960 African Buffalo
Sophie had the ready-to-use remedy in her medical kit. It didn't need any processing and could be applied directly. However, Lilikas insisted on using shea butter. The time it took them to collect and process shea butter until it was ready to use was a total of two and a half hours. After dinner, the shea butter was finally ready.
Lilikas took a small brush made of hyena hair, dipped it in the lowest layer of golden oil, and carefully and evenly applied it to the affected area.
The oil did take a lot of time to extract, but it was worth it.
Its effect on the sunburnt skin was immediate and powerful. A few minutes after application, Li Du no longer felt the painful burns on his skin.
Sophie stared at the treatment dumbfounded. Half an hour later, she exclaimed, "God, your skin is all right. This is magic!"
Lu Guan looked at big Ivan and said, "We seem to have found a business opportunity."
Sophie went online to make some urgent searches. The signal was bad and the Internet was very slow.
After a long time, she finally got a tolerable signal and found the information she wanted.
Having done some reading, she looked up in wonder and said, "This is strange. Shea butter is an excellent health care product for beautifying the skin and improving appearance, but there is no evidence to prove that it has a miraculous effect in the treatment of ultraviolet ray poisoning."
The lion hunter puffed on his cigar and laughed. "Maybe. Who knows? We native shamans have always had some mystical powers."
Li Du recalled the strange mucus Lilikas had poured into the medicine. He winked at Sophie, indicating that she shouldn't ask.
It was clear this was a powerful skin remedy, not just plain shea butter. Lilikas had added herbs to the bowl, and possibly other ingredients.
Neither the lion hunters nor Lilikas had any interest in telling them the truth. Perhaps, as it was a secret of the tribe, they did not wish to give it away to outsiders.
Following the lead of Li Du, Sophie also applied some of the ointment to her skin.
Lilikas kept the ivory top layer of oil for himself, and gave the two bottom ones to Sophie, saying she could use the oil. He was obviously unwilling to give it up, but he had to hold up the pride of the lion hunter.
After lunch, they continued hunting. The camp was not put away. It would serve them for the night, and possibly for the next two days as well.
Abdo said that the area was home to herds of bison, zebras, and deer. Hearing of the big prey, the lion hunter suddenly perked up.
The large prey that Abdo referred to were fierce beasts, such as rhinos, lions, cheetahs and so on.
The ecosystem in Africa was not as healthy as before, and the massive hunting and killing had greatly reduced the numbers of large animals. Even the indigenous people who knew the area well had less chance to meet lions and cheetahs.
Abdo walked with his head bent down in a strange posture, looking like a thin bent bow. This pose did not impair his walking speed, however. He walked very fast, while Lu Guan, though a young man, crawled along with some difficulty.
The lion hunter was even more challenged. He was out of shape, having indulged himself in wine and sex all ear round.
Though it was winter and the grass had withered, its height was still considerable, and some unknown weeds were as tall as Li Du's chest. These weeds were dry yellow in the upper part and green at the bottom.
The lion hunter told Li Du that this kind of grass was called kakapo because the animals who eat it make a similar-sounding noise.
This grass was an important part of the diet of grassland animals. In spring, as long as the rain fell, they would turn green overnight.
Ten minutes later, they saw a puddle, and a group of wide-chested, thick-limbed bison around it drinking water.
Most of them were three meters long and one and a half meters high. They were covered with short brown and black hair and looked like little tanks.
It was not uncommon to find African buffalo around puddles. They were spread all over Africa and had some of the highest demand for water resources among land animals.
Li Du recalled that African buffaloes needed to drink at least once a day. Their herds were never far away from water. If one wanted to hunt buffalo, they just needed to find a water source.
However, hunting buffaloes was not easy. Despite their stupidity, buffaloes were actually among the most dangerous animals in Africa, no less so than black rhinos, hippos, and crocodiles.
According to statistics from some animal protection organizations, African buffaloes were among the animals that killed the most people in Africa, ranking among the top three.
As soon as they stepped into the area, a buffalo spotted them, mooed and limped toward them.
The lion hunter wiped the barrel of his gun easily and asked, "Would you like some beef?"
Li Du smiled and said, "I heard that African rabbits taste good. I think I'll have some for dinner."
The lion hunter shook his head. "We spent a hundred thousand dollars coming in, Li. I know you have a kind heart, but this is nature."
The buffalo moved firmly towards them. It had an injured leg, which made it all the more dangerous. Wounded buffalo were insecure and especially aggressive.
Led by the limping buffalo, the others followed and rushed angrily in the direction of Li Du and his party.
Ah Ow and the other little ones looked at each other. They were too small to face even one buffalo, let alone a herd coming towards them.
Ali was very aggressive. He rubbed his paws and glared, preparing to jump.
Li Du, reacting quickly, lifted it by its neck and picked it up. "Withdraw, guys, let's not take risks."
Once surrounded by buffalo, even a male lion would be in trouble. An enraged buffalo is terrible.
Li Du didn't want to take any chances, and he wasn't interested in killing these animals. He was not enthusiastic, and would not have been among the party at all if it hadn't been arranged by the lion hunter.
Lion hunter had the Zulu hunting nature in his bones. Seeing Li Du and his party retreat, he raised the gun quickly, aimed and pulled the trigger. A shot went off and a calf's head was dismembered.
The calf tottered two steps and fell upon the ground. The cow next to it went mad. It started at Li Du and the others with wide, bloodshot eyes. It started to run and charged at them with its head down.
Li Du scolded the lion hunter in his heart. We came on foot, so why provoke the buffalos?
After casually firing, the lion hunter turned and said decisively, "The cow is going to take her revenge. Why are you still here? Run!"
As he spoke, he ran like a maniac.
Li Du could hardly help cursing. If you knew you would anger the cow, why did you have to shoot? And why didn't you give a hint before that?
There was no time to complain, though. He ran as fast as he could.
Seeing this, Ah Meow and the others did not hesitate. They turned around and began to gallop. While they were not easily scared, the way the cow charged at them could make the little ones wet themselves with fear.