The wild boar was panting heavily, white mist spewing from its nostrils, its eyes bloodshot, when it suddenly lunged uphill. Just as its chest was a foot away from him, Du Jianshan suddenly crouched down, his shoulders slumped, his left hand yanked the rope loop, and his right hand slashed diagonally through the fur seam, plunging the blade straight into his heart along the ribcage.
"Get down!" he growled, twisting his wrist violently, the blade twisting into the flesh.
"Squeak—" The wild boar let out a strange cry like a broken gong, kicked with all four hooves, froze for a moment, and then fell into the mud like a bag of wet sand. Its front legs fell down, and its hind body kicked twice more unwillingly, splashing mud and water everywhere.
"Don't come any closer!" Du Jianshan gripped the knife tightly, advancing instead of retreating, straddling its shoulder. He didn't pull the knife out, but pressed his ear against the ground to listen for any sounds. "Watch its chest, count its breaths. Little Ma, watch the dog. Old Zhou, don't move!"
Little Ma's palms were sweating profusely as he nervously counted, "One sip... two sips... three sips... wait, it stopped?"
"There's still a chance for a flashback," Old Zhou gritted his teeth. "If we see a mountain, be careful it might come back to life."
"I know." Du Jianshan took a deep breath, his free left hand quickly pulled out a short dagger, and stabbed it into the heart again before taking a steady half step back, grabbing the scarred man's earlobe, "Let go, come back."
Scarface coughed up blood and retreated to its master's feet, tail drooping, panting heavily.
"Old Zhou, take a break." Du Jianshan rubbed the blade in the dirt, his hands covered in sticky, hot blood. "That stab to the ribs was accurate, otherwise if it had charged another step, Xiao Ma's life would have been in danger."
Old Zhou sat down against the tree trunk, waved his hand and laughed, then winced in pain: "My old arms and legs are so weak, getting hit by it feels like being gored by a bull. Luckily you kicked me just now, otherwise Little Ma would have really fallen."
With red eyes, Xiao Ma said, "Brother Du, I was wrong. I panicked."
"Panic while hunting is tantamount to throwing your head away." Du Jianshan didn't use harsh words, but his voice was firm. "Remember, wild boars are most afraid of being cut in half, and they hate being head-on. When you take a bamboo fork, you're not going to head-on with it, but to use the fork to poke its way out and cut its strength."
"I've got it." Little Ma wiped his face with his sleeve. "I've memorized it."
"Bleed first." Old Zhou, having caught his breath, pulled out a piece of plastic rope. "Jianshan, you have a steady hand, you cut the throat. Xiao Ma, move a stone to cushion it, so the blood doesn't seep back into the mud."
Du Jianshan nodded, turned the wild boar's head to the side, and with a swift motion, cut the blood vessel in its throat, causing hot blood to gush out. He set the wooden basin down, filled it halfway, and casually said, "Go back and make some gravy for the mess hall. The company is in for a treat today."
"Then my mom can make some meat soup too." Little Ma's eyes lit up. "Brother Jianshan, according to the rules this time, is it to hand it over and then distribute it?"
"We'll hand it over first, then register and weigh it," Old Zhou continued. "We also need to ask the purchasing station about the price of the hides. They're in short supply right now, and the supply and marketing cooperative is keeping an eye on them. Let's hand over the main meat first, and keep a pot of tendons and scraps for the kids and the elderly to have a taste. The team leader won't stop us."
“I’m going to find the carrying pole.” Little Ma ran a few steps and then turned back. “Brother Jianshan, can we keep two of the fangs? My dad wants to make a protective pendant for you.”
"Let's talk about it after we weigh it." Du Jianshan smiled. "Let's get the rules straight first, and you'll naturally get your share."
They divided the work efficiently. Old Zhou untied the hemp rope from his waist, wrapped it three times around the pig's hind legs, tightened it, and tied a knot. Little Ma cut two sturdy camphor wood sticks, spread the pig's legs apart at an angle, so they could be threaded onto the carrying pole. Scarface lay down beside them, his tongue lolling out, but his eyes were watching the woods warily.
"Don't let your guard down." Du Jianshan glanced up at the western sky. "The smell of blood is strong. If there's a leopard in the woods over there, we'll be in trouble."
Old Zhou wiped his brow: "There are few leopards in this film, but there are two wolves. I saw their shadows on the ridge the night before last."
"Then we need to hurry." Du Jianshan pulled out a strip of cloth and wrapped the pig's mouth haphazardly. "First, carry it to that stone embankment over there, let it catch its breath, and then we'll go down the main road. Xiao Ma, don't go down the path where you just fell, find a safer one."
"Alright!" Little Ma threaded the carrying pole through the bend of the pig's leg and tried to lift it. "Heavy! This must weigh about two hundred pounds."
"Yes." Old Zhou stood up and shoved his shoulder under the load. "You go first, I'll follow behind, keep pace with each other, and don't sway around."
"Go!" Du Jianshan walked to the side, clearing the way with his knife, his eyes glancing back at Scarface every now and then. "Scarface, stay close to me."
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