Chapter 91: Is There Wild Boar Meat?!
“Mother, stop complaining! Keep your voice down, or you might not even get a penny!”
Seeing his mother’s grumbling, Yu Shanhai hurriedly warned her.
Yu Liang also maintained a stern face, revealing no hint of his mood.
“Ha! He knows it was their fault we got exiled. Now he has the nerve to give us so little?”
Mu Chunfang sneered at Yu Zhengqing’s departing figure, completely ignoring her son’s caution as she continued to grumble.
After dividing the goods, all the food and baggage were loaded onto the horses.
While Yu Zhengqing and the others went to retrieve the tents, the men left behind didn’t sit idle. The women prepared food, and the men gathered to fashion makeshift racks for the ten horses to carry supplies.
To prevent the horses’ backs from getting sore, they used clothes looted from the bandits to pad the backs and then tied a sturdy rack made from small trees. This way, the horses could carry more goods without risking anything falling off.
They had taken about two thousand catties of grain from the cave. Even though it was a lot, everyone knew they had to ration carefully. With over a hundred people to feed, it wouldn’t last long if they were wasteful.
Yu Zhengqing kept his spirits up, leading the group northward with Zhang Yuan, one in front and one behind.
They traveled for three days without encountering more bandits. They had crossed three peaks but still had four more to go. If all went well, they’d soon reach flatter terrain beyond the Nine Peaks.
Along the way, those who could shoot used the bows taken from the bandits to hunt game for extra meals at night.
Even the father and sons from Yu’s third branch, who managed to get three bows, contributed by hunting whenever they could, regardless of fatigue.
Despite it being winter, when many animals hibernate, the vast mountains still had plenty of prey.
Even Yu Luo’s family managed to hunt a few animals, including a big and foolish deer.
On the fourth morning, while the men on night watch leaned against tree trunks, dozing off, Yu Luo was suddenly awakened by the system’s urgent voice.
[Ding-dong! Host, wake up quickly! There’s a herd of wild boars outside!]
Hearing this, Yu Luo’s eyes snapped open, and she immediately sat up in shock!
Her sudden movement startled Ye Jiamei, who was sleeping next to her.
“What’s wrong? You scared me!”
“Mother, there are wild boars outside! A whole herd of them!”
There was no need to explain—Ye Jiamei knew it was the system’s warning.
Despite her grogginess, she hurriedly grabbed her coat and clumsily put it on.
“Everyone, wake up! There’s a herd of wild beasts coming this way—lots of them!”
Before Yu Luo could finish dressing, the flap of their tent was lifted by Tao Fanghua, who shouted urgently.
Her shout instantly woke everyone from their dreams, alarmed and confused.
“I think I heard wild boars! Does this mean we can eat wild boar meat?!”
Yu Shanhai’s wife, Liu Lan, hastily threw on her clothes while trying to identify the sound.
Having lived in the countryside most of her life, she had encountered wild boars before. After listening carefully, she was thrilled.
“Oh, sister-in-law, now’s not the time to think about eating meat! That sound is so loud—there must be a lot of wild boars! If there are too many, the men might not handle it. You better stay close to your daughter-in-law, Huang Xiaojv. She’s quite far along in her pregnancy and shouldn’t be scared.”
Zhang Fen, listening to her sister-in-law’s excitement, couldn’t help but remind her kindly.
Hearing this, Liu Lan’s daughter, Yu Xiangxiang, suddenly remembered her sister-in-law’s condition. After hurriedly putting on her own clothes, she rushed to help Huang Xiaoju.
“What’s there to be afraid of? With the experts in the main branch and the Zhang family around, it’s just some wild boars! They killed so many bandits—how could a few beasts be a problem?”
However, when they all stepped outside, they were greeted by thick fog blanketing the mountains, making it impossible to see far.
The only things breaking the eerie silence were the deafening stomps and the unmistakable roars of wild boars.
From the sheer volume of noise, it was clear that this herd was enormous!
“Quick, get the women and children up the trees!” Yu Zhengqing shouted.
Everyone, who had just been excited about boar meat, instantly abandoned their joy and rushed to the nearest trees, climbing for their lives.
Meanwhile, Ye Jiamei tried to push Yu Luo up a nearby tree.
“Mother, you forgot! Bring me inside!”
Unfortunately, the tree they chose was smooth and hard to climb. Having grown up in the city, Yu Luo could barely manage climbing.
After several failed attempts, she kept sliding down, making Ye Jiamei and Yu Haojie increasingly anxious.
“Over there, dear! Let’s go!”
Amidst the chaos, Yu Haojie spotted a large rock about ten meters away. Hurriedly, he pulled the mother and daughter duo behind it for cover.
From their hiding spot, they could hear the wild boars getting closer and closer, and many people were still scrambling to climb trees.
Seeing Huang Xiaoju struggling to climb with her pregnant belly, Yu Zhengqing didn’t hesitate. He used his kung fu skills to lift her swiftly onto a branch.
Zhang Yuan did the same for his family, getting them to safety one by one.
Meanwhile, hidden behind the rock, Yu Luo’s family clutched their crossbows, aiming at the approaching boars.
In less than a tea’s time, the thunderous stomps and grunts were nearly upon them.
The sheer power of the approaching herd made everyone’s hearts pound with terror. Those who couldn’t climb trees in time were left in despair, forced to flee in any direction they could find.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
A few who couldn’t make it up the trees and refused to run were soon overwhelmed by the dark, surging wave of boars.
Their figures disappeared almost instantly in a sickeningly brutal display, leaving those on the trees watching in horror, some screaming before quickly covering their mouths, tears streaming uncontrollably.
