Li Xu walked deep into the dense forest, the fresh scent of pine needles and earth filling the air.

Li Xu’s sharp eyes soon spotted traces of wild mushrooms.

Beneath a patch of pine trees sheltered from the wind, he was delighted to discover several clusters of plump matsutake mushrooms.

These matsutakes were pale brown, their caps covered in a layer of fine scales, and they gave off a unique, fresh aroma.

He carefully picked them and placed them in his cloth bag.

Next, by a dead tree stump, he found clusters of golden-yellow porcini mushrooms.

These porcinis were thick and meaty with a smooth, tender texture—a rare mountain delicacy in the winter.

Li Xu gathered and identified them as he went, his eyes like radar, scanning every inch of the surrounding land.

In a leeward part of the valley, he found a patch of vines covered in snow, with oval-shaped fruits hanging from them.

Li Xu moved closer and saw they were wild hardy kiwis.

Although these wild fruits were small, they became sweeter and juicier after a frost.

He picked a few, gently rubbed the fuzz off their skin, and took a bite. They were just as he expected—sweet and sour, with a wild, fresh fragrance.

What surprised Li Xu even more was his discovery of a hornet’s nest.

The nest was abandoned; the adult hornets had long since frozen to death in the winter, leaving only the pupae safely hidden inside.

Hornet pupae are rich in protein, an excellent ingredient that could be cooked or made into a delicious pupa paste. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He carefully extracted the pupae and placed them in another corner of his cloth bag.

During his search, Li Xu also found a few stalks of Solomon’s seal.

Solomon’s seal is a common medicinal herb, known to nourish the body and relieve dryness and thirst.

The rhizomes of Solomon’s seal are thick and plump in winter, making it the perfect time to dig them up.

He used his hoe to dig out the rhizomes, shook off the dirt, and put them in the bag as well.

Before he knew it, in less than half a day, his cloth bag had become heavy.

It was filled with matsutake mushrooms, porcinis, wild hardy kiwis, hornet pupae, and Solomon’s seal.

He had also found some other wild fruits that remained fresh even in winter.

Although he didn’t know their names, they looked delightfully wild.

Content, Li Xu picked up his bag and prepared to head back down the mountain the way he came.

He was already picturing tonight’s menu in his mind: first, a pot of delicious mushroom soup, then some deep-fried hornet pupae. The Solomon’s seal could be used to make tea, and the wild fruits would be perfect for dessert.

At the thought of all this, his famished stomach rumbled in protest, and his steps grew a little lighter.

Just as he was about to leave the dense forest and enter a relatively open valley, a low HUFFING AND PUFFING sound suddenly came from not far ahead.

The sound, tinged with menace and impatience, shattered the original tranquility of the mountain forest.

A chill ran down Li Xu’s spine.

Although he didn’t have much wilderness survival experience, he instantly recognized the danger.

He lightened his steps, pushed aside the bushes in front of him, and looked toward the sound.

The next second, his expression changed.

Appearing in his field of view was an enormous wild boar.

It was less a wild boar and more a giant, "armored" beast.

Its hide was a deep, iron-gray color, and its coarse bristles stood on end, glinting coldly in the snowy light as if it were wearing a suit of natural armor.

Even more startling was its size. It had to weigh five or six hundred pounds, like a sturdy calf, with tusks curving outward, as sharp as knives.

It was rampaging through the mountainside.

A small tree blocked its path, and it snapped it with a direct hit.

It let out a deafening SNORT from its mouth, clearly in a state of extreme agitation.

Li Xu’s heart leaped into his throat.

This was, without a doubt, the largest and most ferocious wild boar he had ever seen.

Its bloodshot eyes seemed to burn with rage, and every bounding step it took carried an earth-shaking momentum.

What was worse, the boar was running straight toward him.

While Li Xu was frozen in a daze, the wild boar had already spotted him.

It braced its four thick legs, muscles tensing, and let out a deafening roar. Filled with a wild killing intent, it charged straight at Li Xu.

"Fuck!"

Li Xu cursed under his breath. He dropped the cloth bag and instinctively turned to run.

However, the mountain path was covered in thick snow. Every step sank deep, severely hampering his speed.

He couldn’t run fast at all.

The boar’s speed was beyond imagination.

Despite its massive five- or six-hundred-pound body, it moved through the snow as if on flat ground, each step kicking up clouds of white powder with unstoppable force.

Li Xu heard the wind whistling behind him and smelled a foul, musky odor wash over him. His heart pounded wildly.

At his current speed, there was no way he could shake off this enraged beast.

’Dammit! What do I do?’

Li Xu gritted his teeth, feeling his stamina draining rapidly.

In his peripheral vision, he could see the boar getting closer and closer.

Its snorting was right by his ear, as if its sharp tusks would pierce through his body in the next second.

In a flash of inspiration born of desperation, Li Xu quickly scanned his surroundings.

There were many trees around.

In the distance, there was an even bigger one.

’But there’s no time...’

Li Xu could only choose the nearest one.

Climbing a tree was his only chance of survival!

Li Xu suddenly sped up, rushed to the tree, and scrambled up it with his hands and feet.

The snow-covered bark was cold and slippery.

But he couldn’t worry about that. He dug his fingers into the crevices of the bark, his muscles tensing, and shot up the trunk like a monkey.

Li Xu was grateful that he had loved climbing trees as a child.

Even though he rarely climbed after starting middle school, he still hadn’t forgotten how.

He had just managed to climb more than three meters high and wrap his legs around the trunk when, before he could even catch his breath, a deafening crash came from the ground below!

"BAM!"

The boar’s iron-like head had slammed viciously into the tree trunk.

The entire tree shook violently. The sturdy trunk let out a groaning CREAK as snow from the treetops rained down.

The impact made Li Xu dizzy, and he nearly fell from the tree.

’This beast is insane.’

Li Xu clung tightly to the trunk, waves of terror crashing over him.

He had thought he’d be safe once he climbed the tree, but he never expected the boar to actually ram it.

And the force of its impact was so great that the entire tree was swaying, and several cracks had even appeared on the trunk.

The main problem was that the situation had been too urgent; he hadn’t had time to make it to the larger tree in the distance.

The tree he was on now was only a little over half a meter thick. It couldn’t possibly withstand this kind of assault from the boar.

The boar didn’t stop.

It backed up a few steps, braced itself again, its eyes bloodshot, and let out a low roar before ramming the tree viciously once more.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

With each successive impact, the trunk shook violently, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Li Xu felt his arms and legs trembling, his knuckles white from gripping too hard.

He looked down and saw deep gashes on the trunk left by the boar’s tusks.

The boar’s forehead was also starting to bleed from the impacts.

But it seemed to feel no pain at all, only growing more frenzied.

’Am I going to die here today?’

Despair filled Li Xu’s heart.