PCJ – Chapter 268 Confrontation

“Run quickly! Standing here waiting to die, are you crazy?” Zhang Jiagen pulled Zhang Hanggou by the arm. At first, they were running while carrying their hoes, but seeing the situation, they quickly tossed their hoes aside and started running with all their might.

The hoes flew high in the air and fell heavily to the ground. The leading black cats in the front sensed danger and immediately stopped, watching as the hoes struck the ground deeply, digging in about ten centimeters. The black cat leaders were so frightened that they shrank back in fear. That was close! It almost cost them their lives! They crouched low to the ground, circling the hoes cautiously, afraid that they might suddenly spring back up. Being simple-minded animals, they couldn’t quite figure it out, which gave Zhang Jiagen and Zhang Hanggou time to escape.

“What kind of monster has come to our village this time?” Zhang Hanggou asked, panting heavily as he followed Zhang Jiagen. Fortunately, they had been practicing stance work with Zhang Jiaohua for a while; otherwise, they would have been exhausted already. They were running at a decent pace and even had enough breath to talk along the way, their breathing surprisingly steady.

“Who cares what kind of monster it is? Once we reach the nursery, we’ll be safe,” Zhang Jiagen said confidently, trusting in Zhang Jiaohua.

“Are you so sure we’ll be safe once we get to the nursery?” Zhang Hanggou, although thinking the same as Zhang Jiagen, asked deliberately.

“Of course! Our nursery is connected to the back mountain, which is linked to Meishan. In the past, wild animals often came down from the back mountain, but have you ever seen any wild animals at the nursery? We’ve planted so many crops there, yet not even a wild rabbit comes. Don’t you find that strange?” Zhang Jiagen asked.

“That’s true. I’ve never seen any wild animals at the nursery. I did hear that wild animals, especially wild boars, used to cause trouble there. They’d come in groups and destroy all the crops,” Zhang Hanggou nodded in agreement.

“Run, run, those creatures are catching up again!” Zhang Jiagen quickly picked up the pace.

Zhang Hanggou also quickened his steps, bewildered as to why these animals were so determined to go after them.

Little did they know that as they crossed into the nursery’s boundary, a drenched figure crawled out of the canal behind them—it was Chen Hongming, who had jumped into the water earlier. Looking disheveled, he glanced back at the swarming black cats getting closer and stumbled toward the nursery.

However, having just emerged from the water, he was much slower, no match for the speed of the black cats. The few black cat leaders, who had been humiliated by the hoes, had been severely scolded by the fat cat and were now holding a grudge. They took out all their anger on Chen Hongming. As a result, karma struck. Chen Hongming, who had led the cats to the nursery, nearly got Zhang Jiagen and Zhang Hanggou killed, and now he was paying the price. A black cat leader pounced on him, its sharp claws digging into his left Achilles tendon, and then it bit down hard.

“Crack!”

A sharp snapping sound echoed as Chen Hongming’s Achilles tendon was severed.

“Ah!” Chen Hongming let out a scream, desperately shaking off the black cat clinging to his leg, but his left leg was now useless. He could only drag it behind him as he hopped toward the nursery. The nursery was right in front of him; if he could just make it inside, there might still be a chance for survival.

When a person’s survival instinct is triggered, they can unleash an incredible amount of strength. Under normal circumstances, someone as injured as Chen Hongming would have collapsed, unable to move. But in that moment, he managed to continue crawling forward, using his hands and knees to inch closer to the nursery. However, the black cats surrounding him wouldn’t let him escape so easily. They clearly saw him as their prey now. The black cats, with their natural patience, liked to toy with their prey before killing it, watching as it died in despair.

Chen Hongming kept his eyes fixed on the thorny fence of the nursery, counting the steps… fifty steps… forty-nine… slowly inching closer.

The black cat leaders, sensing some unknown danger behind the thorny fence, intensified their attacks.

One of the black cat leaders leaped again, this time aiming for Chen Hongming’s right leg. He had no strength left to resist, and with a crisp bite, his right Achilles tendon was severed as well.

“Ah!” Chen Hongming gritted his teeth. This was no time for hesitation; his will to survive was still strong. He continued crawling toward the nursery using both his hands and knees, but the black cats changed their strategy. Now, they went for his hands, with two black cat leaders simultaneously attacking both of his hands.

“Ah!” Chen Hongming’s scream was not just one of pain but of despair. He knew he was finished; there was no way he could continue.

Just as Zhang Jiagen and Zhang Hanggou reached the nursery, the pack of hunting dogs inside began barking furiously, sensing the presence of wild animals.

“Something’s happening!”

Zhang Jiaohua immediately understood the reason for the dogs’ agitation.

“Quick, Leopard, go save Jiagen and Hanggou!” Zhang Jiaohua shouted.

The hunting leopard immediately shot out like an arrow, followed by fifteen adult hunting dogs and over twenty young pups.

Zhang Jiaohua quickly followed, with Zhang Wenrong grabbing a wooden pole and running after him.

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua, something’s wrong! A large group of wild animals is coming!” Zhang Jiagen shouted as he ran.

“Jiaohua, don’t come any closer! Run away!” Zhang Hanggou yelled as he rushed into the nursery, shouting from behind Zhang Jiagen.

A black shadow leaped down from the canal fence, followed by a stream of pitch-black figures rushing in.

“Form up!” Zhang Jiaohua shouted.

The hunting leopard heard Zhang Jiaohua’s command and immediately stopped, barking orders to the hunting dogs.

The dogs, instead of charging forward, each moved to their designated positions, quickly forming an intricate pattern.

“Jiagen, Hanggou, come over here quickly!” Zhang Jiaohua called out, waving them over.

Zhang Jiagen and Zhang Hanggou breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it to safety.

“Meow!”

The fat cat, not clumsy at all, jumped over the fence and walked to the front, letting out a long cry in the direction of Zhang Jiaohua.

Chen Shunchang and his wife heard the commotion and got out of bed, but they couldn’t see clearly in the dark the swarm of black cats.

“What is that?” Lin Hongfang asked nervously.

“It might be the dirty things from Chen Maozhong’s house. Could they have followed us to the nursery?” Chen Shunchang said, feeling a bit guilty as he glanced at Zhang Jiaohua, thinking he had brought disaster upon him.

“It’s them!” Zhang Jiaohua nodded.

“Jiaohua, I didn’t mean to bring them here,” Chen Shunchang said, feeling remorseful.