about a day.
It took a long ti, but the journey wasn’t far. They had to watch carefully as they walked, searching both sides of the river. They even needed two or three vehicles to search repeatedly, fearing they might miss sothing.
“Brother Ying, there’s nothing here. We asked the locals, and they said there are several pits on this mountain, the deepest being about twenty or thirty ters. The leader wants us to hike up the mountain and check these pits.”
The origins of the mountain pits are subject to debate. So say they were ford by earthquakes, others by teorite impacts, and so claim it was caused by mountain bandits digging tunnels which collapsed.
They contacted local geology experts, who sent them a map marking several hazardous pits.
“Brother Ying, I just asked an old classmate who lives around here. His family says that decades ago, when his great-grandfather was still around, many tigers road these mountains, especially near the Heavenly Pit.”
One of the staff pointed to a significant pit on the map. This spot is actually a cirque ford by ancient glacial activity, surrounded on three sides with an exit to the east, covering an area just over ten thousand square ters. It’s about a third of the size of the famous Little Pot Pit at Heavenly Mountain.
Because this pit is quite isolated from the main attractions, and with both the Big Pot and Little Pot already present, similar attractions were not further developed.
Lacking developnt, this spot retains a relatively primitive appearance, with wildlife numbers exceeding those near other scenic spots.
However, it’s still not secure to recklessly enter the mountain. They set up camp down the mountain, and the local protection station arranged for three experienced rangers to guide them. Three vehicles split into three teams to ascend the mountain separately.
Kelas insisted on joining them, and even idi was owing, claiming it could help.
idi had a special little vest with a locator.
Last ti, they weren’t prepared, which allowed it to get away. This ti, they were fully equipped: the little vest was worn, a mini cara attached, and they even had an alarm prepared for the cat.
This full gear amazed the rangers, feeling it was better than their mountain-climbing equipnt.
idi stayed close to Chen Ying, completely ignoring its owner’s pitiful abandoned expression.
The search area for Chen Ying, his two companions, and the cat ranged from the mountain foot to the edge of the ice pit.
There was an old wooden house, left by a monitoring station, much like the original Jiamu Gully First Aid Station, originating from a decades-old hunter’s cabin.
That house beca their campsite for the night.
There are safe overnight spots in the other two directions as well. The three veteran rangers’ primary role was ensuring the search mbers’ safety.
Uncle Alahan, the ranger accompanying Chen Ying, was very talkative. On their way up, he pointed out all the plants, animals, and geographical features to Chen Ying.
“There’s a small gully over there. Twenty years ago, water would flow down from it, but it dried up ten years ago. Geologists said an underground river in the mountain likely changed course, cutting off the water supply. But there are so larger pits there, and when the snow lts around this ti, those pits fill with water, providing a safe watering spot for mountain animals.”
Chen Ying looked through his binoculars but saw nothing.
“Uncle Alahan, do you think if there were any tigers, they’d go there to drink?”
“Probably not. The gully is quite noticeable, and we inspect the infrared caras arranged there every ti during patrol, never capturing any tigers. We’ve only seen a snow leopard once; it’s usually small animals.”
It makes sense since infrared caras are usually set up near watering spots. If a tiger were to drink, it would definitely be captured.
With a regretful sigh, they continued upward.
idi was quite lively in the forest. This kind of weather and environnt was its favorite, and it was incredibly happy all the way, even bringing back a wild fruit to offer to Chen Ying.
Kelas was fuming, hands on his hips, accusing idi of being a capricious princess.
But idi couldn’t care less to spare him a glance, seriously scanning the surroundings, eager to catch prey to present to Chen Ying.
The forest was teeming with little squirrels. These agile creatures, upon spotting people from afar, swiftly looped around tree trunks, leaping onto branches of another tree in no ti.
idi owed with frustration, turning around as if utterly helpless.
Luckily, it ran in the direction of their climb, so they didn’t have to divert efforts to retrieve it.
After about ten minutes of walking, Kelas suddenly stopped Chen Ying.
“Chen, look at idi’s location. It seems to have discovered sothing and is circling there.”
idi’s position slightly deviated from their ascending path.
Uncle Alahan glanced at Kelas’s phone, “I rember there’s an old hunter pit there. Dug by old hunters to catch large beasts. I ca here with Ata as a kid and caught two wild boars.”
Uncle Alahan’s words led Chen Ying to suspect that the pit might have trapped an animal.
idi wasn’t scared off, indicating the trapped animal wasn’t a fierce beast.
Uncle Alahan led them there, and as they neared, Chen Ying’s expression turned peculiar.
“Wait, in the pit, it seems…” He turned to Kelas, “You previously fitted idi with a cara. Can you receive its transmitted images?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)