King of the Wilderness-Chapter 70 - 69: Master of Snaring Grouse

"Alright, after 2.5 hours of practicing with the lasso pole, it’s time to go outside and get active."

Lin Yu’an put on all his warmest clothes, donned the freshly made beaver skin hat, and tied down the ear flaps securely.

"Today’s primary goal is to check on those newly set snare traps. With this much snow, I wonder if they’re still working properly."

He held the newly crafted long pole lasso in one hand and stepped into the white world covered with deep snow.

The snow-laden forest was exceptionally quiet, as if all sounds were absorbed by the soft snow.

Lin Yu’an headed toward the shrub area where he had previously discovered the "rabbit path," taking each step with considerable effort.

Soon, he arrived at the first trap setup point, the scene before him causing a slight frown.

The trap he had carefully disguised was now completely covered by thick snow, leaving no trace whatsoever.

He used a stick to scrape away the snow, revealing the trap mechanism underneath, which had frozen slightly stiff.

The lasso loop remained in its original shape, having caught no prey.

He checked several other traps in succession, and the situation was largely the same for all of them—rendered ineffective by the heavy snow, resulting in no catches.

Some traps were even covered so heavily by snow that they couldn’t be located, which irritated Lin Yu’an.

He did not get discouraged but patiently cleaned and retrieved each trap, intending to set them up again once he found a new rabbit path.

Having found nothing with the ground traps, Lin Yu’an did not immediately return to the shelter.

His eyes began to focus on the low spruces and birch trees around him, laden with snow.

"If the ground targets aren’t effective, I’ll shift my focus to the skies—or rather, the trees."

"Forest birds like grouse find it extremely difficult to forage on the ground in such heavy snow."

"They might very well fly onto branches to peck at the exposed young shoots or pine needles. And this is precisely the great opportunity for me."

He started moving slowly through the forest, his eyes no longer just fixed on the ground.

Instead, he carefully scanned each tree he thought might house a roosting grouse.

He was searching for those relatively low and sparsely branched spruces or pines that would allow him to extend his long pole.

Spruce grouse like to find food and shelter on these coniferous trees.

At the edge of a sparser spruce forest, he suddenly stopped, his Sixth Sense kicking in! He had keenly spotted a target!

Just about fifteen meters ahead of him, on a medium-sized spruce tree, a few meters off the ground on a horizontal branch.

A gray-brown figure, blending in with the color of the trunk, was standing there quietly!

It was a spruce grouse! It was stretching its neck, pecking at the buds on the branches, completely unaware of the danger below.

"Target sighted."

Lin Yu’an cautiously raised his long pole lasso forward, ready to begin his first real attempt.

He didn’t approach directly but used the trunk for cover, curving slightly to the side and moving to the rear of the grouse.

He commenced extending the long pole in his hand upwards and forward at an excruciatingly slow pace.

The four-meter spruce pole in his hands was as steady as a rock, and the small steel wire lasso loop at its tip was practically invisible against the gray-white sky backdrop.

The tip of the pole inched closer to the unsuspecting grouse, centimeter by centimeter.

Three meters... two meters... one meter...

The top end of the pole was now over the branch where the grouse rested, right above it.

Lin Yu’an adjusted the angle of his wrist, allowing the open lasso loop to slowly and precisely descend toward the grouse’s head and neck.

Just as the lasso loop was about to touch the grouse’s fluffy neck feathers, the grouse seemed to have finished eating the buds on this branch and slightly turned its neck.

Now’s the moment!

Lin Yu’an’s gaze tightened sharply, his arm powering forward, and he pulled swiftly and accurately!

"Goo?—Goo goo!"

The spruce grouse only had time to let out a short, panic-stricken cry before its neck suddenly tightened!

The grouse struggled violently, its wings flapping madly, kicking up a flurry of snow amid the branches, but the tenacious steel wire lasso only tightened further, rendering its struggles futile.

He quickly stepped forward, ending its suffering in the fastest way possible.

"It worked! Success on the first real attempt!"

Lin Yu’an lifted the heavy grouse in front of the camera, his face glowing with irrepressible excitement!

He tied the precious, dazed grouse securely and hung it at his waist, continuing to search through the snowy forest, anticipating the next "close encounter" with prey.

Perhaps the first success had exhausted today’s luck; in the next hour or so, Lin Yu’an did not find a second suitable target.

He wasn’t greedy and was already very satisfied with today’s yield.

He glanced at the sky, which began turning gloomy again, and decided to return to the shelter ahead of time.

Back in the warm and sturdy stone house, it was time for a culinary treat again for Lin Yu’an.

"Folks, for tonight’s dinner, I’m going to make a simple yet bold dish—wild-style sautéed grouse chunks in deer fat!"

He skillfully began processing the grouse, opting not to painstakingly pluck it like when he made "beggar’s chicken" before. Instead, he chose a more direct approach suited for sautéing—skinning it.

With the tip of his knife, he sliced open a cut from the grouse’s chest, then carefully peeled off the entire feathered skin intact along the membrane between the skin and flesh.

He didn’t discard this small piece of chicken skin and intended to keep it for later use.

After skinning it, the pinkish meat underneath was exposed, and he started to decompose it with a logging axe.

"Sautéing is all about the heat and having evenly sized ingredients."

"You need to cut these pieces of meat into sizes that are even, roughly about the size of my thumb joint. This way, they’re easy to cook thoroughly and absorb flavors well."

The logging axe again came in handy, as he decomposed all the legs, wings, and breast into evenly sized chunks.

He took a few wild onion bulbs, crushed them with a palm, then roughly chopped them into bits.

Then, he added these onion bits and a pinch of salt to a clay bowl containing the grouse chunks.

He mixed them thoroughly by hand, ensuring each piece of grouse absorbed the salt and onion fragrance for a simple marinade.

With everything ready, he placed the stainless steel pot on top of the stove.

He prepared many small dry twigs to satisfy the need for high heat.

The deer fat quickly melted under high temperatures and soon reached a boiling point, the rich aroma of the oil spreading intensely throughout the stone house.

"For frying meat, the oil has to be hot!"

Lin Yu’an added more dry twigs into the stove, causing the fire to blaze up.

Without hesitation, he dumped the entire bowl of marinated grouse chunks into the hot oil pan!

"Sizzle——!!!!!!"

As the meat chunks hit the hot oil, it made a sound akin to firecrackers!

Steam erupted instantly, forming thick white vapor, mixed with the rich aroma of deer fat and the freshness of the grouse!

The wooden spatula in Lin Yu’an’s hand quickly tossed and turned the contents in the stainless steel pot.

Every piece of grouse rolled within the boiling deer fat, its color changing from pink to an enticing golden brown.

Wild onion bits in the hot oil released their utmost fragrance, perfectly integrating into the deer fat and grouse, providing an excellent enhancement to remove the gamey smell and add flavor. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The entire sautéing process took just a few minutes. After adding some salt, he took the stainless steel pot off the fire.

The golden-brown chunks of meat had bits of crispy, fragrant onion clinging to them, coated in a layer of shiny deer fat, making them incredibly enticing.

Lin Yu’an brought a piece of thigh meat to his mouth and took a hearty bite!

Instantly, a surge of hot and rich meat flavor exploded in his mouth!

Unlike the delicate tenderness of poached fish or the bouncy texture of fish balls, this sautéed grouse offered a robust meaty impact.

The internal grouse meat, being seared over high heat, locked in its moisture, rendering it exceptionally firm and elastic.

With each chew, the muscle fibers could be felt, growing more flavorful as they were chewed.

"Folks, this... this is what you call real food! Not just survival protein!"

In no time, he finished the entire grouse clean.

Outside, the world lay frozen in severe cold, but inside, there was a warm fire and steaming food.

With this meal of stir-fried grouse, Lin Yu’an felt a sense of peace and comfort settle over him.