Early the next morning, after the two brothers Wang An and Wang Li had finished breakfast, they put armor on the dogs and fitted them with barbed collars, then rode their horses and led the dogs into the mountains.
Having not entered the mountains for a long time, the dogs were very excited. As soon as they passed through the main gate, they began to frolic, chasing one another in a lively commotion.
Looking at the dogs, Wang An smiled at Wang Li and said
"These dogs have each grown so fat, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, just like little calves. I feel that if they run into a pack of wolves, they'll definitely be able to give them a proper fight."
Looking at Da Hei's large, plump backside, Wang Li also said with a chuckle
"Yup, I reckon with Da Hei's big round butt, he could probably just sit a wolf to death, hahaha!"
Among these dogs, Da Hei was the largest. Now that he had grown fat, he looked even bigger. When Wang An had picked Da Hei up while feeding him, he felt the dog weighed around 130 jin.
To be honest, for a purebred Northeast "Big Stupid Dog," reaching this weight was extremely rare.
Of course, this was also because the appetite of a mountain-hunting dog is significantly larger than that of an ordinary house dog; after all, the physical energy consumed by a hunting dog while trekking the mountains is several times that of a normal dog.
However, because of this, once they stop hunting, these dogs put on weight very quickly, and this is actually not a good thing for a hunting dog.
One must understand that while an animal becomes more physically capable and stronger after getting fat, their agility decreases significantly.
And agility is particularly vital for a mountain-hunting dog.
When a hunting dog engages in a life-and-death struggle with prey, the fight is incredibly intense and dangerous; the slightest mistake could cost the dog its life.
Therefore, a good hunting dog needs not only the spirit to fight desperately but also a strong physique, ample endurance, and excellent agility.
The goal of this trip into the mountains was to hunt that Asiatic black bear. To compensate for the dogs' weight gain and lack of agility, Wang An had decided to equip them with armor and collars.
Of course, even if the dogs weren't fat, Wang An would still have given them armor and collars; although these things were slightly cumbersome, they were truly a great treasure for protecting the dogs.
Not only were the three large black dogs and Wang Li's four large yellow dogs dressed this way, but even Wang An's Xiao Hei and the four spotted dogs were equipped.
This was because Wang Da Zhu, during his spare time, had made armor and collars for the family's Xiao Hei and the four spotted dogs as well.
But to be honest, Wang An didn't hold much hope that these four spotted dogs could become good hunting dogs.
Mainly, their previous performance had been quite poor.
This trip into the mountains was the final chance for them to prove themselves.
One must realize that these four spotted dogs had eaten the meat of jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, and had been fed Spirit-Opening Powder for several days. Furthermore, the amount of food fed to these four dogs every meal was enough to feed four fat pigs.
To put it bluntly, Wang An's investment in these four spotted dogs was quite substantial; overall, he had been more than generous.
So, if the four of them remained cowardly—tucking their tails and dripping urine the moment they were startled—Wang An would cull them without hesitation.
Mainly, in the countryside, such dogs have absolutely no value to a mountain hunter; it would be better for them to go meet the Buddha as soon as possible.
After running for a while, the dogs finally settled down. Another twenty minutes later, the two brothers reached their destination.
It must be said that during this season, the mountain vegetation changes by the day. When Wang An and the others were digging for ginseng, the ground was still covered in grass sprouts; now, the wild grass across the mountains was already tall enough to hide one's feet.
However, upon arriving at the spot mentioned by Widow Li, neither Da Hei nor the yellow dogs made a sound. This meant that the black bear Widow Li had seen had long since disappeared.
After circling the area, Wang Li said to Wang An
"Fourth Brother, do you think that Widow Li might have been seeing things? If there were a black bear here, there's no way Da Hei's nose wouldn't pick it up!"
Wang An scanned the surroundings and said
"It's unlikely she was seeing things. Perhaps last night's light rain washed away the scent."
Pausing for a moment, Wang An continued
"Besides, black bears are roaming animals; they wander every day. It's normal that we can't find it."
In fact, it wasn't just brown and black bears; animals like wild boars and roe deer were also roamers.
This meant they had no fixed residence and could appear anywhere, except when food was abundant in a certain area, in which case they would move within that range.
But even that range was not small, usually spanning at least twenty to thirty square kilometers.
Wang Li nodded, saying with some regret
"Yup. It would be great if it were winter; then we could track them by their prints."
Wang An gently flicked the horse reins and said "Giddy-up," then added with a light laugh
"Then why do you think those old mountain hunters put away their guns at this time of year? Do you really think it's just because the pelts aren't worth much? Even if the pelts aren't valuable, there are plenty of other valuable things. The truth is, they simply can't find the animals."
Hearing this, Wang Li scratched his head and suddenly laughed
"So they're all just putting gold on their own faces to look good, hahahaha..."
"Exactly, hahaha..."
Wang Li laughed, and Wang An laughed along with him.
Another hour passed. As the search area covered by the two men and twelve dogs continued to expand, Wang An finally confirmed that the black bear had completely vanished without a trace.
Fortunately, the two of them didn't leave empty-handed, as the dogs had caught many small animals. They caught nine rabbits, four roe deer, and two junglefowl that were in the middle of doing something mischievous.
The male junglefowl weighed nearly ten jin, and the female was about three jin.
Even though Da Hei had a strong build, he walked wobbly while carrying the male junglefowl back.
However, it must be mentioned that the performance of the four spotted dogs was decent, as those four roe deer were caught by them.
This caused Wang An's desire to cull the four of them to weaken slightly.
Wang An identified his current position, sucked his teeth while looking at the rabbits on the horse's back, and said to Wang Li
"Fifth Brother, let's go straight to the Wild Boar Forest. Let's just check the whole forest and be done with it; let's not dawdle here. I reckon that black bear is gone."
Wang Li licked his lips and said
"I reckon so too. Even if it's there, it's long gone."
After they finished speaking, they both put their thumbs and index fingers in their mouths and let out a very loud whistle to the dogs. Once the dogs had all gathered, the two of them headed toward the Wild Boar Forest.
(End of Chapter)