Perhaps it was the guilt in his heart or sensing his son’s fear, Hua Chengtian, who never held his son, picked him up and gently patted his back to comfort him.
Little Si clung tightly to his father, tears streaming down as if they were free.
Hua Jin’s yet-to-recover eyes couldn’t help but turn red, but seeing Little Si with his back to her, she felt the opportunity and took out the wild boar from her space again, otherwise, she would have to cover up for the wild boar later. This also saved her from going back and forth.
Thinking about her somewhat excessive strength, looking at the huge wild boar, Hua Jin suddenly wanted to try something, and then her eyes brightened, and the flush in her eyes disappeared entirely.
It turns out the strength isn’t just slightly excessive, it’s excessively a lot.
The wild boar on the ground seemed to weigh three to four hundred pounds, and although she only pulled it casually, it moved without much effort. This was still without using full strength, considering she was only a ten-year-old child.
As long as this strength is practiced diligently, combined with the Sanda and martial arts she trained hard before, it would be entirely sufficient for self-defense, she couldn’t help but smile.
When Hua Chengtian saw his daughter take out the wild boar again, his eyelids twitched, and then his rare patience with his son began to run out, placing the still sobbing little guy down.
Although Little Si was indeed very, very scared, when he instinctively sought comfort and warmth from the appearance of his dad and sister to soothe his frightened heart.
As soon as his father picked him up, he only thought of crying out his fears, but when he realized that his father could be as gentle to him as his sister was, Little Si felt embarrassed.
He was a boy, a real man, it was somewhat disgraceful.
Fortunately, the next moment his father put him down, and before Little Si could feel awkward again, he was startled by the huge object on the ground, and Hua Chengtian pulled him quickly, preventing him from sliding down the slope.
"Don’t be afraid, it’s dead," Hua Chengtian hurriedly said.
No matter how brave he was, he was still a six- or seven-year-old child.
Even so, Little Si panted heavily for several breaths before calming down. Once he realized what was happening, he became excited, circling the wild boar twice, and then looked at his father and sister with admiration. Just as he was about to speak, Hua Jin, who had anticipated this, decisively interrupted him.
The little guy was too chatty; for now, it was more urgent to take the wild boar down the mountain.
"Dad, let’s hurry and drag the wild boar down the mountain."
Fortunately, the mountain path here isn’t very steep, and with their father-daughter strength, it shouldn’t be difficult.
Hua Chengtian also wanted to quickly get the wild boar down to avoid unnecessary troubles later on, and he immediately nodded.
But before that, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Hua Jin still pulled out the crossbow arrows stuck in the wild boar’s eyes, neck, and body. The most fatal arrow was shot into the wild boar’s heart; otherwise, Hua Chengtian would have been in danger.
Seeing the arrow his daughter pulled out from the heart, Hua Chengtian couldn’t help but feel a flash of fear again.
But if such a situation happened again, as a father, he would still charge forward without hesitation.
Seeing the crossbow arrows his sister pulled out, Little Si’s zeal was rekindled. He reached out to touch it but drew back in fear when his sister shot him a cold look.
"Sis, is this used by hunters with a bow and arrow? Where did it come from? Did someone save you? Amazing! You’re saved?! Sis, can I touch it?"
A string of questions continuously spilled out of Little Si’s mouth, and Hua Jin didn’t know why her brother was so talkative and curious.
But... thinking of the little guy’s frightened, tear-streaked face, Hua Jin still patiently answered a few questions.
"It’s not a bow and arrow; it’s called a crossbow arrow. No one saved us; the wild boar was killed by dad and me. Also, there’s blood on the crossbow arrow, you can’t touch it, and it’s very sharp; you could get hurt if you’re not careful."
"Shut up. We can talk about it when we get home. Do you still want to experience that dangerous moment again?"
If she didn’t say this, Little Si, with his chatterbox skills, would truly keep asking endlessly.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished, Little Si immediately shut his mouth, looking scared, urging them to hurry down the mountain without the need for further words.
The role of a father, of course, involves handling physically demanding tasks, and he’s certainly keen to do them himself. Although his daughter is strong, her age speaks for itself, but trying it out, he found it was quite difficult to drag it even with all his strength, contrary to their desire to descend quickly.
In the end, he and his daughter each pulled a hind leg and dragged it down the mountain.
Hua Chengtian, watching his daughter walk with a steady stride while pulling a pig leg effortlessly, flashed a complex look in his eyes.
His daughter’s strength, his pride... had he mentioned it?
Later, when they got back, somehow, they found a few stone locks from somewhere, and practiced twice daily, even involving both sons and Little Si.
Thus, they dragged the wild boar down from the mountain without further incident.
The wild boar’s skin was covered in a thick coating of mud, so there was no worry about damaging it. Even dragging it home only scraped off a thick layer of mud.
However, this time, unlike the previous day, they weren’t as lucky. They were seen by villagers as they dragged the wild boar back to the village, and everyone was so shocked by the huge creature that their jaws nearly dropped.
The wild boar reached home, followed by a group with tails wagging along.
Luckily, they knew it was the village chief’s home, so they didn’t dare act rashly, but just squeezed into the courtyard to marvel at the enormous figure of the wild boar, stunned by its size.
As for Hua Jin helping to pull the wild boar, nobody paid much attention; everyone merely thought the little girl couldn’t bear to see her dad toil and wanted to help.
Some people were amazed by the wild boar’s size, while others were astonished at Hua Chengtian’s strength.
Such a big wild boar wouldn’t even be easy for two adult men to drag, let alone Hua Chengtian alone.
While many villagers gathered around the wild boar, commenting on its size, many more praised Hua Chengtian’s strength, especially the village women who couldn’t help casting envious glances at Qi Shi standing nearby.
They silently lamented Qi Shi’s good fortune—not only did she marry well, but most importantly, her husband was handsome, strong, incredibly capable, and treated her very well. On top of that, her parents-in-law were very supportive of her.
It’s truly a case of people comparing people, which can be infuriating because they simply can’t compare.
But what concerned them more was the fear brought about by the presence of wild boars in Qinggu Mountain. They didn’t believe Hua Chengtian would take two kids into the deep mountain.
They thought to warn their families to avoid the mountains for the time being.
However, with the thought of the arriving snow that would soon seal off the mountain, the fear in their hearts lightened slightly.
Though Hua Village backed onto Qinggu Mountain, it was still a mile or two from the actual mountain foot, and beasts usually wouldn’t appear at the foot unless it was a time of scarcity, driven by survival needs.
"Chengtian, did you kill this wild boar?"
An elder couldn’t help but voice the question.
"Uncle Dexin, I did." Sitting on a wooden stump, having drunk some water and rested a bit, Hua Chengtian hurriedly stood up and replied to Hua Dexin, who had spoken.
The surname already indicated their kinship, and they were relatives not more than five generations apart. Their relationship was relatively close, so not even fatigue would make Hua Chengtian neglect his manners.