A shotgun fires iron pellets. At close range, the shot scatters on impact. But from a distance, while less powerful, the pellets fly in a tight column.

And no matter how weak the blast, the eyes are always the most vulnerable spot.

The column of shot found its mark. The wild boar let out a tragic squeal, blood pouring from its right eye as it wailed incessantly.

With both eyes blinded, the boar couldn’t see a thing. It stumbled forward and slammed headfirst into a tree.

The boar got up to run, only to crash into another tree right beside it.

Finally, the boar didn’t dare to move. It sat down on the ground and started to howl its lungs out.

"Hahaha..." Perched in the tree, Elder Tao waved his arms and legs, roaring with laughter. "Hey, kid! See? What did I tell you? Blinded it, didn’t I? Quick, grab a club and beat it to death for me!"

Zhao Jun was just about to climb the tree when Elder Tao’s shout stopped him in his tracks. He turned to look and couldn’t help but marvel. ’I can’t tell if he’s just lucky or if his Spear Technique is actually that good, but he really did blind the boar.’

Zhao Jun bent down, picked up a larch club, and advanced. He swung it hard, bringing it down squarely on the boar’s face.

THWACK!

SQUEAL...

The boar let out a bizarre cry and lunged forward. Zhao Jun sidestepped to dodge, and the boar crashed headfirst into a tree with a loud THUD.

The impact left the boar dazed and confused, but it still shook its head, trying to attack Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun couldn’t advance, so he could only watch from the side, waiting for the boar to stop moving before he struck again.

But then Elder Tao’s voice rang out from the tree again. "Kid, put some muscle into it! Did you skip breakfast or something?"

Zhao Jun was speechless. But since Elder Tao had been the one to hit the boar’s eye, he was the hero of this hunt. Whatever he said, Zhao Jun had to listen.

So, Zhao Jun swung the club again, bringing it down on the boar’s head.

The boar shrieked, thrashing its head wildly and attacking from side to side.

Just then, Elder Tao climbed down from the tree. "You’re so young, yet you can’t even put your back into it!" he said to Zhao Jun. "You’re not even a match for an old man like me. Give me the club."

As he spoke, Elder Tao was already beside Zhao Jun. He handed his shotgun to Zhao Jun and held out his hand for the larch club.

In truth, no matter how much strength an old man had, how could he possibly be stronger than a young lad like Zhao Jun?

It was just that this was Elder Tao’s first time killing a wild boar, and he wanted to savor the thrill.

Just then, the boar stopped again. It carefully lowered its head, tilting its ears to listen for sounds to its left and right.

Elder Tao gripped the club with both hands, swung it high, and brought it down on the boar’s head.

With a SQUEAL, the boar viciously thrashed its head from side to side.

Elder Tao was relentless. He swung again.

The club came down just as the boar was raising its head. The two forces met with a crash.

With a loud CRACK, the larch club snapped in two. The old man stumbled backward, staggering before managing to regain his footing.

Having been struck in the head twice, the boar knew someone was in front of it and lunged forward.

Elder Tao had just recovered his senses when the boar lunged, heading straight for him.

"Mama!" Elder Tao screamed in terror. Luckily, Zhao Jun reacted instantly, yanking him out of the way.

"Get behind that tree, now!" Zhao Jun said irritably, shoving Elder Tao behind a nearby trunk.

This time, Elder Tao quieted down, obediently hiding behind the tree.

The boar turned as if to run, but, completely disoriented, it only managed to present its rear to Zhao Jun.

An idea flashed through Zhao Jun’s mind. He bent down and picked up the broken piece of the larch club.

The broken piece was about a meter long. Zhao Jun took it, ran straight to the boar’s rear end, and shoved it in.

SQUELCH...

SQUEAL...

As the club entered its body, the boar let out a desperate, gut-wrenching squeal.

More than half of the meter-long club was still sticking out.

Zhao Jun lifted his foot and kicked the exposed end of the club. With another squeal, the boar went berserk and slammed headfirst into a tree.

But it didn’t stop. It thrashed wildly through the forest, a series of CRASHES echoing as it repeatedly collided with trees. It let out one tragic cry after another, white foam frothing at its mouth.

By then, Zhao Jun was at Elder Tao’s side, helping him move further away.

Watching the wailing boar, Elder Tao asked Zhao Jun excitedly, "Hey, kid, how about I put a couple more shots in it?"

"What’s the point? Your gun’s not going to do much good now," Zhao Jun said irritably.

Elder Tao shot Zhao Jun a look and fell silent.

Zhao Jun turned his head away. ’Hunting a boar with this old man is even more exhausting than hunting that tree-shattering Black Bear with Zhang Yuanmin.’

When Zhao Jun went quiet, Elder Tao sidled up to him and chuckled. "Hey, young man, don’t tell me you’re actually mad at an old fellow like me. Folks our age, we don’t like to admit we’re getting old. We like to show off a bit. You’re a young fella, you should be more understanding."

"Heh..." Elder Tao’s words made Zhao Jun laugh out of pure exasperation. ’Somehow, this has turned into my fault.’

But when he saw Elder Tao’s white eyebrows, his heart softened. He reached out, adjusted the old man’s marmot-fur hat, and asked, "Old-timer, how old are you, anyway?"

"Seventy-three!" the old man said, his face beaming with pride. "What do you think, kid? Not bad for my age, huh?"

Zhao Jun was stunned. ’In two lifetimes, I’ve never heard of any Hunters this old.’

But then he thought about the old man’s reckless behavior, and Zhao Jun couldn’t help but mutter, "Even if you’ve lived this long, you don’t have to be so determined to tempt fate."

"What was that?" Elder Tao had faintly heard Zhao Jun mumbling but hadn’t quite caught the words, so he asked again.

"Nothing, nothing." Zhao Jun glanced over at the boar and quickly changed the subject. "Let’s go check on the boar. It looks like it’s about to kick the bucket."

Hearing this, Elder Tao turned to look.

The wild boar was lying on the ground, and it had begun to convulse.

"It is!" Seeing this, Elder Tao grinned like a little kid.

Zhao Jun glanced at him, feeling a mixture of amusement and helplessness.

Just then, Elder Tao pulled out his small knife, declaring he was going to gut the boar. But as he took a single step forward, he cried out, "Aiya!" and collapsed onto the snow.

"What’s wrong?" Zhao Jun asked, rushing to his side.

"I twisted my ankle."

"Hah!" Zhao Jun sighed in frustration, helping Elder Tao up and guiding him to a nearby tree stump to sit down.

He then bent down and unwrapped Elder Tao’s puttees. One look confirmed it: the old man’s ankle was already swelling.

Zhao Jun wrapped the puttees tightly around the ankle again and told Elder Tao to stay put and rest. He then took the small knife from Elder Tao’s hand and walked over to the boar.

The boar had already stopped breathing. Stabbing it in the rear was a sure-kill technique, but one that was not to be used lightly.

Zhao Jun began his cut at the boar’s neck, slicing downwards. By the time he reached the belly, a foul stench hit him.

’That last thrust with the club was too vicious, and with all the boar’s thrashing, I must have ruptured its intestines.’

The stench was so overpowering that Zhao Jun had to cover his nose. He forced himself to finish gutting the animal, using a stick to pull out the intestines and stomach, then immediately began stuffing snow into the boar’s abdominal cavity.

In truth, Zhao Jun didn’t have to do all this. After all, he and Elder Tao were only taking one leg each. But he strictly abided by the hunter’s code.

Elder Tao sat a short distance away, watching everything Zhao Jun was doing. "Young man," he suddenly asked, "where’s your home?"

"Yong’an Village," Zhao Jun replied without looking up, busy dressing the boar.

"Yong’an Village, you say? That’s not far from my place," Elder Tao said. "I’m from the Yongxing Brigade."

"Mm," Zhao Jun grunted in response.

When Zhao Jun didn’t say more, Elder Tao spoke again. "So, uh, young man... see how badly my ankle’s swollen? You’re going to have to take me home, right?"

Zhao Jun shot the old man a look. "Old-timer, I really can’t. My work unit is closing out the books today. We have to report our accounts for the development projects."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Elder Tao said. "You can’t just leave me in the mountains, kid! You can’t just abandon me!"

’I’m done for.’

Zhao Jun had the sinking feeling that he’d just been saddled with a freeloader.

But on second thought, he couldn’t just leave Elder Tao in this state.

Zhao Jun sighed and looked at Elder Tao. "Old-timer, how did you even get up here?"

"Me?" Elder Tao said. "This morning, someone from our brigade was heading into the mountains on a sleigh, so I hitched a ride."

Zhao Jun sighed again. "Old-timer, from the way you’re dressed, it doesn’t look like your family is struggling. Why come all the way up the mountain for this?"

Elder Tao just smiled. "Hunting’s fun."

"Heh..." Hearing that, Zhao Jun didn’t know what else to say. "Look, Old-timer, I’m an inspector for the Forest Farm. I have paperwork to file, and I can’t be late reporting it tonight.

How about this: you come back with me to my inspection team’s post first. Then I’ll see who has a sleigh and ask them for a favor to take you home. How does that sound?"

"That’ll work." Elder Tao nodded. Leaning on the tree with one hand and using his shotgun as a crutch with the other, he pushed himself up. "Kid," he said to Zhao Jun, "cut off two of the boar’s hind legs."

"Oh, for heaven’s sake." Zhao Jun rolled his eyes and gave a pained smile. "Old-timer, you’re in this state, and you’re still thinking about hind legs?"

Elder Tao jutted out his chin. "Not for me. I was thinking you could take both of them."

Zhao Jun shook his head. He had originally wanted to bring a leg back for Ma Liang, but now it looked like he might have to carry the old man soon. He probably couldn’t manage the legs as well.

But Elder Tao insisted that Zhao Jun take the legs, so Zhao Jun could only say, "Old-timer, my family doesn’t need the meat. We’ve got two whole sows buried in a snow drift back in our courtyard."

"How’d your family get so many wild boars? What’s the story there?" Elder Tao’s curiosity was instantly piqued, and he started pestering Zhao Jun with questions.

As Zhao Jun helped him toward the inspection post, he told him the story of how Zhao Youcai and three others had hunted the Pig God. Elder Tao listened, his eyes glittering with excitement.

"Young man!" When he heard the Pig God hadn’t been killed, Elder Tao suddenly stopped and grabbed Zhao Jun’s hand. "When’s your dad going after that Pig God again? You have to tell him to take me with him!"

"Sometime in the future," Zhao Jun replied noncommittally.

"When is ’in the future’?" Elder Tao pressed, not giving up.

"Sigh," Zhao Jun let out a soft sigh. "You just focus on taking care of yourself, old-timer. When you’re eighty-four, I’ll have my dad take you along."