sjar Chapter 283 The Death of Slippery Dog Hammer
Chapter 283 The Death of Slippery Dog Hammer
The mud and oil armor on the boar's testicles is incredibly formidable. Especially in early spring, wild boars love to rub against mosquitoes by ditches and ponds. With mud smeared all over them and their oil secretions, they rub against tree trunks to relieve the itching. The nearby forest has many oily trees, and the mud and oil armor grows thicker and thicker with each rub. When the sun dries the mud and oil, it forms a hard shell, like armor.
Lu Zhiqiang carefully cut open the abdomen of the cannonball under his armpit, and a stench wafted out, choking him. He quickly stood up and called for Song Desheng, who wasn't stupid. Having gutted wild boars so many times, he knew their intestines were incredibly smelly and pungent. The odor lingered for days after being removed by hand, and even scrubbing with stinky soap was useless.
Song Desheng quickly stood up and walked towards Li Ju'an. Lu Zhiqiang had no choice but to call Lu Jinyang to help remove the pig's intestines. Old Zhao, the mountain herder, saw the wild boar and his eyes lit up. As a hunter, he knew the rules of the game; if he lent a hand, he might get a share. Old Zhao was very enthusiastic, rubbing his hands and shouting, "I'll do it!"
Lu Zhiqiang was happy to sit on the sidelines and enjoy the peace and quiet. He wiped himself down, rubbed his hands together, and sat on the bluestone slab watching Old Zhao scoop out pig offal. He turned around and saw Li Ju'an examining the motionless hunting dogs one by one. He was startled and thought to himself, "Oh no, these dogs might be dead."
Li Ju'an first checked the most recent white egg.
White Egg, having followed Flower Ear for a long time, is most adept at using its body weight to lure wild boars into their dens by hooking their ears and crouching low. It's a double-edged sword in wild boar hunting. But when hunting wild boars, injuries are inevitable. Every year, countless dogs die under the tusks of wild boars, making even the dog-hunting hunters wary of Big Lone Male, Big Cannon Egg, and Old Sow.
Thankfully, the hunting dogs surrounded them; otherwise, if the hunters had charged straight at them, not only would the wild boar have fled, but even if it had charged recklessly, the sheer force of the sow's impact would have been enough to send a grown man flying, his head slamming against a rock and knocking him unconscious. If someone were unconscious, and the surrounding wilderness was teeming with wild animals, the danger would have been immense.
Li Ju'an squatted down, looking at Bai Danzi, who had been with him for a month or so, with heartache. Bai Danzi's abdomen had been pierced by the long, sharp tusks of a wild boar, and a section of its intestines had spilled out. Fortunately, it wasn't the dead of winter, and spring had arrived so there was no snow on the ground. If it were the dead of winter, with that section of intestines sticking to the snow, Bai Danzi would have suffered even more.
He quickly checked the white dog's intestines and thankfully, they weren't broken or missing any part. He breathed a sigh of relief, quickly untied the leg bindings, stuffed the intestines into the pierced belly, and then used the leg bindings to tie the hunting dog's belly back up.
White Egg raised its eyes, its wet eyes fixed on its owner. It remained silent and motionless despite the pain, allowing Li Ju'an to bind its belly, showing complete trust. Li Ju'an hugged the bound White Egg to his chest, then hoisted it up to check the remaining dogs.
Little Cannon was unharmed; its tooth was still stuck in the wild boar's hind leg meat. He gripped the dog's head, shook it from side to side, and then jerked it off. The tooth was stuck firmly in the meat. After it was removed, Little Cannon angrily ground its teeth and barked, seemingly still not satisfied. It frantically tore at the wild boar's hind leg meat, then gnawed off another piece to vent its anger.
Li Ju'an gave a stern rebuke, and the hunting dog obediently stopped and lay down to wait. Not far away, Iron Hammer lay on the ground, still struggling and turning back and forth, trying to get up. He squatted down to check and found that Iron Hammer was spitting out gushes of blood; Iron Hammer was severely injured.
The whimpering Iron Hammer, seeing its master arrive, still tried to wag its tail, but couldn't lift its neck no matter what it did.
Song Desheng felt a chill in his heart and said, "I hope it's not a spinal injury."
Li Ju'an trembled with fear. The last time he hunted the tiger king, the image of the black leopard and red wolf dying tragically, and the two hunting dogs' gruesome deaths, haunted his mind. Intense grief and self-reproach made him frequently recall the black leopard and red wolf accompanying him on hunts. It's said that hunting dogs are a hunter's brothers in the mountains; those who can entrust their backs to a hunting dog are the most trusted partners.
Any hunter who sees his hound die before him feels a sudden, sharp pain in his heart.
Li Ju'an carefully examined Tie Chui's injuries. His spine was broken.
With a powerful kick, Big Cannon's hoof struck Iron Hammer squarely in the back, hitting his spine squarely. Such a solid kick could break bones even on an adult man, let alone strike Iron Hammer's spine.
The misaligned spine caused Iron Hammer to struggle with his limbs in an extremely uncoordinated manner, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift his neck.
Iron Hammer, unaware of what had happened, twitched its nose and whimpered at its master, its tail wagging vigorously in an attempt to appease him. Just like every time Iron Hammer finished its sledding and wandered around the mountains, only to return to Li Ju'an to beg for forgiveness, it was still diligently wagging its tail in an attempt to please him.
Li Ju'an, with a heavy heart, picked up the injured and immobile Iron Hammer and laid it flat on his lap.
Lu Zhiqiang stood up and saw the broken spine of the iron hammer. He shook his head and said, "It's useless now."
The Lu family used to raise hunting dogs, and the Lu family patriarch, as the commander of the dog gang, knew a lot about how to train and raise dogs. Lu Zhiqiang grew up playing with hunting dogs in a pack of dogs, so he naturally knew what a broken spine meant for a hunting dog.
Lu Zhiqiang patted Li Ju'an on the shoulder and said, "How about I do it? You go over there."
Li Ju'an understood what Lu Zhiqiang meant; it was for his own good, fearing he couldn't handle it and wanting him to step aside. Li Ju'an declined his offer, saying, "The hammer was given to me by Lao Tao; it should be my responsibility."
He rubbed Hammer's head. Hammer was still trying to raise its neck, which it could no longer lift, and was wagging its tail to please its master, but its body, which it could not get up no matter what it did, and its broken and dislocated spine, made this slippery hunting dog feel very painful and humble.
Li Ju'an raised his hunting rifle, aimed it at Tiechui's forehead, closed his eyes heavily, and pulled the trigger.
boom!
A gunshot rang out, and Iron Hammer fell silent. Li Ju'an was in tears, two lines of tears rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably.
Big Tiger led the hunting dogs, watching this direction very quietly. Good dogs understand human nature; it seemed that every hunting dog understood what was happening. Little Cannon twitched its nose, slowly blinked its intelligent eyes, and then whimpered.
Who says hunting dogs don't understand human nature? The lead dog led the other dogs in a moment of silence to mourn their departed companions.
Li Ju'an wiped away the hot tears on his face, held the seriously injured Bai Danzi in his arms, hoisted Tie Chui's corpse onto his back, and shouted, "Let's go down the mountain."
Iron Hammer emerged from Old Tao's kennel, and he should have told Old Tao about Iron Hammer's death. Suddenly, he didn't know how to face Old Tao. The heavy parts of his heart shattered, causing him even more pain than when Black Panther and Red Wolf died.
Song Desheng noticed the heaviness in his brother's heart. He led the Lu brothers to work together to drag the two wild boars onto the plank and said, "Old Tao understands you. He's been running in the mountains for so many years, he'll definitely understand."
Lu Zhiqiang also carried out a litter of wild boar piglets that were hiding in the bushes. There were a total of 8 wild boar piglets, which was quite a lot.
He looked at the dejected Li Ju'an and suddenly a thought flashed through his mind. He said, "Li Ju'an, you wouldn't be like the old man and Lao Tao, going back to retire from this business, would you?"