Chapter 77 Goat

Chapter 77 Goat

"Wait a minute," Sheng Xingyao suddenly stopped on the way back to camp, "I just realized we didn't get any meat on this trip."

"We’re lucky to have anything to eat; how can we have meat every day? Do you think you're ordering at a restaurant?"

Shen Tong passed by him, rolling her eyes at him dismissively as she spoke bluntly.

"Not eating meat will make us lack energy for work," Sheng Xingyao whined. As a carnivore, he found it hard to accept a purely vegetarian diet. Besides, the previous episodes had such good meals... Although this one wasn’t bad either, it felt like something was missing, leaving him not fully satisfied.

But Shen Tong had a point. Given the situation, they couldn’t ask for too much.

"Stop for a moment."

Yu Xin, who was at the front of the group, suddenly halted, crouched down, and picked something up from the ground.

"What is it? What did you find?"

"Yu Xin, what’s in your hand? It couldn’t be… is that…?"

Between Yu Xin’s index finger and thumb was a small, round black pellet. Many other similar black pellets were scattered on the ground. The color and shape, if he had to guess, meant it could only be...

Goat droppings!

"It’s goat droppings, and they’re still fresh. Goats passed by here recently, and there was more than one." Yu Xin tossed the droppings aside and washed his hands in the nearby stream.

"Goats!" Sheng Xingyao perked up immediately. He had just been lamenting the lack of meat for this meal, and now it seemed like meat came to them.

Aside from the droppings, there were also footprints on the ground, and the crushed grass hadn’t even dried yet. The goats must be close.

Since they were near a water source, it was likely they had encountered a herd coming to drink from the stream.

"Do you all remember the way back? Head to the camp first. I’ll try to track these goats and see if I can find them." Yu Xin quickly gave instructions, handed his gear to the others, and kept only his quiver and bow.

Sheng Xingyao was eager to join Yu Xin, but he knew his limits. Yu Xin had a good shot at catching a goat on his own, but bringing him along would only slow Yu Xin down.

For the sake of meat, he could only reluctantly follow the others back to the camp and wait patiently for Yu Xin’s return.

The footprints led deep into the forest, and Yu Xin followed the trail.

The soft soil near the stream made it easy to leave marks, but farther away, the footprints became less distinct. However, the trampled and disturbed plants along the way provided clues. Some of the goats had even nibbled on grass as they walked, leaving traces that made it highly possible to track them.

Yu Xin moved stealthily, pursuing them for two or three kilometers until he finally spotted the goats up ahead.

"Goats! I see goats! He actually found them!"

"So exciting! We get to witness a hunt firsthand!"

"Little goat: Mom, don’t make dinner for me. I won’t be home tonight."

It appeared to be a family of goats: a buck with horns, a smaller doe, and two young goats.

The two young goats were lively, circling their parents and occasionally stopping to nibble on grass.

The male led the way, while the female paused from time to time to observe their surroundings, on guard for predators.

He was still far from the goats, out of bow range. He had to find a way to approach them slowly without alerting them.

Wild animals were highly alert, with senses of sight, hearing, and smell far superior to humans. Every detail—sound, movement, and scent—was critical.

Yu Xin raised a finger to check the wind direction. Good—he was downwind from the goats, so the wind wouldn’t carry his scent toward them, meaning there was less chance they’d scent him.

But that alone wasn’t enough. Approaching the goats remained tricky because, unlike humans and carnivores, most herbivores had eyes on the sides of their heads. This allowed them to keep watch while grazing, enabling them to bolt at the first sign of danger. Carnivores, on the other hand, had forward-facing eyes, which helped them lock onto prey and pursue it more accurately.

Moreover, goats had horizontal rectangular pupils, which enhanced their peripheral vision.

The placement of their eyes gave them a 320-degree field of view, making it nearly impossible to approach from the sides. Only the front and rear offered some blind spots.

However, goats had their weaknesses. For instance, their ability to distinguish colors was poor—they could only see certain colors and couldn’t differentiate between similar shades. Their detail resolution was also low, allowing them to see objects clearly only at medium distances, while distant and close-up objects remained fuzzy.

Yu Xin’s clothing today camouflaged well with the forest. He slowed his breathing until his chest was still, quietly and swiftly approaching the goats from behind.

Ahead, the goats had suddenly stopped, seemingly having found a patch of tasty grass where they intended to fill their bellies before moving on.

Perfect!

Yu Xin became even more cautious, using branches for cover as he slowly closed in on the goats.

He was now within bow range, but to make sure of his shot, he advanced a bit farther until he reached an ideal distance. To get a better view, he climbed a tree quietly and carefully.

At that moment, the female stood on higher ground keeping watch, while the male and the two young goats grazed below. Unaware of any danger, they continued grazing peacefully.

Yu Xin moved painstakingly slowly, gently taking his bow from his back and holding it firmly, his eyes fixed intently on the goats.

The female kept looking around, clearly highly alert. He wasn’t going after the two young goats. The male, with its back turned as it grazed, was an easy target.

Having chosen his mark, Yu Xin slowly drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it. The muscles in his arms tensed, veins popping as he focused all his energy into the shot.

The surroundings were utterly silent, broken only by the occasional rustle of wind and the faint creak of the bowstring being drawn taut.

The female goat seemed to sense danger and suddenly turned its head, meeting Yu Xin’s gaze!

In an instant, it spotted Yu Xin, lifted its head, and let out an alarm bleat, urging its young to flee. The male goat leaped up, ditching its family as it tried to escape into the forest.

But at that very moment, Yu Xin’s bow was fully drawn, and he loosed the arrow with deadly force.

Thwack—the sound of the arrow piercing flesh. The male goat was hit in the hind leg, letting out a pained cry. But driven by the instinct to survive, it slowed only for a moment before attempting to flee regardless.

Yet Yu Xin’s second arrow followed immediately, slicing through the male goat’s throat with pinpoint accuracy. Blood sprayed out, and the goat collapsed, struggling briefly before going limp.

By then, the female had already escaped some distance with the two young goats. Hearing the commotion, she glanced back only once before vanishing into the dense forest with her young.

"He hit it!! He hit it!!! Yu Xin’s a legend!!!"

"Everyone, stand up!!!"

"So thrilling! I’m even more excited than when I scored in front of my crush last time."

"That male goat is pathetic—no sense of responsibility at all. It ran faster than anyone."

"We get to eat lamb! Hurry, hurry, let’s get a roast goat going!"

Yu Xin jumped down from the tree and ran to where the goat had fallen. Up close, the goat was completely lifeless, surrounded by a pool of bright red blood.

This type of goat was relatively small, with the male weighing around 30 kilograms. Yu Xin could carry it without much difficulty.

Without lingering, he retraced his steps back to the camp.

The others waited eagerly at the campsite, watching for Yu Xin's return in the distance. The sharp-eyed among them spotted the goat carried on his back and rushed forward with cheers.

"Hail Yu Xin!!!"

"Yu Xin's the man!!!"

A few of them enthusiastically helped Yu Xin take the goat off his back, not minding the bloodstains everywhere. Yu Xin’s jacket was a total loss and would have to be discarded.

They insisted that Yu Xin not lift a finger, only offering guidance from the side while they worked together to butcher the goat.

Now there was absolutely no need to worry about food supplies—this goat alone would be enough to last them the remaining three days!

"A whole goat—how should we cook it?"

Before Yu Xin could answer, Sheng Xingyao jumped up excitedly: "No question about it, we roast it!"

"Let’s make a whole roasted goat!"