Seeing that Wang An, Da Hei, and the others were about to leave, the four tied-up spotted dogs began to bark incessantly. It was obvious that the four of them also wanted to enter the mountains.
As former mountain-hunting dogs, these four spotted dogs knew very clearly that as long as they followed their master into the mountains, they would get to eat fresh meat. Therefore, it was only natural for them to behave this way.
However, there was no way Wang An would take these four half-useless dogs into the mountains again.
To be honest, it was only because Wang An's family was relatively merciful—and primarily because they had plenty of grain and money—that they kept them. Otherwise, given the abilities of these four spotted dogs, any other family would have sold them off long ago or given them to someone else to be slaughtered for meat.
One must realize that the appetite of a Northeast clumsy dog is basically the same as that of a fat pig. A pig provides meat, but if a dog cannot hunt, having one for guarding the house and yard is more than enough. What use was it for a family to keep so many guard dogs?
The four dogs barked without stopping, leaving Wang An feeling irritated and distracted. Consequently, Wang An pointed at the four spotted dogs, turned his head, and said to Xiao Hei
"Xiao Hei, make them stop barking."
Hearing this, Xiao Hei let out several barks in a row toward the four spotted dogs. The four dogs, who had been exceptionally excited just a moment ago, instantly wilted. Stealing glances at Xiao Hei from the corners of their eyes, they each crawled back into their doghouses.
It had to be said that only a dog could manage other dogs.
And so, Wang An and Wang Li sat in the sidecar, followed by four dogs and four wolves, heading toward the water hole near the southern depression.
Ten minutes later, Wang Li drove the sidecar to the spot where they had parked previously.
The two buckets were still lying there, but the forest frogs that had escaped from the buckets earlier had all vanished.
Before Wang Li could even bring the sidecar to a complete stop, Da Hei, Xiao Hei, and Xiao Bai barked simultaneously. Immediately following that, the four dogs and four wolves bolted forward together.
The direction they ran was exactly where the large water hole was located.
At this moment, the black bear's head was no longer bleeding; it was sitting beside a piece of plastic sheeting, feasting greedily.
Yes, feasting greedily.
Because a considerable number of forest frogs had been trapped by the plastic sheeting during this time, the black bear was eating forest frogs.
Bears are omnivores; in these great mountains, there is very little they cannot eat, and forest frogs were naturally on its menu.
The bear stuffed the frogs into its mouth whole. As its jaws clamped down, bits of frog flesh and blood splattered from the corners of its mouth.
Currently, the crescent-shaped white fur on its chest and its belly were covered in frog gore, looking quite disgusting.
However, upon closer observation, one would find that the black bear was only using its left front paw to grab frogs and stuff them into its mouth, while its right front paw remained draped over its right hind leg.
Clearly, although the axe blow Wang An had dealt to its right shoulder previously hadn't broken the skin, it had caused severe damage to the bone in its right shoulder.
The arrival of Da Hei, Xiao Bai, and the pack of dogs and wolves didn't attract the black bear's attention at all. To be precise, the black bear didn't even spare them a single glance.
There was no helping it; given the bite force of dogs and wolves, even if they bit the black bear, they could cause very little damage to a bear weighing over two hundred jin.
Thus, the black bear acted with complete impunity.
Of course, even a black bear weighing over a hundred jin wouldn't fear dogs; the physical structure of a bear is simply the natural counter to a dog.
Under Da Hei's command, the dogs and wolves circled around the black bear, barking continuously, yet not a single dog charged. It was as if their only duty was to keep watch over the bear.
Suddenly, the black bear stopped chewing its frog and looked toward the direction where Wang An and Wang Li had appeared.
It must be said that the black bear's nose—or perhaps its ears—were incredibly sharp, because Wang An and Wang Li were still over fifty meters away, with shrubs and trees blocking the view.
After a pause, the black bear sniffed the air, then suddenly reared up on its hind legs. Its small eyes turned blood-red, and it opened its massive maw, letting out a thunderous "Roar!"
This bear roar could be described as deafening, filled with rage.
Immediately after, the black bear charged toward Wang An and Wang Li.
Clearly, the bear knew that the two of them were approaching.
The black bear had absolutely memorized the scent of the two people who had injured it.
As for the dogs and wolves surrounding it, it chose to ignore them once again.
However, the black bear's posture while running was very strange, as it was running on three legs; it clearly didn't dare put weight on the right front paw that Wang An had wounded.
Hearing the bear's roar, Wang An and Wang Li both snapped to attention. Instinctively, the two of them raised their guns to their faces and aimed in the direction of the roar.
Ten seconds later, the black bear, its head covered in blood scabs, appeared in their crosshairs.
However, a pack of dogs and wolves were running alongside the bear's left and right flanks, creating a great dilemma for Wang An and the other.
To be honest, this was a truly frustrating situation.
If they fired now, there was a high probability the bullet would hit a dog; but if they didn't fire, the black bear would pounce on them.
Wang Li said anxiously to Wang An
"Fourth Brother, what do we do? We can't fire like this!"
Wang An slightly raised his muzzle and pulled the trigger toward the sky. Then, holding the gun in one hand, he put his left thumb and index finger to his lips, and a very loud, piercing whistle rang out.
Hearing the gunshot, the dogs and wolves initially wanted to charge the bear, but upon hearing the whistle, Da Hei and Xiao Hei barked and accelerated toward Wang An.
Once the dogs and wolves had cleared a distance from the lame black bear, two consecutive "bang bang" gunshots rang out. Wang An and Wang Li had fired one after the other.
As the shots rang out, the black bear's head exploded instantly, like a smashed watermelon.
For a moment, red and white matter flew everywhere.
The bear's charging body continued forward for about two seconds before collapsing directly onto the ground.
Only then did Wang An curse
"Damn it, you wanted to show off? Let's see how you show off now."
Thinking about how those two buckets of forest frogs had all escaped without a single one left, Wang An felt extremely annoyed.
With its head shattered, the bear was naturally dead as could be. Wang An and Wang Li didn't fire any finishing shots; they each slung their guns over their shoulders and walked toward the carcass.
A few minutes later, Wang Li dug a bear gall bladder out of the bear's belly.
Wang An's expression shifted upon seeing the gall bladder, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.
The gall bladder wasn't particularly large—about the size of a normal one, likely weighing no more than seventy grams after drying—but its color was truly desirable. It was golden-yellow, as yellow as gold itself.
Wang Li looked at the gall bladder against the sunlight with a face full of smiles, then said happily to Wang An
"Fourth Brother, I reckon once this golden gall is dried, it'll definitely produce golden-yellow gall powder."
Wang An smiled and pulled out a cloth bag, saying
"Mm-hmm, it seems we two are of one mind!" (End of Chapter)