As for the "bombs," their power was even greater, acting like small explosive packs. If someone were caught in one, broken arms and legs would be the least of it; it wasn't impossible for them to be lethal.
These bombs were somewhat similar to landmines, as they both relied on pressure to detonate. Generally speaking, bombs were used to deal with Asiatic black bears or carnivores like wolves and tigers.
As for the production method, explosives were wrapped in strips of cloth, which were then encased in meat with a strong gamey smell, such as mutton fat. As long as an animal tore at this meat ball, it would trigger the internal mechanism, causing an explosion.
If enough explosives were used, it could kill a bear or other animals instantly. If the amount was insufficient, it would still blow out their mouths, preventing them from eating and leading to death by starvation.
In any case, as long as these bombs were successfully detonated, the consequences were certainly not small.
However, although these bombs were powerful, very few people actually knew how to use or make them.
This was because during the manufacturing process, a single moment of carelessness could send one straight to the halls of King Yama.
Although Wang An and his two companions hadn't actually placed any wolf traps or bombs around the saline flats—and the three of them didn't even possess such things—that didn't stop Wang An from using them to intimidate the others.
After all, once wolf traps or bombs were set, no one other than the person who placed them knew their locations or how to dismantle them. No one else would be idle enough to go looking for them and try to disarm them.
Mainly, if one wasn't careful, the person attempting the disassembly would be finished.
After Wang An finished speaking, Lyu Deshu and Zhang Tiegang glared fiercely at the two men from Liu Family Village. Then, Zhang Tiegang said with a forced smile
"We really didn't pay much attention. Little An, Little Li, don't be agitated. We're leaving right now, we're leaving right now, hehehehe."
Lyu Deshu also immediately added with a smile
"We really didn't mean to 'break the mark.' The other day we saw deer tracks, there should have been about a dozen of them. Then we came by last night, but we didn't see the deer come through, so we went to look for other things. We just happened to be passing by today and thought we'd take another look; we didn't realize you were hunting these deer too. It's all a misunderstanding."
Basically, all "circle hunters" were extremely taboo about someone breaking their mark.
To put it mildly, such an act was "stealing the fruits of another's labor."
But to put it harshly, it was a blatant provocation; it was entirely possible for things to end in a bloody brawl or even death.
As they spoke, Lyu Deshu, Zhang Tiegang, and the two hunters from Liu Family Village began walking away.
Mainly, Wang An's fierce reputation was known not only in the surrounding villages but was common knowledge within Kaoshan Village as well.
However, Wang An never bullied anyone within the village, nor did he ever display his "street thug" persona before the villagers. Consequently, many of the locals didn't actually know much about his brutality.
Even so, no one in Kaoshan Village dared to provoke Wang An. Even those considering provoking the Old Wang family had to think long and hard about whether they could withstand Wang An's retaliation.
There was no helping it; as the saying goes, "a man's reputation is like a tree's shadow"—that phrase was absolutely not spoken in vain.
Seeing these two yield and voluntarily retreat, Wang An and Wang Li naturally couldn't keep hounding them. If Wang An actually did that, it would affect his reputation.
Although Wang An's reputation wasn't great to begin with, no one wanted to be the subject of gossip wherever they went.
Thus, Wang An dropped his gloomy expression and said with a smile
"We all live in the same village, so it's not really a big deal. I was mainly afraid you'd get hurt. If you were to get injured, that would be a great sin on our part, hehehehe. We mainly want to catch the sika deer alive; otherwise, there'd be nothing wrong with partnering up."
Pausing for a moment, Wang An added hypocritically
"Anyway, I'm worried the deer herd will arrive soon, so I won't see you out. When there's a chance in the future, we'll drink together."
It must be said that while Wang An's words were very fake, he gave the other party plenty of face.
Lyu Deshu hurriedly replied
"Right, right, you guys go ahead and keep watch here. We'll go look for other things."
Wang An continued to smile and said
"Alright, take care then."
And so, the two groups finished their hypocritical pleasantries. After Wang An and Wang Li watched the four men leave, they rode their horses back to the shack.
Once Lyu Deshu and the others were far away, one of the hunters from Liu Family Village finally spoke
"Damn it, I didn't expect the one who marked the spot to be this kid. What fucking bad luck. If it were anyone else, we could have fought them for it."
Wang An remembered the man's surname was Dong; he had come to Wang An's house to sell furs, though Wang An had forgotten his given name.
Zhang Tiegang sighed and said
"Exactly. If it were anyone else, with four of us and four guns, they'd be thrilled to partner with us. At the very least, we could have added a shot and split two deer. Now look at this—a wasted trip, fuck."
The smile had long vanished from Lyu Deshu's face, which had turned very sour. With a long face, he said
"Mainly, I didn't expect them to mark it. No one has marked spots in the mountains for two years. If I'd known, it would have been better if we'd marked it first. Day after day..."
As the four men walked further away, their voices gradually faded into the distance.
However, from start to finish, none of the four had mentioned wanting a share of the spoils or fighting Wang An.
Although he had successfully driven the four away, Wang An was still somewhat worried.
Mainly, including Wang Li and Huang Zhong, there were at least three groups of people who had discovered this herd of sika deer at the same time.
Therefore, Wang An had a strong intuition that before he could catch the deer, there was a high probability that more people would show up.
After all, the value of sika deer was simply too high; anyone who discovered them would want to claim them.
Returning to the shack, Wang Li said with some concern
"Fourth Brother, do you think Zhang Tiegang and Lyu Deshu will try to sabotage us?"
Wang An shook his head
"They probably won't. We all live in the same village; it wouldn't benefit them to completely burn bridges. I'm worried about the other group."
Pausing, Wang An counted on his fingers and said
"There are only a few circle hunters in our village. Besides Zhang Tiegang, Lyu Delin, and us, there's Niu Dalin and Niu Dashuang from the Old Niu family, Li Dong and Li Bao from the Old Li family, and Sun Dabala from the Old Sun family. Did those guys also look at this saline flat the other day?"
Hearing this, Wang Li nodded
"Yeah, everyone was gathered together. They most likely saw it too."