Chapter 585: Wang Meilan, Stabbed and Hospitalized (Part 2)

Chapter 585: Chapter 444: Wang Meilan, Stabbed and Hospitalized (Part 2)

Zhao Youcai didn’t ask why. Seeing the situation, he just blew a whistle and strode toward the south side of the Wood Transport Route.

To the south of the route was another slope, but it was gentler. Zhao Youcai led the hounds up it and saw Little Bear and Big Fatty sniffing around the nearby climbing vines.

Zhao Youcai’s eyes lit up. He gestured to Wang Qiang and the others, and the five men waited patiently, quietly watching the two lead dogs.

A moment later, Little Bear started running uphill, barking nonstop as it went.

Hearing Little Bear’s barks, White Dragon followed close behind, quickly ascending the slope. Big Fatty, however, just gave a mighty shake where it stood, its floppy ears flapping along with its body.

After Little Bear left, Zhao Youcai and Lin Xiangshun focused all their attention on Big Fatty. But after its shake, the dog just trotted over to a poplar tree, lifted its leg, and trickled out a couple of drops of pee.

They had been in the mountains for over an hour. Big Fatty had been walking and peeing the whole way; it was a wonder it still had two drops left.

And after it finished peeing, Big Fatty stood before the tree, braced its front legs, and began kicking its back legs alternately behind it.

It was spreading its scent, marking its territory.

“WOOF! WOOF!”

Just then, two barks came from behind. Zhao Youcai turned to see Xiaohua barking loudly up the slope.

Zhao Youcai quickly signaled to Liu Jinyong and Hong Yuntao to let all the dogs loose.

The moment the leashes were loosened, Xiaohua vanished in a flash. But San Pang, Flower Cat, and Hua Lang just stayed near Big Fatty, sniffing around. They heard Little Bear’s barking from up above but remained unmoved.

“CHUT! CHUT!”

Zhao Youcai made the sound repeatedly, urging the four dogs forward as he walked uphill with his gun slung over his back.

But the four of them—Big Fatty and the others—while running ahead of Zhao Youcai’s group, never got more than fifty meters away from the five men.

By this point, the men could no longer hear Little Bear’s barking. Zhao Youcai knew that Little Bear and the others must have gone down into a gully.

A ridge was blocking the sound, which was why they couldn’t hear the dogs anymore.

So, Zhao Youcai hurriedly called for everyone to pick up the pace and head up the slope.

The higher they climbed and the closer they got to the mountain peak, the farther Big Fatty and the other three dogs began to range from Zhao Youcai.

Suddenly, Big Fatty threw its head back and let out two howls, its barks powerful and resonant. Then it took off running, cresting the ridge without pausing and plunging straight down the other side.

This time, San Pang, Flower Cat, and Hua Lang finally perked up and followed Big Fatty, scrambling down the slope after it.

“Let’s go!” Zhao Youcai shouted, unslinging his gun and breaking into a run up the hill.

By the time they reached the top of the ridge, Gangjiansi, the sound of barking was a chaotic mess. If all was going to plan, the Dog Gang had definitely cornered something!

For hunters who use dogs to corner prey, the sound of barking makes the adrenaline pump and erases all previous fatigue.

At this point, the younger Lin Xiangshun had already overtaken Zhao Youcai, with Wang Qiang right behind him. Zhao Youcai was now only keeping pace with Liu Jinyong and Hong Yuntao.

‘This isn’t part of my plan.’ He had come on this trip specifically to kill the murderous boar with his own hands and win back the Forest Farm’s privilege of preparing the taxidermy specimen. If Wang Qiang and Lin Xiangshun got to it first, he’d have no choice but to try and take the credit.

But falsely claiming the glory was a disgraceful thing to do, so Zhao Youcai quickened his pace, running rapidly down the slope.

But as he ran, the barking stopped. Then he saw Wang Qiang and Lin Xiangshun halt up ahead. Lin Xiangshun continued forward at a brisk pace with his gun raised, while Wang Qiang stopped to slowly catch his breath.

Zhao Youcai also stopped. Liu Jinyong, who had just passed him, saw this and stopped as well. “Master Zhao, what’s wrong?” he asked.

Before Zhao Youcai could answer, Big Fatty, San Pang, Flower Cat, and Hua Lang—all four dogs—came running back.

Zhao Youcai’s expression darkened. He continued down the slope, only to see Little Bear, Da Huang, White Dragon, and Xiaohua all returning as well.

“Elder Zhao,” Hong Yuntao called out to Zhao Youcai, panting heavily, “why are all the dogs coming back?”

Zhao Youcai’s face was grim, and he said nothing. When they reached Shan Erlie and continued a little farther down, the men saw that the surrounding wild grass and pine needles had been trampled down in large patches.

Zhao Youcai, Lin Xiangshun, and Wang Qiang went forward to examine the scene closely. Liu Jinyong and Hong Yuntao stood to the side, looking around with a mix of anxiety and curiosity.

After a quick look, the three men led the dogs and cut across the ridge, heading east.

“Master Zhao!” Liu Jinyong hurried to catch up with Zhao Youcai. “Was it that Big Cannon Egg?”

Zhao Youcai gave a heavy nod but said nothing, just striding forward.

If it had been any other boar, it might have been impossible to tell. But this one was dragging a Steel Wire Rope, and the grass broken by the rope looked different from grass that had merely been trampled.

Lin Xiangshun was walking ahead when he suddenly grabbed Zhao Youcai’s arm. “Uncle Zhao, we can’t go any farther!”

“Hm?” Zhao Youcai stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Lin Xiangshun.

Lin Xiangshun pointed ahead and to the left. “Down there is the Wood Transport Route that leads to Class 43.”

As a driver for the Forest Farm, Lin Xiangshun’s familiarity with this mountain area was second to none.

When the group had first entered the mountains, they had gone to Old Crow Cliff above the 43 Forest Class. After making a huge loop, they had arrived at this spot. Below the slope at their feet was the Wood Transport Route leading to the No. 43 Forest Farm.

Zhao Youcai was taken aback. For a moment, he only registered that his group had walked in a circle, but he didn’t understand why Lin Xiangshun was telling him not to go forward.

After a whole morning of trekking through the mountains, the boar was finally just ahead. If he could just get Little Bear back on the boar’s trail, Zhao Youcai was confident he could take it down today.