Landlord in the Arctic-Chapter 48: Red Antlers

It was late autumn in the Far North Tundra. A dense haze shrouded the sky, and heavy clouds hung so low it seemed they might release a torrent of ice and snow at any moment.

A few rays of sun occasionally struggled through the clouds, but they failed to bring much warmth, only casting fleeting, cold patches of light upon the snow.

The two men, carrying outdoor packs, walked across the desolate tundra. The footprints they left behind were instantly covered by snowflakes stirred up by the frigid wind.

「Two hours later.」

"Brother Feng, how much farther do we have to go?" Zhang Kai, a hunting rifle slung over his back, shivered uncontrollably in the frigid wind, his teeth chattering together.

Even bundled up in his heavy windbreaker, he couldn’t stop the bone-chilling cold from seeping in.

Each time a gust of wind blew past, Zhang Kai couldn’t help but duck his head, trying to bury himself deeper inside his coat.

Feng Mountain glanced back at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Hard to say. The reindeer herds don’t stay in one place. It’s all up to luck."

"This damn place is freezing," Zhang Kai said, exasperated. He bent down and grabbed a handful of snow. It was different from the snow back home in China. That snow was wet, easy to pack into a snowball. But the snow on the tundra was fluffy and loose, like styrofoam beads.

Just then,

Feng Mountain, who was leading the way, stopped in his tracks.

"Did you find the reindeer?" Zhang Kai’s face lit up.

Feng Mountain crouched to examine a patch of snow where black, egg-sized droppings were scattered.

He gently picked one up and broke it apart, revealing undigested grass stems inside.

"The droppings are still fresh. They haven’t frozen yet, which means a herd of reindeer just passed through here." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"So what’s the plan? We chase them?" Zhang Kai raised his hunting rifle, eager to go, completely forgetting it wasn’t loaded. It was about as useful as a fire poker.

Feng Mountain shot him a look and gestured all around them. "And how would we do that? The reindeer tracks are buried under the snow. There are paths leading in every direction. You know which way they ran?"

With that, he tossed the reindeer dropping aside and pointed to a distant ridgeline. "Let’s head over there. It’s higher up, so we’ll have a better view."

The two men continued on their way.

Fortunately, the raging wind died down, and their visibility improved significantly.

Half an hour later, standing on the ridge, Feng Mountain took out his binoculars and began searching for any sign of reindeer.

"Found them! Over there! Two reindeer!" Zhang Kai exclaimed, pointing excitedly.

Feng Mountain looked through his binoculars. In his view, a large reindeer and a small one were digging through the snow with their hooves, searching for the moss and berries buried beneath. The larger one’s antlers were thin and short, and the smaller one had no antlers at all. He immediately made a decision.

"We can’t shoot. That’s a female and her calf. The hunting rules in the Far North Tundra say you can’t hunt does or their young."

"Alright." Zhang Kai respected the local custom, so he didn’t press the issue and went back to scanning for another target.

Feng Mountain, meanwhile, shouldered his pack, found a sheltered spot on the leeward side of the slope, and set up a makeshift tent with a waterproof tarp.

He gathered some dry willow branches, lit a portable stove, and set a small pot filled with snow on top of it.

Before long, the snow in the pot had melted into water and come to a rolling boil.

He placed the venison sausage he’d brought into the pot. As the sausage cooked down, it transformed into a pot of fragrant venison soup.

"Brother Kai, come get some hot soup and warm up," Feng Mountain said, stepping out of the tent.

Zhang Kai got to his feet, shaking the snowflakes from his clothes. "Brother Feng," he asked, a little disappointed, "we’re not going to come back empty-handed, are we?"

"Not a chance." Feng Mountain smiled. He took out a white plastic bag, took the rifle from Zhang Kai’s hands, and tied the bag to the end of the barrel. Then he planted the rifle in the snow, where the light mountain breeze made the plastic bag flutter. "Go have some soup first. We’ve got work to do in a bit."

With the small stove providing heat, the temperature inside the tent was a world away from the cold outside.

After taking off his hat and gloves, Zhang Kai breathed out a visible puff of air and grabbed the handle of the small pot. The moment the scalding, spicy venison soup passed his lips, a wave of warmth surged through him, spreading from his throat down to his stomach and then quickly through his entire body.

"Ah, this soup is amazing!"

He sighed in contentment and took several more large gulps, each mouthful a taste of pure bliss and satisfaction.

Nourished by the steaming venison soup, his shivering body gradually regained its strength and vitality.

"Feeling better now?" Feng Mountain said with a sly grin. He took out a plastic drink bottle with the bottom cut off and handed it to Zhang Kai. "Use this. Lie down behind the slope and make calls with it. When a bull reindeer hears it, he’ll think another male has entered his territory and come to investigate."

’Will this thing really work?’

Zhang Kai took the bottle dubiously. He helped Feng Mountain pack up the tent, and the two of them lay prone on a patch of slope they had cleared in advance.

He cupped his hands over the opening of the bottle, brought it to his mouth, and let out a low, bellowing call.

The call echoed through the air, spreading in all directions.

Feng Mountain held a Type 56 carbine in one hand and his binoculars in the other, scanning the area.

Soon, a dark speck appeared in his field of view, barreling toward their position on the slope.

"There it is. Keep calling!" Feng Mountain whispered.

Hearing that his quarry was on its way, Zhang Kai put even more energy into his calls.

...

A magnificent bull reindeer with bright red antlers was leading its herd in search of food when it suddenly heard another male’s call on the wind. Its ears immediately pricked up, and its eyes blazed with fury.

’Another bull has entered my territory.’

’Trying to steal my territory and my does? Unacceptable!’

The bull reindeer immediately abandoned its herd and charged furiously in the direction of the sound.

As the calls grew louder, the bull reindeer spotted the wavering silhouette of the intruder on the slope.

SNORT!

GRUNT!

The bull reindeer lowered its head, tossing its bright red antlers. It pawed at the snow with its forehooves and snorted heavily, asserting its dominance over the intruder.

Suddenly,

there was a loud BANG.

The bull reindeer felt a sharp pain jolt through its body. It collapsed, powerless, onto the snow as its bright world faded to black.

"Brother Feng, did you hit it?" Zhang Kai asked in a hushed, parched voice, afraid of scaring away their quarry.

"Got him!" Feng Mountain stood up, lowered his Type 56 carbine, and ran toward the spot where the bull reindeer had fallen.

"Hey, hey, wait for me!"

Zhang Kai started to follow, but then he remembered his rifle was still stuck in the snow. He turned back to retrieve it.

When he reached the place where the bull reindeer had fallen,

Feng Mountain had stopped a few meters away. He held out an arm to block Zhang Kai. "Don’t get any closer. Be careful, a dying reindeer can still attack. I’ll go check on it."

As he spoke, Feng Mountain raised his Type 56 carbine and approached the bull reindeer from behind. He prodded its eye with the barrel a few times. Once he was sure it was dead, he waved Zhang Kai over.

"It’s safe now!"

Zhang Kai ran forward excitedly. Even though he hadn’t made the kill himself, the reindeer had been drawn in by his calls. ’Yep,’ he thought, ’I can take half the credit for this.’

’This deer is huge!’

Especially its pair of large, bright red antlers; they were extraordinarily vibrant and eye-catching. Zhang Kai swore he had never seen antlers that color before.

The entire main beam was a vivid red, growing backward before curving forward to form a large "C" shape, like a red crescent moon.

...