Chapter 1069 - 88: The Dead Siberian Roe Deer

In the forest, Hua Yun followed the animal path, step by step searching for signs of prey.

As she explored, she also discovered quite a few traces of prey.

There was feces, footprints, fur, and even bloodstains.

Hua Yun was quite concerned about these bloodstains.

She let the Golden Eagle fly up to check if there was any danger around.

The Golden Eagle hovered in the air for a while, but didn’t find any danger; however, it did spot a dead prey.

It landed back on a tree near Hua Yun, called out a few times, signaling Hua Yun to follow it.

Having been with the Golden Eagle for so long, Hua Yun could somewhat understand its meanings.

She followed the Golden Eagle, traversing through the forest, and soon Hua Yun noticed something unusual.

Ahead of her, not far in the shrubs, a Siberian Roe Deer lay motionless there.

Hua Yun was taken aback, subconsciously drawing her bow and arrow.

But the Golden Eagle had already flown to the Siberian Roe Deer’s side, yet the Siberian Roe Deer remained still.

Hua Yun was stunned, "Dead?"

She quickly walked to the side of the Siberian Roe Deer, roughly examining its condition.

Indeed, it was a dead Siberian Roe Deer.

However, the Siberian Roe Deer’s carcass was very intact, except for the rear half of the body and the ground beneath, which had coagulated blood; almost no other wounds were visible.

"Could it have died from excessive bleeding?"

Hua Yun pondered, reaching out to touch the body of the Siberian Roe Deer.

Cold and stiff.

It seemed to have been dead for some time now.

After Hua Yun flipped the Siberian Roe Deer over, the wound on the other side was exposed to her view.

"As expected, it seems this side of the Siberian Roe Deer’s body was bitten or torn by some wild beast, leaving large wounds."

Hua Yun poked at the fur of the Siberian Roe Deer with a stick, inspecting the wound.

She could see some tooth marks and claw marks, all quite deep; it should have been done by a brown bear?

Hua Yun thought.

However, she wasn’t very thorough; in terms of identifying information from animal wounds, Hua Yun was still a novice.

She couldn’t discern much.

But the appearance of the Siberian Roe Deer reminded her of that brown bear’s behavior.

The first time she saw the brown bear, it seemed to be hunting a Siberian Roe Deer.

This Siberian Roe Deer was likely injured by that brown bear but, due to some reasons, managed to escape, only to eventually die from excessive blood loss.

Since Hua Yun saw no signs of rot in the Siberian Roe Deer’s wounds, she decided to stop and gut the deer, intending to check the condition of its insides, particularly the organs.

If the organs were fine, then she’d take it back.

No reason to waste free meat.

With difficulty, Hua Yun cut open the Siberian Roe Deer’s body with a dagger, examining its organs.

Truth be told, survival in high-latitude areas has this one advantage: animal corpses rot very slowly.

Hua Yun sniffed the scent; apart from the smell of the organs, she didn’t detect any stench.

This indicated the Siberian Roe Deer was still very fresh.

Having confirmed this was a fresh Siberian Roe Deer, Hua Yun didn’t intend to hold back.

She stripped the Siberian Roe Deer of its skin, removing all wounded meat, keeping only the most intact parts.

Then, she hung the carcass of the Siberian Roe Deer in the surrounding trees and marked the spot.

She planned to return later and take the Siberian Roe Deer away.

The Golden Eagle watched Hua Yun’s actions from the tree but didn’t express any opinions.

When Hua Yun resumed her movement, it then followed her, continuing forward exploration.

After the two left the area.

Not long after, an animal quietly appeared at the spot where Hua Yun had just processed the animal.

It looked up at the Siberian Roe Deer’s carcass hanging in the tree, its eyes filled with fear.

It didn’t touch the carcass in the tree, but rummaged through the discarded organs, carrying away some of the highest-energy parts.

Then it vanished into the forest.

...

After Hua Yun and the Golden Eagle left, on Chen Wen’s side, he was busy grilling roe deer meat.

The roasting method of roe deer meat was the same as bear meat.

After some busy work, Chen Wen started the roasting pit while mixing the roe deer meat with seasonings, wrapped in leaves.

The work was almost done.

Chen Wen leaned against the shelter of the camp, gazing at the lake, enjoying the rare leisure time.

However, he hadn’t enjoyed it for long.

Chen Wen noticed that, not far from the lake, something seemed to be swimming.

He looked carefully and found it was a male moose.

The moose was a very skilled swimmer.

You could even say it’s quite good; moose can cross straits and dive while holding their breath to forage under the water at depths of five to six meters.

Therefore, seeing moose in the water was not uncommon.

Chen Wen watched the moose swim leisurely in the water; it seemed to have noticed Chen Wen, or maybe smelled the scent of blood.

In the end, the moose did not land on Chen Wen’s side but came ashore from a farther location.

It shook off the water droplets and walked towards the forest.

This moose was not very large, so Chen Wen had no intention to hunt.

It was a female moose.

Watching it enter the forest, Chen Wen contemplated its situation.

If this creature belonged to some male moose’s harem, it might be possible to track it to find that male moose.

But right now, it wasn’t very convenient; Hua Yun was not around, nor was the Golden Eagle.

Chen Wen thought about it, deciding it’s better to take care of his own gains.

If he went tracking and his stash got raided by a Wolf Mink, he’d have nowhere to cry.

Thinking about these things.

Chen Wen lay back down.

...

On Hua Yun’s side.

After finding a Siberian Roe Deer carcass and processing it by hanging it on a tree.

Her exploration went smoothly from then on.

Along the way, Hua Yun found traces of various other animals’ survival, and even saw a moose, noting these trace locations one by one.

To ensure the accuracy of her records.

Hua Yun even used a dagger to cut off a piece of bark, marking potential prey habitats on it.

By the time she hunted tomorrow, this piece of bark could provide very valuable reference for her and Chen Wen.

That could also save a lot of time.

Soon, the reconnaissance ended.

Hua Yun returned to the place where she handled the Siberian Roe Deer.

She skillfully climbed the tree, took down the Siberian Roe Deer carcass and skin, carrying it back.

But just as she was leaving, Hua Yun felt something amiss.

She looked at the previously discarded organs, somehow, she felt a part was missing.

"This is... has some animal been here?"

Hua Yun muttered, instantly becoming alert.

However, she quickly relaxed.

"Choosing organs over meat indicates that creature isn’t a large animal; it should be a small guy, and not very brave."

Hua Yun said, inspecting the ground around the organs.

But she didn’t find any tracks.

Indeed, it must have been a small creature, leaving no trace.

Hua Yun shook her head, deciding not to pursue further.

Instead, she carried the food back to camp.

The Golden Eagle also circled in the sky for a while but found nothing as well.