Chapter 265 Jiang Ling kills wild boar with a pistol
The group then set off, heading uphill along the rugged mountain path.
The mountain forest was shrouded in mist in the early morning, and the dew dampened our clothes, creating a somber and oppressive atmosphere.
The villagers, holding sharpened wooden sticks, held their breath and carefully observed the surrounding movements.
After walking for about an hour, when they reached a grove of oak trees halfway up the mountain, the sharp-eyed hunter, Old Wang, exclaimed in a low voice, "Look here!"
The crowd gathered around and saw several hoof prints, each the size of a bowl, clearly imprinted on the soft mud, deeply embedded in the soil. Next to them were dug-out pits and gnawed plant roots.
"That's it! Look at these footprints, they're quite big!" Old Wang said solemnly.
Zhao Shiying squatted down to examine it carefully, then pointed to several spots on the nearby tree trunk where the bark had been visibly rubbed off and a few thick, stiff bristles had been removed:
"It seems to frequent this area. Be careful, it might be nearby."
Following these trails, the team cautiously advanced deeper into the mountains and forests.
Zhao Shiying kept making various hand gestures, directing everyone to disperse into a semi-encircling formation and gradually narrow the search area.
Suddenly, a heavy groan and the cracking sound of branches snapping came from behind the dense bushes ahead!
“There!” someone whispered.
The next moment, a large, dark brown adult male wild boar with protruding tusks suddenly rushed out from behind the bushes!
Its small eyes gleamed with a fierce light, as if it was annoyed that these strangers had trespassed into its territory.
"Stay calm! Don't panic!" Zhao Shiying shouted, her voice steady and powerful.
"According to plan, lure it into that pit to the east! The one with the spear, go forward, the rest of you shout encouragement and scare it with torches!"
Several bold young villagers immediately raised sharpened wooden sticks, forming a loose spear formation, and shouted "Ho! Ho!" to drive the wild boar in the intended direction.
Others struck the gongs and wooden clappers they carried with them, and waved lit torches, creating a great deal of noise and light.
However, this wild boar was far more cunning than imagined.
It seemed to sense the danger to the east, and no matter how people tried to drive it away, it refused to go in that direction. Instead, it irritably circled around in place, sometimes suddenly charging forward, forcing the spear formation to retreat and adjust.
"careful!"
Before Zhao Shiying could finish speaking, the wild boar charged forward with lightning speed, its tusks grazing a villager's thigh. Although it didn't collide head-on, it still managed to cut a bloody gash on the man's leg. The man screamed in pain and staggered to the ground.
Seeing this, Jiang Ling immediately wanted to step forward, but Xiao Ran held her back tightly: "Sister Jiang, don't go! It's too dangerous!"
In the chaos, two more villagers were knocked down by the boar's massive body while trying to avoid the charge, or were injured by branches and stones on the ground.
Jiang Ling was extremely anxious. Several times, she secretly reached into her sleeve and grasped the cold, hard metal object.
But the surrounding area was filled with surging villagers, constantly obstructing their view, and the wild boars moved with extraordinary speed.
She couldn't draw her pistol, and in this chaotic environment, she couldn't be sure that firing it wouldn't hurt anyone else.
Just as the stalemate was at its peak, the wild boar seemed to be completely enraged. It let out a deafening roar, exerted its strength, smashed through a slightly weak barrier on the side, and charged wildly into the depths of the forest!
"Damn it! It got away!"
Zhao Shiying stomped her foot in frustration.
He made a quick decision: "Quick! Carry the injured down the mountain first! The medicine left by Doctor Sun and Miss Jiang can be used in an emergency! The rest of you, follow me and keep chasing! We can't let it get away, or there will be endless trouble!"
The villagers immediately split up and set off. Several people carefully lifted the wounded man and hurried down the mountain.
Zhao Shiying then led the remaining fighters to continue tracking the wild boar, following the trail it left behind as it fled.
Taking advantage of the moment when people were scattered and their attention was diverted, Jiang Ling grabbed Xiao Ran, who was about to follow Zhao Shiying to track her down.
"Xiao Ran, let's go this way." Jiang Ling pointed to another path that was steeper and had denser vegetation.
"Sister Jiang? Master Zhao and the others went that way..." Xiao Ran asked, puzzled.
"Listen to me," Jiang Ling said sharply, her tone leaving no room for discussion.
We must take the shortcut and find it before everyone else, so as to completely eliminate this scourge.
Wild boars are smarter than domestic pigs, and they hold grudges. If I miss the first time, the consequences will be dire!
Perhaps because Jiang Ling felt emboldened, she walked much faster than the villagers.
She led Xiao Ran, deliberately choosing treacherous paths that were difficult for large groups of villagers to traverse.
Last night, she used her phone to research the habits of wild boars, constantly scanning the ground and surrounding vegetation, looking for any clues they might leave behind.
Xiao Ran knew that being alone in this situation was not a good choice, but seeing Sister Jiang's confident appearance, he suppressed his doubts and followed closely.
He gripped the sharpened wooden stick tightly in his hand, cautiously observing his surroundings.
Perhaps they had chosen the right direction, or perhaps it was luck, but after traversing a steep slope covered with vines and rocks, Xiao Ran suddenly grabbed Jiang Ling, lowered her voice, and looked ahead:
"Sister Jiang, look!"
Looking in Xiao Ran's direction, you can see that in a small ravine not far below, the wild boar that had just escaped is standing there, panting heavily, rooting at the soil with its snout, seemingly looking for food, or perhaps just resting.
It clearly expended a lot of energy as well.
At this moment, Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran were on a relatively secluded slope, some distance from the wild boar, separated by some sparse bushes.
Jiang Ling silently took out the pistol from her sleeve, but before she could aim it,
The wild boar seemed to immediately smell the unfamiliar scent. It suddenly raised its head, and its fierce little eyes instantly locked onto the two people on the slope!
As if it could think, when it saw that Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran were alone and weak, unlike the large group of people that had put immense pressure on it earlier, its provoked ferocity completely erupted!
It let out a low, threatening roar, pawed the ground with its hind hooves, and charged headlong towards the slope where Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran were hiding!
"Sister Jiang, be careful!"
Xiao Ran's face turned pale. Without thinking, she took a step forward and used her thin body to block Jiang Ling. She gripped the wooden stick tightly with both hands, aimed at the charging wild boar, and prepared to fight to the death!
The wild boar was incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye it had reached the bottom of the slope, about to use its momentum to pounce on us!
At the critical moment, Jiang Ling raised her pistol, aimed as far as possible at the wild boar's neck, and pulled the trigger sharply!
"Bang--!"
A muffled thud, out of place in this era, echoed through the mountains and forests, startling birds and beasts into scattering!
The bullet struck the wild boar squarely in the neck!
The immense recoil caused Jiang Ling's wrist to go numb.
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