Watching the wild boar send Da Huang flying, Li Baoyu slid right down from the tree. The moment his feet hit the ground, he drew the Invasion Blade from behind his back.

He didn’t even bother to cut a stick to mount the blade on, charging straight for the oak tree with the foot-long Invasion Blade in hand.

"Get out of the way!"

Suddenly, a sharp cry from Zhao Jun stopped Li Baoyu in his tracks.

Li Baoyu whipped his head around to see Zhao Jun kneeling on one knee, aiming his rifle with both hands at the wild boar sitting under the tree.

"Bro..." Li Baoyu stood to the side, blade in hand, nervously watching Li Ruhai clinging to the tree. He wanted to shout a few words, to tell Li Ruhai not to let go no matter what, but he was afraid his voice would interfere with Zhao Jun’s shot.

Little did Li Baoyu know, Zhao Jun was caught in a dilemma.

Zhao Jun wanted to shoot the boar dead too, but the two dogs were practically on top of it now, biting and tearing.

Although Zhao Jun had a bead on the boar, the dogs were constantly moving. His point of aim was too close to them. If one of them shifted sideways, a single shot could kill or maim it.

But if he didn’t shoot, what would happen to Li Ruhai up in the tree?

’What if the kid loses his grip and falls? Landing in the snow would be one thing, but what if he falls right in front of the boar?’

’A thirteen-year-old’s small frame getting gored by a wild boar over four hundred pounds? He wouldn’t stand a chance.’

’Yes, the brat is infuriating, but I can’t just leave him to die!’

Hearing Li Ruhai’s cries grow louder, Zhao Jun knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He steeled himself, found an opening, and squeezed the trigger.

A loud BANG was followed by the boar’s mournful squeal.

The shot grazed past Hua Gou’s left shoulder and plunged straight into the boar’s chest. The entry wound was small, the exit wound large; a bloody hole appeared on the boar’s back.

The bullet that passed through the boar’s back struck the tree. Frozen in the winter, the oak’s outer layer was incredibly hard, but the impact still sent wood chips flying.

BANG!

Another shot. The bullet tore straight through the boar’s throat as it raised its head to roar.

As if the gunshot were a command, Hua Gou viciously lunged forward and bit down.

The wild boar lay on the ground, lifeless.

Zhao Jun lowered his rifle and barked at the stunned Li Baoyu, "What are you gawking at? Go check on Da Huang!"

"Ah!" Li Baoyu snapped out of it and scrambled over to Da Huang.

Da Huang was lying on the ground, its abdomen rising and falling. The boar had gouged a hole in its belly, and its intestines had spilled out.

Da Huang now lay on its side, panting with its mouth wide open.

When it saw Li Baoyu run over, its eyes, bright and glistening, blinked as it stared intently at him.

Seeing Da Huang’s grievous injuries, the rims of Li Baoyu’s eyes instantly turned red.

They say a man doesn’t cry easily, but when a dog owner meets that kind of gaze from their dog, few who aren’t made of stone can bear it.

It was a look of helplessness.

A hunting dog bold enough to fight wild boars and Black Bears would only ever show its owner such a look after being injured.

"What are you crying for? Move aside." Zhao Jun arrived, glanced at Da Huang’s wound, and snapped at Li Baoyu.

Once Li Baoyu stepped aside, Zhao Jun knelt before Da Huang and began carefully pushing its intestines back inside, section by section.

"Take off your leg wrappings," Zhao Jun ordered Li Baoyu without turning his head, his hands still busy.

"No need, no need." By then, Li Baoyu had come to his senses. He quickly pulled another pair of leg wrappings from his pocket and bent down to hand them to Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun glanced up at him and chuckled. "You really came prepared."

Li Baoyu grinned back and pulled a newspaper-wrapped package from another pocket. "I also brought some tobacco powder from home."

Zhao Jun gave a helpless smirk, taking the package. "First the leg wrappings, now tobacco powder. Were you expecting our dogs to get hurt?"

Li Baoyu chuckled sheepishly, squatting down to stroke Da Huang’s neck. "Brother, Da Huang will be okay, right?"

"He’ll be fine." Zhao Jun sprinkled the tobacco powder on Da Huang’s wound, then wrapped the leg wrappings around its body, circle by circle. "We’ll stitch him up when we get back, then find Elder Han to give him a couple days’ worth of anti-inflammatory shots."

"But..." Li Baoyu hesitated. "He’s a proper doctor. If we ask him to give our dog a shot, won’t he curse us out?"

"Give him a wild boar leg and he’ll come running, happy as can be." Zhao Jun stood up and said to Li Baoyu, "You finish wrapping him up. I’m going to gut the boar."

"Oh, right!" Li Baoyu exclaimed. "Brother, you should hurry. We don’t want the cavity to go foul."

Zhao Jun pulled the Invasion Blade from behind Li Baoyu’s waist and walked toward the oak tree.

Normally, when a wild boar is alive, its body maintains a temperature equilibrium between its interior and exterior.

But after the boar dies, this balance is broken.

In spring and autumn, it’s not so bad. But in winter, the outside is freezing while the inside is extremely hot—so hot the blood in its chest cavity can scald your hands. If it’s not gutted and bled quickly, the boar’s meat will easily go foul from the inside.

Once that happens, the stench spreads from the inside out, and the meat becomes inedible.

"Shoo, shoo." Zhao Jun approached, driving away the two dogs that were tearing at the boar’s corpse. Then, with considerable effort, he flipped the boar over.

As the boar was turned onto its back, a foul, gamey odor assaulted his nostrils, making Zhao Jun wrinkle his nose.

As mentioned before, the first thing a wild boar does after leaving its lair is similar to what most humans do: relieve itself.

They’re different from dogs; a dog at least knows to find a spot and lift its leg to urinate.

But a wild boar? It just stands up and urinates right where it stood. It doesn’t even move its feet, only walking away after it’s finished.

That’s not even the worst part. The worst part is that they might come back at night and lie down in that very same spot.

Lying there like that, they end up reeking of musk.

To be fair, young boars and old sows aren’t so bad.

But this particular boar today was exceptionally rank.

As Zhao Jun began to gut the animal, starting from its throat, he thought, ’Based on this boar’s weight, it shouldn’t smell this rank.’

By the time Zhao Jun finished gutting the boar, Li Baoyu had finished bandaging Da Huang. He carried the dog over, planning to let it eat some meat.

The dog was injured, but its intestines hadn’t been pierced through, so it wasn’t a major crisis. All it needed was to recuperate back home. For now, it could eat and drink as usual.

Hunting dogs aren’t afraid of getting hurt. As long as they can take down their quarry and get a taste of the meat, they become more skilled and ferocious with each hunt.

What they fear is getting injured without securing the kill. A few consecutive failures can damage a dog’s confidence. It will start to think that’s just how hunting is, becoming lazier and more cunningly evasive. Gradually, the dog becomes useless.

Li Baoyu set Da Huang on the ground. By now, the big yellow dog could already stand up, though walking was still a bit of a strain.

Li Baoyu sniffed the air and asked Zhao Jun, "Brother, why does it reek so bad?"

Zhao Jun carved a piece of meat from the boar’s belly, personally got up, walked over, and fed it to Da Huang.

This was a special case, an exception. It was a reward for its loyalty in protecting its master. Otherwise, the lead dog, Hua Xiao’Er, should have been fed first.

Once Da Huang had the meat in its mouth, Zhao Jun stood up and shot Li Baoyu a look. Li Baoyu didn’t look up, but the young master in the tree couldn’t hold it in any longer. Li Ruhai’s tearful voice cried out, "Are you two ever going to help me down?!"