With guns in hand today, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were both thrilled. They strode forward, making quick ti.
This, however, made things miserable for Li Ruhai, who was trailing behind them.
Li Ruhai was only thirteen, his body not yet fully grown. It was one thing to run around and cause trouble in the village, but climbing mountains and trekking was bound to be grueling for him.
In truth, the boy had regretted his decision the mont he entered the mountains. For a child like him, trekking through the wilderness was not only exhausting but also terrifying.
Deeper into the mountains, Li Ruhai started to fall behind Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu. This only made him more afraid. Gazing at the towering peaks, the green pines, and the firs, Li Ruhai couldn’t help but start wailing.
"Big Brother! Big Brother... wait for !"
Up ahead, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu faintly heard soone speaking behind them, but neither could make out the words.
The three dogs running in front, however, heard it clearly, but none of them paid it any mind.
If a stranger had been following them, the three dogs would have at least stopped to watch, if not charged back.
That would have served as a warning to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu.
But they were too familiar with Li Ruhai. Seeing him trailing behind, the three dogs just assud he was part of the hunting party.
So, none of them bothered with him.
Li Ruhai called out once. When no one answered, his hair stood on end, and he couldn’t help but shout at the top of his lungs, "Big Brother! Brother Jun! Wait for !"
"Did you hear soone calling for us?" Zhao Jun stopped, grabbing Li Baoyu’s arm. He had vaguely heard the "Jun" part of his na.
"Huh?" Li Baoyu paused, then cocked his ear to listen. But now there was only silence. He shook his head and said, "Brother, you must have misheard. I didn’t hear anything."
Hearing this, Zhao Jun figured it was just the wind echoing through the mountains and that he’d been mistaken. He said no more and continued on with Li Baoyu.
But just then, a cold wind gusted past, carrying a voice with it.
"Li Baoyu! Zhao Jun! Li Baoyu, Zhao Jun..."
This ti, they heard it clearly. There was no mistake!
Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu exchanged a look. As they listened more carefully, they both suddenly flinched.
"That sounds like Li Ruhai!" Zhao Jun said in disbelief.
"It *is* that little fucker!" Li Baoyu spun around and sprinted back the way they ca, cursing as he ran. "You little bastard, just you wait! I’m gonna beat you to death!"
Zhao Jun shook his head helplessly and took off after Li Baoyu in the next instant.
By the ti Zhao Jun caught up, Li Baoyu had Li Ruhai pinned down and was whaling on him. Zhao Jun rushed forward and pulled Li Baoyu off.
"Brother, don’t stop ! Let’s see if I don’t beat him to death!" Li Baoyu was still seething, shouting that he wanted to keep hitting Li Ruhai.
"Alright, that’s enough," Zhao Jun said, quickly pushing Li Baoyu aside. At the sa ti, he also gave Li Ruhai a kick.
’This kid is so infuriating,’ Zhao Jun thought. ’If we weren’t on this mountain, I wouldn’t have interfered. I’d have just let Li Baoyu beat him to death.’
But they were on the mountain. Li Baoyu, in his fit of rage, wasn’t holding back. If he seriously injured Li Ruhai, wouldn’t they have to carry him back down?
Zhao Jun’s kick sent Li Ruhai sprawling into the snow. Just as he was trying to get back up, a series of barks erupted from the southern slope.
"Baoyu!" Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu, "You watch him here. I’ll go!"
"Okay. Brother, be careful," Li Baoyu replied. He then turned, ran over, and hauled Li Ruhai to his feet.
Li Baoyu still wasn’t satisfied. He grabbed Li Ruhai’s padded cotton jacket, shoved him forward, then yanked him back, making Li Ruhai stagger back and forth.
"Get over there!" Li Baoyu shoved Li Ruhai in front of a large oak tree, then positioned himself to shield him.
He was his little brother, after all. No matter how angry he got, Li Baoyu was still worried about Li Ruhai’s safety, terrified that sothing might happen to him.
Zhao Jun was just about to climb up Gangjiansi ridge when the sound of a pig’s squeal echoed down. Imdiately after, a huge wild boar ca stumbling down the slope.
Zhao Jun raised his gun to shoot, but a green shadow flashed by, and he quickly jerked the muzzle aside.
It was Daqing, running neck and neck with the wild boar. He was about to overtake it and cut it off.
"Good dog!" Zhao Jun exclaid in admiration. He raised his gun again, but just as he was about to find an opportunity to shoot, he saw Li Baoyu’s Da Huang on the other side of the boar.
If he fired this shot, it would skewer them both. Zhao Jun quickly shifted his aim again.
As he tried to find another chance to shoot, he suddenly rembered sothing.
Zhao Jun lowered his gun and started running downhill, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Baoyu, the boar is headed your way! Get Ruhai up a tree, quick!"
Not far away, Li Baoyu heard him and quickly said to Li Ruhai, "Quick, get up the tree!"
This was why Li Baoyu had pushed Li Ruhai in front of the tree. If you encounter a Black Bear, climbing a tree is useless.
But against a wild boar, climbing a tree could save your life.
Li Ruhai hugged the tree and scrambled up. He climbed to a fork in the branches and settled himself there securely, straddling it.
At that mont, the boy had completely forgotten about the beating he’d just received. All his previous fear had vanished into thin air.
Sitting in the tree, he watched as a huge wild boar wobbled its way down the slope. The three hounds followed close behind, constantly lunging at the boar to tear at its flesh.
Li Ruhai shouted down from the tree, "Big Brother, the boar’s back leg is broken!"
"That explains it!" Li Baoyu was under the tree and didn’t have as good a view as Li Ruhai, but he had already noticed sothing was wrong with the boar.
This boar had to be over four hundred pounds. A beast of this size had to be a male—what they called "cannon eggs."
A boar like this, if uninjured, would never be in such a sorry state while being surrounded by three dogs.
Just then, Zhao Jun also saw that sothing was wrong with the boar. He didn’t need to look closely; his experience alone told him its back leg was broken.
With a broken back leg, the boar naturally couldn’t put much force into its movents. To go uphill, it would need to push off with its hind legs.
Going downhill, however, relied mainly on the front legs.
Zhao Jun kept his gun raised, aiming at the boar. But with its movents impaired, it was easily cornered by the dogs.
The three dogs relentlessly attacked the boar from front and back. Their morale seed sky-high, but there was a drawback: the bodies of the dogs and the boar frequently overlapped.
This ant that if Zhao Jun fired, he could easily hit one of the dogs.
This was why Zhao Jun had aid several tis but hadn’t dared to pull the trigger.
At this point, he couldn’t help but worry that the boar might charge down the slope and injure Li Ruhai.
Resigned, Zhao Jun lowered his gun again and looked up toward Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai. When he saw Li Ruhai perched safely in the tree, he finally relaxed.
Now, when Zhao Jun turned his gaze back to the battlefield of boar and dogs, his mindset was completely different.
Although he didn’t know how the boar’s leg had been lad, its appearance today was truly a godsend for him.
It wasn’t that Zhao Jun was desperate for the pork, but rather that Daqing couldn’t afford another failed hunt.
Before this, the last two hunts Daqing had participated in had both ended in failure. If today’s battle also went wrong, Daqing wouldn’t be completely ruined, but he’d be close.
If, before heading into the mountains, a gun-toting Zhao Jun had been seventy percent confident he could bag so ga today...
...then encountering this broken-legged boar now gave him one hundred percent confidence.
Suddenly, the boar let out a HOWL. It violently heaved its hindquarters and rump into the air. When it landed, because of its broken leg, it stumbled and fell, sitting lopsidedly in the snow.
As the boar sat down, Hua Gou, who had just been attacking its rear, nimbly leaped to the side. Just then, Yellow Dog and Qing Gou lunged from the left and right.
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