Beiyang Gully was located about two kilometers from Liujia Village.
To the west lay a large mountain, to the south were fields, and to the north and east were undeveloped wastelands.
Liu Tiezhu's destination for this trip was the northeastern side of Beiyang Gully.
The mule, well-fed on fodder, moved quickly. After half an hour, they reached the eastern entrance of Beiyang Gully.
Second Uncle stopped the mule, and Liu Tiezhu set down the hunting dogs, giving them a hand signal to stand still.
Looking out, an endless expanse of weeds and brush stretched before him.
These weeds and brush were covered in heavy snow, a vast sheet of white.
Second Uncle tied up the mule and took out a bamboo pole.
"I'll lead the way ahead. Follow my steps."
"Uncle, let me take the lead."
Liu Tiezhu took the bamboo pole from Second Uncle, ignoring whether he agreed, and slowly moved forward with the hunting dogs.
Scouting was physically demanding, and Second Uncle was getting older—he couldn't be put through that.
Er Gouzi followed behind, wielding a machete to chop away the brush blocking their path on both sides.
Big Brother stayed behind to watch the mule.
The three of them pushed deeper along the eastern side, covering over a hundred meters without encountering any animals.
"Brother Tiezhu, this area is pretty far from the mountain. Could it be that the wild buffalo don't come down here?"
Er Gouzi's patience was wearing thin, and he couldn't help asking.
"What's the rush? If wild buffalo herds were that easy to find, wouldn't the folks in Liujia Village have wiped them all out by now?" Second Uncle said.
"Don't rush, Gouzi. The dogs' search range is thirty meters out."
"We'll just walk the eastern side once. If we don't find the herd, we'll head north."
As Liu Tiezhu spoke, he continued probing ahead with the bamboo pole.
The surroundings were thick with weeds and brush, waist-high, making every step difficult.
The three pressed on against the biting wind, covering over two hundred meters.
They had nearly scoured the entire eastern side, but still found nothing.
"Looks like there's nothing here. Let's try the north."
Liu Tiezhu wasn't disappointed. He turned and slowly headed north.
After walking about fifty meters north, Taro, the dog responsible for sniffing out animal scents, let out a low signal.
The hunting dogs beside Taro immediately stopped.
"There's something!" Liu Tiezhu quickly signaled the dogs to crouch.
He didn't know what animal lay ahead, so he couldn't risk the dogs.
At the gesture, all the hunting dogs dropped to the ground, eyes fixed ahead, waiting for Liu Tiezhu's next command.
Er Gouzi and Second Uncle also crouched down at the same time, pulling out the machetes and steel forks tucked at their waists.
Liu Tiezhu drew his compound crossbow, loaded a bamboo arrow, and aimed forward.
A crackling sound came from ahead, as large swaths of weeds and brush were pushed over one after another.
This was the kind of commotion only a herd of animals could make.
"Brother Tiezhu, it's a wild buffalo herd."
"We're going to be rich."
Er Gouzi leaned in, lowering his voice, his face alight with excitement.
Liu Tiezhu smacked Er Gouzi on the forehead.
"Gouzi, keep your cool."
"If you scare these guys off, I'll skin you alive."
As they spoke, the animals causing the noise came into view.
They weren't wild buffalo, but a rare herd of red deer.
Red deer are a large species of deer.
Adults can weigh between 300 and 500 jin.
The females are somewhat smaller.
Adults range from 150 to 300 jin.
This herd had thirteen deer in total.
The three leading stags looked to be over 300 jin each.
The five hinds on the outskirts were around 160 jin each.
In the middle were five young deer, about sixty to seventy jin each.
Seeing so many red deer, even Liu Tiezhu couldn't stay calm.
Red deer were a treasure—every part of them was valuable.
Their blood was practically a holy relic for hunters braving the harsh winter.
The antlers were top-tier medicinal ingredients, highly beneficial for human health.
"Red deer, they're actually red deer."
Second Uncle was also incredibly excited, his voice trembling as he spoke.
When the deer were five meters away, they stopped, stretching their necks to look around.
"Second Uncle, you and Gouzi circle around to the left."
"In about ten minutes, I'll command the dogs to drive the deer toward the left."
"Our targets are the three stags in front." Liu Tiezhu said in a low voice.
Red deer were extremely fast; they couldn't possibly catch them all.
Liu Tiezhu's plan was to focus their efforts on taking down the three largest stags.
After hearing Liu Tiezhu's instructions, Second Uncle and Er Gouzi slowly retreated, then moved left.
The deer herd stood still, neither advancing nor retreating, giving the two time to get into position.
After a moment, Liu Tiezhu judged the timing was right. He pointed the dogs toward the three stags and gave the signal to attack.
Taro let out a loud bark, and all the hunting dogs surged forward.
Liu Tiezhu didn't stay idle either, charging out right behind the dogs.
Startled, the deer scattered in all directions.
The three leading stags were surrounded by the dogs and driven into a frantic run to the left.
"Second Uncle, Gouzi, the deer are heading your way!"
Liu Tiezhu shouted as he gave chase.
Hearing the footsteps drawing closer, Second Uncle and Er Gouzi tensed up.
Gripping their steel forks, their palms were slick with sweat.
Yoo, yoo, yoo...
The stag at the back let out a cry as three dogs pinned it down, its hooves thrashing against the ground.
The remaining dogs continued chasing the other two stags.
In the blink of an eye, the two stags reached Er Gouzi and Second Uncle.
"Gouzi, now!"
Second Uncle bellowed, timing his move, and thrust his steel fork with all his might.
Er Gouzi reacted just as quickly, driving his fork into the other stag.
Both stags let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground.
The immense force of the impact sent Second Uncle and Er Gouzi tumbling several meters.
Ignoring the pain, they drew their machetes and slit the stags' throats to prevent them from escaping.
"Gouzi, hurry and get some clean snow to put under the deer's necks."
"This blood is precious—can't waste it." Second Uncle said.
Er Gouzi quickly scraped the white snow off the weeds and piled it under the stags' necks, letting the blood soak into it.
In no time, the two stags went still.
Second Uncle had Er Gouzi gather all the snow stained with deer blood, then headed over to help Liu Tiezhu.
Liu Tiezhu had finished his side too, using the same method as Second Uncle to preserve the blood.
All the hunting dogs sat in a circle nearby, no longer chasing the scattered herd.
Liu Tiezhu wasn't sure if there were any pitfalls or traps around, so he ordered the dogs to stay put.
With the three red deer processed, they had about 900 jin of meat.
Moving them onto the mule cart took nearly two hours.
The whole ordeal left everyone exhausted.
Liu Tieshan started a fire, took out an iron pot, and threw in some deer blood to boil.
A few sips of that would keep the body warm for hours.
Second Uncle brought out some dried meat and cut off some venison to roast over the fire.
Just as everyone let their guard down, the hunting dogs sitting by the fire suddenly stood up, their fur bristling.
Woof, woof, woof...
Taro immediately sounded the alarm.
At almost the same moment, all the dogs turned toward the southwest, assuming an attack stance.