There were no gongs and drums, no colorful flags fluttering, and no leaders speaking, seven teams, more than 70 people carrying heavy bags, under the gaze of many villagers, plunged into the vast forest.

Because of the experience of the last cooperation, Liu Rui and Yu Shanwei and others cooperated very tacitly, and they had already allocated all kinds of materials to individuals when they were stationed, and everyone's responsibilities were quite clear. Just when the other expedition teams were still hesitating and discussing their strategies after entering the mountain, they had already packed their bags and entered Xiaoqingshan in an orderly manner.

Naturally, there is nothing to say about the periphery of Xiaoqingshan, and everyone is walking along the mountain road carved out by the mountain people, enjoying the natural scenery while enjoying the last leisurely time. Unlike the last time when the goal was clear, this time I went into the mountain to find out the living conditions of various rare species in Xiaoqingshan. So instead of taking shortcuts, the team conducted a carpet search in different directions.

There are already signs of human activity in a considerable part of the periphery of Xiaoqingshan, and it is relatively simple to carry out scientific research activities here, so the research institute decided to leave the periphery at the end and investigate slowly, and the main task of the investigation team is to find out the situation in the uninhabited area deep in Xiaoqingshan.

The sun was still scorching in Xiaoqingshan at the beginning of October, and Liu Rui, who was walking on the edge of the river valley, covered his forehead with his hands, looked at the golden crow in the sky, wiped a handful of sweat, and continued to keep up with the team.

Now the team has left the area where the mountain people are cultivating and has begun to enter the interior of Xiaoqingshan. This winding and rugged trail along the river valley is the traces left by the former mountain people collecting medicine and hunting. It's just that after a long time, the trail has been covered with dense vines and weeds, and every step the expedition team has to pay a great price.

Just like last time, the members of the inspection team still took turns to open the way, and when they were tired, they were replaced by the people behind them, and everyone worked together to move forward together.

Looking at the past, in addition to the dazzling green, there are also colorful flowers that stimulate people's eyes. However, after everyone entered the mountains and forests for half a day, they were already tired of seeing these scenes, and they seemed a little numb, and they were all hurrying silently.

The sound of woodpeckers could be heard deep in the woods on the side of the road, which made the silent valley even more lonely.

On the slopes on both sides of the valley are various economic forests planted by forest farms decades ago, but with the closure of the mountains for afforestation, the area has gradually been mothballed. Pine and fir trees tens of meters high rise to the sky, like tall guards, guarding this green mountain and green water.

In the woods, a large number of vines, shrubs and weeds are attached to the thick rotting leaves, absorbing the little sunlight that shines through the cracks in the trees, desperately expanding their territory. Squirrels, hares, pheasants and all kinds of birds often appear, but they are not afraid of Liu Rui, who suddenly intrudes into the uninvited guests, and quietly watch them.

However, these common wild animals are not rare animals in the eyes of the expedition team, and the most they can do is to pick up their cameras and take a picture to prove the existence of these species in the Xiaoqing Mountains. However, just as the team was moving forward in an orderly manner, Liu Rui unexpectedly found several very special birds in the clearing next to the bushes.

The birds are said to be chickens and look smaller, and they are said to be very large, especially with a long tail, which is very peculiar. Their wings and bodies are metallic emerald green feathers that glisten in the sun, except for their bright silver belly and black and white stripes on their tails.

A big bird with a few chicks was running lightly among the bushes, with a beautiful posture, which immediately attracted Liu Rui's eyeballs.

"Senior Brother Meng, look at what it is?" Liu Rui was afraid that the loud shout would alarm the birds, so he reached out and pulled Meng Nan, who was walking in front of him.

Meng Nan is as his name suggests, tall and big, but like his mentor Han Zhengbao, he is an important laborer in the investigation team, carrying a large number of burdens.

"What's the matter?" Meng Nan's hometown is Linyi, Shandong, and as soon as he opens his mouth, he has a Shandong flavor, but Liu Rui has become accustomed to it after listening to it for a long time.

Liu Rui didn't speak, and pointed to the direction where the birds were in the woods.

Looking at Liu Rui's action, he has been messing with Liu Rui for a long time, where does Meng Nan still not know what Liu Rui means? Hurriedly looked in the direction of Liu Rui's finger, and the birds that caught his eye suddenly widened his eyes a lot.

Like Liu Rui waving his hand, Meng Nan took out his camera, lowered his head and bent over towards the bushes, ready to take pictures of the white-bellied golden pheasants.

As a graduate student of terrestrial animals, how could Meng Nan not know that these birds in front of him were the famous white-bellied golden pheasants? Like the red-bellied pheasant, as the most beautiful and well-known ornamental pheasant in the world, it has always been the object of researchers' willingness to come into contact with it.

However, with the deterioration of the environment and the rampant hunting activities of human beings over the years, the number of white-bellied golden pheasants has declined rapidly, and it is rare to see them in the wild. I didn't expect that this time I could see the traces of the white-bellied golden pheasant in this forest on the afternoon of the first day of entering the mountain, and this small green mountain is really a huge treasure house.

Meng Nan was squatting there to take pictures of those birds, Liu Rui didn't know that those beautiful birds were rare animals, he hurriedly took two steps and caught up with Han Zhengbao in front of the team.

Looking back at Liu Rui's mysterious look, and seeing his students taking pictures, Han Zhengbao suddenly came to his senses, after entering the mountain today, although he had arrived at the inaccessible forest, it was just because this was still an artificial forest, and all he met were some common small animals, which made Han Zhengbao feel depressed.

Now that I finally found something strange, how can I not get Han Zhengbao excited?

The movement of a few people at the back of the team finally reached the front of the team, and everyone looked back at the sneaky appearance of Liu Rui and the others, and immediately understood what was going on.

Yu Shanwei and the others stopped and waited for Han Zhengbao and the others to observe the species that appeared before continuing to set off. This time I went into the mountain to learn as much as possible about the rare species that live in the Xiaoqingshan area, and after encountering them, we had to make corresponding observations and records, so everyone did not rush to the road.

When he came to Meng Nan's side, Han Zhengbao found that it was a female surnamed white-bellied golden pheasant with six chicks foraging in the bushes. The white-bellied pheasant is light and beautiful, making it a rare ornamental bird. They are adept at running through the bushes, but they are poor at flying, often running and hiding to avoid enemies, and only fly up trees or down hillsides in times of crisis.

Now the area is only the outer plantation of Xiaoqingshan, and you can see the population of white-bellied golden pheasant, and it is conceivable that there will definitely be more populations in the depths of Xiaoqingshan.

After recording the number of white-bellied golden pheasants and taking some photos, Han Zhengbao and Meng Nan both stood up and motioned to Yu Shanwei to move on.

"Old Han, what is it?" Yu Shanwei, who was walking in front of the team, saw Han Zhengbao's gesture and asked.

Liu Rui noticed that as soon as Yu Shanwei's voice sounded, the chicks were led by the hen into the bushes and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"A few white-bellied golden pheasants, it seems that our harvest on this trip will not be too small." Raising the notebook in his hand towards Yu Shanwei, Han Zhengbao said with a smile.

"Hehe, in the forest, it's all your old Han's territory, and we're pitiful." Seeing Han Zhengbao's proud appearance, Yu Shanwei couldn't help but smile.

"I don't know, when I get to Fairy Lake, I'm afraid there will be a discovery that will shock the world." Han Zhengbao put away the record book and said.

According to the last rough estimate and what we have learned from the mountain people, Fairy Lake is an ancient lake formed by the Tertiary orogeny, and it may be that many rare aquatic animals may live in it. Last time, that ancient sturgeon was already a good discovery, if you can find more rare species, the application for Xiaoqingshan National Nature Reserve will not be able to run away.

The appearance of the white-bellied golden pheasant is just a small episode on the journey, after all, for such an investigation team, although several national second-class protected animals are a little unusual, but they are not so bad as to make them lose their temper.

The deeper we walked along this half-abandoned road, the deeper we went into the forest, the more the team's eyes became a little overwhelmed.

To Han Zhengbao's surprise, as the evening approached, more and more animals appeared in the glades between the trees, colorful pheasants could be seen everywhere, and even the team encountered six or seven groups of white-bellied pheasants. The number of white-bellied golden pheasants far exceeded Han Zhengbao's estimate, and it seems that the number of white-bellied golden pheasants in this mountain forest is really quite a lot.

In addition to beautiful birds such as white-bellied pheasants, small birds such as grouse, partridges, and quails are also common, which makes Han Zhengbao feel that the ecology of this mountain forest is well preserved.

Even, when passing by a stream, the expedition team saw a group of yellow monkeys drinking water by the stream from a distance. Sensing someone approaching, they jumped into the bushes and disappeared into the dark woods. The light movements, light yellow fur and small pointed ears all made the members of the expedition team feel a mountain and forest aura rushing to their faces.

However, because their movements are so fast, everyone can only take a few back pictures with the camera, which is a pity.

For the appearance of Huang Ru, Han Zhengbao is the most happy.

As a terrestrial zoologist, Han Zhengbao knows that herbivores like the yellow monkey are a key factor in the forest ecosystem, and that having them means that wolves and big cats have enough food and a chance to survive.

The last time I went into the mountain, because the time was very short and the trip was too hurried, the investigation team did not meet the jackals, tigers and leopards that the old hunters said, but as the investigation continued, Han Zhengbao became more and more convinced in his heart that there would definitely be a large number of carnivores in the Xiaoqingshan Mountains where the ecology is so intact.

However, when will the expedition team meet?

(To be continued)