A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 83 The King Kong in the Haystack

Turn around and walk back along the path you've trod.

They returned to the place where they had been camping. The fire in front of them was now just charcoal, its embers still glowing. The five tents that had been lined up were now deserted.

Let's go in and see what's inside. So I walked into the first tent on the left. The tent was a very small space, with a tin can on one side. I guess it was easy to grab when I got up at night. I picked up the tin can, opened it, and found that it was filled with steel balls.

In the first tent, they found a bamboo tube and several packs of cigarettes. Zhang Niu carried the bamboo tube out, turned around, and went into the second tent, where he found the same thing.

Six earthen buckets were laid out in front of the campfire; these were taken from the first few tents. The one on the far right, the only one I hadn't been inside, was the one I vaguely remembered crawling out of when I was lying down.

If I'm not mistaken, their spoils from this trip are inside the second brother's tent.

I get a little excited just thinking about this cow.

Once inside, I realized that the second brother's tent was the largest. On the side of the tent were two large brown burlap sacks, and further ahead, next to a sheet, was a green mountain backpack.

Walking over, he carefully untied the first burlap sack and found nothing but a few pig legs. Without Zhang Niu having to guess, he knew it was his own domestic pig. It seemed these guys had eaten meat along the way.

The little one on the shoulder saw the pork again and tears welled up in his eyes.

Seeing this made Zhang Niu feel sad again. After all, anyone who has raised an animal for a long time will develop feelings for it.

The sack contained pork and some lean meat, but Zhang Niu didn't know what to do with it. He guessed that the rest of the meat was thrown into the mountains.

Zhang Niu opened the second sack and looked down to see a dark shape huddled inside, motionless. He cautiously nudged it with his toe through the sack, but it didn't move. Hmm, what kind of animal could it be?

It's too dark inside the tent, I'll check outside later. I carefully tied the bag back up. Walking to the sheet, I picked up the mountain bike pack; it felt quite heavy. I wondered what might be inside.

Unzipping the mountain bike pack revealed a bunch of bottles and jars. No wonder the second brother knew so much and had so many medicines. Then he remembered the hornet's nests on the road; they must have been covered in these medicines. If they had taken this mountain bike pack out earlier, what would have happened...?

He took out the burlap sacks and mountain packs and placed them next to the charcoal. In the middle of the night, the temperature dropped, and Zhang Niu felt a chill, so he quickly dismantled the tent and threw it directly onto the charcoal, where it emitted puffs of foul smoke.

He picked up the mountain bag and threw it up as well. Zhang Niu didn't look at the contents much; it was better to burn them.

The sacks containing the pork were also burned. I had originally thought of burying them, but then I thought it was better to burn them; at least they wouldn't be dug up and eaten by wild animals, as there are quite a few animals with sensitive noses in the mountains.

The tent was thrown up and flames immediately shot up, illuminating the surroundings brightly.

Watching the sack burn to ashes, Zhang Niu and Xiao Budian remained silent. They untied the remaining sack containing the shadowy figure, and by the end, tipped it over, revealing a monster covered in brown, horny scales. At first glance, it was less than a meter long, with a small, round head and short, thick limbs, which immediately curled up upon emerging.

Wait, what's this...? Oh right, it's a pangolin. Zhang Niu had only seen it on TV before; he never imagined these poachers would actually get their hands on one.

This thing fell out but didn't run away; it was even curled up. However, I heard that this creature is timid and runs very slowly, so poachers like it because it's easy to sell and has medicinal value, making it a delicious dish on the tables of big cities.

The pangolin quickly regained its senses. Seeing the little creature patting it beside it, it rolled its small eyes, stretched out its short limbs, and gave the little creature a gesture of worship. Zhang Niu was taken aback; this guy even knew how to flatter.

The little one looked at the pangolin in front of it with some surprise. This guy was really good at flattery; the little one, who had just been a bit upset, immediately started slapping the pangolin's keratinous scales with its tiny paws. The pangolin seemed quite pleased, extending its small red tongue to lick the little one, making the little one squeak. It seemed the flattery had gone too far.

The pangolin I just met is like this; it seems this little guy truly lives up to its reputation as a creature born from a spatial dimension. Thinking about it, this pangolin really feels sorry for its kind, now ending up as food and medicine. Especially since wild ones are even more delicious than those from farms.

Zhang Niu felt sorry for the rare animals in the mountains. The mountainous terrain had become a favorite hunting ground for poachers, despite the presence of forest rangers conducting irregular checks. There were many people like Lao Er who were familiar with the mountains; they could even catch pangolins in the valleys, demonstrating their skill.

Seeing the little one and the pangolin having such a blast, I shook my head and decided to throw the tussock into the mud. These days, hoarding tussocks is a crime, so I might as well go all the way and dismantle all the tents and throw them into the fire.

Black smoke billowed straight into the sky. During the day, the thick black smoke could be seen rising from a great distance. Luckily, there wasn't much wind at night, otherwise Zhang Niu wouldn't have dared to throw it in to burn; a strong wind could set the entire mountain ablaze, especially since he was deep in the mountains.

They stood by, watching the raging fire. The little one had already run far away, while the pangolin stayed nearby, eyes closed, seemingly enjoying the heat.

The fire burned quickly and died down just as fast. When Zhang Niu emerged from the space with a spray bottle, only a few small embers remained. Water poured on it made a hissing sound.

After checking and finding no problems, Zhang Niu planned to throw away the few mud stalks and go back, figuring that after some time, no trace of them would be visible.

I originally intended to send the pangolin back to the mountains. But the little guy followed behind like a little shadow. His cone-shaped head looked particularly shifty and sneaky. Since he's following, let him follow!

Back in the swamp, Zhang Niu immediately recalled their struggle. On the way back, he thought that if he had rescued them, they would probably spread the word about the strange beast in the mountains. Worst of all, if they found out in the village that he had a little one like that, that would be a huge problem. Thinking about this made Zhang Niu feel a little better.

Standing on the edge of the swamp, I threw the soil into it; it would slowly sink. Before long, dawn was breaking.

"This morning came so fast, another day has passed and I haven't even found a trace of King Kong, while several people have died," he muttered to himself.

The domestic pig is dead, so King Kong should be running away. I should be looking for him now.

The large wolf beside them was very curious about the pangolin. It sniffed the pangolin, which immediately hid behind the little one, staring at the terrifying wolf with its tiny eyes.

What they said on TV was absolutely right; this thing is indeed timid.

They led the wolves back, followed cautiously by the pangolin.

On the other side of Zhangjia Village, Uncle Ergou was carrying fertilizer to his cornfield early in the morning to fertilize it. He greeted acquaintances he met along the way and soon arrived at the foot of the mountain where he planted his orange grove.

I put down the fertilizer and walked into the cornfield. The lush green corn seedlings were already knee-high, swaying gently in the breeze.

Just as Er Gou was about to fertilize, he spotted a black shadow in the distant patch of weeds.

"Huh, what's that? Why is it lying in the haystack so early in the morning? Is it stealing food?" Thinking this, Er Gou still picked up his bamboo carrying pole and walked forward.

Carefully approaching the grass, he was about to smash it down. Wait, isn't that Zhang Niu's wild boar? What's it doing here? King Kong, standing in front of Er Gou, suddenly collapsed into the grass. No wonder he saw that dark shadow over there earlier—it was the wild boar's big rear end.

Upon closer inspection, Er Gou exclaimed, "Ah!" The wild boar in front of him was covered in blood, some of which had turned black, and several bullet holes were clearly visible.

"Damn it, how did they get beaten like this?" Er Gou looked closely and knew it was Tu Tong who had shot him. Looking at the bullet holes in his body, he couldn't help but curse those damned guys. Er Gou remembered that this wild boar had come to his mountain area a few times, but each time it just wandered around and left.

The dog, buried in the grass, let out a soft groan. The sound was faint, but Er Gou still heard it: "Still breathing?"

"It's good that I'm alive," he said, turning around and throwing down his bamboo carrying pole before running back to the village in a flash.

Er Gou was already out of breath when he ran back to Zhang Niu's house. As soon as he entered, he shouted, "Is Zhang Niu home? Something's happened! Your wild boar got killed by Tu Tong!"

After calling twice, Zhang Niu's father rushed out, asking anxiously, "What? The wild boar was hunted?"

"Yes, it's right down the mountain by the fields. We'd better hurry and find someone to carry it back. It's still breathing. If we wait any longer, it might be too late." He urged Zhang Niu's father to go upstairs quickly.

"Okay, I'll call the villagers right away to help carry it back," Zhang Niu's father replied quickly.

The two ran into the village and called for help; anyone with a car could go find a veterinarian. They then tried calling their son, but the call wouldn't go through. Zhang Niu's father was extremely anxious. Where had that brat run off to? Regardless, they had to bring him back first.

The group quickly gathered and carried a long wooden plank and several hemp ropes.

The whole village knew immediately that Zhang Niu's wild boar had been killed.

Er Gou led everyone to the cornfield and saw the bullet holes in the wild boar lying in the grass, which angered the villagers.

Zhang Niu's father cursed the poachers for being too cruel, firing so many shots at a wild boar. Without further ado, everyone lifted the wild boar onto the wooden plank.

When they brought it home, the veterinarian was already there anxiously waiting. Upon seeing the wild boar, he couldn't help but ask, "There are quite a few wild boars in your village that have been wounded by the local militia. There was another one wounded on your mountain yesterday, but that one was only shot once."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Niu's father was startled. Wasn't that his son's? He hurriedly asked, "That's my son on the mountain. Did you hear yesterday that he was going somewhere?"

"No wonder there are wild boars in the village. I think I heard him mention that some wild boars hadn't returned yet. If I'm not mistaken, they must have gone into the mountains. Haven't they come back yet? The veterinarian remembered that the young man from yesterday hadn't come to pick up his medicine this morning."

Zhang Niu's father turned pale when he learned that his son had gone into the mountains and what would happen if he encountered poachers.

"Don't worry, there are mountains everywhere inside, so it's probably hard to run into anyone. Just relax and you'll be fine," Er Gou reassured him.

Listening to Er Gou's words, he was right. The mountains were endless; without excellent navigation skills, it would be very difficult to encounter them. The man felt relieved. He looked at the veterinarian's simple bandaging.

The veterinarian, though talking, didn't slow down his work; this time, he brought his apprentice along to help. The wild boar's remarkable resilience—surviving seven shots—amazed the veterinarian.

That's all for today's update. From now on, if I post two chapters, they'll be separate.