pertwk Page 449
Page 449
“Cicada nymphs can live underground for several years. I just submerged it with water,” Lianhua said, holding the cicada nymph. “I plan to name it ‘Live and Let Live.’”
"Um...maybe we shouldn't give it such a sad name!" Su Xiaoqiang felt she couldn't quite keep up with the child's thought process. (Cicada nymphs emerge from the ground and molt into cicadas within a day or two; their lifespan is only one summer.)
"Although the cicada's life is short, it can still soar through the sky and drink sweet nectar every day. How happy it is!" Lianhua placed the unearthed cicada nymph on the tree and said to it, "Look at this world more!"
This left Su Xiaoqiang stunned. Are kids these days so precocious?
The two did not venture deeper into the forest, but stayed on the edge. Lianhua then used an insect net to catch rhinoceros beetles; she wanted to catch the biggest one to keep as a pet.
Su Xiaoqiang wasn't really interested in insects or anything like that; she just spent time with the child, and if the child couldn't reach something, Su Xiaoqiang would lift her up for her.
After carrying the child up and down for more than half an hour, Su Xiaoqiang felt extremely tired.
Children are so energetic; they seem to never know what it means to be tired, and their stamina is even better than that of adults.
If I have a child with Gu Ran in the future, will it still be this tiring?
I don't know if Gu Ran likes children, even though he said he wanted to have a son and a daughter with her...
"What happy thing did you think of, sister? You're smiling so happily?" Lianhua asked, holding Su Xiaoqiang's hand and looking up.
"It's nothing," Su Xiaoqiang squeezed her small hand, and seeing her expectant eyes, she could only say shyly, "I was thinking about my future husband."
"Is he Aunt Zhang's son? I heard from my sister that he's very powerful! He can slay dragons!" Lianhua stared with wide, curious eyes.
In the Liu family's private plot, most of the inhabitants are of mixed blood, so they are educated about the dragon worldview from a young age.
"Sister, have you ever seen a real dragon?" Lianhua asked.
"Nope."
"Has the older brother seen him?"
"He should have met him before!"
"When he arrives, can I ask him to tell me the story of slaying the dragon?"
"it is good……"
By now, Lianhua had caught a lot of rhinoceros beetles and filled the insect box. She squatted down and picked through them, choosing the largest one and releasing the rest.
"Sister, let's go on a picnic! I know a great place!" Lianhua took Su Xiaoqiang's hand and found a stream in the forest. There was a clean meadow right next to the stream, under the shade of the trees.
"It's so cool here." Su Xiaoqiang spread out her picnic blanket and felt the cool breeze, which was very refreshing.
"The weather is still cool now, and the mosquitoes haven't started to come out yet. We wouldn't be able to stay here in the summer," Lianhua happily told her sister.
The two were eating rice balls and sandwiches on the picnic mat when, suddenly, Lianhua carefully took Su Xiaoqiang's hand, pointed to the riverbank not far away, and whispered, "Sister, look, there are raccoons over there."
Su Xiaoqiang followed Lianhua's gaze and indeed saw a furry brown animal, but...
"Isn't that a raccoon?" Su Xiaoqiang asked.
Lianhua explained in a serious tone: "This is a raccoon dog, or raccoon dog for short. Like foxes and dogs, it belongs to the Canidae family."
"You know so much!" Su Xiaoqiang said admiringly.
"I learned it from watching 'Animal World' on TV," Lianhua said proudly after receiving praise from her sister.
The animal, which looked a lot like a raccoon, was drinking water by the river when it seemed to see a fish swimming by and grabbed it, pulling it into the water.
Unfortunately, they caught nothing.
Then the raccoon left.
After a while, other small animals came to the riverbank, including wild deer, wild boars, and foxes.
"This is also a gathering place for animals to drink water," Lianhua said softly. She looked very happy and seemed to really like the animals.
After lunch, Lianhua had seen enough of the animals, so she packed up her things and prepared to go back with Su Xiaoqiang.
However, after walking only a dozen meters, Lianhua suddenly grabbed Su Xiaoqiang's sleeve.
"What's wrong?" Su Xiaoqiang asked, looking down.
"Shh!" Lianhua made a shushing gesture, then held the clapper of the bear-avoiding bell with her small hand to prevent it from making a sound.
She pointed to the bushes not far away and whispered, "There... there's a bear over there!"
Bear-repelling bells can only scare away bears from a distance. If a bear gets close, the bells may actually provoke its ferocity.
Su Xiaoqiang looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw a black bear.
The black bear was very tall, at least 1.9 meters, and quite large, so it was presumably a male.
The worst part was that the bear was very thin, and it seemed to have not eaten for a long time. Su Xiaoqiang could clearly see its bones exposed due to its emaciation.
Su Xiaoqiang drew his 1911 pistol, thought for a moment, then took out the armor-piercing magazine, loaded it, and chambered a bullet.
If she were alone, she could use Frigga's bullets, but there was a child present. If Frigga's bullets failed to tranquilize the bear immediately and injured the child, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Lianhua, come on up, I'll carry you." Su Xiaoqiang threw away her backpack and the insect box. At this moment, nothing else mattered; life was the most important thing.
At this moment, the black bear seemed to notice the noise and looked towards Su Xiaoqiang.
In that instant, Su Xiaoqiang's eyes met itss.
The black bear's eyes gleamed fiercely, its teeth bared, and it crouched slightly, seemingly preparing to charge.
"Sister, why don't we retreat slowly first? If it doesn't charge at us, we shouldn't shoot." Lianhua seemed to feel sorry for the black bear because she saw how thin it was. "Black bears usually live deep in the mountains. It must have run out of food in the mountains to have come to the village."
"But if it charges at us, we should still shoot. Dad said that this world should be people-oriented." Lianhua was very sensible, remembering the adults' teachings even at such a young age.
Su Xiaoqiang has also learned some wilderness skills these days. The most important one is not to turn your back to aggressive wild animals, as that will stimulate the animals' hunting instincts, and it is also not conducive to observation when you turn your back to them.
She estimated the distance to the black bear to be about thirty meters. Her pistol was equipped with a red dot sight, which had the highest accuracy for rapid fire within twenty meters.
She stared at the black bear, a standoff ensued. She held her gun firmly in both hands and then slowly backed away.
"Roar!" The black bear roared when it saw Su Xiaoqiang retreat, and then took two steps forward.
Su Xiaoqiang immediately stopped. She knew that she couldn't retreat rashly at this moment, otherwise the black bear would think she was cowardly.
The best course of action at this point would be to turn around and run quickly. After all, with a distance of thirty meters, running a few hundred meters should be enough to shake off the black bear.
But carrying Lianhua on her back, she worried that she wouldn't be able to outrun the black bear.
Therefore, the best option is to stand still and confront the bear. If it comes over, shoot it.
Seeing that the black bear had stopped moving, Su Xiaoqiang took two steps back, but accidentally tripped over a dry branch on the ground, stumbled, and fell on her bottom.
They even knocked the gun away!
At this critical moment, the black bear suddenly charged!
That 1.9-meter-tall black bear probably weighs over 200 kilograms, and it runs with a gust of wind.
Su Xiaoqiang immediately picked up the gun from the ground. Fortunately, the gun hadn't fallen too far, and there was still time.
However, just as she picked up the gun, the black bear seemed to see it, and suddenly braked sharply, stopping in its tracks.
Then, the black bear seemed to see something terrifying, turned around, and ran into the depths of the forest.
Su Xiaoqiang, gun in hand, knelt on one knee, ready to fire, when he saw the big black bear run away, leaving him completely bewildered.
Suddenly she seemed to sense something, stood up and looked around.
We found nothing.
But she knew he was definitely right beside her.
"Great! The big black bear ran away on its own!" Lianhua clapped her hands excitedly. "Sister, can we go back and get the insect box?"
"Okay." Su Xiaoqiang put the gun away and unloaded the loaded bullet to avoid accidental injury.
Now that we know he's nearby, there's nothing to worry about.
Lianhua tidied up her things again, seemingly without harming the black bear and unharmed herself, and she seemed very happy.
Children are kind and can't bear to kill lives indiscriminately.
However, to prevent the black bear from returning, Xiao Lianhua pulled Su Xiaoqiang away from the forest as quickly as possible.
After leaving the woods, the two were tired from their hurried journey, so they found a shady spot in the fields to rest.
Children have endless energy when they play, but they can fall asleep as soon as they need to rest.
The two had barely sat down and exchanged a few words when Xiao Lianhua fell asleep next to Su Xiaoqiang.
Su Xiaoqiang smiled, laid the child flat on the picnic mat, and then took off her coat and sweatshirt to cover her up.
She looked around for a moment, then stood up, took a few steps forward, and whispered, "Come out, I know you're here."
There was no movement around.
"Is it fun to spy on others? You pervert!" Su Xiaoqiang looked around. "If you don't come out soon, I won't talk to you for the next two days!"
Just as she was looking around, trying to figure out where he had come from, suddenly, a hand grabbed her ankle!
"Ah... um!" Just as she was about to scream, her mouth was suddenly covered, and at the same time she was hugged from behind, a warm and broad embrace holding her tightly in her arms.
"Don't ignore me!" A familiar voice rang in Su Xiaoqiang's ears.
"You rascal, you scared me again!" Su Xiaoqiang tried to break free, but he held her tighter and tighter.
"I thought it was cute when I saw you being scared by the big frog before, so I wanted to see it again."
Su Xiaoqiang gently bit her lower lip, her face slightly flushed.
Well, he still managed to see my embarrassing moment.
Chapter 523 The Legendary Sword
"Since you're here, why didn't you show up to see me sooner?" Su Xiaoqiang asked the person behind her.
"I want to see what it's like to take care of a child!" Gu Ran whispered in her ear.
"So when did you arrive?"
"It starts from when you leave the house in the morning!"
Leaning against his familiar embrace, Su Xiaoqiang only lingered for a moment before turning her head, cupping his face in her hands, and looking him up and down.
"I'm really not hurt." Gu Ran took her soft hands and squeezed her palms. "All the parts are still there!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? You're so annoying!" Su Xiaoqiang gently bumped her forehead against his chest, then leaned on his shoulder.