Chapter 33 – Caught

Wen Lan’s cries were truly pitiful, echoing across the empty mountains, but the hunter never appeared, and the wild boar’s frenzied assault continued.

Wen Lan even began to worry the boar might give itself a concussion.

“Pig Ganglie, I’m not your wife, stop ramming already!” Wen Lan sobbed, trying to reason with the boar. Fearing she would lose her strength and fall, she carefully climbed higher and found a branch to sit on.

The situation seemed to stabilize slightly.

Seeing that she was somewhat safe, Wen Lan regained her confidence and resumed trying to reason with the boar. Perched on the trunk, she pointed down at the creature and scolded it.

“Hey, Brother Pig, why are you so stubborn? I already told you I’m not your wife, what are you still ramming for? Doesn’t it hurt?”

The boar ignored her and continued to ram the tree.

Wen Lan kept trying to reason.

“I’m telling you, Brother Pig, your temper is just like that hunter’s—stinky and stubborn. I’ve been talking to you for so long, can’t you cut me some slack?”

At that moment, the wild boar looked up and grunted at her.

“Oh? What kind of look is that?” Wen Lan was fuming up in the tree. “Did you learn that from the hunter? Geez, why are you, a pig, imitating that hunter?”

The boar glanced at her again.

Wen Lan continued ranting, “Look, look at you—glaring just like that hunter! I’m telling you, I’m not afraid of you! Come on then! Try me!”

She even began to taunt the boar.

Perhaps provoked, the boar took a few steps back, roared furiously, and charged at the tree with all its might.

This time, the impact was terrifying. With a loud crack, the pine tree splintered.

Wen Lan’s expression froze in horror—sure enough, she’d taunted too soon. She was doomed again.

But maybe Heaven decided to give her a hand—though the pine tree cracked, it didn’t fall completely. Instead, it leaned against a sturdier tree beside it, forming a slanted V shape.

Though she’d narrowly escaped death, Wen Lan was still shaken. This time, she didn’t dare to say anything bold again.

Instead, she whispered to the wild boar, “Brother Pig, I know I interrupted your lovely mountain retreat, but I didn’t mean to intrude. Life is hard for all of us—please, be the bigger pig and let this little girl go.”

The boar was unmoved.

Left with no choice, Wen Lan tried to scare it. She pointed into the distance and shouted, “There’s a hunter!”

And sure enough, there was.

Not far off, Xuan Yue was standing with Iron General, watching the scene with cold indifference.

When Wen Lan saw Xuan Yue, it was as if she had spotted her savior. She waved her arms and shouted, “Hunter Brother, help me! Help me!”

But the hunter remained motionless, arms crossed, casually casting her a sidelong glance.

Even from several meters away, Wen Lan could feel the heat of his intense gaze boring into her.

That look?

Wen Lan felt guilty all of a sudden. She had a strong suspicion that the hunter had overheard her conversation with the wild boar.

Comparing him to the boar was indeed a bit much. She realized she’d said too much and made things worse.

She decided to apologize.

“Hunter Brother, I didn’t mean to compare you to the pig. I was just trying to use you to scare it off.”

The hunter curled his lips into a smile—but that smile was colder than ice in the dead of winter.

Wen Lan’s heart started trembling.

This hunter really held grudges!

“Brother, I was wrong, I really was wrong! Please help me, I won’t dare to do it again!” Wen Lan was about to burst into tears.

The wild boar was still ramming the tree, and the one she was clinging to looked like it might collapse any second.

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