Chapter 6: The Mountain Drum
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A wild boar, almost 350 pounds, was not considered very large.
However, the Chi family was delighted, as if they had won the jackpot.
"I'm going to the city to deliver the bamboo weavings to the agricultural machinery shop. I will tell your uncle and aunt to come over for dinner," said Mr. Chi, while smoking the Chinese pipe as he settled those hand-made bamboo baskets, hats, and other items on his back.
When the Chi family first decided to build their house on the hillside, it was because of Mr. Chi's business in bamboo weaving. This way, it was a lot easier for him to harvest the bamboo from the mountain.
However, nowadays, bamboo weavings can hardly be sold at a decent price.
It was challenging to make a living just by bamboo weaving.
"Be careful on the road," Mrs. Chi, who was cleaning the wild boar, reminded him.
Mr. Chi nodded and told Chi Qiaosong, "In a little while, go to the foot of the mountain and invite the village chief, your second and third granduncles, over for dinner."
Over here, the locals placed great emphasis on kinship and familial relationships.
Whenever anyone in the village slaughtered pigs or cattle, the village chief and the elders in the village would always be invited to partake.
"Yes," Chi Qiaosong nodded.
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"Qiaosong is such a great young man," the village chief laughed as he cracked the watermelon seeds.
The village at the foot of the mountain is Chi Village. Thus, it goes without saying that the village chief was also part of the Chi clan and was technically an elder of Chi Qiaosong.
"To kill a wild boar all by himself, Qiaosong has proven his ability. Xiutian, you had the foresight to send Qiaosong to the military academy, and now we see the harvest of your labor."
The third granduncle said in amazement.
Inside, however, he was a little regretful that he didn't send his own grandson to the military academy.
They all knew that martial arts were an opportunity and a way out. However, just like going to college, no one could guarantee that their own children would be successful in their study of it. Furthermore, the practice of martial arts was insensitive to the poor. Typically, martial arts practice was better suited for those with means.
Without the money to buy supplements or provide proper medical care, injuries were unavoidable and could have long-term consequences.
The warlords that wreaked havoc in Daxia Republic actually originated from wealthy and influential families.
For example, General Zhu Guangshan, whose ancestors had served either as the Minister of Rites or valets in the feudal dynasties in the past. Upon the establishment of the Daxia Republic, people from their clan had consistently served as local officials.
Hence, the event when Zhu Guangshan raised the flag in the name of change and his decisive battle won over three cities and nineteen counties, thus creating the Peng enclave.
"Your grandson is not too old for you to send him to the military academy. Commander Zhu is constantly recruiting. Once he finishes his training, he can join the army directly," the second granduncle interjected.
The third granduncle snorted, "He doesn't have the talent, unlike Qiaosong."
As soon as the dinner started and the wild boar was served, the two old men couldn't care less about fighting each other. They focused on picking up large pieces of meat into their own bowls.
"Qiaosong, after three months of training in the military academy, what is your ranking now?" the village chief asked. Many people were still watching and waiting as far as Commander Zhu's military academy was concerned.
Chi Qiaosong replied coolly, "I'm not considered naturally gifted at the military academy. Before we went on break, I guess my ranking was probably somewhere towards the bottom."
"What? Your ranking is on the bottom few?"
"Yes."
It was not an exaggeration. At the time, he was on the list to withdraw of his own volition. It was only because of the Golden Finger that he now possessed the superior strength of being in the Wrestler Plane.
When he returned to the military academy again, he would be in the first place, for sure.
No matter how talented someone was, no one could rely solely on Crazed Bull Heavy Fist to cultivate pure muscular strength, let alone a high level of combat effectiveness.
"It seems that this military academy is really advanced," the village chief muttered.
After dinner, the village chief and the two granduncles left, each with thoughts of their own.
Early the next morning, Mr. Chi took the pieces of wild boar meat to sell in town to subsidize the family's income. As for Chi Qiaosong, he practiced and taught martial arts as usual at the farmhouse.
Yesterday, a lot of lentil seedlings were being eaten up by wild boars. Today, he brought some more lentil seeds to be planted in the space that had been ravaged.
He redrafted Chi Qiaowu and Wen Moshan to complete the task.
However, the killing of the wild boar yesterday made the two boys worship Chi Qiaosong to no end. If he asked them to plant the lentil seeds, that was precisely what they would do, without any complaints.
"Brother, are we practicing new moves today?"
"Nope. We are still working on the basics."
His understanding of Crazed Bull Heavy Fist was in-depth, and he knew that Chi Qiaowu and Wen Moshan were still too young. They could easily hurt themselves if they practiced too hard.
It was best to progress gradually.
"When will the basics be finished?" said Wen Moshan while practicing the basic moves. Slowly, his movements became confused as they began falling apart.
Here and there, Chi Qiaosong adjusted his hands and legs, helping him right his stance again. "Don't let go of the proper posture. You little brats have no patience whatsoever."
Wen Moshan didn't dare to talk back and merely howled, "Ouch, ouch."
Chi Qiaowu, in the meantime, was chuckling on the side.
They messed around and had fun for a while.
Suddenly, a few familiar snorting sounds were heard as Chi Qiaosong raised a brow and walked out of the farmhouse to check it out. Looking in the direction of the sounds, a giant wild boar, much larger than the one he killed, was walking towards the farmhouse while sniffing the ground.
"Wow!"
Chi Qiaowu exclaimed, "It's a giant boar!"
"Get back, you two. Get inside the farmhouse." Chi Qiaosong then pulled out a machete from under the eaves in one smooth draw. This was what he prepared, especially for hunting in the mountains.
The wild boar approached, and when it saw Chi Qiaosong standing in its way, it stopped somewhat hesitantly.
With such close distance, Chi Qiaosong could see clearly that this wild boar was several times larger than the one from yesterday. It had massive muscles, and its fangs were protruding out of its mouth. Even the hair bristles were standing upright as if it was covered with a layer of steely needles.
"Look at its size!"
"Look at its posture!"
"Could it be a Mountain Drum?"
Chi Qiaosong was a bit nervous inside. At Thousand Emerald Hill, many wild boars were so old that they had turned into spirit beasts.
Much like humans who cultivated martial arts, once the boar had broken through the limitations of its species, it was no longer just an ordinary beast but a spirit beast that possessed sentience.
The locals called the wild boars that became spirit beasts Mountain Drums because the sounds they made were as loud as drumbeats that could be heard throughout the mountains.
When the great boar saw that Chi Qiaosong was not about to give way, it turned around, intending to walk in another direction towards the fence. Clearly, Chi Qiaosong was not about to let it roam around, trampling this field. Therefore, he continued to follow the boar to block it off.
It was easy to see that this great wild boar was attracted precisely by the field.
"OINK!"
Having been blocked twice, the giant wild boar grew impatience and opened its mouth to let out a thunderous roar. It was as if a thunderbolt had come been blasted from the sky. The booming roar hurt both of Chi Qiaosong's eardrums.
He was absolutely sure that this giant wild boar was the Mountain Drum.
"Can I really outlast a spirit beast?" He was slightly intimidated as he clenched the machete in his hand. Chi Qiaosong didn't take a step back but continued to assess the wild boar in front of him.
After all, this was the Mountain Drum, a spirit beast.
If it was used to fertilize the field, it might make quite a lot of fertilizer.
Seeing that its roar had not frightened Chi Qiaosong away, the Mountain Drum no longer hesitated but rushed at Chi Qiaosong. It didn't start at full speed; it was more like a menacing advancement, forcing Chi Qiaosong to back up.
Chi Qiaosong saw his opportunity, swung the machete directly, and went for its head.
Bang!
The machete accurately landed on the head of the Mountain Drum as a bloodstain began to appear. However, it seemed that it had hit the bone, and the bone of the Mountain Drum was as hard as steel, and the machete could not inflict any severe damage other than the surface.
"OINK!" The Mountain Drum roared furiously.
With its size that resembled a small mountain, the Mountain Drum backed up a couple of steps and lunged toward Chi Qiaosong with great force.
At that moment, Chi Qiaosong seemed to see a tank that rolled toward him with a majestic momentum that was simply indescribable.
Fear rose in his heart, but behind him was the field he relied upon for livelihood; there was no room for him to back away. All he could do was muster courage borne out of the anger in his heart.
He raised the machete to encounter the Mountain Drum.
Bang.
The machete slapped on the shoulder blade of the Mountain Drum.
He took two steps to the left, barely avoiding a slam from the Mountain Drum. Taking advantage of the time the Mountain Drum took to turn itself around, he swung the machete again and landed two strokes on the solid back of the Mountain Drum.
Those two strikes drew blood from two shallow slashes.
-- Gift
received