“It’s no use, Sister Qing! Its hide is just too thick—unless we hit it right in the eye, even bullets to the body glance off without doing a thing!”
“Wild boars have extremely tough skin, and those old muskets can’t penetrate it,” Ye Qing said, her plan forming clearly in her mind. “Keep aiming for the eyes and nostrils. If you can’t get a clear shot there, aim for the tendons in its hind legs. Break those, and it won’t be able to run or charge anymore.”
The two riflemen acknowledged her instructions and quickly reloaded their weapons.
Several more shots rang out. One of the boar’s hind legs went limp, but if anything, its rage seemed to override the injury—it kept moving as if nothing had happened.
After another volley, both hind legs were crippled. Finally, its pace slowed, and the force of its ramming blows against the tree trunk weakened considerably.
Ye Qing had just let out a quiet breath of relief when one of the men called out, “I’m running low on ammunition—only a few more shots left.”
“Same here,” the other agreed.
Ye Qing glanced down. After charging and thrashing about for so long, the boar looked exhausted, its movements growing sluggish.
“Can you still aim? Fire two more shots right at its nose,” she ordered.
Bang! Bang!
The blows struck true, and the pain drove the boar into a final frenzy. It focused all its remaining strength on ramming the tree where Li Anping was perched—the same man who had shot it in the nose.
“Stay up in the trees!” Ye Qing shouted. “I’ll finish this beast myself.”
She quickly gauged the distance between herself and the animal, then moved with practiced ease along the branches. Hooking her toes securely around a thick limb, she hung suspended upside down.
Thanks to the enhanced strength and agility granted by her abilities, she had no trouble holding this position.
Lowering herself until she was nearly level with the boar, she raised her knife and struck straight into its soft underbelly—blade sinking in cleanly, then pulling out red with blood.
The belly was the boar’s most vulnerable spot: thin skin, sparse fur. Before it could react, Ye Qing drove the knife in again, slicing downward with all her might.
The boar let out a piercing, agonized shriek.
Even the tough, seasoned men watching from nearby felt their skin crawl and their teeth ache at the sheer speed and brutality of her strike.
The boar reared up, trying to lunge at her, but it was too late. Its belly gaped open, and blood poured out in a steady stream. Like a grasshopper after the frost, it struggled weakly for a moment, then collapsed heavily to the ground.
Ye Qing hung upside down for two full minutes, waiting until she was certain the boar had stopped moving entirely. Then she tossed her knife aside, pushed off with her hands, and dropped to the earth. The moment her feet touched the ground, she rolled sideways to absorb the impact.
The rest of the men scrambled down from their trees.
“Sister Qing—are you all right? How could you be so brave, hanging there like that? And the way you struck— I’ve never seen any woman take down a wild boar like that!”
The militiamen crowded around her, helping her to her feet and asking if she was hurt.
Ye Qing waved them off, smiling. “I’m fine.”
In truth, she felt invigorated. And why wouldn’t she? She had just killed a full-grown boar—and the meat belonged entirely to her.
“Stop crowding around me,” she reminded them. “We still have someone up there waiting—Tian Wuzi hasn’t come down yet.”
Only then did they remember their original mission. “Tian Wuzi! What are you doing up there? Get down here right now!” they yelled.
As members of the militia, they had long disliked Tian Wuzi—especially after what he had done to Ye Qing before—so their tone was far from friendly.
Up in the tree, Tian Wuzi trembled uncontrollably. Tears streamed down his face as he wailed, “Do you think I want to stay up here? I’ve been clinging to this branch for hours! My legs have gone numb and I can’t move! And why are you shouting at me? I’ve been surrounded by wild boars all night, scared out of my wits!”
“Scared? You brought this on yourself!” Li Weidong snapped, instantly taking Ye Qing’s side. “Who told you to run off into the mountains with Er Gouzi and his lot, and even try to steal from Sister Qing? That was nothing less than a death wish!”
“I never meant to harm her!” Tian Wuzi cried. “There’s more to this than you know. Get me down safely and I’ll tell you everything!”
Hearing this, the men exchanged glances. They decided to give him the chance to explain.
They moved toward the tree, Ye Qing following at a slower pace. But as they drew near, the man at the front suddenly clapped his hands over his eyes and shouted in disgust: “Tian Wuzi, you shameless rascal! Why are you standing there naked?!”
They had been so focused on the boar that they hadn’t looked closely at him until now. With the danger gone, they got a clear view—and it was a sight they wished they could unsee.
Tian Wuzi was perched in the tree with his rear end completely exposed. He still wore trousers, but the fabric from the waist down to the ankles had been ripped or torn away, hanging loosely around his legs like rags.
He burst into fresh tears, sobbing, “I was running and scrambling away from those boars! When I slid down over the rocks, my pants got torn and scraped off! It’s not like I did it on purpose—stop looking at me like that!”
Even Ye Qing felt her eyes burning at the sight. She turned away and covered her face, telling the others to get him down and cover him up.
A heavy thud followed, and Tian Wuzi tumbled clumsily from the tree, caught safely by the men below.
Li Anping reacted quickly. He pulled off his own coat and wrapped it around Tian Wuzi’s waist, covering his bare backside. It looked ridiculous, like a makeshift skirt, but it was better than nothing—and Tian Wuzi was just grateful to be covered.
His legs gave out as soon as he touched the ground. Leaning against the trunk, he gasped for breath, tears of relief mixing with the cold sweat on his face. “Brother Anping! Brother Weidong—all of you! You really came for me! I thought I’d die up here! Did Yongzi run down to get help?”
Li Anping didn’t waste time on pleasantries. He nodded toward Ye Qing. “You saw what just happened. It wasn’t us who did the work—it was her. Wuzi, I never understood you. First you refuse to work the fields, then you start hanging around with Er Gouzi and his gang, and even try to steal from Ye Qing. If it weren’t for her, you’d have been gored to death by those boars—and we never would have reached you in time!”
As the militia leader, Li Anping had known Tian Wuzi well, almost like a younger brother. Now he looked at him with deep disappointment.
Tian Wuzi finally broke down completely, wailing loudly. “I swear it! I never wanted to hurt Ye Qing! They forced me to come up here! Only when we reached the halfway point did I find out they planned to rob her!”
“I refused to go along and tried to leave, but Er Gouzi blocked our way and stopped me and Yongzi from going back down to warn anyone! That’s how we ended up running into the boars!”
The men grew serious at once. “Forced you? Why would he drag you along?”
“He said because my father is the team leader. If something happened to me, he knew the militia would send a rescue party. Having me along made them feel safe!”
Li Anping’s face darkened instantly, and Li Weidong cursed loudly. “So they use our own people as a shield? That’s low! If I ever catch Er Gouzi, I’ll make him regret it!”
After a moment of anger, Li Anping asked again, “But how did you end up running into a whole herd of sows with young? That’s bad luck even for experienced hunters.”
Tian Wuzi sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “It was their fault! When we fought, Zhu Zi fell backward into the bushes and found a litter of baby boars. Without thinking, he picked one up and said he’d bring it back to butcher and eat. I told him to put it down, but they beat me and Yongzi to shut us up. Then the mother and the rest of the herd came back and charged us all!”
“By then, Yongzi and I were already trying to leave. But Er Gouzi, seeing the boars coming, deliberately led them straight toward us and even threw the baby piglets right at us! That’s why the herd chased us! I told Yongzi to run down first and bring help, and I stayed behind to draw them off!”
He cried harder, his voice shaking. “How could you think I’d ever betray my own village for strangers? I’ve been freezing up here all night, my backside is raw and sore from the rocks, and the first thing you do is yell at me…”
Li Anping studied his face closely. The distress and tears looked genuine, and knowing Tian Wuzi’s usual character, he didn’t seem like someone who would lie this well.
“All right, stop crying,” he said, his tone softening a little. “Maybe we judged you too quickly. But you still made your own mistake! I’ve told you a hundred times to stay away from Er Gouzi and his crowd, but you never listened. Now you’ve learned your lesson the hard way. Will you keep hanging around with them after this?”
Tian Wuzi shook his head vigorously between sobs. “Never! From now on, if I see Er Gouzi, I’ll run the other way! I already told them yesterday we were done for good!”
Li Anping nodded, satisfied. “But Er Gouzi is no good—he came back from outside the village a changed man, and not for the better. I’ve heard rumors about him before. Leading the boars right at you like that? That wasn’t an accident—he meant to get you killed. Once the team leader returns, we’ll bring this up properly. This won’t be swept under the rug.”
“Enough sniveling,” Li Weidong said, patting Tian Wuzi’s shoulder and wiping his face with a large leaf. “Can you walk? Are you hurt badly?”
Tian Wuzi pointed to his backside and thighs. “Just scrapes and bruises there. Nothing broken. I can walk, but I need to rest a bit first—I’m completely worn out.”
“Here, take a sip of this to warm you up.” Li Anping pulled out a small bottle of strong rice wine and handed it over.
Tian Wuzi took it with trembling hands and took a long swallow. A warm feeling spread from his chest outward, and the shivering cold finally left his bones.
After checking that Tian Wuzi was properly covered and no longer exposing himself, Li Anping remembered that Ye Qing was still turned away. “Sister Qing, we’ve got him covered now—you can turn around.”
Ye Qing nodded and walked back over.
Li Anping rubbed his hands nervously and explained, “There was a misunderstanding. Wuzi was tricked and forced to come up here by those hooligans from another village. He never intended to harm you. Please don’t hold it against him.”
Tian Wuzi still felt a little afraid of Ye Qing, nodding quickly in agreement. He had watched from the tree as she fought and killed the boar—fast, fearless, and deadly. To look at her, she seemed like any ordinary young woman from the village, but her strength and skill were terrifying.
He hung his head, unable to meet her eyes. After all, this whole mess had started because of him, and he felt both guilty and intimidated.
Ye Qing listened to the full story, then looked him over briefly. “All right, as far as I’m concerned, it’s over. But let me be clear—Er Gouzi and his gang will not get away with this.”
Her eyes turned cold and sharp as she spoke.
Tian Wuzi nodded eagerly. “Whatever happens to them is none of my business! I’ve already cut all ties. If you ever decide to teach them a lesson, Sister Qing, count me in!”
“We’ll see,” Ye Qing said, shifting the topic. “Come help me—we need to carry this boar down the mountain.”
She licked her lips, already imagining all the ways she could cook and prepare the meat.
Walking over to the now cold carcass, she examined it. It was a mature sow—not the largest of the herd, but still weighing well over two hundred pounds. It had short, sharp tusks and a long, deep gash across its belly where she had struck.
The militiamen gathered around it, marveling. This was the first time any of them had actually taken down a full-grown wild boar, and they couldn’t help but stare.
Suddenly Li Weidong crouched down and pointed to the animal’s back. “Hey—look at this! There’s an old scar here, fully healed. Does that mean it’s fought people before?”
The words struck Li Anping like a bolt of lightning. He froze completely, his face going pale as if struck by thunder.