Chapter 212: Chapter 202: Wild Swine
Just then, a young man hurried over carrying a food box. He bowed his head and said, "Lord Zhao, this is your brunch."
"Hm. Where’s Li Shi?"
A villager named Li Shi usually delivered his meals. Since it was someone new today, Zhao Lin found it a little strange and asked casually.
A sad expression appeared on the young man’s face. "My dad got hurt," he said. "He can’t bring the food today."
"Hurt? How?"
"He was gored by a wild boar."
"Tell me everything."
Zhao Lin frowned, a flicker of doubt in his mind.
Martial arts were prevalent in Yan Province, and most of the able-bodied men in Shimang Village had practiced them to some extent. There were even two who had successfully completed the Skin Tempering stage, and Li Shi was one of them. Dealing with an ordinary wild boar should have been no problem for him.
"Actually... it wasn’t exactly a wild boar. It was one we raised ourselves. It just... it just looks like a wild boar..."
The young man grew nervous under Zhao Lin’s gaze, and his words became a bit incoherent.
An elderly herb farmer standing nearby came over and helped clarify the situation.
Apparently, Li Shi’s family had a sow that ran off at the beginning of the year. Two months later, she returned on her own, pregnant. Before long, she gave birth to a litter of eight piglets.
Among the piglets were two with black fur. They were unusually strong from a young age and grew much faster than the others.
Li Shi figured the sow had mated with a wild boar. He didn’t think much of it; in fact, he thought he’d gotten a good deal and continued to raise them.
But just last month, the two black pigs smashed through the pigpen wall and escaped.
Li Shi could only count himself unlucky and repaired the pigpen.
To his surprise, the two black pigs returned to the village two days later. They began to eat and trample the crops, completely ruining the fields.
Seeing the trouble the pigs he had raised were causing, Li Shi was both furious and anxious. He went after them with a blade to put them down, but he ended up being gored and nearly lost his life.
’These probably aren’t ordinary wild boars,’ Zhao Lin thought. After a moment, he asked, "Have you tried digging pits or setting traps?"
The young man replied, "We’ve tried all that. But these two boars are incredibly strong—they can dig their way out of pits. And their hides are so thick and tough that traps can’t hold them."
Zhao Lin nodded, growing even more certain of his suspicion.
The one that had mated with the sow probably wasn’t a wild boar, but a Zhihao from the mountains.
The two black pigs had inherited the Zhihao’s bloodline and began to mutate right after birth.
"Alright. Boars are usually active at night, so I’ll go to your village tonight..."
He paused, feeling like he’d talked himself into a corner. He quickly changed his tune. "Actually, come get me this afternoon and lead me to your village. We’ll get rid of those two cursed beasts."
The young man was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
After finishing his brunch, Zhao Lin went up the mountain to train as usual. He returned home early that afternoon to find the young man already waiting outside his door.
"Let’s go."
Zhao Lin had the young man lead the way down the mountain to Shimang Village.
Shimang Village was home to over five hundred households, making it a relatively large village. It was surrounded by vast stretches of farmland, where many villagers were busy harvesting their crops.
As they passed the fields, Zhao Lin saw that the ground was a complete mess, as if it had been plowed over, with crops toppled and scattered everywhere.
When young, Zhihao behaved much like wild boars, enjoying root crops like rice, peanuts, taro, and kudzu. But once they matured, they started to eat meat.
Upon entering the village, Zhao Lin first went to visit Li Shi.
Li Shi’s injuries were not light; the boar had broken two of his ribs. He was lying in bed recuperating. Fortunately, no vital organs had been damaged.
Zhao Lin’s own father had been gored by a wild boar years ago, and he still suffered from the lingering effects of the injury to this day.
It was a good thing these two Zhihao were still young. If they grew to the size of the one on Baitou Mountain, they could even fight a bear.
The village chief heard the news and hurried over. "Lord Zhao," he asked, "is there anything the village can do to help?"
Zhao Lin said, "Just post a few lookouts. Let me know as soon as the boars show up."
The village chief immediately puffed out his chest. "Don’t you worry, Lord Zhao. I’ll assign extra men to keep watch."
Li Shi struggled to sit up. "Lord Zhao, I see you didn’t bring a weapon. I have a podao at home. Would you like to take it?"
Zhao Lin smiled and waved his hand. "No need. My bare hands will be enough."
Still worried, Li Shi hesitated before insisting, "You should take it. You might need it."
The village chief added, "That’s right. There are several skilled young men in the village who could assist you, my lord."
Zhao Lin knew they were worried he couldn’t handle the Zhihao, but he wasn’t offended. After all, he was young and had never demonstrated his strength to them before.
Spotting an iron candlestick shaped like a small mantel clock on the table, he reached out and grabbed it. With a casual squeeze and no apparent effort, he crushed it into a ball of scrap metal as if it were made of clay.
Everyone was so shocked they were left speechless. No one mentioned helping him again.
Li Shi’s home had several rooms, so they cleared one out for Zhao Lin and brought him his meal before nightfall.
After dinner, with nothing else to do, Zhao Lin meditated and practiced his cultivation techniques in the room. He didn’t light any lamps after dark, simply lying fully clothed on the bed to rest with his eyes closed.
During the second watch of the night, the sound of hurried footsteps approached his door.
Zhao Lin sat up and went to open the door.
Li Shi’s son ran up breathlessly, shouting, "Lord Zhao, the boars are here!"
"Take me to them," Zhao Lin said calmly.
Li Shi’s son led Zhao Lin to the eastern edge of the village. By the moonlight, he could see two Zhihao in the field. They were about the size of domestic pigs, with humped backs, and they were rooting through the earth, plowing a path of destruction like bulldozers.
The two Zhihao weren’t yet fully grown, but their tusks already jutted out over two inches.
A crowd of villagers had gathered to watch from a distance, shouting righteous curses at the beasts.
Without another word, Zhao Lin’s figure blurred as he leaped into the field.
The two Zhihao paid him no mind, continuing to root for food without even looking up.
Zhao Lin raised his fist and brought it down, striking one of the Zhihao squarely on the head.
THUD.
The Zhihao collapsed without so much as a grunt.
Startled, the other Zhihao leaped high into the air, then took off running.
Zhao Lin’s figure flickered again. He caught up to it and delivered another punch, and it met the same fate.
The entire process took less than two breaths.
The villagers stared, dumbfounded. After a long moment, someone finally asked, "Lord Zhao, what happened?"
"It’s done."
Zhao Lin saw the Essence Souls of the two Zhihao rise up, confirming they were truly dead, before he stepped back onto the path.
"Thank you, Lord Zhao! The reputation of the Xingyun Sect’s disciples is truly well-deserved."
The village chief, who had been in the crowd, came over with several others to thank him profusely.
Zhao Lin waved it off. "If you encounter any other unusual beasts in the future, you can come find me directly," he said. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way."
"It’s so late, Lord Zhao," the village chief urged. "Why not stay the night and leave tomorrow?"
But Zhao Lin was used to solitude and refused. He left the village and started up Ancient Rock Mountain.
WHOOSH—
Just as he was nearing his home, a black shadow suddenly flashed past in the distance, vanishing into the woods.
’What was that?’
Slightly startled and unsure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, Zhao Lin immediately sent out an ultrasonic pulse to investigate.
Soon, his ears began to pick up the returning waves.
’There really is something flying through the air,’ he realized. ’And it’s incredibly fast!’
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