amaotonovel Chapter 439 Climb the Tree Quickly
Chapter 439 Climb the Tree Quickly
After leaving home, Li Xiangyang led Zhao Minghui and his group up the mountain path.
The mountains and forests are beginning to awaken in spring, with tender green buds adorning the branches, and the occasional clear chirping of birds can be heard.
“Brother Li, let me introduce you,” Zhao Minghui said, pointing to a tall, thin young man beside him. “This is Xu Guang, the son of Director Xu of the county’s Materials Bureau.”
Xu Guang nodded politely, his face displaying the gentleness and distance typical of city dwellers.
“This is Wang Jianguo,” Zhao Minghui said, pointing to a burly young man. “His father works for the Commerce Bureau; he’s a good shot, having trained with the military.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Jianguo straightened his chest, a smug look on his face: "Brother Li, I've long admired your name. I've heard you're an excellent marksman. Shall we have a contest later?"
Li Xiangyang smiled but didn't reply; he simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Zhao Minghui then introduced several other people, all of whom were children of leaders from various units in the county. They were all well-dressed and exuded a sense of superiority.
Li Xiangyang led the way, secretly pondering to himself. None of these young masters from the city seemed genuinely interested in hunting; they were probably just looking for thrills.
Especially that Wang Jianguo, he's got quite a big mouth, probably trying to show off in front of his companions. People like that are the most dangerous to go into the mountains, I have to be extra careful.
After walking for about half an hour, the road became increasingly steep, and the city dwellers were already panting heavily, with fine beads of sweat on their faces.
"Brother Li... Brother Li," a young man named Zhang Ming asked, panting, "where are we going? How much longer do we have to walk?"
Li Xiangyang slowed his pace and glanced back at the group behind him: "We'll reach a suitable hunting ground in another half hour. Everyone stay close and don't get separated."
"Don't worry, we're not three-year-olds," Wang Jianguo said dismissively, pulling a pistol from his backpack and weighing it in his hand. "With this thing in hand, what wild beast would dare to come?"
Seeing this, Li Xiangyang frowned: "Brother Wang, the mountains are dangerous, and guns aren't toys. Before we went into the mountains, I told everyone that we all had to follow my instructions and not act recklessly."
Wang Jianguo pursed his lips and reluctantly put away his pistol: "I know, it's just going into the mountains to hunt, is it really necessary to be so cautious?"
Li Xiangyang didn't say anything more and continued to lead the way.
The mountain road winds its way uphill, the trees on both sides grow increasingly lush, and the air is filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass.
As he walked, Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped, squatted down, and carefully examined the marks on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Minghui asked curiously.
Li Xiangyang pointed to several depressions on the ground: "Look, these are wild boar footprints, and they're very fresh; they must have been left this morning."
Several young people immediately became interested and gathered around to take a look.
"Are there really wild boars?" Xu Guang asked excitedly. "Can we hunt one today?"
Li Xiangyang stood up and looked around: "Wild boars are usually active in the early morning and evening, and it's midday now, so they're probably resting. But we can still look for them."
He turned to Zhao Minghui and the others, his tone serious: "We might encounter wild boars later. Remember, everyone, don't panic, and don't fire your guns indiscriminately. Be especially careful if you encounter a sow with piglets; they are extremely aggressive."
Several young people nodded, their faces showing both nervousness and excitement.
Li Xiangyang led them onward, following the wild boar's tracks.
The road became increasingly difficult to traverse, and in some places, one even had to push aside dense bushes to proceed.
After walking for about twenty minutes, a rustling sound suddenly came from ahead.
Li Xiangyang immediately made a shushing gesture, signaling everyone to stop.
He gently pulled the safety off his shotgun and cautiously peered ahead.
Several wild boars could be vaguely seen rooting in the ground for food in the bushes, one of which was larger and appeared to be the leader.
"Wild boar!" Li Xiangyang whispered to the people behind him. "Everyone, be quiet. Let's approach slowly."
Upon hearing this, the young men's eyes lit up, and they all pulled out their guns.
Upon seeing this, Li Xiangyang inwardly cried out in alarm.
These young men from the city were inexperienced, and what was worse, most of them carried pistols.
Handguns have limited power and can only serve as a means of close-range self-defense in the mountains.
If you only injure a wild boar with thick skin and tough flesh and extremely strong vitality, you will completely enrage it.
"Wait!" Li Xiangyang whispered, urgently stopping them, "Don't fire! Your pistols aren't powerful enough; they'll only provoke them!"
Unfortunately, his warning came too late.
"Watch me show you what I've got!" Wang Jianguo's eyes lit up, and ignoring Li Xiangyang's attempts to stop him, he raised his pistol and fired a shot.
"boom!"
The crisp sound of gunfire echoed through the mountains and forests, startling the nearby birds into flight.
It must be said that Wang Jianguo was indeed quite accurate; his bullet hit the wild boar's head precisely.
However, before he could even rejoice, the wild boar let out a painful howl and charged towards them with red eyes.
"Run!" Li Xiangyang shouted, calmly raising his gun and aiming. When the wild boar charged to the optimal shooting distance, he decisively pulled the trigger.
"boom!"
The Type 63 automatic rifle was far more powerful than any pistol. The wild boar fell to the ground with a thud, but its immense inertia still caused it to slide forward a few meters and stop not far from Li Xiangyang's feet.
Before Li Xiangyang could even catch his breath, a terrified scream suddenly rang in his ears.
He looked up sharply and saw the remaining wild boars in the bushes, completely enraged by the gunshot, charging off in different directions.
Two of the smaller wild boars were charging toward where Zhao Minghui and Xu Guang were!
"Run! Climb up the tree!" Li Xiangyang shouted.
Upon hearing the shout, Zhao Minghui reacted quickly this time, presumably still remembering the lesson from last time. He grabbed Xu Guang beside him and practically dragged him toward a large tree.
"Climb the tree quickly!" Zhao Minghui shouted as he ran.
The two ran haphazardly to the tree, and Zhao Minghui nimbly grabbed a low-hanging branch and climbed up in no time.
After all, having encountered danger last time, they weren't completely at a loss in a critical moment.
However, this was Xu Guang's first time in danger, and he was so frightened that he didn't react no matter how much Xu Guang pulled him.
Seeing that the two wild boars had already rushed close, Li Xiangyang didn't have time to think. He quickly raised his gun, aimed at the leading boar, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"boom!"
With a precise shot, the wild boar fell to the ground.
Although Li Xiangyang reacted quickly, while he managed to put one down, the other had already rushed in front of Xu Guang.
In the critical moment, Xu Guang finally used the power of fear to grab Zhao Minghui's outstretched hand and managed to climb up the tree before the wild boar rushed down to the ground.
"Brother Li! Help!" Zhao Minghui cried out in terror from the tree.
The wild boar charged to the tree, roaring and ramming its tusks against the trunk, causing the whole tree to shake violently and nearly throwing the two of them off.
Li Xiangyang steadied himself, took a deep breath, aimed, and pulled the trigger.
"boom!"
The second wild boar also fell into a pool of blood.
For a moment, the forest returned to silence, with only the rapid breathing of the two people in the tree.
"It's alright, you can come down now." Li Xiangyang breathed a sigh of relief, put down his hunting rifle, and walked towards the tree.
Zhao Minghui and Xu Guang climbed down from the tree with trembling hands, their legs still shaking and their faces as pale as paper.