Hunting The Wild Boar (Part 4)

It's been so many years now, and in just a few days, he polished out the bamboo arrows.

It seemed like he really liked it.

"Xiaoyu, I know you are here because Aunt Huo has taken care of you before. But Tianzhou should also be the one who feels grateful to you," Wu Erlang continued.

At that time, after Liang Hongyu married Huo Tianzho the situation in their family became a lot of better.

Huo Tianzhou's health has improved somewhat in the past few years.

Although Liang Hongyu had lost her job in the town, she could still go to hunt to pay the debt.

Now, looking at them going in the right direction, Wu Erlang was really happy for them.

Huo Tianzhou should indeed feel grateful to the original Liang Hongyu.

The original Liang Hongyu not only promised Mother Huo to marry Huo Tianzhou but also willingly helped him pay off his debts.

However, although they are married, in fact, Liang Hongyu knows that the original Liang Hongyu only treated Huo Tianzhou as her own little brother.

"If you ever need anything, just let us know. We're practically family, so there's no need to be formal."

Wu Erlang had watched Huo Tianzhou grow up.

Huo Tianzhou had been bright since childhood, even more energetic than he was now.

However due to the family's misfortunes, he had been forced to mature early, and he could be quite stubborn about not bothering others.

Knowing he was concerned about Huo Tianzhou, Liang Hongyu replied, "Of course, we're all family here. You don't need to be formal with anyone. Otherwise, Aunt Wu would be the first one to scold me."

At the mention of his mother, Wu Erlang chuckled, "I'll have to tell her about that..."

...

The one who led the wild boar hunt this time was another village hunter called Shen Niu.

He's in his early forties, just as experienced as Uncle Qian in hunting.

He had brought along two hunting dogs with him this time.

Qian Huizhong and Qian Huihong each also had a hunting dog as well.

Several hunting dogs led the way ahead, and the first group went to the base of the mountain to inspect the fields where the wild boars had been seen feeding.

The signs of the damage were visible fresh on the wooden stakes that were surrounding the field.

The wild boar tracks on the ground were scattered, with traces of moisture that hadn't fully dried yet.

Liang Hongyu followed the tracks out onto the grassy slope below the mountain, which was dotted with patches of mud.

The wild boars had been active here not long ago.

Liang Hongyu returned, while Shen Niu observed the wild boar tracks on the ground.

"Qian Huizhong, did you encounter a herd of wild boars yesterday?"

The tracks were scattered, and Shen Niu's expression was serious.

Someone worriedly asked.

"No, we encountered a fully grown male boar."

Qian Huizhong looked at the tracks on the ground, feeling a little bit apprehensive about encountering a herd of wild boars.

If they had encountered a herd yesterday, they might not have been able to escape.

"From the tracks, it doesn't seem like a herd of wild boars."

Shen Niu stood up, and several people visibly breathed a sigh of relief as he reminded them, "But it doesn't rule out the possibility of encountering a herd once we're deeper into the mountains."

This time, there were over twenty people in the wild boar hunt, some of whom had no hunting experience at all.

Just now, Shen Niu had informed them of the precautions, and the importance of following the arrangements and not acting independently.

If anyone was hesitant about encountering a herd of wild boars, he wouldn't take them along; being a liability rather than help in hunting wild boars was no joke, as a misstep could cost lives.

Although those few people didn't want to encounter a wild boar herd, they didn't have second thoughts.

Since they had come here, going back would only lead to ridicule from the villagers.

"Uncle Shen, it looks like several of them have come, but I'm not sure if they came in groups to search for food."

The tracks were too scattered for Qian Huihong to confirm.

If they had come in groups, it would likely be a sow with piglets.

Sows have longer, narrower tracks, and there were no signs of piglet tracks around these tracks, which had rounder toes and were more robust, clearly left by boars.

The tracks were about eight centimeters long, indicating a weight of around two hundred pounds, which was an adult boar, and there was more than one.

Liang Hongyu looked around; adult boars usually move alone, and it's rare to see three together.

"Liang Hongyu, did you find something?" Wu Erlang asked her quietly after seeing her crouching beside the tracks.

"Not much. Let's see what Uncle Shen says," Liang Hongyu stood up.

"It doesn't look like they came in groups. The number should be between two or three," Shen Niu called his two hunting dogs over, "Follow the tracks first. The wild boars passed through here not long ago. Once we're in the mountains, everyone must remain quiet. Don't act recklessly if we encounter wild boars."

The hunting dogs led the way ahead, and now that dawn was just breaking, the dew on the grass and trees was abundant.

After walking a short distance into the mountains, everyone's pants were already soaked.

Following the tracks to the main path where the wild boars often roamed, the footprints scattered in several directions.

The hunting dogs sniffed around, finally stopping ahead.

"Uncle Shen, which way should we go now?" Qian Huihong asked.

With so many people here, it seemed they needed to split up to search the wild boars.

Shen Niu observed the footprints that were leading in different directions and identified the most promising routes.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Huihong, you take some people this way. Old Ma, take your group over there. The rest will follow me and continue forward."

He then directed a hunting dog to go with Butcher Ma.

Qian Huihong had been following his father into the mountains since childhood, and Butcher Ma had been hunting for several years.

Besides Shen Niu, they were the most experienced hunters here.

Everyone agreed with the plan and split into groups to search for the wild boars.