Are there wolves in Japan?
If you don’t count the ones in the zoo and only talk about the wild ones, then there really aren’t any. Although Japan has many mountains and forests, there are really no traces of wolves in the wild.
However, about a hundred years ago, wolves still existed in Japan.
The Japanese wolf a hundred years ago, also called the Japanese wolf, was a subspecies of wolf. It was only about 1 meter in length and was the smallest among wolves.
The petite Japanese wolves like to howl together in the morning and evening. At this time, the wolf's howl resounds throughout the valley, so it is called the "Howling God" by the Japanese. In addition, because the wolf can chase and kill the deer that have trampled the fields, the Japanese people also like each other.
The wolf will be regarded as the "patron saint of crops".
However, due to a series of infectious diseases such as canine distemper; industrialization that reduced forest area and the habitat of Japanese wolves; and government-encouraged wolf extermination operations, the number of Japanese wolves gradually decreased, and finally they were completely extinct around 1907.
The Japanese wolf is a relatively representative extinct native creature, and Kanoya once saw an introduction in a book.
However, when the deer was running away just now, it seemed that he did hear a wolf howling...
If there are no wolves in the wild, what makes the sound?
In the dark mountain forest, the light of three flashlights flickered, and the beams of light pierced the darkness, but they could not give people any sense of security.
"There should be no wolves in the wild, but these people are obviously hunters. They must know this, right? But they take hunting wolves so naturally."
While Lu Yewu was thinking, he carefully looked at the three hunters in front of him.
In fact, she was aware of it from the beginning. The two men and one woman in front of her were dressed very strangely.
The old men and women among the hunters all wore wrinkled beige shirts and gray trousers. The shirts they wore looked regular, and the cuffs and collars were badly worn.
As for the middle-aged woman, she seemed to be wearing variegated sleeves and a gray hakama tied around her waist.
Patches can be seen on the clothes of the three of them.
Kanoya has never seen such a dress in real life, but it may be seen on TV. This is really too retro, too chronological.
"So they are not from the same era as me? Are they from more than a hundred years ago?"
Kanoya had more ideas in his mind.
And based on the time when wolves became extinct, we can roughly guess what era the three people in front of us should belong to.
Maybe someone from before 1907?
But that’s not always the case. After all, after the officially confirmed date of wolf extinction in Japan in 1907, there were still rumors of wolf sightings spread across Japan in the following decades.
Moreover, it is normal for people living in remote mountainous areas to have seen wolves before but later not realize that wolves are actually extinct.
But no matter what, Kanoya made a guess——
These people are definitely not from the same era as me.
They may have lived a hundred years ago, or they may have lived seventy or eighty years ago.
"So, I fell into the crack of the earthquake and was sent to the past. Does this count as time travel? However, I have seen mountains and the end of the road before, and there is a bottomless abyss..."
What he had seen before was the roads and mountains that were cut off like knives and axes, as well as the terrifying fog that could not be seen to the end. This kind of surreal scene made Kanoya feel that this was not a normal real world, but like a...
An unreal nightmare.
It shouldn't be considered traveling to the past.
The exploration just now confirmed that this place is isolated from the world and is blocked from the outside world by extraordinary power.
Without reference, who knows if this is really "before"?
Kanoya tried his best to analyze the situation in his mind, hoping to find the key to breaking the situation. At the same time, he was also wary of the three hunters in front of him.
Then, I heard the female hunter named Xi Gui suddenly shouting with joy. Regardless of whether the deer resisted or not, she stepped forward directly.
The smile on the female hunter's face became even stronger: "Is it Kanoya? No wonder you look familiar and you have grown so big? Didn't you go to Tokyo to study? Why did you suddenly come back to Matsuzawa?"
"ah?"
The barrage of questions immediately stunned Xiaolu.
Does this female hunter know me? Why does she seem to be familiar with me?
Moreover, the other party mentioned "Matsuze", which sounded like a place name, so it should be referring to this place.
From the tone of the female hunter, it seemed as if Kanoya grew up here in Matsuzawa.
"It turns out to be Luyewu. The little girl has grown so big. Then why didn't she say a word when she saw us just now?"
The old hunter Watanabe began to agree cheerfully, and he seemed to know the deer.
"Mr. Watanabe, did you shoot and scare people?"
"Oh, this is not chasing that evil wolf... I'm really sorry. Kanoya, you girl, why are you still in a daze? You won't go out to study for so long that you don't even recognize Grandpa Watanabe, right? I hugged you when I was a child.
Miles."
The three hunters all laughed while holding their guns. In the dark mountain forest, the dazzling yellow light of the flashlight trembled randomly with their hearty laughter, and the atmosphere was unusually warm and harmonious.
This harmonious atmosphere made Luyewu's pupils tremble uncontrollably.
"No...that's not right. Why did they hug me when I was a child? I don't know them at all!"
Xiaolu looked at the three completely unfamiliar faces and thought negatively in his heart.
She was certain that she had grown up on Ourijima Island in Aomori since she was a child, living with her father and Hachishaku-sama.
What about Matsuzawa? This is definitely the first time I have heard of this place name.
Why do these three hunters refer to this place as my hometown?
"If I have no problem, then the problem is with these three hunters. They have some information about me in some way? How?"
At this time, the female hunter Xi Gui spoke again: "Luyewu, it's too dangerous to stay in the woods. It's better to go back to the village first."
"Yes, come back with us. You, a little girl with delicate skin and tender flesh, will be snatched away by wolves if you wander around here." The other two hunters nodded.
"I……"
The deer originally wanted to reject these hunters.
Why go back to the village? I don't know the place at all.
Look at your own clothes and my clothes. We don’t look like we are from the same era at all. How could we be from the same hometown?
And at the end of the mountain forest, there are strange knife-cut cliffs and thick fog, which completely isolate Songze from the outside world.
Luyewu had already explored that area when she first arrived. She didn't believe that these hunters didn't know what was going on there.
Is this kind of thing more worth worrying about than hunting wolves?
The situation around the village is so weird, how do you always maintain a contented and happy state?
Moreover, Matsuzawa is cut off from the outside world. Don’t these people wonder how I got in?
Anyway, this obvious point that conflicts with the hunters’ discourse cognition seems to be selectively ignored by them.
Or maybe they are just pretending to be confused.
Kanoya really can't figure it out, the CPU is going to burn out.
In short, the people in Matsuzawa are so weird, everything is weird.
However, the double-barreled shotguns in the hands of the three hunters made Luyewu hesitant to refuse their proposal directly.
Although these three Matsuzawa people are all kind-hearted and friendly now, the old hunter Watanabe just shot at Kanoya without any explanation.
Who knows if they will suddenly fall out if they reject their proposal?
"It would be great if Master was here..."
If Kamiyagawa were here, even if he was pointed at by three shotguns, he probably wouldn't be afraid at all.
If Baoqi fails, he will directly show everyone how to chop bullets with a knife.
But Kanoya doesn't have as strong a fighting ability as her master.
"There are three of them. If there is only one, I can still try to resist..."
Xiaolu still has a relatively clear understanding of his own strength and does not overestimate his capabilities.
For the current plan, we can only compromise first and cooperate with the local people in Songze to see what kind of medicine these strange people are selling.
Then delay as much time as possible and wait for Master's rescue.
To be continued...