PCJ – Chapter 134 The Wild Boar with Bad Fortunes

Zhang Jiaohua immediately remembered the last time he escaped, thinking he might have to use the same trick again this time to slide down the mountain.

“Slide away until tomorrow, invoking the six stars of the Southern Dipper and the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. I command in the name of the Supreme Lord Laozi, swiftly as per the decree.” Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t finished reciting the incantation when the wild boar charged out of the woods behind him. The path Zhang Jiaohua had taken was through a dense forest with sparse undergrowth, making it easier for the wild boar to pursue.

Seeing the despised human and dog just ahead, the wild boar charged even faster, like a gust of wind, shaking the leaves on the trees it passed. 

Just as the wild boar was about to crash into Zhang Jiaohua, he suddenly slid downhill as if on a skateboard. The boar’s eyes widened—this scene seemed so familiar. Before it could remember where it had seen this before, it felt as if it was stepping on ice. It was so slippery!

“Yow!”

The wild boar, charging recklessly, relied on its four hooves to grip the ground, leaving deep hoof prints with each step. Suddenly, it couldn’t get a grip, and its body lost balance. All four legs slipped, creating a huge feeling of weightlessness in its mind. Its body soared into the air, flew over a patch of underbrush, and then crashed heavily to the ground, continuing to roll downhill like a giant meatball. The force of gravity accelerated its momentum, making the impact stronger with each roll. After countless spins, the boar was completely dizzy, closed its eyes, and left its fate to chance. Unfortunately, at the bottom was a giant rock by the creek. The boar’s head smashed into the rock heavily. It only had time for one last yow before it went silent.

In the past, Zhang Jiaohua would never have cared what happened behind him. He would have run as fast as he could, racing down the mountain with the sliding spell, hoping to get home in one go. But this time, Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t in a hurry to escape. After sliding down the mountain, he recited a hiding spell and hid behind a rock by the creek.

“What an unlucky fellow.” Seeing the wild boar crash headfirst into the rock, Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t help but sigh at its misfortune. He wondered if boars had bad luck.

Although he witnessed the boar’s collision with the rock, he didn’t believe such a strong animal would die from that alone. So, he waited a minute to see if there was any movement from the boar. When there was none, Zhang Jiaohua finally stood up and walked over.

The boar wasn’t dead but was as good as dead. When Zhang Jiaohua approached, the boar was staring up at the sky with wide eyes. Zhang Jiaohua thought about ending the boar’s life with his knife but, seeing how tough the boar’s hide was, he realized the knife might not even penetrate. So, he abandoned that idea.

This large piece of meat was too valuable to give up, but how to transport it back home required some clever thinking.

By the creek, there were plenty of vine plants. The kudzu vines were tough, but they were too thick to handle easily. Zhang Jiaohua turned his attention to a patch of wild ramie by the creek. Although this wild ramie wasn’t as good as the cultivated variety, it could still be used to make fiber. Zhang Jiaohua had seen Liu Qiaoye scrape ramie before, so he imitated her, cutting some wild ramie and quickly extracting the fibers with his knife. He made a very crude hemp rope, which, despite its roughness, was very sturdy.

Zhang Jiaohua tied the wild boar’s four legs tightly with the ramie rope, even stuffing a sturdy stick into its mouth and wrapping it with many layers of rope. Using several dozen meters of ramie rope, he bound the four to five hundred-pound wild boar into a bundle.

Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t move such a heavy boar by himself. Without Jin Hu and the others’ help, it would have been impossible to bind the boar into a bundle.

It was getting late, and going back to the village to get help was not an option. Recently, there had been sightings of large packs of green wolves, making the mountains more dangerous at night. If surrounded by a wolf pack, they would be in serious trouble.

After spending some time in the bell, Jin Hu and the others had grown stronger than most adults. So, having them move the boar was not a problem. Zhang Jiaohua, however, was unsure how to explain this situation to his parents.

After thinking for a long time, he couldn’t come up with a good solution and decided to leave the problem to his parents.

“Let’s go, time to head back!” Zhang Jiaohua enjoyed leading Jin Hu and the others, along with the Shanbao. At this moment, he felt important. All children crave attention from adults. Unfortunately, adults often overlook this. Didn’t they once crave the same attention as kids?

The more Zhang Jiaohua thought about it, the more unfair it seemed. Despite his mother’s usual affection, she would beat him like he was adopted when she got angry. Not only would she beat him, but she’d also do it with his pants down, which was humiliating. Even kids have dignity.

“Roar!”

The Shanbao suddenly let out a warning growl and stared alertly to the side. The growl snapped Zhang Jiaohua out of his thoughts. Daydreaming while walking in the mountains was indeed immature.

Looking up, Zhang Jiaohua felt a shiver run down his spine, as if the air around him had suddenly turned cold.

A green wolf! It was a green wolf!

Zhang Jiaohua saw a green wolf on the hillside, staring at him intently. He felt suffocated by the tense atmosphere.

Although he wanted to run immediately, he knew that fleeing recklessly would only reveal his weakness to the green wolf, which would then chase him without hesitation. Even though he had just outwitted a four to five hundred-pound wild boar, he didn’t think he could do the same with a green wolf. Running required strategy.

Zhang Jiaohua pulled out a few talismans from his pocket. With a wave of his hand, a ball of fire flew towards the green wolf. The wolf, confused by the situation and unsure whether to eat alone or call for its pack, was startled by the sudden attack from the small human. The fire was something it greatly feared.

Wild animals are naturally afraid of fire, and the green wolf was no exception. Instinctively, it turned and ran away.