PCJ – Chapter 55 Hunting Notes

Meishan’s water soldiers, when going out hunting, need to blow the horn three times. Zhang Jiaohua had just finished his invocation to the gods and recited the spell for summoning the horn: “Transform into a golden soldier’s horn, a silver soldier’s horn, transform into a calling soldier god, summoning soldier gods, calling soldiers to come, summoning horses to gather…”

As soon as the incantation fell, a horn appeared in Zhang Jiaohua’s hand, resembling a beast’s horn. He blew the horn three times forcefully.

“Woo… Woo… Woo…”

It was strange, but as soon as the horn sounded, the little gray dog, which had been following Zhang Jiaohua like a shadow, suddenly changed completely. Its eyes were no longer filled with the innocent curiosity from before but had turned into the sharp alertness of a hunting dog.

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t pay attention to this; he was just going through the motions. After blowing the horn, he continued with the spell to transform the dog when going out: “White dog transforms into a white dragon, black dog transforms into a black dragon… Go to ten thousand mountains, turn left, turn right, search from the front mountain to the back mountain, break through the clouds, search for wild animals.”

As soon as Zhang Jiaohua finished chanting the spell, the little gray dog dashed out like an arrow.

“Ah! Xiao Hui, Xiao Hui! Don’t run.” Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t even had a chance to give the little gray dog a name, so he could only use the name of the little gray dog’s mother. But at this moment, it seemed like the little gray dog couldn’t hear Zhang Jiaohua’s shouts at all and just kept running without looking back.

“Xiao Hui, Xiao Hui!” Zhang Jiaohua could only chase after.

The little gray dog, which usually didn’t run very fast, suddenly turned into a running champion. Zhang Jiaohua had barely taken a few steps when the little gray dog had already disappeared. Moreover, the little gray dog usually never dared to leave Zhang Jiaohua’s side, but now it was darting left and right, one moment heading east, the next heading west. As it ran, it kept sniffing with its nose. As soon as it caught a whiff of something, it immediately barked. Although the little gray dog’s voice was still childish, it seemed to have a penetrating power, making it very uncomfortable to hear.

Zhang Jiaohua could only chase after, fearing that if the little gray dog encountered any wild animals, it might not be enough to protect itself.

“What’s wrong with this dog today? It’s completely different from usual!” Zhang Jiaohua muttered to himself.

The little gray dog ran fast, and its barking became louder and louder, echoing throughout Meishan. After chasing for a while, Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t even tell where the little gray dog was anymore.

Zhang Jiaohua simply stopped and sat down, panting heavily. He had thrown the bamboo basket on the way here, and now it was quite far away. The air was filled with the scent of grass, mixed with the fragrance of wildflowers. Occasionally, the barking of the little gray dog could be heard.

“Woof woof woof woof…” The little gray dog’s barking suddenly turned into urgent screams.

“Not good!” Zhang Jiaohua stood up immediately. The little gray dog must have encountered prey. It couldn’t be caught by other predators!

Following the sound, Zhang Jiaohua ran quickly in the approximate direction, constantly cutting down the bushes and thorns blocking his way with his hatchet.

The continuous barking of the little gray dog made Zhang Jiaohua feel relieved; at least he could be sure that the little gray dog hadn’t been eaten. Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t help but quicken his pace.

The little gray dog’s barking had been fierce all along, indicating that it had encountered some prey. Zhang Jiaohua had no idea what the little gray dog had encountered.

“Xiao Hui! Xiao Hui!” Zhang Jiaohua shouted as he ran. In the mountains, after who knows how many twists and turns, Zhang Jiaohua finally arrived by the little gray dog’s side. He saw the little gray dog continuously barking at something. It was a large wild rabbit! It was much larger than the little gray dog, but in front of the little gray dog, the rabbit was trembling with fear and didn’t even have the courage to run away.

When the little gray dog saw Zhang Jiaohua coming, it wagged its tail vigorously, trying to show off to Zhang Jiaohua.

Zhang Jiaohua rushed up and used all his strength to strike the rabbit’s head with his hatchet. The rabbit struggled in place for a few moments, its body twisting and turning, before falling to the ground, its legs trembling. Although it was Zhang Jiaohua’s first time killing an animal, he wasn’t afraid at all. Rural children had seen scenes like this many times. Killing pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens… Rural kids had probably all watched a few times. Although they were scared when they watched, they couldn’t help but watch the next time they encountered such a scene.

For Zhang Jiaohua, this wasn’t just a wild rabbit; it was a big piece of meat that could run. He had to make sure this piece of meat made it into his mouth.

This wild rabbit weighed about five or six catties. Zhang Jiaohua didn’t know if it was dead or alive, so he quickly made a grass rope and tied up the rabbit. Holding it in his hands, it felt heavy. Although Zhang Jiaohua could carry it, it was still a bit difficult for him.

Blood flowed from the corners of the rabbit’s mouth. Zhang Jiaohua handed the rabbit to the little gray dog to lick the blood. This would allow the little gray dog to taste the wild game from a young age. In the future, when it smelled the scent of wild animals, it would become excited, wanting to eat this kind of wild game, and then bark wildly and search all over the mountain. This was one method used by Meishan’s water soldiers to train mountain dogs.

The puppy seemed to particularly enjoy the taste of the blood, licking it with relish.

Having harvested a wild rabbit, Zhang Jiaohua was very satisfied. But the little gray dog seemed to still be in that state from before, so he hadn’t been rewarded. Zhang Jiaohua tried to call the little gray dog back but didn’t know how to get it out of that state. He could only put the rabbit in the bamboo basket and chase after it.

With the experience from last time, the little gray dog quickly found a new target this time.

When Zhang Jiaohua arrived, he found that the little gray dog hadn’t found just one target this time, but a whole nest. It was a nest of small wild rabbits. The three baby rabbits were smaller than a fist. Zhang Jiaohua suspected that the rabbit he had killed before might be related to these three baby rabbits. Maybe these three rabbits were the offspring of that rabbit.

“Unfortunately, it’s not enough to eat.” Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head; he really didn’t know how to deal with these three wild rabbits. There were people in the village who raised rabbits, but he hadn’t heard of any family raising wild rabbits. Because it wasn’t easy for wild rabbits to adapt to domestic environments. However, Zhang Jiaohua finally decided to bring the three rabbits back. After all, he had killed their parents as soon as he arrived.

He collected some dry pine needles in the mountains and made a nest for the three baby rabbits in the bamboo basket. The three baby rabbits trembled in Zhang Jiaohua’s hands. Zhang Jiaohua’s fingers could feel their rapid heartbeats. These three little guys had been scared out of their wits today.

This time, the little gray dog didn’t get a reward and was ready to set off again. This time, Zhang Jiaohua acted quickly, grabbing the little gray dog and then slinging the bamboo basket on his back. Although the weight in the bamboo basket was a bit burdensome for a first-grade elementary school student, it wasn’t a big deal for the kids from Meizi Village.