Li Du and Sophie could only keep calling. They did not dare to shout too loudly because
they were afraid they would make the hippopotamus angry.
However, Ali’s actions have attracted so much attention that several soldiers, armed
with guns, turned to watch the scene.
Naturally, people cheered and talked. Their voices drowned out the alarmed calls of Li
Du and Sophie, which Ali did not hear for a moment anyway.
A lot of people took out cameras to take photos, and some took videos with their mobile
phone, watching happily:
“Haha, this baby kangaroo is really bold, is it provoking the hippopotamus?”
“I think this is boxing. Look at its steps, look at its fists, man. This is the real thing.”
“But he’s no match for a hippopotamus. Take a gamble. How long will it take for it to be
killed?”
Li Du could not help shouting, “Ali, come back, damn it!”
At this, some of the yellow-skinned men looked at him and smiled. “Hey, brother.
Chinese?”
How would Li Du be in the mood to chat? He stared at Ali and shouted, “Come back
quickly! Damn it, come back quick!”
Finally, Ali heard his voice. It turned its big eyes to Li Du and blinked, then closed its fist
and jumped back.
Li Du reached for the little kangaroo. Ali knew that it would be doomed if Li Du caught it.
It jumped lightly and nimbly to avoid his arms, and ran to hide behind Sophie’s, poking
its head out and to look at Li Du.
People all around burst out laughing:
“Oh, this kangaroo is really clever.”
“How lovely, my dear. I want a kangaroo, too!”
“You couldn’t even keep a tortoise alive, let alone a kangaroo!”
If Ali thought Sophie would protect it, it was obviously wrong. Sophie crouched down,
grabbed it and pressed it to her knee. She then proceeded to spank it.
Li Du gallantly handed her a shoe. Sophie took it with a straight face and spanked Ali
again.
Ali’s eyes were full of tears at this punishment. It squeaked and begged for mercy, but
Sophie was unmoved. “Go on, make more noise! You are crying now, huh? When will
you behave?”
Luckily, the creature Ali provoked was a hippo with thick skin and rough flesh. If it had
been a lion, Li Du and the others could have arranged for its funeral.
Sophie had to make it know its capabilities. Since Ali since started boxing, it grew bold
and did not seem to realize there were creatures greater and stronger than itself. It
would hit anyone that happened to stand in its way.
Several of the Chinese people in the crowd went to Li Du. Following Chinese social
customs, someone handed him a cigarette and asked, “Dude, where are you from?”
Li Du rejected the cigarette and introduced himself briefly.
There were five people on the other side, all working on infrastructure projects in South
Africa. The local project leader invited them to participate in a hunt.
Both parties talked briefly and left contact information for each other. After all, the
hunting area was vast and there were wild animals and foreigners around. It felt more
comfortable to have the contact information of compatriots.
The lion hunters quickly settled on tickets, or hunting permits, which come in a variety of
prices from $500 to $8,000.
With different specifications, they could kill different species of animals. The lion hunter
purchased the top range of the hunting license, $8,000 each so that they could kill any
animal they wanted. It was a special pass for wealthy people.
Li Du resisted this kind of thing from his heart. Having grown attached to his pets, he
couldn’t kill wild animals. However, the lion hunter was so enthusiastic that his protests
were uttered without success, and Li Du had to join the party.
In fact, he knew what the lion hunter had in mind. He didn’t care whether Li Du enjoyed
hunting or not. He just wanted to show his passion. He also might have thought that if Li
Du owed him some favors, it would benefit him in his business.
After the meeting, the lion hunter wiped his rifle and asked, “Do you know those guys?
They work in gold, don’t they?”
Li Du frowned and said, “Gold? You mean they’re mining for gold in South Africa? I
don’t know, but we’re compatriots, so we had a chat.”
The lion hunter nodded and said, “I was not mistaken. They are definitely gold miners.
Since you don’t know them, you’d better not get too close to them. There might be a lot
of people aiming at them like they are aiming at us.”
Sophie had no choice but to say, “Is the security in South Africa that bad?”
The lion hunter said helplessly, “What can be done? Everybody wants to get something
for free.”
With tents, petrol, water, food, weapons, and ammunition checked, the convoy moved
into the hunting area.
Instead of sleeping in his seat, as he had done before, Mr. Abdo stood on the pedals,
reached for the door, and looked around.
After more than 10 minutes of driving, Mr. Abdo reached out and knocked on the
window. The bodyguard slammed on the brakes. Then he jumped off the car and looked
at the surroundings.
Li Du also got out to look. There, on the green grass, was an unrecognizable dry lump,
like cow dung but thinner, spread out over a large area.
Abdo looked at it for a moment, sniffed it, then got up and walked on.
Li Du followed along and asked curiously, “What animal did you find?”
Abdu did not speak but turned his head to explore the area.
Remembering that the guide did not speak English, Li Du shrugged his shoulders and
did not bother to ask more questions.
Hunting was technical work, more than randomly driving around and hoping to hit a
lucky spot. While Abdo searched the ground, Li Du followed him in the sun. It was close
to noon, the weather was very hot, and soon he could not bear it.
Sadly, he didn’t realize how horrible the sun was on the South African savannah and
didn’t get back in the car until he felt his skin burning and sore.
However, by then it was too late. He still felt uncomfortable even though he was
sheltered from the sun in the car, and when he was ready to eat lunch, he couldn’t bear
it anymore. He took off his shirt and, twisting around, saw that the back of his neck,
back and waist have turned purple in many places.
Sophie helped him check the condition of his skin, and gasped, “So much ultraviolet ray
poisoning? God, this needs treatment!”
Li Du touched a painful spot, and it felt like he was burned by fire. He clenched his teeth
and said, “Ultraviolet ray poisoning? Is it dangerous?”
Sophie said, “It’s not a big deal, but it needs to be treated quickly.”
When the lion hunter and the others came over, they saw the condition of Li Du’s skin
without any change of expression. It was obviously no big deal for them.
Seeing Sophie take out her medical kit, Lilikas shook his head and waved his hand.
“No, no, use Woman’s Gold to cure it.”
Sophie asked, “What do you mean? My fiancé has a sunburn and I need to deal with it.”
Lilikas continued shaking his head. “Don’t deal with it. I’ll do it. Woman’s Gold, the best.”
