A rustling sound...
The three to four hundred jin wild boar started running, like a revving heavy motorcycle, crushing through weeds and bushes along its path.
Tran Mac gripped the wood-chopping knife tightly with both hands, his eyes fixed on the charging wild boar. His heartbeat rapidly accelerated, putting his entire body into an excited state.
The instant the wild boar charged towards him, Tran Mac suddenly dodged to the left, simultaneously swinging the wood-chopping knife in his hand fiercely down towards the boar's head. The long-handled wood-chopping knife allowed for excellent force exertion, and that strike seemed as if practiced tens of thousands of times, a formed muscle memory, using all his strength.
Pfft...
The blade easily cut through the boar's outer hide, penetrating the flesh and blood. A stopping sensation followed; the blade, having sunk into the flesh, struck the skull bone, unable to go deeper.
"Not good..." Tran Mac's heart sank. Because the wood-chopping knife was stuck in the boar's skull, and furthermore, he was gripping the knife tightly, the inertial force from the boar's full-force collision flung him away.
The instant he was flung away, the wood-chopping knife was also pulled out from the boar's head, bringing out a spray of blood. He fell heavily to the ground.
"Oink oink..." The wild boar let out a miserable wail. The intense pain made the boar go berserk, changing direction and charging towards Tran Mac again.
Tran Mac's ferocity was also aroused, perhaps due to an adrenaline rush. Falling to the ground, he didn't feel any pain at all. The instant the wild boar charged over, he rolled over, the wood-chopping knife in his hand sweeping towards the boar's underside.
Its two front legs were chopped off with a whack, and the boar's upper body immediately sank, its head ramming into the ground. Its body flipped over and rolled several times before crashing straight into a pine tree and stopping.
Tran Mac quickly stood up and walked over to finish off the wild boar.
"Oink oink oink..."
The wild boar let out a shrill, tragic squeal.
This scene was extremely similar to a village pig slaughter.
As the blood was let out, the wild boar's squeals grew fainter.
Waiting until the wild boar had no breath left, Tran Mac finally let out a sigh of relief. And with this relaxation, he only felt darkness before his eyes, plopped down onto the ground, a wave of pain transmitting from his back.
After a long while, he recovered, wiped his back. It was all aching pain, but he didn't feel any blood.
Looking towards where he had fallen on the ground just now, he found a rock. It must have been that his back hit the rock when he fell.
Looking at the already dead wild boar, Tran Mac grinned broadly, his heart filled with great joy. The meat for improving his Nourishing Blood Technique was secured.
After resting for a while and recovering his stamina, Tran Mac removed the handle of the wood-chopping knife. The handle and the knife blade were both tied to his waist. Then, he dragged the wild boar out with both hands.
He couldn't stay here long; the fresh blood would attract other wild beasts.
As for why he had to drag it, the wild boar was too heavy; he fundamentally couldn't carry it.
By the time he left the mountain, the sky had already darkened.
However, Tran Mac stopped again. Dragging such a large wild boar into the village was too eye-catching.
He took out the wood-chopping knife; only now did he realize the blade had been chipped.
He cut the wild boar into several pieces. He dug a hole in the ground, took out one section, and put the rest into the hole, covering it with leaves and then soil, making a mark.
After finishing, the sky was already dark.
Tran Mac took off his outer garment, wrapped a leg piece of wild boar meat in it, and headed towards the village.
He didn't enter through the village gate but deliberately took a detour, entering from the west.
However, this method of his was truly a bit too cautious.
There wasn't a single lamp lit in the village; it was pitch black. Tran Mac didn't dare walk fast, fumbling along, afraid of falling into a pit.
Arriving at his own small courtyard, a gust of cold wind blew past. The bamboo gate of the courtyard fence made a "creak creak" sound. This sound was extremely jarring in the dark night.
Tran Mac fumbled and knocked on the room door.
"Who is it?" Han An Nuong's voice quickly came from inside the room: "Is it Uncle?"
"Sister-in-law, it's me," Tran Mac said.
A light came on in the room, and the main door opened.
"Sister-in-law." The moment he saw Han An Nuong, Tran Mac's face was wreathed in smiles.
But the next second, Han An Nuong rushed over and hugged him tightly.
Han An Nuong's tears came out, sobbing as she said, "Uncle, why are you only back now? I thought something happened to you! If you were in mortal danger, how could I explain it to Mother-in-law? Boo hoo..."
Tran Mac: "..."
He was still holding the meat in his hand; for a moment, he didn't know whether it was good to hug her back or not.
However, thinking that while he was out, there was a woman at home worrying about him, missing him.
Tran Mac felt a warmth in his heart; all the hardship was worth it.
Just as he was about to put down the meat and also hug Han An Nuong, the latter smelled the scent of blood on him and her expression changed.
Only now did she realize there was so much blood on Tran Mac. Her hands were trembling, and she cried even more fiercely: "Uncle... Uncle, why is there so much blood on you? What exactly happened to you? Don't scare me! Boo hoo..."
While crying, she searched Tran Mac all over, wanting to see where he was injured.
"Sister-in-law, don't cry. This isn't my blood; it's wild boar blood. Ai, let's go inside and talk..."
Tran Mac pulled Han An Nuong into the room and closed the main door.
"Sister-in-law, ta-da..."
Tran Mac threw off the clothes, revealing a piece of wild boar thigh meat inside.
But Han An Nuong didn't see that meat at all; instead, she started taking off Tran Mac's clothes, wanting to see with her own eyes that he had no injuries before she could rest assured.
"Hey! Sister-in-law... Don't take it off! I'll do it, I'll do it..."
This really made Tran Mac embarrassed. He unbuttoned his inner cotton shirt.
After a thorough check, finding only a bruise on his back and no other wounds, Han An Nuong finally felt relieved: "It's good that you're fine, good that you're fine..."
Han An Nuong patted her chest, revealing a relieved smile.
"Is Sister-in-law less worried now?" Tran Mac said.
"Mm-hmm... Ah..."
Han An Nuong nodded, but then, noticing something was amiss, she shot away from Tran Mac as if electrocuted, her face blushing.
Just now, her heart was so worried about whether he was okay that she forgot the distinction between men and women.
"Uncle, quickly... get dressed properly," Han An Nuong said.
"It was Sister-in-law who asked me to take it off just now. How can you blame me for not wearing clothes now? So unreasonable," Tran Mac said.
"Ah, Uncle, don't tease me." Han An Nuong's face was burning. She turned her head away from Tran Mac and said in a low voice, "Uncle, I am your sister-in-law."
Tran Mac's expression flickered slightly. After dressing properly, he said, "Sister-in-law, hide this piece of meat in the cellar first. I still have to go out a few more times."
"Ah, Uncle, where are you going now?" Han An Nuong hurriedly grabbed Tran Mac's arm, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.
"Sister-in-law, didn't you realize I hunted a whole wild boar? This is just one piece of thigh meat; the rest is still buried on the mountain." Tran Mac didn't dare wait until tomorrow to retrieve it. The so-called "delay breeds trouble"; it was still safer to bring it all back in one night.
"Sister-in-law, rest assured. It's buried on the outskirts of the mountain. I'll be there and back quickly." Saying so, Tran Mac went into the house to get a flint. It was so dark; if he didn't have a light, it would be hard for him to find the spot where the meat was buried.
"Sister-in-law, lock the door tight." Giving Han An Nuong a reassuring smile, Tran Mac left...