Chapter 12: Three Little Piglets

Lu Chuan instantly went on high alert.

Without a moment of hesitation, he climbed up a nearby tree and began observing his surroundings.

Any experienced hunter must be skilled at climbing trees.

Of course, even bears and tigers can climb trees.

But the reason hunters climb high is to get a better view of their environment.

And as for bears and tigers climbing trees—it’s not quite the same. They rely on brute strength to propel themselves upward. When it comes to real climbing ability, few creatures can surpass terrifying upright apes.

Standing on a tree branch,

his view was wide and clear.

In the distance, two wild boars were foraging.

Lu Chuan instantly felt a headache coming on.

He didn’t have many arrows left—maybe a little over ten.

And wild boars, with their thick hides and tough meat, are notoriously difficult to kill. Even small-caliber bullets often fail to do much damage, let alone arrows from a bow.

Ten arrows…

Against two wild boars?

It wasn’t nearly enough. Even if he hit one, it would likely only enrage it and send it into berserk mode.

Which would make things far more dangerous.

If it were just one wild boar, he could manage. But two at once? That was pushing it.

Still… just walking away?

Lu Chuan felt reluctant.

Wild boar meat might not be the tastiest, but meat was scarce in these times. Large-scale livestock farming hadn’t yet become common. Being able to eat meat was something mostly reserved for rich or powerful families.

Most people raised a few sheep or maybe chickens and ducks.

But fat or rich food? Rare.

“Troublesome,” Lu Chuan muttered, rubbing his forehead as he tried to think of a strategy.

These boars must have followed his scent.

They were sniffing around, rooting through the snow, searching.

Lu Chuan sat quietly on a tree branch, watching them.

After some thought, he decided—no matter what, he’d take out at least one.

With that, he nocked an arrow and drew the bow.

Everything happened in a flash.

“Squeee!”

A pained shriek burst from one of the wild boars. It immediately went into berserk mode, charging forward in a straight line at terrifying speed.

It even smashed straight through a tree as thick as a bowl.

The second boar didn’t even understand what had happened, but instinct told it danger was near. Without hesitation, it turned and bolted into the distance.

Lu Chuan kept his eyes locked on the wounded boar.

He drew another arrow and fired at its head again.

The boar roared in pain,

blood splattering across the snow.

But it moved so fast that within moments, it had already vanished from Lu Chuan’s line of sight.

Only a bright trail of blood was left on the snow.

Lu Chuan’s mouth twitched hard. “Damn…”

Shooting a wild boar from a tree was safe, yes—but it also meant you couldn’t chase after it.

Still, both of his arrows had been aimed right at the boar’s forehead, so it should be a solid hit.

But—

Lu Chuan knew how much stamina a wild boar had.

Even with two fatal wounds, it could easily run for several miles!

Especially wild boars.

In their mindless panic, they could fall off cliffs or run into other dangerous places without hesitation. It was a common thing.

So, he had to follow closely.

Lu Chuan tracked the trail of blood while covering it as he went, to avoid attracting other animals.

Soon, he arrived at a cave entrance.

The cave was about half a person’s height and didn’t appear to be very deep.

At this point, the blood trail disappeared—most likely, the wild boar had died inside.

But he didn’t rush in recklessly.

Caves like this in the mountains are dangerous. Unless absolutely necessary, you should never enter one alone. You never know what could be inside.

Unlike badger dens, which usually have two openings, wild boar caves typically have just one—an entrance that also serves as the exit. Most aren’t very deep, but you can’t rule out the possibility that several boars are living inside.

That said, it’s usually easy to tell.

Lu Chuan repeated the method he’d used before.

He placed some damp branches and leaves at the mouth of the cave and carefully lit them with a flint.

The wild boar didn’t come out, which likely meant it had died inside the cave.

However, after a short while—

Three little wild boar piglets came rushing out.

Lu Chuan reacted quickly and captured them all on the spot.

A flash of delight appeared in his eyes.

What a pleasant surprise.

He had been thinking of raising a few piglets anyway, and now, after tracking the adult boar, he had unexpectedly come across three wild piglets.

The piglets struggled wildly in his hands.

But Lu Chuan didn’t hesitate.

His large hands gently pressed against them,

and a faint glow silently seeped into their bodies. Instantly, the piglets seemed to sense something—their frantic squirming gradually eased.

“Works like a charm,” Lu Chuan muttered.

Basic beast-taming skills wouldn’t have produced such results.

With basic-level skills, you still had to train the animal manually. But intermediate beast-taming skills skipped that initial phase.

It wasn’t exactly magical—but it subtly fostered a sense of familiarity and closeness in the animal toward the tamer, making them feel no threat from the human.

Lu Chuan said to the three piglets,

“Wait here for me. I’ll be right back.”

With that, he crouched down and slowly crawled into the cave.

A strong stench immediately filled his nose, and he instinctively covered it with his hand.

Then he realized—the cave was bigger than he expected. It didn’t seem like a typical wild boar den. In fact, it bore signs of having been carved out by hand.

Though for some reason, it had later been taken over by this wild boar—like a bird occupying another’s nest.

The cave was full of signs of the boar’s presence.

In a corner, Lu Chuan found the now-dead wild boar. He reached out and placed a hand on its body,

and stored it directly into his spatial storage.

Judging by its size, the boar weighed at least 300 jin (approx. 150 kg).

He’d hit the jackpot.

Then, Lu Chuan curiously examined the cave.

There were clear marks of blades and chisels on the walls, though they appeared to have been made in haste. The floor was littered with weeds and random plant matter—most likely dragged in by the wild boars to make a nest.

After getting a feel for the cave’s structure,

Lu Chuan got to work.

He began clearing out all the messy debris, hauling it outside.

This cave was at least an hour’s walk from his home, but he had a plan—to turn it into his personal hunting base.