Chapter 22

After careful planning and deliberation, Wei Shizhi drew a map of the Heavenly Capital Peak, scaling down the mountains, forests, and streams to ensure accuracy. He marked the locations where the Blue Wolf had caught the brocade-patterned rats, defining a general area. These animals usually give birth to over a dozen young and mostly live in groups. Finding their nest and capturing them all at once would save a lot of effort.

Qin Zhen was cultivating by the Bitter Spring, so Wei Shizhi left the Blue Wolf to watch over and set out to find the nest of the brocade-patterned rats.

From the Bitter Spring, he moved north, crossing several mountain peaks and searching carefully. Suddenly, a gray shadow darted past not far away. Wei Shizhi reacted swiftly, drawing his bow and releasing an arrow before the string was fully drawn. The arrow missed, and the gray shadow, startled, changed direction. After a brief pause, Wei Shizhi fired several more arrows, finally hitting his target.

It was a fat wild rabbit, its fur dark gray, its limbs twitching, the arrow piercing its neck. "Delivered wild game!" Wei Shizhi quickly twisted off the rabbit's head, skinned it, and gutted it, leaving only the red meat of the body and limbs. He washed it in the stream, then used three branches, two short and one long, to form a "大" shape, skewering the rabbit and setting it to roast over a fire.

The fat dripped into the fire, sizzling, and the aroma wafted through the forest. Wei Shizhi sprinkled some salt on the rabbit meat, eating while thinking, "Just one wild rabbit, so agile, took three to five arrows to hit. If it were a dozen brocade-patterned rats, how many could I kill with a bow?"

He pondered for a while, finished the rabbit, wiped the grease from his clothes, and went into the forest to gather materials. He made three spears and over a hundred traps. The spears were made from straight, hard branches, stripped of bark, and shaped to be sharp at both ends and thick in the middle. The traps were more complicated, requiring him to select tough bark and twist it into rope.

Small animals in the mountains often follow fixed paths, so setting traps should work. If he encountered a particularly cunning brocade-patterned rat, he would use the spears.

Making the spears and traps was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and without proper tools, he had to use a short knife to prepare the wild game, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Wei Shizhi remembered there were several hatchets in the woodshed and reminded himself to bring one next time.

After a busy half-day, Wei Shizhi gathered the spears and traps, determined the direction, and continued north. After about an hour, a gray-white cliff blocked his view. The mountain was covered in boulders, with thorns and brambles entangled in the crevices. In the shady areas, three robust spruces stood in a triangular formation among the shrubs, with two thinner spruces a few feet away, their branches bent by the mountain wind.

A lead-gray brocade-patterned rat poked its head out from under a tree, stretching its nose to cautiously sniff the air, then quickly retreated.

Wei Shizhi hid downwind, squinting to observe. He noticed a dark hole between the three spruces, partially hidden by a small shrub, making it hard to spot. There were faint signs of animal activity at the entrance. Without alarming the prey, he carefully retreated, searching inch by inch around the spruces and found two more hidden entrances.

This was the nest of the brocade-patterned rats.

Following the animal tracks, Wei Shizhi set a series of traps, extending into the thorns and brambles. He then lifted heavy boulders to block the other two exits. Despite his large size, he moved swiftly and quietly, not disturbing the prey in the nest.

As the sun began to set, the wind blew from the peak toward the cave. Wei Shizhi used a flint to ignite dry branches, throwing them into the shrubs. The flames crackled, and thick smoke poured into the cave.

This scorched earth tactic was rarely used in Lao Ya Ridge. Instead of capturing the entire nest at once, it was better to catch a few at a time, ensuring a steady supply. Even mountain hunters who didn't read books understood this simple principle.

The shrubs burned out, and the fire subsided. Chaos erupted in the cave as the brocade-patterned rats, trapped with no other exits, had to risk jumping through the smoke and fire. They followed their usual paths, running straight into the traps set by Wei Shizhi, unable to escape.

Wei Shizhi watched closely and noticed one brocade-patterned rat significantly larger than the others, with extraordinary strength. Its hind legs were caught in a trap, and it struggled fiercely, breaking the rope. He raised a spear, aimed, and threw it with great force, pinning the rat to the ground, where it squealed in pain.

He took another spear in hand, eyes sharp, searching for the second rat.

Gradually, the area quieted, with only the shrubs crackling and occasional flames. In a short time, Wei Shizhi used his spears to kill three brocade-patterned rats, a bountiful harvest. He skewered the prey on the spears, released the other rats from the traps, and they scattered, disappearing quickly.

Wei Shizhi, worried about the spread of the fire, covered the flames with loose soil, stomping them out. Looking at the smoky cave, he noticed the nest's entrance was quite wide, the surrounding soil and rocks compact and smooth, likely due to the constant passage of animals and the friction of their fur.

There was still a large creature in the cave, not in a hurry to escape but waiting for an opportunity to take revenge!

Wei Shizhi approached with his spear, and suddenly, a roar echoed. A rat as big as a calf burst from the cave, leaping over a person's height, and lunged at his throat with a fierce bite.

Wei Shizhi raised his spear to block, but the rat bit it, using its hind legs to kick him in the chest, and with a powerful snap, broke the spear. Wei Shizhi stumbled back several steps, and before he could regain his footing, he threw the remaining half of the spear, buying some time to adjust.

This large creature was indeed formidable, alert and agile, and seemed to know some combat techniques. Wei Shizhi quickly grabbed another spear, aimed, and threw it with all his strength, twisting his wrist slightly as he released it. The spear flew in a straight line, spinning toward the rat. Just as he thought it was a sure hit, the rat blurred and darted to the side.

Wei Shizhi gripped his short knife, fully alert, preparing for close combat.

The rat roared again, skillfully avoiding the traps, and blurred once more. Wei Shizhi saw a gray shadow lunging at his throat, grunted, and swiftly swung his knife. It seemed to pierce a thick, tough hide, not deeply, and only a few drops of blood fell.

The rat became even more frenzied, biting Wei Shizhi in several places, drawing blood. They fought fiercely, neither backing down. Wei Shizhi discarded his knife, relying on his strong body and martial arts, and engaged the rat in hand-to-hand combat. Blood splattered, and with the effort of a meal, he finally killed the rat.

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