NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 478 - 475: The Great Battle Between the Ox and the Snake
Chapter 478: Chapter 475: The Great Battle Between the Ox and the Snake
Banna Rainforest survival, day five.
Bi Fang was still wandering through the dense jungle, following the tracks on the ground in search of his target.
The hoofprints of the Wild Baizhi Ox were enormous and deep, creating pits in the moist soil of the rainforest that not even a heavy rain could easily wash away.
Inside one deep pit, several insects had drowned, struggling in vain.
Bi Fang inserted his finger into it, and the muddy water reached past his second knuckle; a weight of over a ton pressing on the moist soil made such dramatic impressions.
“The hoofprints are deep, and generally speaking, the shallower the print, the longer it’s been since the target left. The deeper they are, the closer the quarry is. It looks like we’re about to catch up with the Wild Baizhi Ox.”
Bi Fang wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling considerably relieved, “Phew, after a day’s chase, we’re finally about to catch up.”
Since yesterday afternoon, Bi Fang had begun tracking the Wild Baizhi Ox he’d encountered on the first day. Even with several days passed, an experienced hunter could track animals based on traces left even half a month earlier.
But by the time Bi Fang finally arrived at the original location, the hoofprints had completely disappeared due to the heavy rain, covered by freshly fallen twigs.
He searched in different directions until late afternoon on the fourth day before picking up the trail again, worried that rain might fall again at night and wash away the newly found clues, Bi Fang continued the chase until nightfall before returning.
This morning, he set out again, well-supplied with food and tools and having woven a new pair of grass shoes.
The grand effort was not just for the sake of hunting the Wild Baizhi Ox; it was also for salt.
Large herbivorous animals all have their own “salt mine bases.”
The pH of all living things is basically the same. Compared to carnivores, herbivores need to consume more salt.
They generally lick the walls of caves or visit a salinized patch of land. With patient tracking, sooner or later one would arrive at their salt mine base.
Next, all Bi Fang needed to do was to dig up the soil to boil for salt, or he could try licking the cave walls himself, chiseling off a chunk of salt stone.
If he could find salt, Bi Fang already had an ample supply of meat, vegetables, and now with salt, a stable life had the foundation to continue, and he could start thinking about iron smelting.
With that in mind, Bi Fang continued to follow the hoofprints in front of him. He did not slacken his efforts, not only because snakes and ants were everywhere but also because he was about to confront the Wild Baizhi Ox.
“According to the hoofprints, we can see that all along, the Wild Baizhi Ox hardly ever circled around but instead wandered recklessly everywhere. This shows it is very confident because there are no creatures in the entire jungle that can threaten it; it roams confidently in every direction.”
Even venomous snakes could hardly pierce through that thick, rough skin that was like natural armor.
Its sharp horns could penetrate anything that resisted, and its strong muscles could burst forth with the power to uproot large trees.
“Other animals could never exhibit such behavior; they live within a fixed, familiar territory, knowing where dangers and predators are, avoiding risks in advance.”
Pausing, Bi Fang joked, “If there really were an ox talisman, its portrait would definitely be of the Wild Baizhi Ox.”
By noon, Bi Fang’s stomach began to rumble. He looked up at the sky, obscured by leaves, listened to the chorus of birds from an unknown place within the jungle, and set down the bark frame from his back, pulling out a fish.
The fish was the size of a small forearm, its tail bound with a vine, the other end passing through the gills and out of the fish’s lips, bending the whole fish into a bow shape.
“Although I can’t see the sun, my stomach and biological clock tell me it should be noon by now. Let’s eat first, then continue after the meal.”
Bi Fang cleared a patch of ground and took out the Stone Dagger to cut the vine.
The moment the vine was cut, the once-restrained fish immediately sprang to life, flopping on the ground, gasping for water, startling the onlookers.
The fish had been tied up since early this morning, for six to seven hours now, and it was still alive?
It’s summer, can a fish really survive out of water this long?
[Have African Lungfish invaded the Banna Rainforest?]
[Isn’t this just a common carp?]
“Haha, do you think I tied the fish this way for no reason?” Bi Fang started digging a pit to make a fire while explaining, “This is the ‘bowfish’ method. Fish processed using the bowfish technique can survive out of water for 10 days in the winter and at least 1 day during the hot summer days.”
“The rainforest climate is hot, dead fish spoil quickly, and I’ve been moving, making it inconvenient to smoke the fish. So, I have to keep the fish alive. Don’t think the bowfish technique is just a simple tie-up, it’s actually quite complicated.”
The bowfish method consists of three steps: initial binding, watering, and final binding.
Initial binding uses a grass rope to tie the fish’s head and tail. Watering involves placing the bound fish into a stream of flowing water, allowing it to expel impurities and take in new water.
Then, an hour later, the fish’s tail, after it has been watered, is tied again—a final binding just above the fish’s anal opening. Only then is the process complete.
Improper execution not only fails to achieve the desired preservation effects but can even affect the quality of the fish’s flesh.
“By tying it up in a special way, it reduces the fish’s movements, and during the watering phase, it consumes a lot of fresh water which it can’t expel.”
“And by keeping the fish’s mouth constantly open, the gills are also forced to remain open, increasing the absorption of oxygen from the humid air, that’s why the fish survives for such a long time.”
Bi Fang took out the fire starter, and after creating thick smoke and flames, he tossed it into the pit before processing the fish again.
The fish, harvested from the fishing ground this morning, still retained its fatty belly but had not had its scales or innards removed. Bi Fang spread out some leaves and gutted the fish completely.
“The greatest advantage of the summer bow fishing technique is not only keeping the fish alive and fresh, facilitating transport, but also removing the river fish’s muddy smell. In ’09, the bow fishing technique was even added to the FJ Province’s list of intangible cultural heritage.”
After skewering the fish on bamboo sticks, Bi Fang set it over the fire to roast and then boiled some wild greens soup in bamboo tubes, sealing the lids tightly and inserting them directly into the campfire.
Bi Fang had prepared well in advance for a prolonged outing. When he left early this morning, he had all the basic supplies, three bamboo tubes of water, three large fish, and along the way, he had been collecting edible flowers and wild greens, so there was no worry about lacking food.
After eating, Bi Fang cleaned up the site and continued following the increasingly deep buffalo hoofprints.
Finally, in the afternoon, the depth of the hoofprints was almost enough to cover an entire finger. Bi Fang poked the soft earth, which had become almost like a slurry due to the heavy rain affecting the entire rainforest floor.
To prevent the mud from seeping into his straw sandals and coming into close contact with his skin, Bi Fang wrapped his feet in no fewer than three layers of large leaves to barely keep out the muck.
“That Wild Baizhi Ox’s weight is estimated to be between 1,200 to 1,300 kilograms judging by the softness of the soil, and given how deeply it sinks in, it might have left less than half an hour ago. We should be more cautious; the large fellow could be nearby.”
The hoofprints in front of him were even larger than Bi Fang’s palm. It wasn’t just the threat of being gored by its horns; a single stomp could be lethal to anyone.
At this point, Bi Fang no longer dared to march forward boldly, mostly tracking in a half-crouched position: “As I’ve mentioned before, thanks to its extremely sensitive sense of smell and hearing, the Wild Baizhi Ox can detect human activity within a 200-meter radius.”
“It’s very likely that it has already spotted us before we even see it, so it’s best to stay alert at all times, avoid standing upright carelessly and drawing its attention.”
[Damn, Master Fang has regressed]
[Bravo, young hero, for your strong back!]
[Looks like a real back-breaker.]
Crouching and bending forward, Bi Fang opened up the nearby underbrush with his spear. In the primeval rainforest, travel was far from easy. Aside from the towering trees, the underbrush was ubiquitous.
With no path in sight, sometimes after traversing a distance, one could be lacerated by the underbrush, but thankfully, Bi Fang’s reddish clay not only warded off mosquitoes but also served as a thin layer of physical armor, preventing worry over cuts and scrapes.
Bi Fang pressed down the brush in front of him with a tree stick, and momentarily, the branches under the tree stick shuddered and then sprang back into place.
Press, and spring back.
Hmm?
[Is Master Fang’s hand shaking?]
[Hahaha, superb elasticity]
“It’s not my hand that’s shaking.” Bi Fang narrowed his eyes and crouched even lower, pressing into the ground to create a deep hole which quickly filled with water, forming a small yellowish puddle.
A moment later, the puddle rippled again and again, endlessly.
Bi Fang’s expression grew serious: “It’s the ground that’s shaking.”
[An earthquake?!]
The audience, perplexed yet impressed, thought of an earthquake upon hearing that the ground was shaking and completely lost it.
[Should we find an open space to take cover?]
[Where can you find an open space here?]
[I didn’t hear that Yunnan was on an earthquake belt]
“It’s definitely not an earthquake.” Recalling the massive size of the Wild Baizhi Ox, Bi Fang’s mouth twitched as he pressed down all the brush in front of him and passed through the underbrush.
The next moment, the view opened up, not because of natural landscape but due to the effects of destruction.
Everyone was stunned by the sight in front of them.
The identical white sharp horns, the colossal size of the behemoth, its over-ton explosive muscles; one could clearly feel the powerful and fierce presence even from tens of meters away.
But right now, a huge snakehead was impaled on the ox’s horns, and large pools of red blood dripped down, accumulating in the hoofprints to form blood puddles.
The giant python, covered with blood and black spots, was tightly coiled around the Wild Baizhi Ox’s body, constricting inch by inch as the muscles bulged visibly on its thick body.
Like a crazed beast, the ox repeatedly rammed into the trees in front of it, knocking down the surrounding underbrush as if it had been bombed.
Numerous trees were not spared, one after another, and saplings that had yet to become towering giants all fell, like a battlefield.
The frenzied and bloody scene jolted the senses of both Bi Fang and the viewers before their screens, sending chills down their spines as if a wooden plough had repeatedly tilled through their hearts.
[My goodness, a battle between the ox and the snake!]