Chapter 621: The Origin of Black Tiger

“Right.” Xue Baojun completely agreed with Zhao Youcai’s point of view. “I just got here myself, so I haven’t had a chance to scout the area. But I heard from Leader Liu that this boar gored two people to death here even before Liwei.”

“Yep.” Zhao Youcai gestured to either side. “The undergrowth in these woods is too thick. I’ve been looking the last couple of days—it’s full of wild roses and sticky vines. In a place like this, even the toughest dogs can’t catch that boar.”

Hearing this, Xue Baojun nodded again. “I’m not just bragging on my nephew’s behalf, but his pack of dogs was pretty damn tough. The boar’s den is over five li from here, and the dogs couldn’t even keep it cornered in its lair. That’s when I knew these woods were trouble.”

This was a seasoned hunter, his experience vast. Even without scouting the mountain himself, just by listening to the simple description from two amateurs like Liu Jinyong and Hong Yuntao, he could grasp the general situation.

Since they were both experts, Zhao Youcai got straight to the point. “Those six dogs of your son’s—I just saw them. They’re all Mongolia sighthound crossbreeds, right?”

Xue Limin’s pack was a lot like Xue Liwei’s. They all had big heads, thick necks, and wide jaws. Anyone who knew dogs could tell with a single glance that they were crossbreeds of Mongolia sighthounds and Northeast Stupid Dogs.

“They are!” Xue Baojun said. “My eldest brother got this pack from Zhao Dong. He runs business back and forth from there.”

Hearing this, Zhao Youcai glanced at the hounds, hiding the envy in his eyes before saying to Xue Baojun, “Mongolia crossbreeds are fast, but in this kind of terrain, it’s useless for chasing cannon eggs. If we want to hunt this boar, we have to set an ambush, a surround-and-kill hunt.”

After Zhao Youcai finished, Xue Baojun immediately nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”

With that, Xue Baojun took two steps forward, stepping between Zhao Youcai and Wang Qiang. He pointed ahead and said, “The boar is holed up ahead. I’ll have my son take the dogs and flush it out. Elder Zhao, I’ll go block it from the north, and you block it from here. How does that sound?”

“Deal!” Zhao Youcai agreed instantly, without a second thought.

Seeing Zhao Youcai agree so readily, Xue Baojun lowered his head slightly, reached out, and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks.”

Zhao Youcai’s expression didn’t change, and he said nothing.

At that moment, Xue Baojun looked up and sighed. “Liwei is my second brother’s son. My son and I came to the Bao Leng Field this time, and he said he was coming hunting, so we all came together. And now… I can’t bring him back. What am I supposed to tell my second brother and sister-in-law?”

“Then let’s take that boar down,” Zhao Youcai said. “Cut off its head, take it back, and put it on the kid’s grave. Avenge him.”

“Yeah.” Xue Baojun nodded heavily. “I heard your in-law put out an order: whoever takes down this boar gets two hundred yuan.”

At this point, before Zhao Youcai could reply, Xue Baojun added, “Youcai, I’m grateful enough that you’re willing to help me. My nephew’s family is struggling, so we can’t really repay you. Anyway, if we take this boar down and avenge our Liwei, the reward money is all yours. My son and I won’t take a single cent.”

When Xue Baojun had asked for his help earlier, Zhao Youcai had said nothing. Now, when Xue Baojun said the reward money was all his, Zhao Youcai didn’t refuse either.

Then, Xue Baojun, Liu Jinyong, and Hong Yuntao went down the slope and headed straight north in the horse-drawn cart.

Xue Limin, however, stayed behind with the dogs.

According to their plan, Xue Limin would take the dogs over and flush the cannon egg out of its den.

His job was to drive the prey.

Once the boar was flushed, it would run either south or north. With Xue Baojun blocking the north and Zhao Youcai blocking the south, the boar wouldn’t be able to escape even if it grew wings.

The job for those two was to form the blockade.

At that moment, the boar was over five li north of Zhao Youcai’s position. Therefore, Xue Baojun had to take the cart to the north of the boar’s den to find a place to set up his ambush.

Thus, they had to wait for Xue Baojun to get into position before his son, Xue Limin, could set off with the dogs to startle the boar.

Otherwise, if Xue Limin and the dogs arrived first and flushed the boar, it would be fine if it ran south, as Zhao Youcai was already waiting.

But if the boar went north and arrived before Xue Baojun did, they would miss their chance.

This situation was called a “botched ambush.” If that happened, today’s entire hunt would have been for nothing.

So, Xue Baojun went ahead first, leaving Xue Limin behind to make small talk with Zhao Youcai and Wang Qiang.

The three of them hadn’t really socialized before, so the only thing they could talk about was hunting. During the conversation, Xue Limin asked about Zhao Jun several times.

With his old friends not around, there was no one to compete with, so Zhao Youcai didn’t feel like bragging about his son.

But Wang Qiang was different. The moment his nephew’s glorious deeds were mentioned, he would go on and on, unstoppable.

And so, Zhao Jun, who was walking through the mountain forest at that very moment, felt his ears start to burn. He reached up to scratch them, but the more he scratched, the itchier and hotter they became.

Suddenly, Black Tiger let out two sharp barks and charged straight down the eastern slope from the ridge.

The moment Black Tiger ran, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon shot out after him in a flash. Just then, Little Bear also gave voice and started down the slope.

As Little Bear took off, Xiaohua followed close behind. Then came Da Huang, White Dragon, and Big Fatty…

Zhao Jun slung his rifle down from his shoulder and said to Li Baoyu, “Eighty percent chance it’s a wild boar.”

The ridge they were walking along ran from south to north. Its top was covered in oak trees, while the gullies at the bottom of the slopes on both sides were full of Qiuzi Trees.

Qiuzi are wild walnuts from the Northeast, one of the main food sources for wild boars.

Hearing this, Li Baoyu nodded in agreement. While taking down his rifle and loading it, he said, “Black Tiger was the first one out today, huh.”

“Yep.” Zhao Jun smiled. “This past couple of days, this dog has seemed something special.”

“He can even cut off prey now,” Li Baoyu laughed as well. “I heard from my dad that my uncle used to have a little Qing Gou that was amazing at cutting off roe deer.”

As they spoke, the two didn’t waste any time, continuing down the slope at top speed.

At that moment, down in the gully at the bottom of the slope, a sounder of wild boars was picking up walnuts that had fallen from the trees. They’d grab a walnut, pop it in their mouths, and CRUNCH, CRUNCH, chew it to bits.

But when they heard the barking of Black Tiger and Little Bear, the lead boar and its sounder of piglets frantically fled toward the opposite slope.

One of Black Tiger’s front legs was injured, and he usually walked with a limp. However, his physical conditioning and natural talent were so good that when running on flat ground or uphill, he wasn’t any slower than the other dogs—he would even take the lead.

But going downhill required power from the front legs, which put Black Tiger at a disadvantage. Seeing the other dogs pass him, Black Tiger didn’t get anxious.

Once he reached the gully and started up the opposite slope, the power shifted to his hind legs, and Black Tiger gradually caught up.

By this time, the Dog Gang had already surrounded a wild boar.

A two-year-old sow, about 130 to 140 jin, was pinned down in a flash by the eight dogs. It didn’t even have a chance to struggle before it was snuffed out instantly.

Black Tiger arrived and saw at a glance that his companions had practically swamped the little boar. He couldn’t get to his usual spot for a bite, so he didn’t join in, nor did he chase after the other boars. He just flopped down nearby and waited for his share of the meat.

Meanwhile, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon stood at the edge of the fray, making several eager attempts to charge in for a bite, but they never managed to break through.

But this was normal. It was always hard for a young dog to get its first bite on a hunt. Once it landed that first one, though, things would be much easier from then on.

At this point, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu hadn’t even reached the bottom of the gully yet. They still had nearly three li to cover.

Black Tiger was getting impatient. He raised his tail, wagging it, and barked at his companions as if to cheer them on.

Suddenly, Black Tiger’s tail stopped wagging. He stared into the woods to the south.

It wasn’t just Black Tiger. The other dogs sensed it too. Even with their mouths full of boar, their gazes drifted southward.

Black Tiger shot to his feet, darted a few steps in that direction, and let out several vicious barks to the south.

Just then, about twenty meters away from Black Tiger, a creature that was not quite a fox and not quite a wolf poked its head out furtively.

Hearing Black Tiger’s barks, it turned to leave, but it hadn’t expected Black Tiger to suddenly charge straight at it.