The Cat Who Farms in the Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland – CH17

Chapter 17 – Heading Back

Xia Lu Nong had never been carried in anyone’s mouth before.

Most people probably never experience something as terrifying as this in their entire life.

The wind whistled past his ears, accompanied by the echoes of his own cries.

Branches slapped and scraped around them, and aside from his own voice, there were various howls and shouts behind them.

The scene was utterly chaotic.

Slowly, Xia Lu Nong began to regain his composure. He strained to lift his neck and turned his head to see what was going on.

It wasn’t his brother carrying him — it was Yan Xi Nian.

Perhaps his eyes had adapted to the dark by now, for Xia Lu Nong could now clearly see the things around him.

Behind them, a large group of dark shapes was chasing them. Xia Lu Nong struggled to count and realized there were over forty of them. Judging by their appearance, they were likely wild boars.

The boar herd was barreling forward, crashing through obstacles with frightening speed.

Liao Cheng was barely keeping ahead of them, almost getting caught several times. He exerted extra effort and managed to widen the gap between himself and the boars a little more.

Xia Lu Nong kept watching, the relentless pursuit making him feel both fear and numbness. Oddly enough, amidst the chaos, he felt a strange sense of comfort — at least being carried like this was less exhausting than Liao Cheng’s desperate sprint for his life.

Several times, Xia Lu Nong saw Liao Cheng panting heavily, his tongue hanging out as he stumbled forward, looking like he desperately wanted to stop but forced to keep running with the boars hot on his heels.

Worry filled Xia Lu Nong’s eyes.

The wild boars seemed to have incredible stamina. If they kept running like this, Liao Cheng would be utterly exhausted soon.

Xia Lu Nong opened his mouth, wanting to warn Yan Xi Nian, but ultimately said nothing.

He had no experience in wild hunting and didn’t know what the right course of action would be.

“Woof!” Liao Cheng let out a panicked bark, narrowly escaping yet another close call. Xia Huo Qu darted forward and bit one of the pursuing boars, slowing its charge.

Xia Lu Nong watched wide-eyed, his heart almost leaping out of his throat.

Thankfully, his brother was agile enough to strike and retreat, quickly helping Liao Cheng escape the encirclement.

That night’s frantic chase would be forever etched in Xia Lu Nong’s memory.

They had no idea how long they had been running, but it wasn’t until they reached a different residential area that the boars finally began to scatter.

Xia Huo Qu turned around, eyeing the five boars still trailing behind them. He suddenly spun around, let out a furious howl, and charged at the pigs.

Among the boars, the largest one had its neck bitten by Xia Huo Qu, nearly severing it in one bite. Blood sprayed everywhere as the boar let out a piercing screech.

The remaining wild boars charged at him, attempting to ram into him, but he leapt up and dodged them.

“Brother—!” Xia Lu Nong’s heart raced as he instinctively struggled in Yan Xi Nian’s mouth, trying to rush to his brother’s side.

He couldn’t break free, and in the next moment, after feeling weightless for a second and his vision blurring, he was placed on the ground.

Xia Lu Nong rolled over and sat up.

The massive white tiger dashed past him like a gust of wind, headbutting one of the boars that had surrounded his brother.

A whimper came from the herd.

In just an instant, two of the wild boars collapsed, while the remaining three squealed and fled for their lives.

In the blink of an eye, the battle was over.

None of them bothered counting their spoils; they simply collapsed onto the ground to rest.

The white wolf, giant tiger, and large yellow dog were all panting, one breath after another, like the howling wind of winter.

The yellow dog in particular was completely sprawled out on the ground, with its hind legs spread wide, looking entirely drained, not caring about its image anymore.

After resting for a short while, Xia Lu Nong carefully stepped through the messy plants and approached his brother. He hugged his brother’s neck, feeling the fur beneath his hand.

His brother’s skin was burning hot to the touch, but there was no sweat.

Xia Lu Nong looked at his brother with worry in his eyes.

Xia Huo Qu let out a soft “Awo” and nudged him gently, signaling him to take a break.

Xia Lu Nong, still hugging his brother’s neck, glanced over at the two boars lying on the ground. “Doesn’t the smell of blood lingering like this pose a problem?”

“Awo,” his brother responded again.

Xia Lu Nong understood from the tone that it wasn’t a problem.

He breathed a sigh of relief and found some non-poisonous, thorn-free shrubs nearby, breaking off two branches to cushion himself as he sat down beside his brother, still shaken.

The night had been far too intense for him, and he hadn’t fully calmed down yet.

Rubbing his brother’s soft fur, Xia Lu Nong felt melancholic.

Though he hadn’t moved much, the fear and anxiety had exhausted him. After sitting for a while, drowsiness began to set in. His eyelids felt as if they were glued together, closing and sticking tightly shut.

He was incredibly tired but didn’t dare to fall into a deep sleep, afraid something might happen.

Xia Huo Qu nudged him with his head, his gaze soft.

The gesture meant it was okay to sleep.

Half-conscious, Xia Lu Nong understood, leaning further back and resting his hand on his brother, using the soft fur as a pillow. He soon drifted off to sleep.

He likely fell asleep in the latter half of the night. Even though it was only for a few short hours, his sleep was restless. Every now and then, he jolted awake, his eyes darting around until he saw the figures of the three others. Only then would he close his eyes and doze off again.

At dawn, Yan Xi Nian stirred, shifting back into his human form. After dressing, he walked over to inspect the scene of the battle from the previous night.

Xia Lu Nong also got up, dragging his aching body over to Yan Xi Nian’s side. “Brother Xi Nian.”

After greeting him, his gaze turned to the area where the fight had taken place.

Last night, the fighting had gone on for quite a while, but from his distant position, he hadn’t realized how dangerous it was.

Now, looking at the scene again, the plants were flattened all over the place.

Several trees, as thick as bowls, were broken in half, with only some bark holding them together. The leaves were trampled into the mud, and splattered blood was sprayed across them.

The sight of the dark red blood against the green leaves was chilling.

Yan Xi Nian patted Xia Lu Nong on the shoulder, then bent down to check the wild boar corpses. He pulled two tails from the back end of one boar. “Scared?”

Xia Lu Nong shook his head, then nodded. “A little, but I’ll be fine after some time.”

Yan Xi Nian grabbed the boar by its feet, hoisting the roughly 200-pound creature up, and smiled at him. “Don’t worry too much. Situations like this are rare when we go out to search for supplies.”

“You mean the boars usually don’t chase people?”

“No, I mean it’s rare for so many to chase us at once.”

Yan Xi Nian dragged the boar to a flatter area and went back to grab the smaller one.

Xia Lu Nong hurried over to help and quietly asked, “So how many boars usually chase people?”

“It depends on luck. Usually just three to five. Last night, we must’ve disturbed a boar nest.” Yan Xi Nian replied. “There are definitely too many wild boars around here. When we have time, we’ll need to organize a group to clear them out.”

As he spoke, Yan Xi Nian had already examined the small boar.

This boar had an extra ear and two additional hooves growing from its hind joints.

“We can’t eat this one,” Yan Xi Nian said regretfully, tossing the small boar under a tree.

Xia Lu Nong followed closely, asking in a low voice, “What happens if we eat it?”

“If you’re lucky, just a few days of diarrhea. If you’re unlucky, you’ll get a fever, and it might damage your brain. Even healing abilities won’t help.” Yan Xi Nian warned. “Unless it’s absolutely necessary, don’t take that risk.”

“Oh.”

“Xiao Nong?” Xia Huo Qu had also gotten up, dressed, and walked over to them. “How’s it going?”

Yan Xi Nian stepped aside to show him the two boars. “Only this big one is edible.”

Xia Huo Qu wiped his face, his eyes wide. “What a loss.”

“It’s not so bad, just means we’ll have to take a bit of a detour on the way back.”

As they talked, Liao Cheng woke up too.

“You guys are already up.” He rummaged through his backpack for clothes, muttering, “Last night scared me to death.”

Xia Huo Qu walked over, patting him on the shoulder without saying anything.

Liao Cheng sighed, “I’m really not cut out for hunting. I won’t try to act tough next time.”

Yan Xi Nian said, “With more practice, you’ll get better. What happened last night was an extreme case, it doesn’t happen often.”

Hearing that Yan Xi Nian wasn’t mad, Liao Cheng quietly sighed in relief.

Yan Xi Nian continued, “We’re all exhausted from last night, so let’s just grab a quick bite to eat and head back.”

Xia Lu Nong instinctively went to grab a pot. “Should I cut off a piece of the boar meat to cook?”

“No need. We don’t have the right tools. Let’s just prepare something simple,” Yan Xi Nian said, carrying firewood over. “Xiao Nong, you handle the cooking, and we’ll help out.”

Xia Lu Nong asked, “How about making shredded chicken, with the large bones for broth and some vegetables?”

No one had any objections, and Xia Lu Nong quickly got to work.

They were all exhausted from the night before. After hastily preparing breakfast, the four of them sat around the pot, eating without saying a word, slurping down their food.

Once they finished eating and cleaned up, Yan Xi Nian transformed back into his tiger form. The remaining three hoisted the pig onto his back, tying it securely with ropes to ensure it wouldn’t fall off, even if he ran at high speed.

Xia Huo Qu and Liao Cheng also transformed into their animal forms, while Xia Lu Nong sat on his brother’s back.

Although they had only been out for just over a day, Xia Lu Nong felt like they had spent an eternity in the wilderness.

The excitement he had felt when they first set out was completely gone, replaced by sheer exhaustion.

Yesterday, they had been chased by the wild boars and had to take a large detour. Now, on their way back, they had to traverse mountains and rugged paths.

Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any additional dangers.

By the time the sun began to set in the west that afternoon, they had returned to the base.

The guards on the wall noticed their return and came over to ask a few questions.

Xia Lu Nong, clinging to his brother’s neck, was so sore that even his thighs were chafed. He was too worn out to care about the guard’s inquiries.

Once inside the base, they descended the mountain. Yan Xi Nian carried the pig to the canteen for processing, and once the canteen was done, the four of them divided the meat.

The Xia brothers and Liao Cheng then went their separate ways.

Arriving back at their courtyard, Xia Lu Nong slid off his brother’s back. He watched as his brother transformed back into his human form, got dressed, and pulled out the keys from his backpack to unlock the door.

He dropped his backpack right by the door and flopped onto the sofa, letting out a contented sigh.

His brother walked in and lightly kicked his leg. “Go take a bath and eat first. You can sleep afterward.”

“It’s still early; let me rest for a bit,” Xia Lu Nong scooted further into the sofa, signaling for his brother to join him.

Xia Huo Qu glanced at him, “Do you want to go out on supply runs again next time?”

Xia Lu Nong stared at the ceiling, hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded, “I do.”

“I want to learn how to transform into a beast form sooner. Brother, how did you learn to do it?”