12: Chapter 12 Slaughtering Wild Boars

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Wang Laoer and Ye Xuan immediately drew their arrows and shot at the wild boar's head, but several arrows in a row missed its eyes.

It turned its head in rage to look at Wang Laosan, charging straight at him as if it had gone mad.

It had clearly turned its fury toward Wang Laosan; its eyes were bloodshot and its tusks were covered in blood, looking exceptionally hideous.

"Watch out!" Ye Jing suddenly lunged from the side, grabbing Wang Laosan and pulling him toward a nearby large tree.

Almost simultaneously, the wild boar slammed into the trunk of the tree where Ye Xuan was with a loud "thud."

The waist-thick trunk actually tilted slightly from the impact, and a large patch of bark was stripped away.

Still in shock, Wang Laosan touched the back of his neck; if he had been a step slower, the wild boar would likely have gored him through.

"Elder Ye... it's all thanks to you!" Wang Laosan stammered his thanks, nearly wetting himself from fright.

Ye Jing took a breath, grateful for the enhancement from the Immortal Light; otherwise, an eighty-year-old man like him could never have reacted fast enough to pull Wang Laosan away.

"Laosan, go help first!" Ye Jing urged, not having time for more words.

"Right!" Wang Laosan quickly grabbed his hunting knife and rushed up to help.

The other villagers over there quickly pulled up the "beast-trapping fence" to trap the wild boar inside.

The wild boar, somewhat dazed by the impact, retreated. Seeing itself trapped, it charged forward in a rage and smashed into the fence. With this collision, the already overturned fence shattered, leaving an opening exposed.

"Not good! The beast is trying to escape!" Nearby, Ye Yi quickly shouted for the other villagers to attack it with arrows.

Ye Jing shouted, "Yier, aim for its eyes! The rest of you, use ropes to snare its hind legs!"

With Ye Jing's command, the flustered villagers quickly sprang into action.

Ye Yi swiftly shot an arrow into the wild boar's left eye. The shot was fierce and accurate, piercing the boar's eye in an instant.

"Roar!" The wild boar howled in pain toward the sky. Several villagers quickly moved to snare its hind legs with ropes.

But the wild boar's strength far exceeded their imagination. With a sudden lift of its leg, the thick hemp rope was pulled taut. The villagers holding the rope were yanked off balance, their palms chafed and bleeding, yet they didn't dare loosen their grip even slightly despite the sharp pain.

"This beast's legs are powerful! Yier! Go up and stab its lower ribs!" Ye Jing shouted quickly.

Ye Yi lunged with his hunting knife. The wild boar seemed to sense the threat and immediately went into a frenzy. Its strength surged, and it managed to shake off the villagers' ropes and dodge Ye Yi's slash.

The wild boar ran swiftly toward the gap.

The wild boar even knocked over several villagers who tried to block it, leaving a trail of wails in its wake.

"Not good! The wild boar is escaping!" Ye Jing quickly gave chase.

At the critical moment, Hei Feng blocked its retreat, lunging forward to Bite. Wang Laosan and Ye Xuan rushed up, raising their wooden forks and stabbing them into the wild boar's body.

The wild boar bled more and more, and its hooves began to grow weak, but it still refused to give up the fight, attacking Ye Xuan, who was closest.

"I'm giving it my all!" Ye Xuan gritted his teeth and didn't back down, plunging the wooden fork deeper into the wild boar's body.

The wild boar let out a scream and was about to gore Ye Xuan again.

At that moment, Ye Jing arrived, a fierce light in his eyes: "Vile beast! Die!"

Before everyone's eyes, the old man swung his hunting knife high and slashed it into the wild boar's neck. Blood sprayed out, and the blade was almost embedded in the flesh.

"Everyone, scatter!" Ye Jing barked.

The villagers, who were stunned speechless, immediately scattered upon hearing this.

Even Ye Xuan and Ye Yi watched in disbelief as their father showed such great strength, hacking into the wild boar's throat with a single blow.

Released from its struggle, the wild boar's entire body collapsed with a "boom." Blood flowed freely from the wound in its neck, and it no longer had any strength to resist.

Ye Jing stepped forward and plunged his knife into the wild boar's heart. A final scream erupted, and the wild boar was dead.

Only then did everyone dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

Immediately following that was pure ecstasy.

Wang Laosan was almost moved to tears: "Heavens! We actually hunted a wild boar! Is this real?"

The injured villagers also cheered joyfully, completely forgetting their pain. They stared unblinkingly at the wild boar before them, fearing it might be a dream.

"Alright, a few of you strong ones, carry the wild boar back to the camp first!" Ye Jing commanded.

Ye Yi and Ye Xuan volunteered and, along with several strong young men, lifted the massive wild boar.

Wang Laosan was among them. Straining to lift the boar, he exclaimed in surprise, "Mother of mine! Uncle Ye, this wild boar must weigh at least five hundred catties!"

"Five hundred catties? How much money would that be worth!" the villagers carrying the boar said excitedly.

Ye Jing thought for a moment and smiled as he lit his pipe. "According to the prices at the town's butcher shop, domestic pork can sell for sixty wen per catty.

Wild boar meat is firm and a delicacy; it should fetch at least a hundred wen per catty. Five hundred catties converts to a full fifty taels, and that's not even counting the price of the bones and hide!"

"Fifty taels!" An exclamation erupted from the crowd. Someone couldn't help but reach out and touch the wild boar's meat as if they were touching heavy silver.

"This one wild boar can cover the Tax Silver for several of our families!"

"We're rich! We're rich!"

The people of Liu Village were overjoyed.

Wang Laosan looked at Ye Jing, his eyes full of gratitude. He quickly shouted, "This is all thanks to Elder Ye's plan and his heroic strike! Otherwise, how could we have caught such a large wild boar?"

Seeing this, the villagers were all immensely grateful to Ye Jing.

"Indeed, it's all thanks to Elder Ye. He's truly still got it!"

"Once we've gathered enough Tax Silver, we must properly thank Elder Ye!"

Everyone from Liu Village was filled with joy as they carried the wild boar back to the camp with large strides.

In the camp, the people of Chen Family Village were already there, their faces looking a bit listless and lacking energy.

Zhang Youqiang stood up in surprise when he saw the people of Liu Village return, carrying a massive wild boar.

He rubbed his eyes, unable to believe that the people of Liu Village had actually hunted a large wild boar.

Carrying the wild boar, Wang Laosan glanced smugly at Zhang Youqiang and intentionally said, "Catching this wild boar really wasn't easy. If it weren't for Uncle Ye's help, we wouldn't have caught it so easily!"

At those words, the people of Liu Village burst into laughter, chattering about the thrilling moments of catching the boar and lamenting how difficult it had been.

This caused the people of Chen Family Village to struggle to their feet to look at the massive wild boar, which weighed at least five hundred catties.

"Your Liu Village is impressive. Yesterday you caught a deer, and today you caught a wild boar," Zhang Youqiang said in surprise.

He also looked at Ye Jing, who was calmly smoking to the side, and couldn't help but hold the old man in higher regard.

Seeing the astonished looks of the Chen Family Village people, Wang Laosan and the others felt a sense of pride.

However, Ye Jing noticed that the complexions of the Chen Family Village people were not good; some were even clutching their heads, their faces turning pale.

Seeing this, Ye Jing asked, "What's wrong with you all? You don't seem to have much energy."

The astonishment on Zhang Youqiang's face instantly froze. He subconsciously shrank back, avoiding Ye Jing's probing gaze, and spoke stiffly, "No... nothing! Just didn't sleep well guarding the prey last night, feeling a bit tired."

But a man beside Zhang Youqiang couldn't help but cough, his face as pale as frost-bitten vegetable leaves. "Brother Zhang, I really can't hold on anymore. I don't know why, but my head is spinning..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Youqiang snapped, cutting the man off, seemingly unwilling to show weakness in front of Liu Village.

"Is such a small thing worth shouting about? Just go sleep it off!"