C36 Returning to the 1960s: Starting with Digging for Fo-ti

“What the hell, what kind of beast is this? It ate my rabbit!”

Du Jianguo untied the trap with a sore heart and took out the rabbit head. He examined it in his hand for a moment.

When the rabbit died, it had been terrified. Its mouth was wide open, yet it still could not escape its fate. The wound near the neck was twisted and irregular. It did not look like it had been sliced by teeth but rather torn off by a brute, crushing bite force.

The more Du Jianguo looked at it, the more shocked he became. What prey had left these bite marks?

Could there be a bear in this place too?

He paused to ponder for a moment and then shook his head. It was impossible. Bears have strong territorial instincts. Unless it was the mating season, they would not rashly enter another bear’s territory to wander about. It seemed the culprit who killed this rabbit was someone else.

“I want to see what kind of demon or monster you really are. You dare to touch my rabbit! Today I will make you pay with blood!”

Du Jianguo licked his lips and called out to Da Huang beside him. He held the rabbit head up to let the dog smell the pungent, bloody scent and signaled for it to track the scent.

Fortunately, since the rabbit had only recently died, Da Huang could still sense something strange. Soon, the dog led Du Jianguo through the mountain woods.

They gradually moved deeper into the mountainous hinterland.

The mountain behind them was vast and served as a habitat for many wild animals. The depth was tens of kilometers. The further they went, the fewer signs of human presence there were. Du Jianguo felt increasingly uneasy. He felt as if countless eyes were staring at him from within the dark, dense forest.

“Da Huang, you dog, is your nose actually any good? Don’t lead me into a dead end later. Then you can just run off on your four legs!”

He cursed under his breath. Da Huang whined miserably and pushed its head forward as if to indicate the target was just ahead.

“Fine, I will trust you one more time! The two of us will go over and take a look. Just one look. I absolutely won’t sacrifice my life here.”

Du Jianguo gritted his teeth. Da Huang seemed to truly understand. It pulled at his pant leg and continued to move through the mountain terrain without making a sound.

They walked for more than ten minutes until Du Jianguo felt almost asleep. Suddenly, Da Huang froze stiff and its ears stood straight up. Its keen eyes stared straight through the bushes ahead.

Du Jianguo woke up instantly and dared not even take a deep breath. He stared fixedly at that end of the forest following Da Huang’s gaze. There, hidden there, was a wild boar nest!

Several piglets were crying for food. The mother boar seemed tired after feeding them and turned its body away, unwilling to deal with the fussing piglets around it.

“Good heavens! How can there be such a huge wild boar here? And with a whole litter of piglets!”

Du Jianguo was both surprised and panicked. There is a saying in the mountains: “One bear, two tigers, three boars.” Among these three, he was the least willing to encounter a wild boar. They have thick skin and are the most vengeful and cruel.

If a hunter did not kill the beast with a single shot, it would remember the grudge for a lifetime. Du Jianguo had heard a story like this: A hunter in their area once shot at a wild boar but failed to kill it. It escaped back into the deep mountains. At first, the hunter did not think much of it. But who would have thought that years later, that boar came back to exact revenge and killed the hunter’s grandson generation, biting their skulls until they cracked open. The viciousness was indescribable.

What was even more dangerous was that they are omnivores. When they got tired of eating meat, they would switch tastes. The first thing they would target would be the grain fields in the village. Xiao An Village was the closest and would surely suffer first.

“No way, this boar must be killed!”

Du Jianguo gripped his tools tightly and his eyes turned cold.

However, as he said that, he looked down at the rough bow and arrow in his hand. His words suddenly stuck in his throat and he cleared his dry throat twice. “Forget it. I will wait until I am fully equipped first.”

He quietly gave Da Huang a signal to retreat. Da Huang understood and slowly moved backward without making a single sound, staying close to the ground to avoid disturbing the boar.

“Luckily this dog is smart and didn’t cause a commotion.” Du Jianguo nodded in satisfaction. He did not notice that his foot was stepping on a brittle branch. Snap!

The crisp breaking sound was particularly loud and sharp in the silent forest. The next second, the wild boar let out a deafening roar that echoed through the entire mountain range.

The birds in the forest were startled and flew up noisily. Meanwhile, the innate fear of beasts in the human soul surged instantly in Du Jianguo’s mind. The mountain pig was charging!

The thought just flashed through his mind when he heard Da Huang let out a scream and ran away without looking back.

“Damn it, you dog, you run so fast!” Du Jianguo cursed in his heart. However, given the current situation, he could not really blame Da Huang. He quickly turned and ran as well, while keeping his eyes fixed on the nearby trees. If the boar rushed within ten meters of him, he would prepare to scramble up the tree immediately. Wild boars are not black bears and have no ability to climb trees.

It turned out that Du Jianguo’s defense was not needed. The boar only rushed out of the nest and howled twice. Then it turned back and retreated into the nest without chasing further.

“What a false alarm!”

Du Jianguo let out a long sigh. His back was already soaked with cold sweat. That boar was clearly not an easy opponent. Its skin must be five or six centimeters thick. If he rushed up now, he would simply be sending himself to his death.

“But you beast, do not be arrogant! Wait until I get a hunting rifle, and I will surely blow your head open. You dare to chase and bite people?”

Du Jianguo muttered curses as he walked back, with his mind full of thoughts about where to get a hunting rifle.

There was no hope for the old village head’s gun. He had hinted at it several times, but the old village head either played dumb or red-eyed protected the gun. He said it was a family heirloom to be left to future generations.

Du Jianguo did not want to force the issue, but besides the old village head, where else could he get a hunting rifle?

He walked home with his mind full of thoughts. When he turned the corner at the old locust tree at the village entrance, he suddenly paused in his tracks.

His rustic earthen house had a military green jeep parked at the courtyard gate. The five-star emblem on the car body shone brightly under the setting sun.

“Isn’t this a public security bureau car? Why is it parked at my door?” Du Jianguo’s heart dropped and his face went pale instantly. “Could it be that my wife did something wrong?”

However, thinking about it again, he felt it was impossible. His wife usually stayed indoors, washing clothes, cooking, feeding chickens, and feeding pigs. How could she be involved in any crime?

He clenched his clothes in his hand to suppress the panic in his heart and stepped into the courtyard.

Two police officers were standing in the yard, knocking on his glass window. One of them frowned and muttered, “Why is no one answering?”

The other one replied, “Perhaps they are out in the fields. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

“Who are you two?” Du Jianguo asked with a full heart of questions.

When their eyes met, Du Jianguo instantly recognized them. These were the police officers who had come to Xiao An Village for inspection last time.

He quickly stepped forward and smiled. “It is Brother He Yong, right?”

Officer He Yong saw him and immediately smiled broadly, patting his shoulder with his hand. “Brother Jianguo, we finally waited for you! I am here this time to ask for your help.”