When they reached the river, Shen Xuanqing let go, and the boar’s hind leg thudded to the ground, causing its body to tremble.
The river was swift and wide, rushing noisily. They were still deep in the mountains, far from the village.
He pulled the heavy arrow from the boar’s neck. The arrowhead had been dipped in numbing poison, so he squatted by the river, splashing water onto it with one hand. Blood dripped from the arrowhead onto the muddy bank. Once the blood was washed away, he laid the arrow horizontally on the shore, submerging the arrowhead in the water and weighing down the shaft with a stone.
The poison became more potent when mixed with blood, so rinsing it in the river was necessary. The river meandered far from the village at the foot of the mountain, and the poison would be diluted by the vast volume of water, rendering it harmless. His master had done the same thing over a decade ago.
He pulled the long knife from the boar’s forehead and cut away at the arrow wound on its neck, carving out a large chunk of flesh. Dark blood pooled on the ground.
Shen Xuanqing tossed the chunk of meat aside, not letting the dogs eat it.
The strong scent of blood made the three dogs sniff incessantly, their noses twitching. They were particularly sensitive to such smells.
After much of the blood had drained from the neck, Shen Xuanqing dragged the boar to the river and submerged its head and neck in the rushing water.
The clear water turned red instantly, but the current carried the blood away. When the water ran clear again, he pulled the boar back onto the bank.
As for the pool of blood on the ground, he kicked dirt over it and used his hands to cover the bloodstains tainted with poison. It wasn’t out of kindness, he simply didn’t want to attract bloodthirsty predators. It was better to conceal it.
Dragging such a heavy boar back and forth was exhausting. He rested for a moment, then looked up at the sky. It was just past noon, and he could make it back. He slung his bow and knife over his back, tied the boar’s hind legs with hemp rope, and hoisted the rope over his shoulder, dragging the boar down the mountain.
For the past few days, Shen Xuanqing had been out early in the morning to hunt this beast, and he had locked the gate before leaving, so there was no need to go back to the yard in the mountain.
He drained the wild boar's blood to prevent anything from following the scent of blood. Dragging such a heavy boar, he knew he wouldn’t be able to move quickly.
With the threat eliminated and revenge taken, Shen Xuanqing was in good spirits, his expression no longer as tense as when he had first gone up the mountain. Including today, he had been in the mountains for six days. Bringing back this wild boar would surely make Lu Gu happy, as it would fetch a good price.
As he walked, the boar left a trail behind him, but with the dogs running ahead and behind, he wasn’t afraid.
____
By evening, Lu Gu was at home eating when he heard Guaizi barking outside. He didn’t even have time to put down his chopsticks and hurried to the door to look.
Wei Lanxiang and Shen Yaoqing were behind him. When they saw Shen Xuanqing appearing from the gentle slope, bent over and dragging a hemp rope tied to the boar, they quickly went to help.
“So big!” Wei Lanxiang exclaimed in surprise, and even Shen Yaoqing was startled when he saw the wild boar.
Shen Xuanqing put down the rope and stretched his shoulders, smiling as he said, “Indeed, over 350 catties. It was heavy all the way.”
He then looked at Lu Gu, his eyes brightening, and asked, “Take a look, is this the one?”
The wild boar had been scraped and bumped along the mountain path, and a large chunk of flesh was missing from its neck. Its bristles were disheveled, almost to the point of being unrecognizable. But when Lu Gu saw the boar’s terrifying size, it looked so massive, and those tusks, he remembered the dream he had last night, where he was nearly bitten by a wild boar.
“It’s the one,” he nodded, although his eyes still showed astonishment. Such a large male wild boar, and Shen Xuanqing had actually managed to hunt it down.
Lu Gu’s look of utter amazement filled Shen Xuanqing with satisfaction and pride. All the hardships he had endured in the mountains over the past few days were now worth it.
“Mother, don’t touch it carelessly. I smeared the arrow with numbing poison. Be careful not to get poisoned,” Shen Xuanqing quickly warned as he saw Wei Lanxiang curiously examining the wound on the boar’s neck.
Wei Lanxiang immediately retracted her hand, which she had been about to stretch out.
Shen Yaoqing took the hemp rope and dragged the boar toward the house. Shen Xuanqing walked alongside Lu Gu and said, “We can’t eat this pork right now. Tomorrow, we’ll dig up some medicinal herbs and boil a pot of water. The pork needs to be washed in it two or three times before it’s safe to eat.”
“I know. I’ll go dig them up first thing tomorrow morning,” Wei Lanxiang replied. She had heard the old hunter say before that game poisoned with numbing toxin needed to be washed in water boiled with certain herbs to neutralize the poison.
Although the numbing poison was potent, it only caused paralysis. Even without washing it with the herbs, the effect would wear off in four or five days. But since it was summer, the meat couldn’t be stored for long, so they had to act quickly. Besides, when it came to food, it was better to be cautious.
“We can’t finish all this meat ourselves,” Wei Lanxiang added.
Shen Xuanqing then said, “It’s already dead, not a freshly slaughtered pig. The meat needs to be washed before we can sell it. We’ll sell it cheap to anyone in the village who wants to buy, ten coins per catty.”
A few days ago, Meng Dayue from the neighboring village had slaughtered a pig, selling it for seventeen copper coins per catty, and that was considered cheap. At times, it could go up to twenty copper coins. Selling this for only ten copper coins was indeed very cheap, but this wild boar was enormous. Even after removing the organs, skin, and bones, if there were at least a hundred catties of meat left, they could still earn a thousand copper coins, which was one tael of silver. And there would likely be more than a hundred catties of meat.
Wei Lanxiang calculated in her head, and once she figured it out, she broke into a wide smile.
Ji Qiuyue and Shen Yan were waiting at the gate. When they saw the massive wild boar being dragged in, both of them were startled. Next door, Auntie Miao came out to pour out her dishwater and was so shocked that her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She immediately called into the house, “Chunsheng! Husband! Come out and see this!”
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