The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Of the four dogs, Hua Xiao’Er was the most vicious, and Daqing was the least.

When White Dragon reached the battlefield, he saw Daqing tussling with the sow. Daqing lost its hold for a moment, and the sow broke free, biting its way out and bolting.

Daqing and White Dragon gave chase. Both were lead dogs, so they quickly overtook the sow and clamped down on it, one on the left and one on the right.

Just then, Da Huang arrived. Since the sow had run some distance away, the first thing he saw was Hua Xiao’Er mauling the small yellow-haired boar, Little Yellow.

Da Huang charged forward and sank its teeth into Little Yellow’s front leg.

Little Yellow snapped at Da Huang, who dodged back. From behind, Hua Xiao’Er viciously tore into the young boar’s hindquarters.

Little Yellow couldn’t even handle Hua Xiao’Er on its own. Now, with Da Huang joining in, the young boar couldn’t get more than ten steps away.

After Hua Xiao’Er tore into it three more times, Little Yellow’s rear end was shredded. It squealed in agony and backed against a large tree, slumping down at its base.

With its rear protected, Hua Xiao’Er couldn’t attack from behind. Instead, it rushed forward, bit the boar’s snout, and pinned its head down in the snow.

Da Huang latched onto its side, biting and tearing ferociously at the area behind its foreleg.

The poor thing, Little Yellow, only weighed about 120 or 130 pounds. It was pinned helplessly at the base of the tree by Hua Xiao’Er and Da Huang.

When Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu arrived, the fight was already over. All that was left was to deliver the killing blow.

"Here I go!" Li Baoyu drew the Invasion Blade from his back, ready to get flashy again.

Zhao Jun didn’t stop him. How much of a threat could a hundred-and-something-pound young boar be?

As long as Li Baoyu didn’t charge it head-on and provoke it, this was a guaranteed kill.

But just as Li Baoyu was about to move in, he heard someone yelling from behind, "Hey, kid! Kid! Don’t go! Let me do it!"

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu turned to see Xing San sprinting toward them, dragging a Fraxinus mandschurica stick in one hand and holding an Invasion Blade in the other.

When he reached them, Xing San stopped, not even breathing hard. "Let me have a go," he said, and began to mount the Invasion Blade onto the stick. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Mister, you’re in great shape!" Li Baoyu said admiringly. "You’re about the same age as Master Xu, but you’re in much better condition than he is."

"You bet!" Xing San glanced behind him. Seeing no sign of Xu Changlin, he turned back with a grin. "I left him a mile in the dust!"

As he spoke, Xing San finished mounting the blade. With the makeshift spear in hand, he began circling around behind the wild boar.

The moment Xing San moved, Zhao Jun raised his gun.

After all, he didn’t know how skilled the old man was. If he botched the kill, things could get dangerous.

But Xing San really knew his stuff. He got behind the tree, leaned out slightly, and, holding the spear with both hands, thrust it into the joint behind Little Yellow’s front shoulder.

Little Yellow was pinned down by Hua Xiao’Er and Da Huang. With Hua Xiao’Er clamped onto its snout in particular, the boar couldn’t even squeal in pain.

Once the blade was in, Xing San leaned forward, putting his weight on the spear and driving Little Yellow into the snow.

The two dogs bit down even more ferociously. As Xing San pulled the blade out, the boar’s struggles began to weaken.

Xing San raised the spear and looked over at Zhao Jun. Seeing him with his gun ready, Xing San knew it was a gesture of goodwill. He laughed heartily and said, "Well, my friend, what do you think of my handiwork?"

Zhao Jun lowered his gun and gave Xing San a thumbs-up. "Mister, you’re the real deal!"

"Haha..." Praised by the younger man, the old fellow was even more delighted. He walked over to Zhao Jun, glanced back down the path, and saw a faint figure in the distance. He pursed his lips and shook his head. "See that? Elder Xu’s skills are just useless."

Zhao Jun just smiled without saying anything.

Suddenly, Xing San blinked and looked around. "Where’s Li Baoyu? Oh, he’s run off over there!"

Zhao Jun had been so focused on Xing San that he’d forgotten all about Li Baoyu. He looked in the direction Xing San was pointing and saw Li Baoyu walking toward the southwest, Invasion Blade in hand.

About thirty meters away, Daqing and White Dragon had an old sow pinned in place, each one latched onto an ear.

Meanwhile, Hua Xiao’Er and Da Huang were still tearing at Little Yellow. This was the nature of hunting dogs; during a hunt, they build up a fierce aggression that must be released after the prey is dead.

That’s why most hunters let their dogs worry the carcass for a while after a kill. It allows them to vent and also enhances their primal instincts.

Zhao Jun took a couple of steps forward. He saw that Daqing and White Dragon, while latched onto the sow’s ears, had positioned their bodies parallel to the boar’s, pressed tightly against its flanks.

Their four legs were braced firmly against the ground. In this way, even though only its ears were held, the sow was completely unable to escape.

This was the pinnacle of the clamping technique.

As Zhao Jun and Xing San walked forward, Xing San suddenly grabbed Zhao Jun’s arm and pointed. "Why isn’t Baoyu mounting his blade on the stick?"

Zhao Jun chuckled. "He’s young and likes the thrill. Let him be. With the dogs clamped on like that, it can’t gore him."

Xing San nodded in agreement. It was true; the dogs had the boar’s entire head under control. It was wishful thinking for it to even try to toss its head to attack.

Reassured, Xing San relaxed and said to Zhao Jun, "Young man, you brought down both these boars. Just give this old uncle a haunch and I’ll be happy."

Zhao Jun laughed and leaned in close to Xing San. "Mister, Baoyu and I don’t want either of these boars. When Master Xu gets here, ask him if he wants any. If he does, give him some meat. If not, they’re all yours."

Hearing this, Xing San’s first reaction wasn’t joy, but refusal. "No, young man, that’s not right," he said. "We have rules up here in the mountains."

"Mister, let’s not worry about that between us, okay?" Zhao Jun said. "Actually, I have a favor to ask you. Could you give me a box of that medicine you took this morning?"

That morning, after getting up from the heated kang bed, Xing San had taken a box down from a wooden shelf. Inside the box was a large glass jar, more than half full of small black pills.

The box also contained several small matchboxes. Xing San had shaken two of the small pills out of one of them and put them in his mouth.

When Li Baoyu had asked what he was taking, Xing San explained he had a bad heart and had gotten an old folk remedy from someone that he used to make the medicine himself.

Last year, when Zhao Jun parted ways with Xing Zhuyong and Li Hu, he had told Li Baoyu that he planned to find Xing Zhuyong for a hunt this spring.

His real goal wasn’t the hunt itself, but to have Xing Zhuyong introduce him to Xing San so he could get a box of that medicine for Wang Meilan.

Now, things had worked out perfectly. He didn’t need to go through Xing Zhuyong. Xing San had said that when they got back, he would not only give Zhao Jun the medicine but the recipe as well.

Just as they were talking, Xu Changlin finally caught up. "What are you two doing?" he yelled from behind them.

"Master Xu, what is it?" Zhao Jun asked, turning around.

Xu Changlin pointed ahead and shouted, "Look at Li Baoyu!"

Zhao Jun turned to look and saw that Li Baoyu had circled behind the boar. Pinned by the two dogs, the boar couldn’t see him at all, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

At this point, Li Baoyu could have stabbed the boar anywhere with his blade and it would have been effective.

But he got carried away.

He circled directly behind the boar and stopped about half a meter from its rear. Then he suddenly charged, and as he reached it, he placed his right hand on the boar’s tailbone, Invasion Blade in his left. He vaulted into the air, spread his legs, and landed straddling the boar’s back.

"Holy shit!" Xing San yelled when he saw it. "That kid’s fucking insane!"

The boar, though its head was immobilized, put all its strength into its spine, channeling it to its hindquarters and causing its entire back half to buck violently upward.

That one buck sent Li Baoyu, who was just raising his blade to strike, flying off.

Li Baoyu went head over heels, plunging headfirst into the snow right in front of the boar!