Chapter 47: The Wild Boar and the Wolf Pack

Chen Biao wandered through the brigade with his gun on his shoulder. He was genuinely shocked to learn that Ergou and Zhang Huacheng had actually ventured into the mountains; he never expected them to be so daring. As the sky dimmed and the streets emptied, he quietly slipped back home.

"You two can just die in those mountains!" he muttered with a cold scoff.

Inside the mountains, the wind was bone-chilling, but with cotton gloves and a hat, the cold was much more bearable than before. They had been walking for nearly an hour.

"Stop!" Zhang Huacheng whispered, signaling with a hand gesture. He quickly unslung his Springfield rifle and chambered a round. Ergou immediately followed suit. Following Zhang’s gaze, they saw several dark shapes beneath a snowy slope in the distance, though they were too far away to identify clearly.

Tie Zhu gripped his red-tasseled spear, his face full of excitement. "Is that a red deer?"

He had seen them too.

"Probably not. We’re still some distance from the red deer’s habitat. Looks more like wild boar," Ergou said, speaking from experience.

"It is wild boar. We’re in luck. Let’s take the boars first; if we bring them back, we can come back for another trip!" Zhang Huacheng’s face lit up. One trip was no longer enough for them. If they could bag more, they certainly would.

"Tie Zhu, you don't know how to use a gun yet. Stay here and don't move. You can come over once Ergou and I have finished them off!" Zhang hadn't had time to teach Tie Zhu to shoot yet, and a charging boar could be deadly—especially the Northeast wild boar, which was terrifyingly ferocious.

"Got it!" Tie Zhu nodded.

This was a sounder of boars without any piglets. The smallest ones were already half-grown, weighing sixty or seventy pounds, and leading them was an old boar with grizzled, grey-white fur. This massive beast was the heart of the group, possessing an incredible memory; even with the heavy snow cover, it could still locate food. Beneath the snowy slope was a patch of shrubs where they were digging through the snow to forage for the hidden delicacies beneath.

"Ergou, don't shoot the small ones, and don't touch the old leader. I’ll take the largest one, you pick any other, but remember—you must aim for the head." Zhang Huacheng led Ergou to a snowdrift a dozen meters away. They lay down and raised their rifles; at this distance, a headshot would be fatal. It was extremely difficult to kill an adult wild boar without hitting the head.

"Right!" Ergou began searching for a target.

Perhaps catching a scent, the old boar suddenly grew vigilant, pacing back and forth and snorting. The foraging boars gathered around it.

"Fire!" Seeing that they had sensed danger, Zhang Huacheng gave a low command and raised his Springfield.

*Bang!*

A massive adult boar’s eye exploded in blood, and it staggered before collapsing heavily into the snow. The sounder erupted in chaos. The boar Ergou had just aimed at bolted down the slope. He rushed to switch targets, but all the boars followed the leader in a mad dash down the slope.

"No need to shoot now," Zhang signaled to Ergou.

"Damn it, how are they so fast?" Ergou asked, embarrassed.

"It’s not that they’re fast; it’s that we were too close. The wind direction shifted suddenly, and that old boar has a nose too sharp—it caught our scent instantly."

***

Zhang Huacheng and Ergou walked over to the fallen boar. Tie Zhu ran over, pulled a boning knife from his bamboo basket, and skillfully began to field-dress the animal.

"Why not shoot the old one?" Ergou asked, puzzled. Based on Zhang’s marksmanship, he could have downed the leader in one shot, which might have kept the others from reacting so quickly.

Zhang Huacheng picked up an axe and replied, "If that old boar died, this group likely wouldn't survive the winter. With the old boar around, they have a system for sleeping and foraging—the leader is just like the alpha of a wolf pack."

In the Changbai Mountains, where the snow is deep and temperatures drop dozens of degrees below zero, Northeast wild boars have no dens. They rely entirely on the old boar to direct them into a circle, with the adults taking turns sleeping on the perimeter and the piglets huddled in the center to prevent them from freezing to death. Foraging, too, was entirely dependent on the old boar.

"Brother, this pig is huge! It must be over three hundred pounds, right?" Tie Zhu had gutted it, leaving the entrails on the ground; he was already learning how to process large game.

"At least that." Zhang Huacheng chopped off the head and split the massive carcass into three sections. He had killed a mature Northeast boar that rivaled the old leader in size. He washed the edible innards with snow, stuffed them into Tie Zhu’s bamboo basket, and each of them shouldered a section of the meat.

"When we come back, we’ll check this spot. The wolf pack might show up," Zhang Huacheng said, looking at the bloody snow. The entrails and the pig head had been left behind, and the scent of blood was pungent in the cold wind. If the wolves came, they wouldn't need to go to the red deer area to hunt.

The cold wind howled as a bright moon hung on the edge of the ink-black sky. Wang Lin sat by the window wrapped in a heavy coat, holding a copy of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, occasionally looking out at the icicles that refracted the moonlight into cold, crystalline beams.

A knock sounded at the door, followed by Zhang Huacheng’s voice.

"Linlin!" She ran to the door, overjoyed. Zhang was a mountain patrolman now, so she no longer had to worry about him being discovered like before.

"I’ll go boil some water," she said, happy to be of service.

"No need. We have to head back out. I just dropped this off and we're leaving."

"Oh... then, please be careful." Her worry returned instantly.

The dangers of the Changbai Mountains were clear. When they returned to the site, the blood-stained snow had been licked clean, and wolf tracks were everywhere. In the cold wind, they could hear the wolves howling nearby.

"You don't think those unlucky boars were surrounded by the pack, do you?" Ergou listened; it sounded like a hunt.

"No, boars run far from danger once startled. This distance is too close. Wait—this is bad! These beasts are surrounding us!" Zhang Huacheng suddenly caught the glint of green eyes in the darkness.

He had been careless! He had forgotten how terrifyingly intelligent wolves could be.

"Damn it, let's take them!" Ergou chambered a round.

This was a much larger pack than before; based on the tracks, there were over twenty wolves. Aside from the alpha howling in the distance, everything else was deathly quiet.

"Run with me!" Zhang Huacheng knew they were in trouble. If they were truly surrounded by a dozen or more wolves, it would be over. In this day and age, a wolf bite was fatal—there was a severe shortage of medicine, and the necessary supplies weren't even available in the county seat, let alone the brigade. He needed to disrupt the pack's pincer movement.

He chambered a round in his Springfield; they needed to reach an open area to force the alpha into the open.

Tie Zhu followed closely, clutching his red-tasseled spear, while Ergou cursed and scanned the surroundings.

"Grrr!" A grey wolf leaped from a snowdrift ahead, attempting to scare them back into the encirclement.

*Bang!*

Zhang Huacheng fired without aiming. The large adult grey wolf collapsed on the spot, a headshot leaving it no time to react.

"Nice shot!" Ergou exclaimed happily. Tie Zhu wanted to go drag it over, but Ergou kicked him and told him to run—only Tie Zhu would be thinking about wolf meat at a time like this.

***

Meanwhile, Nie Zhenbang’s "democratic atmosphere" was, while sounding like praise, clearly a form of mockery that everyone understood. Zhuo Yingtian pushed his focus to the limit, forcing it to 120 times magnification, blood slowly trickling from his nostrils.

Xu Yuanxing even suspected that if Xuan Yao were to declare to the world that she would marry any young hero who could crush the thirteen tribes of the Northern Barbarians, the Yuzhou frontier would be overflowing the next day with hot-blooded young "wolves" just like Yu Zi'ang.

Zhu Lafeng recounted his bid price and his deep analysis of the entire Section 7. Yu Zi'ang, in his attempt to please Xuan Yao, had truly spared no expense, even risking his own life. Having heard Liu Bang’s accounts of the battles between the Yuzhou frontier and the barbarians, he did not consider these people—who could command beasts to fight for them—to be of low intelligence.

Raising his right fist, he smashed it against the black spear. A sound like shattering glass echoed as the ice spear broke into dozens of pieces, turning into a mist of ice shards. Only the Yin energy remained, continuing to surge toward Jiang Hua.

Chen Jing nodded with difficulty, released Mo Bai’s hand, unlocked her "Steel Body" seal, and activated the Power of the Four Symbols to elevate her life essence.

"So you’ve resorted to selling yourself? Can’t you think of any other way?" Jiang Hua shouted sternly.

"Haha, ignorant Tang people! That’s not poison, that’s a *gu*." The King of Bailing laughed triumphantly. "If you kneel and call me 'Grandpa' three times, crawl between my legs, and break your own hands, I might spare your life." His greatest strength was never martial arts, but poison and *gu*.

"Meiweisi, do you two know each other?" Xuan Yuan Qingshan asked, looking bewildered.

Li Danruo leaned back against her pillow, eyes closed in distress. She would have to discuss this with Wulang when she returned; this couldn't be delayed. They had to find a way—as the Zhao woman said, even if only one could return, it would be enough.

Guided by the Earth Dragon, the Russian envoy arrived at the hall. Seeing a reserved seat, he knew it was meant for him. After shaking hands with the Earth Dragon and nodding to the other envoys, he took his place.

"Don't worry, Aunt," Li Danruo said, rising and bowing solemnly. Lady Liang nodded, bowed her head, and turned to leave the room.

Ling Miao broke free from Su Yuyang’s restraint, her clenched fist landing hard on Tang Xuan’s stomach. The punch was swift and fierce, carrying all of Ling Miao’s boundless resentment toward him.

The next day after breakfast, Li Danruo and Jiang Yanming left the house one after another. Jiang Yanming went to the Ministry of Rites, while Li Danruo took Mo Ge in a blue-curtained carriage toward a side gate of the Imperial City.

"It’s Zhou Qing! It’s the reincarnation of the Demon Lord, Zhou Qing! He’s here, he’s brought the people from the Demon Realm to kill us!" At this moment, someone finally realized what was happening, but was it too late?

"Go, go. Don't come by too often if you're busy. Your grandmother is doing just fine. Remember, watch your tongue," Old Lady Cheng instructed as she saw Jiang Yanhun lifting the curtain to leave.

Thinking of this, the American President felt a headache, a sense of helplessness, like a dog facing a hedgehog with nowhere to bite.

Aunt Cai, who could run such a large underground business in Dry Grass Town, was herself a dangerous rogue with an adventurous spirit, well aware that wealth is sought in danger and that heroes are born in chaotic times.

"Tai'e Sword, if you truly have a spirit, then break your seal! I need you!" I gripped the sword tightly. The blade vibrated even more violently. I held the sword with my right hand, grabbed the blade with my left, and pulled hard, blood spilling onto the sword once more.

Li Hao frowned. He couldn't understand why Wang Cai was in such a rush. It had been so long, and he was heading out to explore again, not intending to stop for a moment.

Suddenly, he felt he had some memory of these attacking machines, but he couldn't remember where he had seen them before.

During that battle, the Martial Sage of the Universe's Light had been arrogant, attempting to suppress the Cangxuan Sect single-handedly, which led the Eldest Prince of Dongxia and the Canglong Martial Sage to join forces against him. In the end, he gained nothing and retreated from the South Sea.

In truth, Liu Ye was somewhat worried. To him, his dreams were important, but income was also important. He was willing to sign the next five years of his life to Muyeyingxiang, but his income had to be guaranteed.

Watching the calm and natural face of Zhou Hai in the team, Dai Minmeng was stunned, not knowing what to say.

"I’ll go see what’s going on. It’s not like we’re here to fight. You’re so tall and broad—are you afraid they won't notice us?" Li Yu stopped Ma Gan, then watched the glowing red embers in the fire basin, continuing to ponder the new plans in his mind.

He had been an outsider to this film world, but now he was a part of it, all because of his special ability.

Wang Cai stared at the old man in front of him, filled with confusion. "Self-preservation? Are you kidding? We have so many starships, even the Pioneers and nuclear fusion energy—you’re telling me about self-preservation? Who on Earth could do anything to you now?"

Scenes like this were happening constantly throughout the exhibition hall. Those who hadn't seen it simply didn't believe it, but seeing the exasperated looks of those they asked, they became half-convinced and began to swarm toward the center of the hall.

With six supreme powers concentrated in one, the information released was vast. As the Supreme Origin reached out, the flood of information surged toward Li Qiuxian, constantly bombarding his life signal, nearly disrupting the normal operation of his vital information.