Chapter 298 - 250: Broken Leg
Actually, if Zhao Jun had gone down the southern slope from his previous position, crossed the gully, and climbed the opposite hillside up to Tuo Yaosi, he would have seen his acquaintances.
As the saying goes, there’s no story without a coincidence.
Huang Gui and Jiang Ming, who had hunted wild boar with Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu back in Yongsheng Village, were both there. Along with them was Li Shufeng from the Yongxing Second Team.
The three of them, with four dogs, had surrounded a "cannon eggs" boar weighing around three hundred and thirty pounds.
Just yesterday, when Huang Gui arrived, he had run into Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu. At that time, he was all by himself and didn’t have a dog with him.
But his cousin, Jiang Ming, had followed behind him, bringing the dogs.
Back then, the cousins’ pack of hunting dogs had been broken up by a massive wild boar of over seven hundred and seventy pounds. Now, Jiang Ming only had one black dog left, and the only dog Huang Gui could bring was his lead dog, Little Bear.
Jiang Ming brought his two dogs, and together with Li Shufeng’s two dogs, they formed a temporary Dog Gang.
But they hadn’t attended the mobilization rally that day; instead, they had taken their four dogs and gone straight into the mountains.
It had to be said, Huang Gui’s Little Bear was truly a fine lead dog.
She followed her master up the mountain opposite Zhao Jun, and as soon as she entered the woods, she caught the scent of wild boars. After crossing a ridge, she flushed out a whole sounder.
Then, she locked onto the largest boar in the sounder and led the other three dogs on a relentless pursuit, finally cornering it halfway up the mountain.
When Huang Gui and the others arrived, they saw the wild boar locked in a fierce, inseparable battle with the four dogs.
All three men were carrying rifles, but they couldn’t get a clear shot; firing risked hitting the dogs.
Huang Gui said they should fire a shot to encourage the dogs, so he fired a round into the air.
This was the very shot that Zhao Jun and his group had heard.
After the shot, the four dogs fought the boar with even greater ferocity.
Growing impatient, Huang Gui drew the Invasion Blade from his lower back. He casually cut a branch to use as a prod and advanced.
Zhao Jun remembered the first time he’d seen Huang Gui hunt; Huang Gui was a knife-hunter.
Back then, Huang Gui could be described in a single word: fierce.
Today’s Huang Gui was no less impressive. He gripped the blade and circled behind the boar, taking a ready stance with the weapon in his right hand. He reached out with his left hand to grab the boar’s bristles.
But he seemed to have forgotten that the four dogs surrounding the boar now were not his old pack.
His Little Bear was formidable, but as a female, she was better at tracking and locating prey. When it came to holding a target, her physique simply wasn’t up to the task.
In any case, these four dogs failed to pin down the boar.
Just as Huang Gui was about to strike, the boar twisted its body, dragging the four dogs with it.
In that instant, the boar was face-to-face with Huang Gui.
Huang Gui froze for a second, then turned to run. The moment the boar saw him, it charged. The four dogs were pulling with all their might, but they couldn’t hold it back now.
The boar rushed up to Huang Gui and whipped its head around, striking his leg. THWACK!
Its tusk raked across Huang Gui’s thigh. The sharp ivory tore through his cotton-padded trousers, opening a gash on his leg.
In an instant, blood was gushing from the wound.
Huang Gui screamed and fell to the side. The boar turned back for another strike. With a sickening SNAP, it shattered Huang Gui’s right shin.
"Ahhh..." Huang Gui let out a heart-rending shriek and collapsed to the ground.
Only after Huang Gui was on the ground did Jiang Ming and Li Shufeng, who had been afraid of hitting him, dare to fire.
But by the time they aimed at the boar, it was already charging down toward the gully, with the four hounds in hot pursuit.
Jiang Ming and Li Shufeng had no time to worry about the boar; they rushed over to check on Huang Gui.
Whether an artery had been severed or not, the wound on Huang Gui’s thigh wouldn’t stop bleeding.
Jiang Ming quickly unbuttoned his cotton jacket, tore off several strips of fabric from the lining, helped Huang Gui remove his trousers, and used the strips to tightly bind the base of his thigh.
Meanwhile, Li Shufeng was busy untying his leg bindings and cutting branches to make a simple stretcher.
Huang Gui’s leg was broken; they had to get him down the mountain immediately.
At that moment, Zhao Jun and his group hadn’t gone far. Hua Xiao’er, who was ahead of them, suddenly turned and ran back.
But Hua Xiao’er didn’t run far before stopping and barking insistently back the way they had come.
Immediately after, Daqing did the same. The other three dogs, not knowing what was happening, simply joined in the barking.
Seeing this, Li Baoyu asked, "Brother, do we still need to hold the dogs back?"
Zhao Jun frowned, looking in that direction. He had a good idea of what had happened. ’The hunters over there must have failed to get the boar, and it got away.’
’Now the boar is heading this way, and the other hunter’s dogs are chasing it.’
’Truth be told, I could easily take down this boar right now and give the other hunters a couple of legs. But I don’t want the trouble. After all, there are rewards for this spring hunt. I don’t care about them, but the guys on the other side might.’
So, Zhao Jun whistled, calling for the dogs to keep moving.
Urged on by Zhao Jun’s whistle, Hua Xiao’er followed him but kept looking back every few steps. It would occasionally lunge back the way they came, barking each time it did.
"Whose dog is that?" Li Baoyu said, now understanding the situation. "It’s come a long way."
Zhao Jun had just started to nod at Li Baoyu’s words when he saw Hua Xiao’er suddenly bolt.
The moment it moved, the other four dogs followed close behind.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun slung the semi-automatic rifle from his shoulder and ran out in front. If the dogs hadn’t gone, he would have let it be.
But now that the dogs were out, it meant the boar wasn’t far away.
Some distance away, the same boar that had injured Huang Gui was fleeing for its life.
Behind it, Little Bear was in hot pursuit, refusing to give up. As for the hounds belonging to Jiang Ming and Li Shufeng, they were long gone.
That’s what makes a good lead dog.
It had incredible stamina and a stubborn nature. And what’s more, it was perceptive.
Little Bear knew this boar had hurt her master, and she chased it relentlessly out of pure hatred.
But on her own, it was impossible to stop or hold a boar of over three hundred and thirty pounds.
The boar, for its part, never expected that as it fled, five more hounds would suddenly appear to block its path.
The boar was stunned for a moment. It might have tried to turn back, but Little Bear rushed in and bit its lower leg.
Crying out in pain, the boar abandoned any thought of turning around and charged headlong toward Hua Xiao’er and the other four dogs.
As the lead dog, Hua Xiao’er was at the front. Seeing the boar charge, it quickly dodged to the side.
The boar’s momentum carried it past the dog.
The instant the boar went by, Hua Xiao’er sprang into action, attacking its rear.
Meanwhile, at the boar’s front, Daqing and White Dragon, both head-on attackers by nature, lunged to block its path.
As Da Huang bit at the boar’s right front elbow and Little Bear latched onto its left hind leg, the five dogs instantly had the boar surrounded.
"WOOF... WOOF..." Only Xiaohua didn’t charge in.
She was not yet a year old, and this was only her second time in the mountains. Her first hunt had just been for badgers.
Now she wanted to charge forward but didn’t dare, yelping anxiously from the sidelines.
The boar thrashed its head, forcing back Daqing and White Dragon. Then it spun around, driving back Da Huang and Little Bear.
As it turned again, Hua Xiao’er leaped up and sank its teeth into the two sacs beneath the boar’s tail.
The boar craned its neck and let out a horrific squeal. As it whirled back to gore Hua Xiao’er, Zhao Jun, who was already close by, arrived.