Chapter 12: The Three Little Piglets

In an instant, Lu Chuan became alert.

Without a moment's hesitation, he climbed up a tree and began observing the surroundings carefully.

Anyone who hunts must be adept at climbing trees.

Of course, whether it’s a bear or a tiger, both can climb trees as well.

The reason for climbing high is to get a clear view of the environment.

Moreover, for bears and tigers, climbing trees is relative—they rely on sheer strength to ascend. In truth, very few creatures surpass the climbing ability of the fearsome upright apes.

Standing atop the tree, the view was expansive.

In the distance, two wild boars were foraging.

This gave Lu Chuan a headache.

He had only about ten arrows left.

Wild boars have thick hides and tough flesh. Even bullets with smaller calibers don’t cause much damage. His bow and arrows were even less effective.

Ten arrows against two wild boars was hardly sufficient.

Even if the arrows struck, it would only enrage the boars further.

That would make things more difficult.

If there had been only one boar, he might have managed, but two was too risky.

Still, he was reluctant to leave empty-handed.

Wild boar meat wasn’t particularly delicious, but meat was scarce these days. Large-scale animal husbandry hadn’t yet taken off, and only wealthy families could afford to eat meat regularly.

Most people only raised sheep, chickens, or ducks.

The profits from these were quite limited.

“This is tricky,” Lu Chuan muttered, pressing his palm to his forehead, deep in thought.

The boars had likely come attracted by the scent of humans.

Their noses kept rooting around, searching.

Lu Chuan sat quietly on a tree branch, watching the two boars.

After a moment of contemplation, he resolved to take down at least one, no matter what.

With that, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Everything happened in a flash.

A pained squeal erupted from one boar as it suddenly went into a furious rage, charging out with incredible speed.

It even smashed a small tree trunk, about as thick as a bowl, right in its path.

The other boar, unaware of what had just occurred, instinctively sensed danger and fled swiftly into the distance without hesitation.

Lu Chuan’s eyes locked tightly on the injured boar.

He drew his bow again, aiming for its head and releasing another arrow.

The boar howled in agony.

Blood stained the snow.

Yet the boar was incredibly fast, disappearing from Lu Chuan’s sight in an instant.

Only a trail of crimson blood remained on the snow.

A sharp twitch appeared at the corner of Lu Chuan’s mouth. “Damn…”

Hunting boars from a tree was safe, but he couldn’t pursue them.

Still, both his arrows had struck the boar’s forehead, so they should have inflicted serious damage.

However, he knew the boar’s stamina well.

Even with two fatal wounds, it was not unusual for a boar to run several miles.

Especially wild boars—they often charge recklessly, falling off cliffs or wandering into unfamiliar territory.

He had to follow closely.

Tracking the bloodstains on the ground, Lu Chuan pursued, carefully covering up the blood to avoid attracting other predators.

Soon, he arrived at the entrance of a cave.

The opening was about half a person’s height and didn’t look very deep.

At this point, the blood trail vanished; the boar likely died inside.

He didn’t enter rashly.

One should never venture alone into mountain caves unless absolutely necessary—no one knows what lurks inside.

Wild boar dens, unlike badger burrows which have two entrances, usually have only one exit.

Most boar dens aren’t very deep, but several boars may reside within.

It’s fairly easy to discern.

Lu Chuan employed his usual trick.

He placed leaves and damp twigs at the cave entrance and carefully ignited them with flint.

No boar emerged, indicating the wounded boar had perished inside.

But after a moment,

three piglets suddenly rushed out.

Quick as lightning, Lu Chuan subdued the three little boars.

A spark of delight shone in his eyes.

This was an unexpected blessing.

He had been considering raising a few piglets, and now, after tracking the boars, he had stumbled upon three wild boar cubs.

The piglets struggled fiercely in Lu Chuan’s grasp.

Without hesitation, his large hands pressed gently against them.

A faint glow silently seeped into their bodies.

In an instant, as if sensing something, their struggling bodies gradually relaxed.

“Really effective!” he murmured.

Basic beast-taming skills didn’t usually show such miraculous effects.

The initial level of beast-taming still required effort to domesticate, but the intermediate level skipped that stage.

It wasn’t so much magic as it was making the tamed beasts gradually grow fond of you, sensing no threat from your presence.

Lu Chuan spoke softly to the three piglets.

“You all stay here for now. I’ll be out soon!”

With that, he crouched and slowly entered the cave.

A strong, foul stench spread, forcing Lu Chuan to cover his nose.

He found the cave larger than expected—not a typical wild boar den.

It bore the marks of rough manual excavation.

For some reason, wild boars had taken over this place.

The den was filled with signs of boar habitation.

In a corner, he spotted a boar that had already died.

He reached out and placed a hand on its body,

instantly absorbing the boar into his spatial pocket.

It looked to weigh at least 300 pounds.

This was a huge gain.

Curiously, Lu Chuan examined the cave further.

The walls bore hurried chop and axe marks.

The floor was littered with various weeds—clearly, the boars had made this their nest.

After assessing the layout,

Lu Chuan got to work.

He began clearing the mess, hauling the debris outside.

This cave was at least an hour’s distance from his home.

He planned to turn it into a hunting base.