Chapter 964: The Reckless Wanderer

The appearance of a leopard was no small matter; it was only right to let everyone be mentally prepared.

In truth, if he hadn't seen that leopard again yesterday, Wang An would have thought the creature had long since run away.

After all, there was basically no prey in the mountains surrounding the village. If a leopard wanted to survive, it would need to head deeper into the mountains where food was more plentiful.

As soon as Wang An spoke, the crowd was visibly shaken.

Sun Dafu, who had been full of smiles, immediately became solemn and instinctively asked Wang An

"Where's that dirt-leopard lurking now?"

"Lurking" was local dialect, meaning "approximate location."

Wang An thought for a moment and said

"The day before yesterday, it was about two or three li southeast of the Eighth Post. I have no idea where it's bolted to now. Those two shots I fired yesterday only grazed a bit of its skin."

After Wang An finished, Sun Dafu said with a face full of worry

"Damn it, we just finished off a blind bear, and now a damn dirt-leopard shows up. This is really enough to make a man blow a fuse."

The accountant, Li Youcai, also said with a grim expression

"Exactly. We ought to get a few artillery pieces and just blast the mountains in front of us once over."

Immediately after, the crowd began to buzz with discussion, the most frequent phrase being, "What are we going to do?"

It wasn't surprising that everyone felt so helpless and worried; primarily, compared to a bear, a leopard was far more dangerous.

Because blind bears are omnivores, generally speaking, as long as you don't provoke them, they won't actively attack humans.

While leopards also normally run away upon seeing people, they are pure carnivores. When driven by extreme hunger, humans inevitably become a course on their menu.

It was said that whether it's a leopard or a tiger, once they have tasted human flesh, they can never forget the flavor, and they will actively attack humans whenever they see them thereafter.

Of course, while this claim might not be entirely accurate, it held a certain logic.

The key was that in terms of both stealth and attack methods, the leopard was second only to the tiger. Consequently, humans could not only fail to defend against them, but killing one was genuinely no ordinary feat.

After a bout of frantic discussion, everyone looked toward Sun Dafu again.

Clearly, they were waiting for Sun Dafu, as the village head, to make a decision.

Facing the gaze of the crowd, Sun Dafu turned his eyes toward Wang An and said

"Xiao An, look, you've already dealt with the bear. As for this dirt-leopard, do you think you could take on a bit more trouble and—"

Before Sun Dafu could finish, Wang An interrupted with a bitter smile

"Stop, stop, stop, Grandpa Sun. It's not that I don't want to hunt it; it's that I really can't hit it. That thing usually doesn't show its face, and when it does, it vanishes instantly. With the vegetation so thick this time of year, anyone who goes into the mountains is powerless."

Wang An spread his hands, projecting an air of helplessness.

Just as Sun Dafu sighed and was about to say something, the militia member Niu Dawei suddenly gestured toward the dog kennels at Wang An's house and said

"Aren't there all these dogs! Just lead them into the mountains and get to it. Forget a dirt-leopard; even if a big-paw comes, they can at least tear it up for a while."

After Niu Dawei spoke, the militia member Niu Dayou echoed

"Exactly. With all these dogs dragging it out, there'll surely be a chance to hand over the gun."

In the local area, some phrases weren't exactly dialect, but perhaps only locals could understand them.

For instance, Niu Dayou's phrase "chance to hand over the gun" meant a chance to fire.

As soon as Niu Dawei and Niu Dayou spoke, several brainless people immediately chimed in.

It was as if Wang An's dogs were simply supposed to enter the mountains without fear of death to fight the leopard.

After all, only hunting dogs could find a leopard by scent, and in the eyes of these people, it was only natural for a dog to fight a prey animal to the death.

It had to be said that these people's heads were filled with shit; their way of thinking was truly disgusting.

Thus, upon hearing these people, Wang An's face immediately darkened, and he spoke directly to Niu Dawei

"Hey, Niu Old-Six, I see you're so generous. Why don't you lend your wife to those few families in the village who don't have children? Let her give each of them a kid. I'm telling you, as long as your wife helps them carry on their family lines, they'll be grateful to you for the rest of their lives."

Turning his head, Wang An then said to Niu Dayou

"One wife definitely won't be enough. Why don't you lend yours out too? You've already got kids anyway, so your wife isn't of much fucking use anymore, right?"

Wang An's words were no longer just insults; this was blatant humiliation.

Because Wang An had delivered these ruthless curses, he had effectively offended the Niu brothers beyond repair.

However, for someone like Wang An—who was not only petty but also believed in an eye for an eye—he didn't care at all. They were just two pieces of rotten fish; he said what he said.

Mainly, if he didn't speak this way, he couldn't fully release the anger in his heart.

Moreover, for people like Niu Dawei and Niu Dayou whose brains were made of shit, Wang An didn't mind finding an opportunity to send them to see the Buddha.

As soon as Wang An finished, the accountant Li Youcai tried to smooth things over

"Xiao An, look at you, what kind of things are you saying? We're all village kin, how can you talk like that?"

Regarding a fierce deity like Wang An, everyone in the surrounding villages had reservations. As a leader in the village, Li Youcai also didn't dare speak too harshly to him.

Mainly because Wang An not only had money and influence, but most importantly, he was a reckless rogue.

Especially after Niu Daming disappeared for no reason, many villagers suspected Wang An had hired someone to do it. However, since there was no evidence, many only dared to gossip about it behind his back.

After Li Youcai spoke, Niu Dawei finally dared to say, his face red and neck straining

"Exactly, we're all village kin. Xiao An, isn't it too much for you to talk like that?"

Niu Dayou stretched his neck as if he wanted to say something too, but noticing Wang An's face—which was so gloomy it looked like it could wring out water—he moved his lips, but not a sound came out.

Wang An curled his lip and said with utter disdain

"Too much? Hehehe... The fact that I haven't found someone to kill you means you should go find a place to burn some high-grade incense in gratitude."

As soon as Wang An said this, Niu Dawei's previously flushed face was frightened into a deathly pale white.

Ignoring Niu Dawei's expression, Wang An gestured toward his two houses and said

"These two big houses of mine were earned with the help of these dogs. Well? Do you have anything else you want to say?"