Chapter 28: The Sika Deer

Meng Shiqiao guessed, “Could this be the cave of that Asiatic black bear?”

Meng Ling nodded, “Probably.”

There were still some footprints at the cave entrance. No wonder they ran into it last time—its hibernation den was not far from the bamboo grove.

Meng Shiqiao stuck his head inside the cave to look but it was too dark to see anything clearly.

“Sis, do you think it’ll wake up from hibernation? Should I climb in and shoot it with two arrows?”

Meng Ling rolled her eyes and said in a scolding tone, “You must be crazy. Hibernating isn’t like a snake that’s basically dead. It’s like sleeping under a blanket.”

“If you go in, you’re just asking to die. You’d get smashed inside the cave halfway in.”

Meng Shiqiao thought to himself, good thing I didn’t go in—almost had to be reborn.

Seeing him still peeking into the cave unwillingly, Meng Ling shouted, “Let’s go! If it comes out later, I’ll eat you as a snack.”

Meng Shiqiao hurried to catch up as his sister walked away.

They continued deeper into the mountain. Snow from the branches above occasionally fell with a crisp sound on the ground.

While walking, Meng Ling found a set of footprints in the snow. They looked a bit like cow tracks but much smaller, and there were cloven hoof marks visible.

“Erwa, come take a look. These look like deer tracks.”

Meng Shiqiao hurried over to check. It was his first time seeing deer tracks; they looked like two separate little leaves.

He looked at the footprints and asked, “Why only one set?”

Meng Ling explained, “Adult male deer usually live alone; the rest tend to be in groups.”

“So this is a bachelor deer!” Meng Shiqiao laughed.

“More or less,” Meng Ling replied faintly.

“Let’s go, see if we can find it.”

Meng Ling led the way; her brother followed behind. Along the way, they saw snow pits dug up by the deer searching for roots beneath the snow.

They followed the tracks for half an hour but still didn’t see any sign of the sika deer.

Panting, Meng Shiqiao leaned against a tree. “Sis, we’ve followed this for so long and still no luck. Does a deer really need to go this far for food?”

Meng Ling said, “Food is scarce in winter, and it’s buried under snow. It has to go far to find anything.”

She also rested against a tree, tired.

They wore thick clothes which made walking difficult, especially in the snow.

After resting, they went forward for another half hour and finally spotted the sika deer.

Its fur was smoky brown with faint white spots.

The spots are most obvious in summer, when the coat turns chestnut red.

They were about twenty zhang (roughly 60 meters) away. The deer was grazing on roots, occasionally looking up.

Meng Ling pressed her brother’s shoulder down and whispered, “Sika deer have sharp hearing and smell. Luckily we’re downwind. Approach slowly and aim for its belly.”

Meng Shiqiao asked, “Why the belly, not the head?”

Meng Ling lowered her voice, “The belly is a bigger target. If you hit there, it won’t escape.”

He nodded and bent down, moving slowly toward the deer. His footsteps creaked on the snow; the deer immediately stopped eating and looked around.

Seeing the deer alert, Meng Shiqiao froze.

After a while, the deer lowered its head to eat again. He moved even slower and lighter.

He worried any noise would scare it away, so he was cautious.

Luckily, trees blocked the deer’s view.

Step by step, Meng Shiqiao got within seven zhang (about 21 meters).

Just as he was about to draw his bow—

“Crack!”

Snow fell from a branch, startling the deer, which bolted two or three zhang away.

“Damn it!” Meng Shiqiao cursed silently.

He repeated the approach and after twenty more minutes got close again.

To be safe, he moved a few steps closer.

Draw bow!

Pull string!

Stand up!

All in one quick move.

“Whoosh!”

The arrow flew as he stood.

“Pfft!”

The arrow pierced the belly, half sticking out. The deer yelped in pain, kicking up snow as it ran fast away.

“Nice shot!”

Meng Ling shouted excitedly, standing up.

“Sis, you hit it! Chase it!”

Meng Shiqiao shouted with excitement.

“Don’t rush, it won’t go far. It’ll fall soon.”

Meng Ling walked calmly, no hurry.

Meng Shiqiao asked, “Sis, aren’t you worried it’ll escape?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll collapse from blood loss soon. We should think about how to get it back—that’s the priority.”

The deer weighed at least 150 jin (~75 kg), definitely too heavy for just the two of them.

They followed the tracks and soon found the deer lying motionless in the snow.

“Let’s see if we can drag it!”

Meng Ling grabbed the antlers and tried pulling but couldn’t move it alone.

Meng Shiqiao joined and helped. They moved it a little, but it was hard work.

The snow was slippery and downhill drag easier, but tricky.

If they lost control and it slid into a ravine, they couldn’t get it back.

“Sis, why don’t we ask Dad and the others for help? It’s not far, they can be here before dark,” Meng Shiqiao suggested.

Meng Ling shook her head. “It’s unsafe after dark. Better to butcher it here, carry back what we can, and leave the rest. We can come back tomorrow. If wild animals eat the rest, so be it.”

Luckily, Meng Ling had seen a pig slaughter when she was young, so she wasn’t worried about butchering the deer.

She was also glad she brought her machete.

They started cutting up the deer. It was tougher than expected but they managed.

Meng Ling discarded the bad parts and chopped quickly without much care, just wanting to finish fast.

After a while, they finished and found about 70–80 jin (~35–40 kg) of meat—easy to carry home.

“Sis, the antlers are nice. Let’s bring them back too!”

Meng Shiqiao said, still holding the antlers tightly.

“If you want them, carry them yourself. I’m not taking those—they’re keratin and useless.”

They packed the meat in the basket, but it was too heavy to carry all the way down.

Meng Ling carried some, while they tied the two hind legs with vines and dragged them in the snow.

Meng Shiqiao did the same with the antlers, leaving long marks in the snow, sometimes getting caught in branches.

At home, Shen-shi worried as dusk approached. “Where are those kids? It’s almost dark. Go check the mountain—snow makes the path slippery. Don’t want anything to happen.”

Meng Liang headed toward the bamboo grove and heard noise from above.

He called, “Daya!”

Meng Ling breathed a sigh of relief—they were too tired to call out.

“Dad, we’re here! Please come help us!” Meng Shiqiao shouted down.

Meng Liang climbed up and was stunned by what they carried.

“Oh my, you actually hunted this?”

He couldn’t believe it—after an afternoon, the kids had brought back a deer, even butchered it.

He wondered if he was dreaming.