Chapter 43: Saker Falcon Feathers, Discovering a Group of Poachers
【Stone ear*50000】

On the rocks on the back of the mountain, there is another large cluster of stone ears.

Growing densely.

Su Ran was so happy that she couldn't express it in words.

This is all money.

Unfortunately, he only brought two sacks and could not fit all the things in. He could only wait until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to come up again.

Just as he was about to go down the mountain along the trail, he suddenly found a wire noose on the snow.

This made Su Ran alert.

This kind of wire noose is specially used to catch small animals. As long as it is installed in the place where the animals must pass, when they get in, the noose will shrink. The animals will often be frightened and struggle constantly, which will not only prevent them from escaping, but will only make the wire noose tighter and tighter.

If it was just a wire snare, it wouldn't be enough to attract Su Ran's attention.

There are always people in the villages near the forest who want to take a slight risk in catching some wild rabbits to eat. The reason why it is risky is that if a protected animal is killed, it would be against the law.

But if it's really just a villager who is greedy, then it's okay.

But the problem is that this wire sleeve was obviously dropped on the ground accidentally, and Su Ran also found many footprints at the bottom of this mountain path.

Although the footprints were very shallow, it was possible to see that there were three different footprints.

Su Ran told netizens his guess.

"What? Brother Su, are you saying there's a group of poachers in the forest?"

"It's very likely, but there is no conclusive evidence." Su Ran said, because during this period, hunting in the mountains always had to be done secretly, and the villagers often acted alone.

The only ones who can travel in groups are poaching gangs.

Even if it's not, the nature is similar.

As a forest ranger, Su Ran could not just ignore it. After walking another ten meters along the mountain path, Su Ran found a white feather with many black spots on the snow.

When netizens saw Su Ran’s pupils shrink after he picked up the feather, they knew that Su Ran had guessed correctly.

"Brother Su, what kind of feather is this?"

"Saker Falcon." Su Ran said without hesitation.

As a medium-sized bird of prey, the Saker Falcon's feathers are highly recognizable, with wavy black spots on its white feathers.

They are extremely rare in the wild and have become national first-class protected animals.

Legend has it that only one Saker Falcon will be born among a hundred thousand condors.

In the Qing Dynasty, if you presented a Saker Falcon to the emperor, you could even be exempted from the death penalty.

This is enough to show how precious it is.

At present, the price of a good-quality Saker Falcon on the black market can be as high as one million!
This has also created a number of desperate Saker Falcon poachers.

After listening to Su Ran's silent explanation, netizens just felt their scalps tingling.

"Fuck, so there really is a group of poachers in the forest?"

"And they actually caught a Saker Falcon???"

"Brother Su, let's call the police right away."

"Brother Su?"

Only then did netizens realize that Su Ran was now running down the mountain at a very fast speed.

"The footprints on the snow are still there. I have to find the poaching gang before it snows." Su Ran said as he ran. The whistling wind was whistling in his ears. His steps were extremely fast, and his feet stepped on the rocks on the mountain path, jumping back and forth and moving like a dragonfly skimming the water.

"No, Brother Su, aren't you going to call the police?"

"Police?" Su Ran paused. "By the time the police arrive, it will be too late. These guys dare to act wildly in my territory. Do they really think that we forest rangers are just decorations?"

Now is Su Ran's only chance to find the poachers by following the footprints in the snow. If the footprints are covered by heavy snow, Su Ran cannot guarantee that he will be as lucky as the last time he encountered the tomb robbers.

At this time, at the foot of Linhai Mountain, a group of people who had just come down from the mountain were preparing to leave Linhai. The man in the lead spat out betel nut residue on the ground, cursing: "Damn it, I'm so unlucky this time. The Saker Falcon I caught just flew away. And he got pecked."

There was a small hole on the man's coat on the left chest. The original black spot was gone, leaving only a sunken hole.

As a medium-sized bird of prey, the Saker Falcon's beak is as sharp as a sickle. If it pecks you, you will at least lose a layer of skin even if you don't die.

Even their claws are very powerful. If they swoop down from the sky to attack, it will not be difficult for them to pounce on you, grab a piece of flesh and run away.

Obviously, the man's head was pecked off by the Saker Falcon.

It was obviously a very sad thing, but a puffing sound came from behind.

"What are you laughing at? How dare you laugh?" The man glared at the younger brother behind him.

The younger brother shrank his neck and stammered, "Boss, I didn't laugh at you. It was just too cold and I sneezed. I'm not a woman. As long as I'm still alive, it doesn't matter if I lose a penis."

The man took out a pair of pliers from his bag and threatened, "Do you want me to pull your nipples off now?"

"No, no, no," the younger brother said a little aggrievedly, "Brother, what I mean is that we shouldn't have done this business in the first place. It would be much better to follow others to rob tombs. We wouldn't encounter any dangers and we could make more money."

"Grave robbing is good?" The man sneered. "Didn't the old smoker who ran away from us earlier go to rob tombs with others? Guess what he is doing now? He has gone in and is operating a sewing machine."

"Not only him, but also his boss and the entire tomb-robbing group were busted by the police!"

"Do you still think tomb robbing is a good idea?"

The younger brother said stubbornly, "But we are also at risk of being caught."

The man was very disdainful: "Don't I understand the police's tricks? They simply planted spies in the tomb, and that group of tomb robbers was caught. There are only a dozen of us poachers, including my brother and a group of brothers. As long as we are careful, how can we be caught?"

"Besides, the forest rangers nowadays are just a bunch of guys who just want to eat for free. They are probably drinking hot tea and playing cards in groups of three or four at the station. How could they know that we are in the forest?"

"Brother, what you said is..." The younger brother nodded.

Another younger brother echoed.

Just then, a pine cone fell from the sky and hit the man on the head.

When he looked up, he found a squirrel squatting on the tree.

This little beast actually brought another pine nut and smashed it down in broad daylight.

"Well, I didn't catch the Saker Falcon, but you, the beast, came to my door on your own. I'll just catch a squirrel and it won't be a wasted trip."

The man smiled sinisterly, pulled out a crossbow from his back and aimed at the squirrel in the tree.

After pulling the trigger, the crossbow arrow shot out with a whoosh.

If nothing unexpected happened, the beast would be shot and fall from the tree in the blink of an eye.

However, no one knew what happened. I only heard the faint sound of stones hitting each other, and the crossbow arrow was directly deflected.

The man frowned, as if he had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly, he heard the rustling sound of snow being stepped on, and a figure was moving quickly in the woods.

It's people!

As soon as the man saw Su Ran clearly, the two younger brothers behind him were knocked unconscious by two knives.

"Damn it, he's looking for death!"

Picking up the hatchet that fell on the ground, the man chopped towards Su Ran's face fiercely.

He used all his strength, intending to kill the other person.

However, Su Ran on the opposite side just turned his head casually and dodged.

The man's face turned pale, and the next moment his wrist was grabbed by Su Ran and broken on the spot.

"what--"

A painful howl to the sky awakened the animals hibernating in the forest and also startled a blind bear in the distance.

(End of this chapter)