Qin Ziwen slowly raised the long spear in his hands, staring intently at this wild boar.
The wild boar was covered in mud, its two large tusks standing like pillars reaching for the sky.
It wasn't the same wild boar they had seen the previous two times, but its size was still substantial, standing there like a black wall.
At a rough glance, it probably weighed at least three to four hundred pounds.
Zhao Pu said slowly, "There are many of us, this wild boar probably won't dare to approach."
Qin Ziwen felt an extra surge of strength in the spear he was holding.
Glancing to his right with peripheral vision, he saw his younger brother Qin Ziwu gripping the spear shaft. "Brother, let me handle this. You all go first later."
"What nonsense are you talking." Qin Ziwen pried open his brother's fingers, and Qin Ziwu's fingers were effortlessly separated without any resistance. He was astonished to discover when his elder brother's strength had become so great.
Qin Ziwen held the spear with both hands, spearpoint facing forward.
"Oink~ oink~"
The wild boar let out a long cry, then charged toward Qin Ziwen from the slope.
He couldn't meet it head-on. This several-hundred-pound creature had the advantage of high ground as it charged; meeting it directly would only result in being knocked flying.
As the opponent approached, Qin Ziwen leaped to the right, avoiding the wild boar's charge.
Watching the pig's rump rush past his side, Qin Ziwen thrust his spear, stabbing the wild boar's buttocks.
The sensation was dull, like stabbing into old cowhide.
This was followed by a strong, resilient resistance.
Stimulated by the attack, the wild boar's cries became more ferocious.
Its four short, thick hooves exerted force frantically, twisting its body. Caught off guard, the spear embedded in its rump slid out smoothly.
Staring at the fierce look in the wild boar's eyes as it turned its head, Qin Ziwen felt courage surge within him. With a loud roar, he raised his spear and thrust, aiming squarely at the wild boar's face.
Just as the wild boar finished turning around, it had no time to dodge and was struck squarely.
This spear slid past the corner of its eye, thrusting deep into the eye socket. First came slight resistance, then the sensation became "slippery" as it penetrated two inches deeper.
"Wer~ wer~" The wild boar suddenly let out a piercing shriek, shaking its head wildly.
Tremendous force transmitted from the other end of the spear shaft. He gripped the shaft tightly; fortunately, some anti-slip patterns had been carved into the spear shaft, and several cloth strips had been wrapped around it, preventing it from slipping from his grasp.
The wild boar pushed forward.
He braced against the spear shaft, leaning his center of gravity forward, but he was still being pushed back continuously by the wild boar. His feet scraped against the ground, leaving long marks.
During this process, the spear penetrated deeper and deeper.
The wild boar's strength also gradually diminished. Although it was savage, it was still a carbon-based life form. With the spearpoint embedded in its eye, the more it moved, the more it hurt, and the deeper the spear went. It couldn't utilize even thirty percent of its full strength.
The wild boar stared at Qin Ziwen with its blood-filled single eye.
But between the man and the boar stood a spear shaft. It couldn't charge forward, nor could it retreat.
For every step back Qin Ziwen was pushed, he pressed forward one step against the spear.
Seizing the opportunity when it was off guard, he gripped the spear tightly and pressed inward fiercely once more!
The wild boar's feet slipped on the mud, and with a thud, it fell to the ground, emitting mournful cries.
"Die!"
Qin Ziwen roared loudly. He just wanted to vent the tension and agitation inside him. Fighting with such a beast meant that the slightest carelessness could result in disability or serious injury.
Holding the spear with both hands, he pressed down heavily. The wild boar's four legs kicked wildly. On the slippery, muddy ground, the wild boar's body shook, nearly kicking his leg.
Qin Ziwu shouted loudly, raised a stone, and smashed it near the wild boar's ear.
The bluestone the size of a bowl made a dull thud.
Deng Guang and Zhao Pu stepped forward. Looking at the desperately struggling wild boar kicking its four legs wildly, neither dared to approach its face with their kitchen knives. If kicked by one of those legs, they'd probably need at least half a month to recover.
Deng Guang beat the wild boar with a stick, but for the thick-skinned, mud-covered wild boar, the blunt strikes from the stick were merely irritating. The most fatal wound remained the spear embedded in its head.
Zhao Pu raised his spear and thrust down, stabbing the wild boar in the abdomen near its heart.
"Your wooden stick can actually pierce through." Deng Guang was somewhat surprised.
Zhao Pu gripped his spear tightly. "I sharpened it and then charred it with fire. Now the carbonized spearpoint is harder than ordinary wood."
With the four working together, the wild boar continued to struggle, but its struggling strength diminished progressively.
Finally, it lay on the ground and stopped struggling.
Qin Ziwen pulled out his spear and thrust it heavily into the wild boar's neck.
Clearly, it had stopped breathing.
"It's dealt with." Qin Ziwen let out a long sigh of relief. Only then did he realize his back was soaked with sweat.
Those few short minutes felt as long as an hour to him.
His arms felt sore and swollen. Looking at his palms, they were bright red, with white marks that lingered for a long time.
"But now there's a problem: how do we take this wild boar back?" Deng Guang looked at the others.
Qin Ziwen said, "Carrying it back probably won't work. Even with the four of us combined, we can't carry it very far. Dragging it on the ground would be easier, but the path isn't flat. Some areas are small gullies requiring going up and down slopes. Avoiding the slopes would mean taking a longer detour."
Zhao Pu said, "Perhaps we can make a vine net, place the wild boar on it, and take turns dragging it back."
Qin Ziwu frowned. "How about we divide it into several smaller pieces? That would make it easier to carry."
Zhao Pu said, "Then we'd have to dissect the carcass here. The blood scent would be too strong and might attract other wild animals."
The four proposed their respective ideas.
But these ideas shared one common point: no one suggested abandoning this wild boar.
If they could bring back such a large wild boar and each take a share, they probably wouldn't have to worry about food for the next half month.
Qin Ziwen said, "The blood scent isn't the most important issue. The main problem is none of us know how to butcher a pig properly, and we don't have specialized tools either."
Deng Guang looked at the kitchen knife in his hand. If it were just for cutting meat, it might be fine.
But if used for dividing a pig, it would probably get dull and damaged quickly.
The four looked at the wild boar, feeling troubled.
Qin Ziwen exhaled deeply. "Let's dismember it. Brother Deng, Doctor Zhao, please contribute your kitchen knives. When we get back, I'll replace your kitchen knives. The sooner we dismember the pig, the sooner we can return. Otherwise, it will get dark."
They acted immediately. Their location wasn't far from the stream. The four worked together, laboriously dragging the wild boar to the streamside, and began dismembering it.
Kitchen knives weren't specialized boning knives. While dismembering the wild boar, they occasionally hit bones, and the blades quickly became dull and damaged.
They sharpened the knives on the bluestones by the stream while cutting and dividing the meat.
Parts with low value or that were inconvenient to carry were discarded.
Except for the heart, liver, and lungs, all other internal organs were discarded.
Then came the head and trotters.
These parts could be delicious if prepared well, but they had more bone than meat. Moreover, they lacked spices, and most importantly, they were easy to divide.
Finally, only the pig's body without internal organs remained.
Even so, it still weighed around two hundred pounds.
Zhao Pu found several pieces of wood nearby and also found some vines by the stream. He cut down the vines and wove them into a grid pattern, making a simple drag net.
Using a knife, he split the wild boar's body into two halves, placing one half on the drag net. This finally made things much easier.
They followed the same method to make a second drag net. By the time they finished all this work, two hours had already passed.
......