Chapter 28: Danger Approaches

After about fifty minutes, the two arrived at their destination.

Wild Boar Forest was actually a large, sun-facing mountain hollow. The trees growing inside were mostly species that produced abundant seeds, such as oaks, red pines, and hazelnut trees.

Because food was plentiful and the area was sheltered from the wind and bathed in sunlight, the temperature was much higher than on the ridges. Naturally, most wild boars gathered here, leading the locals to call it Wild Boar Forest.

In the great mountains, there were many places suitable for wild boar herds like this, such as Wild Boar Ridge, Sow Valley, and Cannonball Mountain.

Of course, there were many other places with different names or unnamed areas where wild boars were also quite numerous.

These wild boars were incredibly destructive to crops!

They didn't follow the rule of "eat and leave." They caused havoc while eating, and continued to cause havoc even after they were full—perhaps because their snouts were itchy, or their bodies were!

A herd of wild boars would root and press down, trampling crops and then rolling in them, causing massive swathes of farmland to be devastated. The losses were catastrophic.

Furthermore, every year, incidents occurred where wild boars injured people in the fields.

Therefore, every autumn and winter, various villages would organize large-scale hunts involving hunters and militiamen.

The autumn hunt generally took place from September to October, while the winter hunt usually occurred during the twelfth and first lunar months.

The primary target of the hunt was the wild boar.

There were also black bears, of course. However, in this era, although the number of black bears was also high, they were nothing compared to the sheer number of wild boars.

Primarily, a black bear could at most produce two cubs a year, and the next mating wouldn't happen until the current cubs left the nest two years later. In other words, they typically had one litter every three years, consisting of one to two cubs.

Wild boars were different. A single litter could consist of six, seven, eight, or even twelve to thirteen piglets. They typically had one litter per year, and in rare cases, two.

Despite being hunted year after year, the wild boar population never seemed to diminish; in fact, it often increased. They were incredibly formidable.

Wang An tied his large horse to a tree and unfastened the sack of fodder, placing it beneath the horse's mouth.

He then buried a sack containing two pheasants and three hares in the snow a short distance away to prevent attracting carnivores that might harm the horse.

The two chatted briefly; after all, they only had a difference of opinion, and their brotherhood remained deep.

However, even so, with Wang An's calculating nature, he certainly intended to teach Li Biao a lesson.

Otherwise, with such self-righteousness—disdaining small tasks while attempting big ones despite being too weak—he would never be suited for mountain hunting.

But before Wang An could make his arrangements, Li Biao had already arranged things quite clearly for himself.

Since it was called Wild Boar Forest, wild boars were naturally abundant, but it was also an extremely dangerous place.

"One pig, two bears, three tigers"—this was not just a simple saying, but experience and lessons summarized by generations of ancestors.

As the two approached slowly, they had traveled less than two *li* when they discovered a sounder of fifteen or sixteen wild boars.

Four large boars were currently mating with sows! The largest must have weighed over 500 catties.

Counting the sows that were not mating, there were a total of five or six large sows, along with six or seven piglets. Because they were too far away, they couldn't see clearly.

At this time of year, the wild boars were still in their mating season, though it usually ended by mid-November.

The large boars would also basically finish leaving the herd by mid-November.

However, the large boars were most difficult to deal with during this season because they protected their nests. Their snouts were incredibly powerful, with a sense of smell dozens of times stronger than a hunting dog's.

If they detected humans or other animals approaching, they would truly fight to the death.

Just as Wang An was pondering what to do, he saw Li Biao charging toward the herd of wild boars with reckless bravado!

This terrified Wang An, who immediately grabbed Li Biao. This guy was a total idiot!

"What are you doing? Do you have a death wish?" Wang An asked urgently.

"Hunting wild boars! Don't you see that herd?" Li Biao asked, confused.

Wang An didn't have the patience to argue with him and said directly, "From now on, you must listen to me. Otherwise, we'll just hunt separately in the future to avoid ruining our brotherhood."

Li Biao was a bit unhappy and muttered under his breath, but he stopped running toward the herd.

Wang An carefully observed the area near the boar herd.

On the leeward side of the herd was an earthen mound, less than two meters high, facing the direction of the two brothers.

The wind blew down from the mound, so they definitely couldn't go to the top of it; while the visibility was okay, they would be upwind of the wild boars.

About 200 meters from the herd stood a massive pine tree, about as thick as two men embracing it.

Beneath the tree were several large weathered boulders and some stones of varying sizes. The wind had swept them clean, and a person could lie upon them.

However, because of the snow, it was impossible to tell if those large boulders, over two meters high, were partially buried in the ground or how stable they were.

But since it was winter, they would likely be frozen in place. There was no other choice; they had to take the risk.

In truth, they shouldn't have been taking such a risk at all.

Wild Boar Forest did indeed have many boars, but experienced hunters never came here because it was too dangerous.

Only someone like Wang An—a young, hot-headed, amateur hunter—would dare to come, mainly because he didn't actually know much about hunting.

Having made a plan, Wang An said to Li Biao, "In a moment, we'll go around the tree, quietly crawl onto that largest rock, and fire from atop it. If a wild boar comes to root at the rock and the rock is solid, we keep firing. If the rock isn't stable, we must not linger in the fight—climb the tree immediately! Do you understand?"

Li Biao didn't argue, but his expression was one of eager anticipation, his face full of excitement.

The two moved forward, but Li Biao's pace was noticeably fast, even faster than a normal walk. Wang An increasingly regretted bringing him into the mountains; the man was utterly mindless.

Sure enough, with about 10 meters left to reach the large rock, Li Biao, perhaps overcome by excitement, couldn't hold back again. He raised his gun to his face and fired—it was unclear which pig he aimed at, but the shot rang out!

A loud *bang* echoed, followed by the sound of the bolt being pulled and the frantic "oink-oink" cries of the startled boar herd!

At 200 meters, he could just fire whenever he felt like it! Such was his recklessness.

Another *bang*—Li Biao fired again! A startled herd of wild boars has no direction; they run wherever they feel most comfortable.

Wild boars prefer leeward spots to rest. The earthen mound this herd was using for shelter was facing directly toward Wang An and his companion!

Wild boars cannot climb earthen mounds! Even if they could, they likely wouldn't bother the effort of running up a mound.

This turned out poorly. Before they even reached the planned location, Li Biao had fired, leaving Wang An completely stunned. Wang An was already an amateur, a half-baked hunter.

To be stuck with a fool like Li Biao meant danger arrived—and it arrived very fast!

Aside from two or three piglets running toward the small slopes on either side of the mound, the rest—the large boars, the sows, and the piglets, including those hidden under leaves and branches—totaled about fifteen or sixteen wild boars!

They were all charging straight toward the two brothers!

It was truly a spectacular sight, and truly enough to make one's soul flee the body!

Wang An was terrified, and Li Biao was completely dazed; he didn't even pull the bolt anymore.

After a moment of shock, Wang An screamed, "Get on the rock! Run!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Li Biao and ran toward the rock. Both men were tall and large-framed, so their legs were naturally long, and they ran quite fast.

Because of the shape of these rocks, it was impossible to climb them quickly; one had to use the smaller adjacent stones as stepping stones.

Being rural children and both being tall, climbing rocks and trees was usually a simple task.

However, it seemed Li Biao hadn't listened to a single word Wang An had said.

He neither climbed the rock to fire, nor did he observe which way was easiest to climb.

This resulted in Wang An reaching the top of the large rock while Li Biao was still scrambling up.

The wild boars didn't care if you had climbed up or not. If you wanted to kill them, they were going to root you to death!

His ranking had been knocked down again!!