Chapter 182: An Epic Battle
Wang An felt that this wasn't working, so he pulled out an extra-large firecracker and tied it to the end of a tree branch with hemp rope.
After lighting the fuse, Wang An quickly shoved the branch into the badger hole.
It had to be the extra-large firecracker; even inside a deep hole, the sound was incomparable to a double-bang firecracker. With a thunderous "bang," Wang An felt the ground beneath his feet vibrate.
At that moment, Wang Li and Mu Xueli noticed Wang An's divine operation and were completely stunned. Could you actually catch badgers like this?
However, the results followed immediately. From the hole that Wang Li and Mu Xueli were guarding, a badger rushed out regardless of everything. Mu Xueli brought a pickaxe handle down, and the badger's legs began to twitch.
Immediately after, another one emerged. Wang Li's pickaxe handle also smashed down, and this one was finished too.
Then, badgers began running out one after another, and the two of them couldn't swing their pickaxe handles fast enough.
Those that escaped were quickly bitten by the three dogs, but each of the three green dogs could only hold one. There were too many badgers fleeing for their lives; the two humans were swinging their handles so hard they nearly flew away, yet they still couldn't keep up.
Without waiting for Wang An's signal, the three black dogs immediately lunged forward. Seeing this, Wang An stuffed the firecracker he had already pulled out back into his pocket, grabbed his pickaxe handle, stood up quickly, and ran over to join the fray.
To be honest, Wang An was getting a bit addicted to setting off these firecrackers. Setting one off every now and then—that sound, that shockwave—was truly satisfying!
At this moment, in the deep mountains, an epic battle unfolded between three people, six dogs, and a gang of badgers.
The "woo-woo" of the dogs, the shouting of the three people, the "squeak-squeak" of badgers being hit by pickaxe handles, and the "whoosh-whoosh" of swinging tools all blended together. It was incredibly lively.
Wang An and the other two were shouting and jumping around because, although badgers have short legs, they actually run quite fast.
Furthermore, because badgers live in holes for long periods and are nocturnal animals, their eyesight isn't very good.
This meant that once they left the hole and hit the sunlight, they could barely see anything. They ran entirely by scent and instinct, scurrying wildly in all directions.
A few minutes later, the battle ended. Aside from two badgers that managed to escape, the rest were scattered across the ground—some dead, some knocked unconscious by the pickaxe handles, and others half-dead, lying there with twitching legs!
The three of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, the six dogs were still tearing at six badger carcasses to vent the anger stored in their canine hearts.
Because badgers are quite ferocious animals, the six dogs had been scratched in the face by death-throes during the fight.
Although it was just broken skin, given the difference in size, the fact that the six dogs were injured likely made them feel they had lost face. They became agitated and began "desecrating the corpses"!
Wang An and the others ignored the dogs' behavior, as dogs need to vent their anger or they might become problematic. Although six badger pelts were ruined, there was no other way.
Besides, pelts of badgers killed by dogs are basically ruined anyway, so a few more bites didn't matter at all!
The three didn't delay further and began stabbing the badgers to bleed them. Crucially, some badgers weren't dead, only temporarily stunned; they had to be sent to see the Buddha with a quick knife, otherwise, it would be a waste of effort if they escaped again.
Even though the three started cutting so quickly, two badgers woke up from their stupor. One had to admire the tenacity of these creatures' vitality!
As soon as the first one ran, San Qing spotted it. San Qing dropped the dead badger, leaped forward with an instant burst of speed, and caught up to the fleeing badger in a few steps.
Perhaps having gained experience from the previous fight, San Qing bit the badger firmly at the back of the neck and shook its head violently. After a few shakes, San Qing let go, and the badger's legs began to twitch.
Although San Qing had a slender waist, its reaction speed and long fangs were indeed a great advantage.
The second badger to recover from its stupor was more formidable; it didn't know the meaning of retreat and charged straight for Wang An's crotch.
This behavior gave Wang An a massive fright. He let out a loud "Holy crap!" and jumped three feet straight up in the air, allowing the badger to run past.
Then Da Hei lunged forward. This time, likely due to experience, it didn't take much effort to bite the badger to death.
In reality, the badger didn't intend to attack; it just had poor vision and was running blindly in panic.
But Wang An was terrified, because Wang An was very, very afraid of "the sorrow of the balls"!
This kind of "sorrow of the balls" is no ordinary sorrow; it is not something a normal man can bear!
Ask any man—wouldn't you be afraid?
After stabbing and bleeding the pile of badgers, whether alive or dead, the three gathered the carcasses together.
Including those killed by the six dogs, there were 19 in total. Six small badgers of about 10 jin each made up nearly a third of the count.
There was also one bald one. This bald badger looked incredibly wretched!
Looking at its body, it looked as if it had the mange. Except for the area under its neck and its belly, the sides of its body and the middle of its back were completely bald.
On the bald skin of its back, there were scabs that were half-detached, flapping around. Only a few strands of hair remained on its tail.
Considering half the winter had already passed, this badger's fur still hadn't grown back!
If he guessed correctly, this badger was the most bullied one in the group—the "tool badger"!
However, this badger was now completely liberated. Wang An and the others had done a good deed by helping it end its miserable fate!
The badger's internal organs were not thrown away. The elders said that not only does badger meat have the effect of expelling parasites and regulating the stomach, but the organs do as well.
Of course, whether it actually expelled parasites was unknown, but it was possible that eating them was beneficial for the stomach!
Feeding the dogs before gutting was a law; no hunter would mistreat his hunting dogs. Thus, the hearts, livers, and lungs were arranged for the dogs first, and they weren't stingy with the meat either.
Da Qing was still a bit dissatisfied that he couldn't be the first to eat the meat, letting out a series of "woo-woos" and "wangs." Unfortunately, no one would spoil him. Although he drooled long strings of saliva, he had to be second in line. There was no other way!
The hearts, livers, and lungs of three large badgers, as well as their belly meat, all went into the stomachs of the six dogs. This food seemed to perfectly suit the dogs' tastes; the six dogs ate more than they usually did with other animals, their bellies bulging.
After gutting the badgers, the three immediately dumped out the feces from the intestines and threw them on the snow to freeze.
Wang An had eaten this stuff before, but that was in his previous life; he had long forgotten exactly what it tasted like.
Badger skins, like those of jumping cats, have a membrane between the skin and the meat. Therefore, after slicing the connection between the skin and meat, one could pull the skin up with the left hand and press the meat down with the right to separate them perfectly, unlike with wild boars or black bears where the tip of the knife had to be used to carve.
After a flurry of activity, they finally finished. Sixteen complete badger carcasses and three carcasses without belly meat emerged!
Checking the time, it was past 12 o'clock. The three began melting snow to boil water, preparing both boiled and roasted meat.
(End of Chapter)