The other man was about to say something, but they heard their dog bark an alarm to them. The two of them looked in the direction of the bark. Then they hurriedly put away their weapon, carried the boar, and left the green forest.
They rushed as fast as they could, carrying something weighing more than a ton. They were fast, but they were not fast enough. The tiger that their dog had sensed caught up to them.
They were carrying something heavy. What they were carrying slowed them down while simultaneously producing a bloody scent trail that led the predator directly to them.
The two of them wanted to leave the forest, but they had no choice but to fight after the tiger caught up to them. It was a difficult fight because the tiger wasn't foolish enough to be led into crashing into trees.
They had to fight the tiger for 30 minutes with no one gaining the upper hand. So they cut off one of the thighs of the boar and threw it at the tiger.
The tiger looked at the small piece of meat they were trying to use to bribe it and then looked back at the large piece of meat that they were protecting.
It wanted the large piece of meat. But to reach it, it would have to get past the two troublesome.
It thought about it and decided to take the bribe. It took the large thigh and went into the forest.
The thigh was small compared to the body of the boar, but it was big compared to the mouth of the tiger. It dragged the thigh away and let the men go.
The two men sighed in relief. Then they resumed their journey. But they encountered monkeys who harassed them.
The monkeys threw sticks, stones, and fruit cores at them. Some of them monkeys were even bold enough to get close to the men and beat them with sticks.
The two men shooed the monkeys away with their mouths. They wanted to use their weapons, but they needed both of their hands to carry the boar. So they were just all bark, but not bite.
When the monkeys saw that the brave ones got away with beating the men with sticks, they stopped throwing stones from afar and moved closer to the men to beat them with sticks.
The dog barked at the monkeys to chase them away. But the monkeys didn't run. Instead, they beat the dog too. Both the dog and its two masters ran out of the green forest with their tail tucked between their legs.
The two men had been bruised and injured both physically and mentally. They were deeply exhausted, but it couldn't diminish their sense of accomplishment.
They smiled at each other as they loaded the boar onto a wagon and led it back to the Dyson family. These two investigators returned to the compound of the Dyson family the same time that Arthur entered the family.
Arthur was returning to the family to pay his mother for the money she paid to save him.
He got 500 gold coins from the criminals he raided and 600 more from his wine. He wanted to return them as soon as possible to avoid interest.
It was a lot of money, but he can afford it by hunting and making wine. He also wanted to use the opportunity to talk to her and learn where she got Ruff and the collar she used to bind him.
It would be great if he could get her advice on what pet he should take next. But as long as he is allowed to stay with her for a while, he will be content. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire
He doesn't want to live at home for a while because he is not sure it is safe for him. So his visit is mostly motivated by his interest in seeking refuge.
The rest of his objectives are also important, but they are not as important as his life. They are side goals, so to speak.
The carriages carrying the two parties passed each other on the road, with both parties being ignorant of the identity and purpose of the other.
Arthur went to his mother's house in the outer compound while the two men went to the inner compound. They went to report the results of their investigations.
The boar was indeed Jake's murderer. Jake's flesh could even still be found in its belly.
According to them, Jake had gone into the forest and was killed by the boar. It had to be that because it was unlikely that the boar came to the city, killed Jake there, ate him there, and then withdrew into the green forest.
Unfortunately for them, their boss wasn't satisfied with their investigation. There was just no way anyone was going to believe that a true child of the family went to the green forest to hunt.
The true children of the family don't need to risk their lives hunting. They had better things to do, or at least many things to do that didn't involve risking their lives.
Even if they had to go to the green forest to hunt, they would be accompanied by many guards. There was no such mobilization, so it was decided that Jake didn't go into the green forest of his free will.
Their boss said that Jake had to have been forced to go to the forest. He even claimed that Jake was probably bound and thrown to the boar to be killed.
This was to circumvent the tracking curse that every true child of the family possesses. This curse will attach itself to the murder of the true children.
The fact that the boar bears that curse didn't mean the case of Jake's murder was a done deal. So the two men had to continue their investigations.
The two men knew that, but they were hoping they didn't have to waste more of their time looking for a needle in a haystack.