Chapter 144: Wild Boar (Part 2)

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Wild Boar (Part 2)

"Get behind a tree. Wild boars rely on their sense of smell. Their eyesight isn’t great, so even if we run into them, we should be fine as long as we don’t provoke them."

Zhang Dazhuang glanced around before quickly pulling the two of them behind a nearby tree. He set down the basket on his back and drew his machete. Zhang Minzhen was so nervous her heart was in her throat. Her palms were sweaty, but she forced herself to appear calm, hugging Gu Nuan Nuan tightly. She nodded and tried to comfort her, "Nuannuan, don’t be afraid. Mama will protect you."

"Mhm, I’m not scared. Mama, can you let me go for a second so I can put my basket down?" Gu Nuan Nuan struggled in her mother’s arms.

"Right. You take off your basket and put it aside, too. It’ll be easier to dodge if the boars really do charge us." Zhang Dazhuang had just noticed Zhang Minzhen was still wearing hers, so he quickly added the instruction.

"Oh—"

Zhang Minzhen quickly followed suit and set down her basket. Gu Nuan Nuan saw that her mother’s hands were trembling, yet she was still trying to hold and comfort her. The sight made her nose sting. ’She knew that if the boars really charged them, her mother would stand in front of her, no matter how scared she was...’

She buried her face in her mother’s clothes, wiped away a falling tear, and slowly calmed herself. Not holding out much hope, she asked, "Cao Cao, can you use vines and roots to trip up the wild boars?"

"I can, but it probably won’t do much good. Wild boars are too strong. Even if I use vines and roots to trip them, it will only slow them down for a moment," Cao Cao said helplessly, once again hating how weak it was, unable to help its master.

Gu Nuan Nuan lifted her head in resignation. The sounds were getting closer. ’I can’t just keep hiding in Mama’s arms,’ she thought. ’I need to see what’s happening so I can react.’

Just as she was thinking this, the troublesome pheasant burst into view. It let out a sharp, panicked "CLUCK! CLUCK!", then suddenly dove behind the tree where the three of them were hiding. It ran straight for their feet and, instead of running away, just started screeching and spinning in circles.

"Go, get out of here! Don’t stay here."

At that moment, Zhang Dazhuang felt no joy at all seeing the pheasant he’d been dreaming of "walk right into his net." He quickly tried to shoo it away with his foot. But whether it was scared stupid or something else, the pheasant wouldn’t flee. Even when prodded, it refused to go, just stupidly spinning in place while screeching, "CLUCK! CLUCK!" Zhang Dazhuang got so angry he kicked it—but it was too late. Two wild boars had already charged over. The flying pheasant just so happened to smash right into one of the boar’s snouts. It let out one final, bloodcurdling shriek... and then there was no "after." It had passed out cold.

The three humans and the two wild boars were all stunned.

The two boars didn’t even spare a glance for the suicidal pheasant—it was impossible to tell if it had fainted or was dead for good. Instead, they turned their snouts toward the three humans, adopting a guarded stance. In that instant, Gu Nuan Nuan was drenched in sweat.

Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Minzhen weren’t faring any better; both of their legs were shaking uncontrollably.

"Get behind me. Quick! In a minute, don’t worry about me, just run." Zhang Dazhuang desperately gripped the machete in his hand, a sense of doom washing over him. ’This is probably it.’ His heart was filled with nothing but incomparable regret. ’If I hadn’t insisted on bringing my granddaughter up the mountain to play, my daughter wouldn’t have come along. If they hadn’t come, neither of them would have run into these boars.’

It was one thing for him to die here, but to have his daughter and granddaughter pay the price with him? The thought was utterly heart-wrenching.

"When I tell you to run, you just run for yourself. Don’t look back. Get back and find someone to save Mama and Grandpa, do you understand?" Zhang Minzhen pulled an obedient Gu Nuan Nuan behind Zhang Dazhuang, her tone unusually stern. Fearing her daughter wouldn’t listen, her voice softened and became choked with sobs. "Only by getting away can you get help for Grandpa and me. You have to listen. No matter what happens, don’t look back. If you disobey... Mama will never talk to you again..."

As she spoke, the two wild boars kicked their hind legs, building up power to charge. At the same instant, the voices of Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Minzhen roared out together:

"Run! Both of you, run! Nobody stays behind!"

"Run, Nuannuan! Don’t look back—"

Tears streamed down Gu Nuan Nuan’s face. Through her blurry vision, she saw the boars’ sharp tusks about to pierce her grandpa’s body. Her heart seized in pain. ’No! I can’t let anything happen to them...’ Her mind went blank, consumed by that single thought. Suddenly, with a strength that came from nowhere, she reached out, wrapped her arms around a large nearby tree, and yanked it up. In that critical moment, she brought it crashing down hard on the two boars’ heads.

Time seemed to freeze. Holding his blood-stained machete, Zhang Dazhuang stared blankly as the two wild boars were suddenly crushed by a tree falling from the sky. They squealed in agony, struggling desperately to stand. Just a moment ago, he had never felt so close to death. As the boars lunged, their foul, nauseating stench had been overwhelming. Their sharp tusks had even grazed his skin. Just as he despaired, certain he was about to be torn to shreds, everything had suddenly stopped...

"Nuannuan—" He looked up, staring in disbelief at Gu Nuan Nuan, who was standing to the side, her body and hands covered in bark and bits of grass.

"Nuannuan... are you okay?" Zhang Minzhen, snapping out of her shock, rushed forward. She pulled Gu Nuan Nuan close, looking her up and down while simultaneously crying and laughing. "You... how did you..." Overwhelmed by shock, she couldn’t form a complete sentence. She just kept alternating between laughing and crying.

"Grandpa, your machete." ’The crisis isn’t over yet.’ Gu Nuan Nuan pointed to the two boars on the ground, which were still grunting and struggling to rise. She snatched the machete from her grandpa’s hand, walked over, and began hacking furiously at their necks and heads. With her immense strength, it only took a few blows for the two boars to breathe their last, dying with indignation. What a gruesome, beautiful scene.

Zhang Dazhuang: "..."

Zhang Minzhen: "..." Then she turned and began to vomit. She threw up until her whole body went weak, completely emptying her stomach of everything she’d eaten for lunch. She had to hug a nearby tree to keep herself from collapsing.

Gu Nuan Nuan handed her water gourd over. She glanced guiltily at the two dead boars. ’Secretly, I’m quite impressed with myself.’ ’After causing such a bloody and brutal scene, how is it that I don’t feel the slightest bit sick?’ she wondered. ’This makes no sense. I’m not some violent monster. I’ve always been a sweet, gentle girl, haven’t I?’