"Uncle Du, your skill is truly amazing!" Wang Tieniu squatted down beside him, his eyes full of admiration. "My dad used to have an old-fashioned homemade gun, but every time he loaded it, his hands would get all black. You're so clean and efficient!"

Du Jianshan grinned, pressed the tinderbox tighter, and said, "That's because your father wasn't diligent enough. This thing looks rough, but it's actually quite delicate. If you put too much gunpowder in, it'll explode; if you put too little, it won't fire. If the powder isn't evenly distributed, it'll fly off course; if the tinderbox isn't plugged in tightly, it might even misfire."

"I understand, there's finesse in hard work too." Wang Tieniu rubbed his hands together, then leaned closer and whispered, "Uncle Du, what do you think we'll catch today? If we run into a badger, I'll be the first to charge!"

Du Jianshan snorted and glanced at him: "You? Badgers are ferocious creatures; one bite and a chunk of flesh falls off. You think it's like catching chickens or rabbits?"

“I’m not that little kid anymore,” Wang Tieniu straightened his back. “I’m carrying a curved knife today, who’s afraid of who?”

Du Jianshan ignored him, picked up the homemade gun and slung it over his shoulder, then turned and shouted to Old Li, who was standing under a crooked pine tree not far away: "Go behind the hill, Old Gu said yesterday that he saw pig root marks in that area!"

"I was just about to go take a look too," Old Li said, walking over with a fork in his hand. "But last night's rain might have washed away all the footprints."

"The rain wasn't heavy, but the ground was damp, which actually made the marks more visible," Du Jianshan said as he strode up the slope. "It all depends on how sharp our eyes are."

Wang Tieniu quickly followed, muttering, "If we really manage to get a pig, we'll be rich! Our village hasn't had wild boar meat in ages!"

"All you think about is food." Old Li kicked him in the butt from behind. "If we really run into them, do you dare to rush in? In the end, it'll be me and Brother Du who clean up the mess."

The group chatted and laughed as they walked into the pine forest. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, water dripped from the branches, and the damp pine needles underfoot made a "creak, creak" sound.

"Stop fooling around, listen for any sounds." Du Jianshan suddenly stopped, raised his hand, and said in a low voice.

The three immediately shut up and crouched down to move forward.

After walking less than a hundred steps, Du Jianshan suddenly squatted down and used his hand to brush away a fallen leaf.

“Look at this.” He gently tapped the hoofprints on the muddy ground in front of him with the muzzle of his musket. “They’re fresh hoofprints, and the edges are still wet.”

Old Li leaned over to take a look, frowned, and said, "This size, at least thirty pounds, is not small."

Wang Tieniu also lowered his voice: "Should we give chase?"

"Chase it." Du Jianshan nodded. "But we can't rush it. There's a puddle at the bottom of the slope ahead. It's probably looking for food around there. Let's go around to the right, not head-on."

The three immediately split up and went around in circles. The forest gradually became denser, the wind died down, and only the occasional bird call rang out, carrying a slightly damp coolness.

When they reached the edge of the puddle, Du Jianshan gently waved for them to stop, then squatted down and mouthed, "It's here," while observing the surroundings.

Sure enough, a faint "gurgling" sound of the earth being burrowed could be heard.

"Don't move." Du Jianshan lowered his voice and pointed forward.

The three of them moved slowly along a clump of miscellaneous trees. In the open ground ahead, a spotted wild boar was burying its head in the ground, wiggling its rump and breathing heavily.

"Shoot?" Wang Tieniu asked in a low voice.

"Shoot your mother!" Du Jianshan gritted his teeth. "This homemade gun isn't suitable for frontal attacks. You either have to aim for vitals at close range or circle around behind it..."

"I'll go around!" Old Li picked up his fork and crouched down to go around from the other side.

Just as Old Li reached behind the pig, Du Jianshan suddenly roared, "Swing it!"

The wild boar was startled, raised its head, roared, and turned around, but Old Li had already raised his fork and stabbed it hard!

With a dull thud, the fork pierced the pig's shoulder, but not completely through. The pig screamed in pain and twisted its body to break free.

"Go!" Du Jianshan picked up his homemade gun, aimed at the pig's side, and pulled the trigger!

"Bang—!" The gunpowder exploded, and a cloud of fire flew out of the iron shot. The pig was hit and rolled on the ground. It let out a wail and struggled to get up and run away.

"Stop it!" Wang Tieniu shouted, charging forward with his curved knife.

Although the pig was badly injured, it was incredibly stubborn. It raised its head and charged at him. Wang Tieniu panicked, slipped, and fell with a thud. The pig was about to butt his chest!

"Ah—!" He closed his eyes in fright.

"Don't move!" Old Li rushed forward, swinging his fork again, and delivered a vicious blow from the side—

"Thump!" This time it hit the hind leg squarely, and the wild boar let out a mournful cry before finally kneeling down and not moving.

Du Jianshan rushed over, pulled out his waist knife, and slit its throat in no time.

"Stop arguing, wait until the blood is drained." He said in a low voice, panting, "Wang Tieniu, are you still alive?"

Only then did Wang Tieniu dare to open his eyes, wiping the sweat from his brow with a pale face: "I...I'm still alive...Uncle Du, did I just pee my pants in fear...?"

"You have the nerve to say that?" Old Li laughed angrily. "You dared to charge in without even drawing your knife? Next time, don't come with us. Go back to the village and farm."

"I wasn't really scared, I just slipped..." Wang Tieniu got up sheepishly, patting the mud off his backside. "But to be honest, this wild boar was huge, enough meat for us to share for a few days!"

Du Jianshan didn't reply, but squatted down to examine the pig's wounds: "The bullet marks on the shoulder are scattered, the iron shot didn't hit very deep, if it had been a few steps further away it would have been useless."

"Then we need to replenish some gunpowder?" Old Li asked.

"It's not about the amount of gunpowder, it's about the distance," Du Jianshan said calmly. "This thing can be effective within thirty paces, but it'll just drift away from further away."

As they talked, the three men set up a makeshift stretcher, tied the pig securely with hemp rope, and prepared to drag it back to the village.

"Uncle Du, you have to tell me how to adjust the gunpowder ratio this time. I want to learn too." Wang Tieniu rubbed his hands together. "This is a skill that can be used to hunt and eat meat!"

"You? Wait until you're calm and collected, then I'll teach you." Du Jianshan said coldly as he carried the stretcher. "Saving your life is the most important thing."

"Remember today's lesson," Old Li added. "What you hunt in the mountains isn't meat, it's life."