Chapter 535: Disordered Hooves Amidst the Autumn Rustle
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As the horse galloped, the feline cried out pitifully. Such a scene had attracted the attention of many tourists.
Li Du was furious. "Quick, stop your d*mn crying! Cry anymore and I'll throw you off!"
Ah Meow thought, Quick, quick, quick! Throw, throw, throw!
The Quarter Horse was stable even when galloping, but Li Du was a little nervous. He issued arbitrary commands, and so the Quarter Horse galloped along in confusion which made Li Du even more disoriented. And so he continued with his confusing commands.
The one in the most misery was Ah Meow, whose bottom had been jolted into pieces. It was as though he were dancing with his four claws and tail—he had to get into all sorts of positions to keep from falling off.
Crispy Noodles and Ah Ow looked at him sympathetically: What the f*ck, this cat's too unfortunate. But he's dancing quite well, and hasn't fallen off.
Li Du cursed the tour guide who had recommended they take the tour on horseback. Along the way, they passed by a few scenic spots but he hadn't managed to enjoy the view as he was concentrating on grasping the bridle rein.
There were various forests with petrified wood of different densities in this national park. According to their colors and materials, these forests had different names: the "Black Forest," the "Crystal Forest," and the "Rainbow Forest."
The security officer rode on an electric motorcycle, which was not noisy. He was a nice chap, and even took on the responsibility of a tour guide to show Li Du and Sophie around:
"Most of the trees in this park are coniferous trees like Araucaria. They grew during the Triassic Period about 225 million years ago...
"Do you know about the Triassic? At that time, the dinosaurs had just emerged. The Earth's continental crust was still clustered together. The continent was called Pangaea..."
The security officer's voice was booming, but Li Du didn't hear him well. His attention was all on the horse's bridle—why would he be in the mood to listen to him?
However, he noticed the changes in the surrounding landscape. The park was an erosional landscape consisting of red, pink, yellow, blue-gray, purple, brown, and black sand dunes, of course, coupled with the surrounding wilderness.
As the sun's rays shined on the rocks, a variety of colors was emitted—the brilliance was exceptional.
In addition to these rocks, there were many pieces of the iconic petrified trunks. They could be seen scattered all around the 200 million-year-old desert.
This spectacle was actually the result of a disaster. Initially, a major flood had caused all the trees to be uprooted and washed from the surrounding highlands. Then the volcano erupted, and the magma sprayed out, burying these trees with volcanic ash.
Afterwards, the floods had continued and the water permeated the wood, taking away the rotten organic matter, with multi-colored silica taking its place.
In addition to the gigantic petrified coniferous trees and other plant fossils, some animal fossils, such as those of giant salamanders, phytosaurs, Placerias, and others, could also be seen.
The tour guide they had met earlier was right: the best way to appreciate and experience the Petrified Forest was on horseback. However, the prerequisite was that one needed to be able to ride a horse. For someone like Li Du, walking might have been a better option.
There were many well-maintained walking trails in the park. Their distances ranged from less than one mile to nearly five miles. Many visitors walked leisurely along them. They had been divided into sections with descriptions provided along the way.
However, after Li Du appeared on horseback, they could no longer stroll as leisurely and had to hurry to the side of the trail to escape him.
Along the way, Li Du suffered many scornful looks thrown at him.
Their destination was south of the park, where there was the largest concentration of petrified trees in the world.
In addition, surrounding the intact petrified trunks were many fragmented pieces of petrified wood and broken rocks. They gleamed in the bright sunlight.
The hunters who provoked them had already reached there by car. The security guard stopped behind them, and waved at the two of them to indicate that they had arrived at their destination.
Sophie pulled the rein gracefully, and, using her soles, rhythmically tapped the horse's sides. The Quarter House got her signal and came to a gradual stop.
On the other hand, Li Du only knew how to use all his might to tug on the horse. The Quarter Horse felt the pain and came to an abrupt stop; she stood upright with her forelegs in a kicking motion while her hind legs remained on the ground.
To avoid falling off, Ah Meow ran up the horse's neck speedily, all the way until he had reached the horse's head.
Similarly, Li Du, who was no longer concerned with keeping up appearances, hugged the horse's neck tightly to also avoid being flung off…
Sophie tried to conceal her laughter amidst Ah Meow's snarling—it was a chaotic scene.
In the distance, the hunters had just gotten busy after alighting from their car. They guffawed loudly when they saw this. One of them shouted, "Hey babe, you finally decided to leave and come along with us?"
"I hope they get crushed by rocks," Sophie said in a huff, "and I'll give them on-site first aid treatment. I bet that, after my first aid, they wouldn't dare insult another woman in this lifetime!"
The security officer was a nice guy and comforted her, "Don't you bother with these b*st*rds. They're brainless fools whose filthy mouths will get them into trouble sooner or later."
Li Du and Sophie dismounted and unpacked their tools to start work.
The security officer said, "If you're tired of working, you can go northwards. That part of the park is the Painted Desert. There are lovely plateaus and buttes there. They have interesting colors and patterns."
Li Du thanked him. Suddenly Ah Meow, who had landed on the ground, ran forward. His slender body was powerfully retracted as he sped up like an arrow released from a bow.
Before the crowd could respond, Ah Meow had disappeared. After a while, he reappeared, holding with a fat prairie dog in his mouth.
Li Du got a fright and asked, "Is this one of the protected animals in the park?"
"No," the security officer replied. "This is a white-tailed prairie dog. They chomp on the fossils to sharpen their teeth. From this perspective, they're actually harmful animals to the park."
Li Du was reassured after hearing his words. If this were a protected animal, Ah Meow would have gotten into trouble.
The security officer told them that the park covered a large area, and had a complex terrain with barren deserts, grasslands, and sand dunes. There was also fauna such as antelopes, golden eagles, western meadowlarks, roadrunners and white-tailed prairie dogs.
Before leaving, he said, "You'd better watch your pet. Try not to let it wander about on its own. There're golden eagles in the air, and there are coyotes on land—they are not to be messed with."
Li Du beckoned to Ah Meow, who was playing with the dead prairie dog, and he ran back swinging his tail.
A few of the gem hunters walked over. One of them had taken his shirt off to reveal his muscular body—to display his prowess to Li Du, as well as to seduce Sophie.
Seeing that Sophie had taken more than a glance, the man filled with pride. He bent his arm to make his muscles more defined. "Hey babe, do you like my muscles?"
"The body fat percentage is too low," Sophie said coldly. "Should there be any external injury, it could easily result in a tear in the rotator cuff and destroy the muscle fibers. I had a patient like you once. He was hit by a car, and because there was no fat to protect him, the radioulnar in his arm broke into three. I had to cut his brachioradialis in order to operate on him,"
Her tone was cold, and her gaze was even icier. The man she was glaring at couldn't help but shudder. "This chick must be nuts!" he yelled.
Li Du took the hammer he had just bought out from his bag and tapped it gently against his palm. "Everyone, what're you doing on my site?"
One of the men asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm reporting to you," Li Du answered.
The man looked confused. "What? Why are you reporting to me?"
"So since you know that I don't need to report to you," Li Du said, "then why are you asking me questions? Are you asking for trouble?"