Chapter 54: Dog-Fighting Formation

Feng Chengmin looked at the four dogs, then looked at Wang An.

He said irritably, "What do you mean 'said'? There's no 'said' about it. These four things pull this stunt all the time, and I don't know what's going on either!"

Good grief!

Just looking at the formation these four dogs had set up...

Anyone who saw it would think Feng Chengmin definitely knew some tricks that went beyond the realm of ordinary humans!

Otherwise, there would be no way to explain why the formation was so perfectly executed!

Seeing that Feng Chengmin's expression wasn't great, Wang An didn't dare to ask any more and continued to wander aimlessly with him.

They wandered for about half an hour.

The large white dog first sniffed a pine tree, then sniffed around the vicinity.

Then, it tilted its head back to sniff the sky.

After that, it let out three "woof, woof, woof" barks toward the sky and charged off in the direction it had just sniffed.

Watching the white dog dash off, Wang An felt that the dog might have discovered prey.

Sure enough, the other three dogs also went off to sniff around and began scurrying in all directions.

They all barked wildly and started running after the white dog!

Earlier, while chatting idly with Feng Chengmin, he had told Wang An a lot about driving dogs, how to command them, and how to surround prey.

Wang An had taken all of it to heart, because what he wanted to learn were exactly these things and hunting experience!

Feng Chengmin had told him that his large white dog was a lead dog, and a rare "head-lifter" type!

Hearing this, Wang An had felt skeptical at the time. A head-lifter? And rare?

The dog he had bought was also called a head-lifter, though he hadn't taken those three dogs into the mountains yet and hadn't seen for himself what this "head-lifter" thing was all about!

And this uncle's dog was a "rare" head-lifter?

If head-lifters were so rare, he had already encountered two of them; they clearly weren't that rare!

Seeing all four dogs running, Feng Chengmin also started running after them.

Seeing Feng Chengmin run, Wang An naturally had to follow!

And so, the dogs ran through the woods while the two men ran along the ridges.

"Ridge" (山岗 - shāngǎng) is a term for a type of terrain.

If one were to look down at the entire mountain range from the sky, it would appear as an irregular series of large waves.

Of course, it was extremely irregular; many places had no waves at all, just gentle slopes.

The crests of the waves were called ridges or mountain crests.

For example, Huangyang Ridge, the third ridge or fifth crest south of Kaoshan Village.

The troughs of the waves were called hollows or gullies.

For example, like Pozi Gully, also called Pozi Hollow! Or the third gully, the fifth hollow.

Locals didn't think too much when speaking to each other; whether they said "hollow" or "gully," everyone knew what they meant!

As for those gentle slopes, they were called mountain ridges or mountain banks; the tops of the gentle slopes were called mountain heads, mountain tops, or summits.

There were all sorts of names, and there wasn't one precise definition!

People just said whatever they wanted, and as long as everyone understood, it was fine!

Because ridges are at a higher elevation, there are fewer trees and shrubs.

Whether walking or pulling a sled with horses, people tried to stay on the ridges to save effort and enjoy a relatively open view.

The two men ran until they were panting heavily.

Their legs were churning like flaming wheels, moving incredibly fast!

In a short while, they realized the four dogs had completely vanished from sight!

The two men could no longer run and stopped, listening to the faint, distant sound of barking.

They tried to walk as fast as possible toward the direction of the barking.

Meanwhile, in a place invisible to them, the four dogs and one pig were already in combat.

It was a female wild boar weighing about two hundred and sixty or seventy jin (approx. 130-135kg), which was running incessantly.

Why say "incessantly"? Because these four dogs were incredibly shameless.

Feng Chengmin's four dogs were: a white one named Dabai; two yellow ones, the larger one named Dahuang and the smaller one with a tuft of black hair on its left ear named Xiaohuang; and a black-and-white patched one named Dahua.

As the sow ran, the four dogs were just showing off.

You bite a chunk of the pig's belly and turn to run.

Then it bites a chunk of the pig's rear and runs after biting.

Well, I certainly can't be outdone; I'll bite the other half of the rear. I won't run; I'll just keep biting, and if the wild boar turns around, then I'll run!

The last one got impatient; fine, just grab whatever you can, get one bite in first!

In this way, the wild boar could never pick up speed; it had to walk while being driven by the dogs.

After running and trotting for less than two *li* (approx. 1km), Dabai lost its patience. *What the hell are you running for? Can't you just behave? What, you can't outrun her?*

Barking wildly, it seemed to be issuing commands to the other three dogs.

Then, with a few accelerating strides, it lunged in front of the wild boar.

It spun around on the spot, blocking the sow's path, but it didn't move forward to bite. Instead, it barked furiously.

Xiaohuang seemed to understand the command; it accelerated a few steps, lunged forward, and clamped onto the sow's left ear, refusing to let go.

The sow certainly wouldn't allow it! She was likely thinking: *Why the hell are you biting my ear? Do you want to die?*

She lunged to the left to gore Xiaohuang!

At this moment, Dahua also came up following the command, biting the pig's rear, shaking its head violently, and pulling backward with all its might.

The sow let out a "oink" of agony and lunged forward. It must have hurt terribly!

Xiaohuang, weighing only about 100 jin (approx. 50kg), couldn't hold on once the boar lunged like that!

Just as the sow was about to accelerate into a run, Dahuang arrived and bit the other half of her rear, though it didn't get a chance to shake its head.

The sow let out another scream and stopped running forward; instead, she turned around to bite the two dogs—Dahuang and Dahua—that were biting her rear.

A pig cannot spin in place; it can only make wide turns.

After a few turns, Dahua and Dahuang couldn't hold on and let go, but the pig's ferocity was triggered, and she began chasing Dahuang and Dahua to bite them.

The two dogs dodged left and right; they were significantly more agile than the pig!

Before she could chase them for more than a few steps, Dabai lunged forward and bit down right where the two dogs had previously broken the skin.

Not only did Dabai hold on without letting go, but it also began shaking its head violently!

It was likely thinking: *I finally caught you, you little runner!*

In the jargon of mountain hunters, Dabai's behavior was called "opening the back door"!

If a dog bites accurately, hitting the anus, it is even more perfect; sometimes, with enough force, it can even drag the intestines out, which accelerates the prey's death!

The sow likely felt that this was a serious pain!

Because when the other two dogs had bitten her earlier and dragged her for so long, it didn't seem to feel that bad.

Her whole body stiffened first, and then she let out a loud, shrill scream.

It was a heart-wrenching, earth-shaking howl!

During that moment when the sow stiffened, Xiaohuang, who had been circling nearby looking for an opportunity, lunged forward.

It clamped onto the left ear of the wild boar that it had missed before, then pressed down hard against the sow's body.

It was likely secretly rejoicing: *See? This pig's ear is back in my mouth!*