Chapter 1

In the northeastern plains, the land is vast, with black waters and white mountains.

The black waters rush, and the white mountains stand tall.

The White Mountain Range, with its Great Peak Mountain.

On the southern peak and northern slope, there is a gentle slope. The slope is so gentle that it seems like flat ground.

In this late autumn, the mountains are covered with withered yellow grass and leaves. As people and animals pass by, stepping on the dry leaves, they produce a continuous, crisp sound.

In the northeast, this is called "rustling leaves."

Today, in this forest, the sound of rustling leaves is incessant, mixed with barking and other strange sounds.

On the gentle slope, a large wild boar weighing nearly 300 kilograms, with a snout making sounds and its body exerting force, a powerful surge of energy rises from its spine, travels up its neck, and reaches its head.

With its energy fully gathered, the wild boar fiercely shakes its head, releasing a tremendous force. Its head acts like a club, and its snout like a spear, striking a young man standing in front of it to the left.

The young man doesn't even have time to scream before being hit by the wild boar. He flies two meters away and lands heavily on the ground.

He doesn't stop there but rolls down the slope for a distance.

"Wow, wow, wow..."

"Roar! Roar..."

On the battlefield.

Two dogs bark in anger, a yellow one and a spotted one, fiercely attacking the wild boar.

The yellow dog uses its hind legs to push off the ground, leaps up, and grabs the boar's body with its front paws. It tilts its head and bites down, its teeth sinking into the soft flesh under the boar's right front elbow.

The boar, in pain, shakes its head and attacks the yellow dog.

At this moment, the spotted dog arrives. It leaps and pounces, landing behind the boar. It nimbly turns its body, extends its head forward, and bites the boar's buttocks.

"Roar... Roar, Roar!" The boar, in pain, lets out a shrill cry. It no longer cares about the yellow dog, turning its head sharply to the left and spinning its massive body, weighing 270 to 280 kilograms, to throw both the yellow dog and the spotted dog off.

The boar turns, snorting white breath, and with a loud snort, its small eyes fixate on the culprit who attacked its rear. It lowers its head and charges at the spotted dog.

The spotted dog flicks its tail and nimbly dodges the boar's charge, leading the enraged boar to the side.

The boar, missing its target, continues to chase the spotted dog relentlessly. The yellow dog then leaps from the side and bites the boar.

Wild boars in the mountains often rub their shoulders and backs against sand and pine resin.

Over time, a layer of tough protection forms on the boar's shoulders and back, making it extremely hard and resistant to knives and axes. Hunters in the mountains call this the boar's armor.

However, these two dogs do not bite the boar's armor. One attacks the armpit, and the other the rear, both of which are the boar's vulnerable spots.

Especially the spotted dog, which bites the boar's anus, causing a burning pain that feels like its intestines are on fire, spreading through its internal organs.

The pain is unbearable, making the boar rage uncontrollably. However, it cannot catch up to the two dogs, despite repeated attempts to engage them in close combat.

At this moment, not far away, the young man who was knocked down by the boar slowly regains consciousness. After being hit by the boar, he feels dizzy and weak, unable to muster any strength.

"Am I...?"

"Didn't I die?" The young man struggles to open his eyes, looking around in confusion.

Suddenly, the sound of the dogs and the boar fighting reaches him, and he is startled. A warm current suddenly arises within him, spreading through his limbs and body. As it passes, his strength returns, and his body quickly regains vitality.

"This..."

As the young man wonders what has happened to his body, a robust figure appears in his line of sight.

Seeing a large spotted dog with a white base and black spots biting the boar's buttocks, causing the boar's entire back to arch, he exclaims, "Xiaor!"

The young man's hoarse voice is carried away by the mountain wind, but the next second, a thunderous roar echoes.

"Hey! Wicked beast! How dare you hurt my brother..."

"Baoyu?" Hearing this voice, the young man is overjoyed and looks in the direction of the sound. He sees a tall, muscular young man holding a long knife, charging into the battlefield.

This young man is 1.9 meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, holding a long stick made from a water birch tree, with a two-foot-long blade attached to the top.

The blade resembles a butcher's knife but is slightly shorter and narrower, with a sharp tip and edge, gleaming with a cold light.

The young man roars and charges, his yellow rubber shoes crushing countless leaves, his momentum like a fierce Zhang Fei charging into a thousand soldiers to take a general's head.

Perhaps because of his overwhelming presence, the spotted dog and the yellow dog both move to the sides, leaving the boar to face the young man with the knife.

Strangely, upon seeing this young man, the boar stops chasing the spotted dog and charges at the young man head-on.

Thus, on this slope.

A man and a boar, face to face!

Both are brave, but who will win?

"Finished!" The young man watching from a distance feels a chill and closes his eyes, unable to bear the sight of his brother's fate.

But as he closes his eyes, a realization dawns on him.

"This scene... isn't it the same as when I first went hunting with Xiaoyu thirty-five years ago? Can one see past events after death?"

As he thinks, another memory floods his mind.

The young man's name is Zhao Jun, and he lives in Yong'an Village at the foot of the mountain. His parents are both alive, and he has a sister and a younger sister, but he is the only son in the family.

The young man with the knife fighting the boar is named Li Baoyu, Zhao Jun's neighbor and childhood friend.

These two have been mischievous since childhood, catching fish and shrimp in the river and stealing bird nests from trees, all of which are child's play to them.

Now that they are grown, they have developed a desire to hunt in the mountains.

As the saying goes: "Rely on the mountains for food, rely on the water for sustenance."

In this era, before guns and hunting were banned, there were hunters in the mountainous areas, and hunting was called "beating the circle," which could be either small or large.

A small circle involves setting traps and snares to catch small animals like sables, weasels, squirrels, pheasants, and deer.

A large circle involves taking dogs into the mountains to hunt large and fierce animals like wild boars, black bears, and brown bears.

When it comes to hunting, Zhao and Li have a family tradition. Their grandfathers were both famous hunters in the area.

However, Zhao Jun is only twenty years old, and Li Baoyu is just eighteen.

Although in the countryside, it's not uncommon for young men to have children at twenty, it's unusual for boys of this age to go hunting in the mountains.

In fact, neither Zhao's nor Li's families agreed with their reckless behavior. But the two boys, with their strong wills, secretly took their dogs and entered the mountains when their parents weren't paying attention.

They say that beginners have good luck, and this is indeed true.

Not long after entering the mountains, the two boys heard their dogs barking. They followed the sound and arrived at a hilltop, where they saw their two dogs surrounding a wild boar in a gully.

Seeing the dogs surrounding the boar, the two boys were both excited and anxious. Zhao Jun, without a word, pulled out the hand axe from his waist.

Zhao Jun swung the hand axe and charged down the hill, shouting.

And Li Baoyu?

Before leaving home, Zhao Jun had asked him to bring a saber.

This saber is an essential tool for hunters. It can cut, stab, open the chest, and cut meat.

Most importantly, it can be attached to a long stick like a farming tool, turning it into a long weapon. In hunting, it can deliver a fatal blow to the prey.

Seeing Zhao Jun charge down the hill, Li Baoyu, though anxious, had to search the slope for a suitable stick. He found a water birch tree of the right thickness, cut it down, and attached the saber to it.

Then, Li Baoyu also charged down the hill, holding the long knife excitedly.

Being new to hunting, they lacked experience.

The wild boar, after several rounds of fighting with the two dogs in the gully, ran up the opposite slope, with the dogs in hot pursuit.

Two legs can't keep up with four!

Zhao Jun had just reached the gully when the boar and the dogs were already at the top of the opposite slope. He took a few deep breaths and followed, axe in hand.

By this time, he had lost his initial momentum.

As Zhao Jun climbed the slope, he saw the boar fighting the two dogs. Being young and fearless, he charged into the battle without hesitation, axe in hand, heading straight for the boar.

Anyone who has hunted wild boars knows.

Not only do hunting dogs recognize their masters, but the animals in the mountains also recognize people.

No matter how many dogs are around, if someone approaches, the boar will charge!

Thus, the scene at the beginning of the story unfolds.