The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

A dog’s bark meant they had found prey!

The four dogs had just been stuffed to the gills by Li Baoyu. With their bellies full, it would be an overstatement to say they could now bring even seventy percent of their full strength to a fight.

Huang Gui was anxious, but Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were even more so.

The six of them—four armed with guns, two bare-handed—ran forward together.

But after running for five or six minutes, by which point everyone was drenched in sweat, they heard Zhao Jun shout, "Wait, stop running!"

The group stopped and turned to look at Zhao Jun. "Brother, why’d we stop running?" Li Baoyu asked impatiently.

One hand on his gun and the other on his hip, Zhao Jun gasped for breath. "It’s not the big loner," he said.

As soon as Zhao Jun spoke, Wei Lai, Huang Gui, and Jiang Ming all understood. They had been too hasty. The moment they heard the dogs start barking, they had charged ahead recklessly.

The fact that they could still hear the dogs barking after running for so long proved that whatever the dogs had found, it definitely wasn’t the big loner.

If it had been that particular boar, the four dogs would never have lasted this long.

The barking grew more intense, but the men were no longer in a rush. They stood and caught their breath, letting the sweat cool on their skin before starting forward again at a leisurely pace.

Only when the barks seemed to come from a single, fixed location did the men quicken their pace.

When they arrived, they saw the four dogs had cornered a sow in a patch of woods.

The woods were just as Zhao Jun had described: a clear-cut area where new shoots had sprouted from the old stumps.

These weren’t just single shoots, either; they grew in dense, packed thickets all around the stumps.

After a year or two of growth, the thickest shoots were still thinner than a man’s wrist, while the thinnest were no thicker than a finger.

For a hunting dog in this kind of undergrowth, it didn’t matter if the shoots were thick or thin—they couldn’t get through.

If a dog ran into the shoots, it would be thrown back. If a boar attacked at that moment, there would be no way to dodge.

But for a wild boar, this kind of forest was nothing. It could just bulldoze its way through.

Even though this sow only weighed around two hundred pounds, it could move through these woods completely unimpeded.

Luckily, it was a sow, so it had no tusks.

Another stroke of luck was Hua Xiao’Er.

Lin Xiangshun had first brought Hua Xiao’Er into the mountains at just seven months old. The dog was now a full six years of age.

Just as Huang Gui had said, Hua Xiao’Er was getting a little old.

But with age comes experience, and the clever dog knew exactly how to coordinate with his packmates.

During the struggle with the sow, he never attacked recklessly. Instead, he just circled it, waiting.

But whenever the sow charged another dog that couldn’t escape in time, Hua Xiao’Er would strike from behind, sinking his teeth into the boar’s hindquarters.

And just as Huang Gui had also mentioned, Hua Xiao’Er had a vicious bite. A single snap from him, and the sow would be forced to stop and turn around.

By the time the sow turned, Hua Xiao’Er was already long gone. The other three dogs would then renew their assault. And when one of them was in peril again, Hua Xiao’Er would strike at the boar’s rear once more.

Zhao Jun and the others had a clear view from the edge of the woods. "They all say that Huabiao, the one trained by Lin Xiangshun, is incredible," Jiang Ming remarked. "Today, I’ve seen it with my own eyes."

Huang Gui added, "It’s just like our young friend said. The slopes on this mountain are too gentle. If it was all steep inclines, with a dog like Hua Gou, that big loner wouldn’t have gotten more than a few dens away before being brought to bay."

"Brother," Li Baoyu said, his eyes gleaming. He turned to Zhao Jun. "Should I fix my bayonet and go stab it?"

"Hold off," Zhao Jun said, stopping Li Baoyu. "It’s an old sow. This is a perfect chance to let our four dogs get a good workout with her in these woods."

At this, Zhao Jun hefted the gun in his hand and grinned at Li Baoyu. "Even if you wanted to use a blade, you wouldn’t need to fix a bayonet. I’ve got this."

Li Baoyu smiled and nodded. He knew Zhao Jun had a point. Among the dogs, only White Dragon was in fighting shape; the other three had been out of action for a long time due to injuries.

Taking down that three-hundred-plus-pound "cannon egg" before had been a complete stroke of luck.

The dogs had flushed that "cannon egg" before it had even gotten out of its den. Then, by a stroke of pure chance, the boar lost its footing. The fight was over before it had even begun.

Otherwise, it would have been nowhere near that easy for four dogs to corner a "cannon egg" weighing over three hundred pounds.

The sow dodged and weaved through the woods, but no matter which way it ran, the dogs were there to surround, chase, and intercept it. Every time it tried to attack one of them, Hua Xiao’Er would bite it from behind.

A boar’s hide is tough, but not everywhere. The flesh on its rump might be thick, but it’s not made for being bitten.

Every one of Hua Xiao’Er’s attacks left the sow squealing in agony.

Gradually, the sow’s fury mounted. It lowered its head and charged straight for Daqing. Daqing saw it coming and turned to flee, but was blocked by the thicket of shoots after only a few steps. When Daqing turned back, the sow was already upon it.

Daqing tried to smash through the shoots, but they were a dense, tangled web. There was no getting through.

Just as Daqing fell into danger, Hua Xiao’Er attacked from behind the sow, tilted his head, and sank his teeth into the boar’s rear. As the sow ran forward, Hua Xiao’Er pulled back. With a bloodcurdling squeal from the boar, it looked as if a small new tail had sprouted from its backside.

He’d pulled out the end of its intestine!

The sow spun around violently. Hua Xiao’Er instantly released his grip and dodged away. The boar gave chase for a few steps before White Dragon attacked from the side, latching onto its ear.

Of the four hounds, Hua Xiao’Er had the most vicious bite, followed by White Dragon, and then Da Huang.

Daqing, on the other hand, had the weakest bite. In a hunt, he relied on his sheer size and strength.

White Dragon clamped down hard on the sow’s left ear, but the boar was consumed with hatred for Hua Xiao’Er. It actually started to run, dragging White Dragon along with it.