HLM -Chapter 1102 Early Spring in the Mountain Forest

The situation descended into chaos, and everyone grew anxious.

They raised dogs for hunting, not for dogfighting. True dog lovers like Williams actually detested dogfighting as an inhumane activity.
Now that a pack of hunting dogs had fallen into a melee, it was the most brutal form of group dogfighting. Each of them possessed formidable combat power, and once such a brawl truly ran its course, the outcome would inevitably be death or serious injury.

Every single dog had been raised at great expense. They accompanied their owners day to day, and to these ultra–rich second-generation heirs, the dogs were even more precious than friends—because in their social circles, genuine friends no longer really existed.

So when they saw their beloved dogs caught in the brawl and bloodstains quickly appearing at the scene, everyone panicked. They shouted and yelled to stop it. Williams even tried to rush in and drag his own dog out.

At this critical moment, even Zhuang Ding and Queen were no longer effective. They were brave and outstanding, but in the end, they weren’t human. A mass dog fight could release hormones or similar stimuli that affected them as well.

Eva gripped Zhuang Ding and Queen tightly. Both of them strained forward, trying to rush in and join the fight.

At a moment like this, only a trump card would do.

Wang Bo shouted loudly, “Little Wang, come out now!”

Little Wang had been fooling around in the animal enclosure earlier—otherwise it would have rushed out to greet Eva when she returned. But now it was needed. Wang Bo opened the sandbox and released it onto the top floor.

Hearing his voice, Little Wang stuck its head out from the balcony, opened its mouth, and responded with a roar:

“ROAR—ROOOOAAARRR!!!”

The sound was deep and powerful, deafening to the ears.

Williams, who had been pushing aside his subordinates, froze. Wendy, who had been shouting anxiously, froze as well. Samir, pacing back and forth like ants in a pot of hot oil, froze too!

The hunting dogs locked in a furious brawl heard the roar and reacted like naughty children confronted by a father holding a belt. They immediately forgot about the fight, tucked their tails, and scurried back to their respective owners, burrowing desperately behind them.

Little Wang leaned forward to look down, yawned with its huge mouth wide open—and then saw a crowd of ferocious-looking hunting dogs below. Instantly, it was so frightened that it tucked its tail between its legs and hurriedly withdrew its body.

Oh my god, scared stiff—better hide fast!

When it first poked its head out, its upper body had already been exposed. Just seeing that upper body was enough to make Lancaster’s scalp tingle, even though he had seen it many times before.

This was a true beast—fierce and domineering, roaring through the mountains, commander of all creatures!

Of course, if they had seen Little Wang immediately flatten itself on the ground with its tail tucked the moment it noticed the hunting dogs, they wouldn’t have thought so. Fortunately, they didn’t see that scene. To them, it was simply a fearsome beast.

“Holy Mother above… I’ve been standing right in front of Death’s jaws all this time,” Williams said subconsciously as he looked up at the building.

Another rich heir was even worse—he hid directly behind his bodyguard and cried out, “My God, why is there a lion here?”

“That’s not a lion—that damn thing is a gigantic tiger!”

“OK, everyone, don’t worry,” Lancaster said, pressing his hands downward to calm them. “That’s a liger—not a tiger and not a lion. Actually, it’s quite a lovable fellow. If you really got to know it, you’d find that among these guys, it’s the gentlest and shyest one.”

Williams shook his head firmly. “No, my friend. I don’t want to get to know it better. I’m not done living yet—yes, I’m really not done living yet.”

Little Wang didn’t want to get to know them either. With a large group of hunting dogs below, each baring its teeth at it, Little Wang was too scared to come downstairs and could only hide upstairs, peeking down secretly.

Wang Bo dragged it down anyway. Little Wang immediately went to squeeze itself between Zhuang Ding and Queen. These two were the biggest and strongest—if any hunting dog dared bully it, surely big brother and big sister would protect it. That was how it comforted itself.

Williams and the others misunderstood the gesture and laughed. “This liger is really arrogant—it won’t even spare my hunting dogs a glance.”

Wang Bo thought to himself: It’s terrified—that’s why it won’t look.

He arranged for everyone to stay in the castle. Wendy and the others were very interested.

“I’ve stayed in castles before—many castles,” Wendy said. “But this is my first time in one shrouded in clouds and mist. It’s like a fairyland.”

“National Geographic New Zealand once did a special report titled ‘Clouds and Castles,’” Lancaster said with a smile. “Wang’s White Cloud Castle is quite famous.”

In fact, National Geographic’s report was more literary—the theme was a line of poetry: ‘Hidden deep in the clouds, its whereabouts unknown,’ subtly echoing Wang Bo’s Chinese heritage.

Early the next morning, the castle’s circling clouds and mist were even more spectacular. Morning clouds were always thicker.

Williams had a habit of getting up early to walk his dogs. Standing at the castle entrance and looking out, he sighed, “I feel like I’m standing among the clouds, a god gazing down upon the mortal world.”

“A dog god?” Samir joked.

Williams smiled in return. “I’d be happy to be one.”

That day, they were heading into the mountains for an expedition—hunting and digging for black truffles.

The weather was clear; early spring had arrived, and winter was over.

Wang Bo naturally accompanied the wealthy guests. Along the way, they talked about the weather.

“The impact of the greenhouse effect on the global environment is becoming more and more obvious,” Wang Bo said. “The South Island only had one snowfall this winter. That’s just crazy.”

“Does it affect Sunset Town much?” Williams asked, dressed in his hunting gear.

Wang Bo shrugged. “Yes, quite a bit. I’m planning to start a farm. With so little snowfall, fewer pests freeze to death, and fewer weed seeds die off. It’ll be harder for me later on.”

Wendy raised his beer bottle. “God bless you. God bless Sunset Town.”

Early spring in the Southern Alps was beautiful. Trees sprouted new branches, wild grasses began to bud, and animals grew more active. They climbed the mountain in the light of the rising sun, accompanied by the chirping of countless small insects.

High up in the towering kauri trees, small squirrels leapt about. Williams’s bull terrier spotted them and started circling the tree excitedly.

Seeing this, Williams laughed and waved. “Tyson, don’t do that. You can’t climb up there, and they’re not our prey anyway. Come back.”

The bull terrier barked a few times and ran back obediently.

Everyone kept a strict watch over their dogs, afraid of another brawl like yesterday’s. Little Wang didn’t come up the mountain—if a fight broke out, there’d be no way to separate them.

Another thing that required strict supervision was the sows they had brought along. These pigs ran at the front of the group, some people leading them with ropes, as if walking dogs.

When they reached the spot where Lancaster had discovered black truffles, they released the sows.

Wendy asked, “This is where you found the black truffles?”

Lancaster nodded. “Yes.”

One rich heir stepped forward, wanting to dig it up and check. Wendy stopped him and shook his head. “Don’t, Zoe. There may be mycelium underneath—don’t damage it. Let’s keep searching instead.”