"It's walnuts!" Sancho leaned over and whispered: "This forest is full of walnut trees, all the way to the other side of the mountain! The wild boars here eat walnuts and grow the fattest. Every autumn, Baekje people They will hunt wild boar here and then smoke the wild boar with walnut wood!”
"Wild boar, that's not easy to deal with!" Wang Wenzuo stopped and looked around. There was a mountain col not far away, where the streams merged into a small pool, and the edge of the pool was covered with walnut trees as thick as an arm. The dense canopy of trees formed a continuous line, covering most of the water.
"Sancho and I climbed up the tree by the pool. The wild boar has good hearing and smell, but it is half-blind. You two, take the mules farther away and wait for the signal downwind!" Wang Wenzuo whispered, standing aside Sancho was translating next to him, and the other two military slaves nodded and quickly hid. Wang Wenzuo and Sanqiu walked to the pool, chose a thick tree and climbed up. Wang Wenzuo broke off a few branches and built a simple platform among the tree branches. Then he fully opened the crossbow, loaded the arrows, and patiently Waiting up.
Apart from the sound of running water by the pool, there are only the occasional distant chirping of birds, and the tranquility is a bit breathtaking. Wang Wenzuo wrapped his clothes tightly to resist the bone-chilling chill in the forest. He couldn't help but regret a little why he didn't put on his fur coat when he came out. He was hesitating whether to let a certain military slave go back to get him a coat, but he heard the sound of breaking branches not far away. His spirits suddenly rose, and he gently patted Sancho next to him: "Listen, he's coming!"
The moonlight shines through the gaps in the leaves and into the open space beside the pool. Wang Wenzuo can see a dark thing coming out of the bushes. After taking a few breaths, he can see clearly that it is a huge male wild boar. The moonlight illuminates His huge protruding fangs showed a lifeless pale white color. This huge beast looked around vigilantly, as if looking for potential enemies. Finally, it snorted a few times, and the bushes behind it began to shake violently, and several dark shadows emerged from it.
"There are eight in total, two big and six small!"
Sancho's breath made Wang Wenzuo's ears feel a little itchy. He clenched his right fist, pointed at the largest male wild boar with his thumb, and then rotated his fist so that his thumb was facing down. Sancho nodded knowingly, picked up the short bow, strung the arrow, and then looked back at his master.
Wang Wenzuo picked up the crossbow, held his breath, and aimed a little below the male boar's shoulder, where the heart was, and then pulled the trigger. He felt the crossbow vibrate slightly.
Just when Wang Wenzuo thought he had missed the shot, a piercing howl pierced the night sky. The male wild boar suddenly jumped up to half a man's height, and then fell to the ground, spinning around wildly as if looking for the attacker. who is it. Wang Wenzuo hurriedly kicked the iron ring under the crossbow with both feet, re-stringed the string, then inserted the second square-headed arrow into the arrow slot, then aimed and pulled the trigger.
This time Wang Wenzuo missed his shot. The arrow grazed the male boar's shoulder and sank deeply into the ground. This huge beast finally discovered where the enemy was hiding. It turned its head viciously and hit the tree trunk where Wang Wenzuo was. The violent vibration caused Wang Wenzuo, who was stringing the crossbow, to almost fall from the tree. Fortunately, Sancho next to him caught him.
The frightened Wang Wenzuo hugged the tree trunk tightly, but he soon discovered that something was wrong with the male wild boar. The force of its impact on the tree was rapidly decreasing, and its howling seemed to have a sense of despair. Wang Wenzuo carefully changed a tree branch, fully loaded the string on his crossbow, and shot another arrow.
This time Wang Wenzuo could clearly see that the crossbow bolt penetrated the base of the wild boar's hind legs, and the huge beast finally fell down. Two other military slaves surrounded him. The male wild boar struggled to get up, but the fourth crossbow bolt shot from the tree completely shattered its efforts.
Wang Wenzuo jumped down from the tree. Under the moonlight, the male wild boar's light-colored belly rose and fell violently. The air spurted out from its nostrils and made intermittent moans. Even if this giant beast was lying on the ground, it was as high as his own waist. Wang Wenzuo Wen Zuo looked at the behemoth in front of him with awe.
"This is really a big guy!" Sancho whispered: "We can't get him back!"
"Well, yes!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Then get the two front legs back first, and then call a few people to carry the rest!"
military camp.
The campfire was crackling, and half a fan of wild boar ribs was turning on the grill above the fire. The fat was dripping and the aroma was overflowing. Wang Wenzuo sat next to the fire, with daggers and plates on the low table beside him. The military slaves around him were salivating.
"Sancho, this is yours!"
The steel knife cut open the pig's ribs, the crispy skin crackled under the blade, and the hot fat flowed down. Wang Wenzuo sprinkled salt on it and pushed the wooden plate to his servant. Sancho took the plate excitedly, sat down cross-legged on the spot, and swallowed heavily, causing a commotion among the military slaves around him.
"You, and you!" Wang Wenzuo cut off two more pieces, put them on a plate and handed them to the other two military slaves who had just gone with him. The two people didn't dare to be as generous as Sancho, so they quickly knelt down and kowtowed, then took the plate and walked aside to eat.
Soon Sancho finished the meat on the plate. While licking the grease on his fingers, he looked at the pork on the grill with longing eyes. Wang Wenzuo smiled and handed Sancho the short knife in his hand. , made a self-help gesture. Sancho let out a cheer and ran to the grill and started carving the meat.
Wang Wenzuo waited patiently for Sancho to stop eating, then winked at him, and began to speak slowly to the military slaves around him. He said one sentence, and Sancho translated: "Sancho is my slave. He is his master, he serves me, and I provide him with food, clothing, shelter, and protection to ensure that he is not oppressed by outsiders. Today when hunting wild boar, he made a contribution, and this is what he deserves. Except In addition, I also promise here that after this battle is over, I will give him freedom. At that time, he can go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants. If he is willing to continue to serve me, In addition to food, clothing and shelter, you can also get corresponding rewards!"
