The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

The boar’s back was to Zhao Jun, so it couldn’t see the deadly blade closing in step by step. It was still busy tearing at Daqing and White Dragon.

At this point, it completely ignored Da Huang, who was clamped onto its front leg.

And behind it, Hua Xiao’Er was biting at empty air.

Zhao Jun came up close. Just as Daqing and White Dragon forced the boar’s head down, he plunged his knife into the back of its neck.

The blade went in and came out, and a jet of blood sprayed forth.

The boar suddenly bucked, dragging Daqing and White Dragon up with it as its front half reared straight up.

A desperate, dying struggle!

Zhao Jun stomped on the boar’s hindquarters and plunged his knife straight into its armpit.

In and out went the blade, followed by another spray of blood.

With two wounds on its body, the channels in the blade caused it to bleed profusely and without stopping.

The boar gradually weakened. When Daqing and White Dragon once again pinned its head in the snow, all it could do was slowly shake its head in a final struggle.

But this struggle grew weaker and weaker, until it was only opening and closing its mouth.

Just then, Wei Lai and Huang Gui hurried over. By the time they arrived, the boar was already lifeless.

The two of them helped Zhao Jun flip the boar onto its back. Wei Lai took out his Invasion Blade to gut it.

The Invasion Blade pierced the boar’s throat and sliced downward. When it reached a scar that circled the animal’s body, the blade suddenly stopped.

Wei Lai applied more force, but the Invasion Blade was still blocked.

Seeing this, Huang Gui quickly said, "Brother, see if there’s a steel wire snare in there."

"Huh?" Wei Lai realized what was happening. As he withdrew his knife, he flicked the tip and saw that, deep within the scar, there really was a Steel Wire Rope as thick as a finger wrapped around the boar’s body.

This Steel Wire Rope must have been on the boar for several years. It had cut into the flesh and even become embedded in it.

And it was deep.

This boar must have been caught in a snare before, but it had snapped the Steel Wire Rope.

But the snare’s loop had remained on its body. As it grew larger, the Steel Wire Rope cut into its flesh.

The presence of this Steel Wire Rope must have caused the boar constant pain. It gradually adapted, no longer packing on fat with abandon until the wound healed over, encasing the rope.

But the snare’s existence would still have caused it discomfort.

That might be why it kept attacking people.

Looking closer at its body, there were old gunshot wounds and many other scars. A single glance told you it had definitely been cornered by hunters and their hounds before.

Wei Lai worked around the Steel Wire Rope and gutted the boar, then asked Zhao Jun, "Brother Zhao Jun, tell us how to feed the dogs."

After this battle, Wei Lai and the others all looked at Zhao Jun in a new light.

Zhao Jun said, "Give the heart to the lead dog. Split the liver among the other three. We don’t want the intestines, stomach, or lungs. Shave some good meat off the belly to feed them."

A Big Cannon Egg of over seven hundred jin, its stench was overwhelming. No matter what you stewed it with, you couldn’t cover up the smell. Besides, the meat on most of its body was tough and stringy, completely impossible to chew.

That’s why Zhao Jun didn’t want this boar at all. He figured he might as well just divide it up among the people of Yongsheng Village.

But before that, they had to remove the head and take it back to Qi Shengli to claim the reward money.

Wei Lai handled the knife again. After he had cut enough meat for the four dogs, he removed the boar’s head.

The massive head had to be nearly sixty jin. Wei Lai took out a burlap sack and stuffed the head inside.

Just as the four dogs were about to finish eating, Li Baoyu and Zhou Jianjun came running and stumbling over.

Zhou Jianjun walked up and saw the boar’s body covered in old wounds—aged gunshot marks and all sorts of scars—and he couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.

The key thing was the Steel Wire Rope snare wrapped around the boar’s body. It made Li Baoyu say to Zhou Jianjun, "Brother-in-law, look at this boar. It’s broken out of a snare before."

"Yeah, you’re right."

Yesterday, while they were walking all over the mountains, an exhausted Zhou Jianjun had suggested that since they could predict the boar’s path, they could just set snares.

No one else said anything to Zhou Jianjun’s suggestion. They all knew it was the naive idea of a layman trying to be clever, but as his younger brother-in-law, Zhao Jun had no choice but to explain it to him.

A boar this big was extremely difficult to snare in the first place. Besides, the mountain slopes here were too gentle. The moment the boar charged, a Steel Wire Rope as thick as a finger would snap instantly. It didn’t matter how many snares you set; it would be a complete waste of Steel Wire Rope.

In this day and age, a whole length of Steel Wire Rope wasn’t easy to come by. How could they just waste it by leaving it all over the mountain?

Once the four dogs had eaten their fill, the men took turns carrying the sack with the boar’s head and started back. After returning to Yongsheng Village, the five of them went to the Village Office. They placed the boar’s head before Qi Shengli, who laughed heartily and immediately counted out two hundred yuan and one hundred jin of food tickets.

Half of this money and the food tickets was an advance from the village on behalf of the Forest Farm.

As was his due, Zhao Jun reached out and took the money and food tickets. Even though his group included his brother-in-law and two older men, he was the Leader, and by custom, only he could accept the payment.

After Zhao Jun, Wei Lai, and Huang Gui returned the borrowed semi-automatic rifles to Qi Shengli, the five of them left the Village Office and went to Jiang Ming’s house.

The moment Jiang Ming saw the five of them return, he eagerly asked if they had successfully taken down the boar.

Zhao Jun smiled, pulled the money and food tickets from his pocket, slapped them on the table, and said with a grin, "We six brothers will split this evenly. I’ll take whatever’s left over."

"No way." Huang Gui spoke up as soon as Zhao Jun finished. "That’s against the rules, brother. You have to take at least half. We can split what’s left."

"Old Brother," Zhao Jun said, "my family has been hunting since my grandfather’s generation, right down to me.

"When I was little, my dad always told me that when buddies and brothers run the mountains together, the money and the meat aren’t important. What’s important is the bond between us."

"Today, Baoyu and I have made friends with you three old brothers. In the future, when we meet on the mountain, we’ll need you to look out for us."

Zhao Jun’s words left a great impression on Wei Lai and the others. Jiang Ming immediately called for his wife to start cooking and buy some canned goods, insisting that Zhao Jun and his group eat at his house. He said he’d get angry if they refused the meal.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, and Zhou Jianjun returned to the Zhou Family’s home. When Zhou Chunming heard that they had taken down the great boar, he was overjoyed.

When he then heard from Zhou Jianjun that Zhao Jun had split the reward evenly with everyone, Zhou Chunming praised Zhao Jun profusely. He then told Zhao Jun that if he ever needed anything at the Farm, he should go directly to Zhou Jianjun.

The same words, coming from Zhou Chunming, carried a different weight than if Zhao Chun or Zhou Jianjun had said them.

For Zhou Chunming to say this meant that no matter what business Zhao Jun had, even if Jianjun couldn’t handle it, he would be there to back him up.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu stayed another night at the Zhou Family’s home, then took their leave the next morning.

The two of them were leading the four dogs and had just left the village when they saw Huang Gui standing on the side of the road.

He must have been waiting there for a long time. He was frozen through, his neck turtled, arms hugged to his chest, and he was constantly stamping his feet.

"Old Brother!" Zhao Jun called out from a distance. "What are you doing here?"

Huang Gui heard the voice and looked up. Seeing it was Zhao Jun, he hurried to meet him. When he reached him, Huang Gui smiled and said, "Brother, I heard at dinner yesterday that you were leaving today, so I came here specifically to wait for you."

"Waiting for me?" Zhao Jun was taken aback. He asked, "Old Brother, do you need something from me?"

Huang Gui pulled a wad of money and food tickets from his cotton-padded jacket pocket and said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, yesterday at my cousin’s house, when you wanted to split the money and food tickets with us, I couldn’t really say no..."

Zhao Jun quickly interrupted him. "Old Brother, what are you doing?"

Huang Gui said, "Brother, when I said I wanted to hunt that boar with you, it wasn’t because I was after a share of the money. I just wanted to get revenge for my two dogs."

"You’re the one who got that revenge. Not only have I not thanked you properly, but it would be outrageous for me to take your money too."

"It’s nothing..."

"No, brother." Huang Gui grabbed Zhao Jun’s hand with one of his and held up the money and food tickets with the other. "I’ve been waiting for you here all morning. You have to take this. It’s not about the money."

Seeing that the tip of Huang Gui’s nose was red from the cold, Zhao Jun nodded firmly. "Alright, Old Brother. I’ll take it."

"Aye!" Huang Gui beamed. "Now that’s my brother."

With that, he placed the money and food tickets in Zhao Jun’s hand before speaking again. "Brother, when you’re not busy, come visit us in Lingnan. I live in Bridgehead Village. Just ask for me when you get there; everyone knows my family.

"It’s different over there than it is here. We have a lot more hunters. If you come over, I’ll show you a good time."

"Okay, Old Brother," Zhao Jun said. "And if you have time, come to our Yong’an Village. I’ll host you."

"You got it."

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu watched Huang Gui walk back to the village. Li Baoyu sighed, "That old brother is a man of true character."

"Yeah." Zhao Jun nodded in firm agreement.

...

The two of them traveled all the way back to Yong’an Village. As they were entering the village to head home, they ran into Han Shang, who was carrying his doctor’s bag. Zhao Jun gave him a casual greeting.

"Doctor Han, where are you off to?"

"Ah, Zhao Jun. Been hunting in the mountains?" Han Shang didn’t know Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu had gone to Yongsheng Village. Seeing them with rifles and dogs, he just made some polite conversation.

But seeing that the two of them weren’t carrying any game, Han Shang added, "Zhang Daku got cocky and went up the mountain a couple of days ago. Got himself clawed by Xiong Ba. I have to go change his dressing and give him a shot."