Whoosh!
With a sharp exhale, Qin Ming bolted forward like a cheetah, the arrows in his quiver rattling in a steady rhythm against his back.
The moment the crowd rushed out of the stockade, they spotted a massive black bear on the nearby hillside, ruthlessly tearing into an ox.
“Da Huang!”
The Village Head’s son lost his mind, charging up the slope in a frantic frenzy.
Alerted by the sudden commotion, the black bear finally turned its gaze toward the approaching crowd. Beneath the dimming twilight, its eyes gleamed with a menacing, crimson hue.
“Mu An! It’s dangerous, come back!”
Seeing his son rush headlong toward the beast, the old Village Head cried out in panic.
Simultaneously, Qin Ming had already sprinted forward with his bow and arrow in hand. He came to a sudden halt exactly eighty paces away from the black bear.
Pulling a broadhead bleeding arrow from his back, he notched it to the string and drew the bow. Compared to heavy armor-piercing arrows, these bleeding arrows were much lighter and boasted a significantly longer range.
The arrow flew straight toward the black bear, tearing through the air with a piercing whistle.
At that exact moment, the villagers of the Mu Family Stockade witnessed the most unbelievable sight of their entire lives.
A dull, unmistakable sound of tearing flesh echoed across the slope.
The seemingly slender bleeding arrow completely ignored the bear’s tough, thick hide, burying itself incredibly deep into the center of the beast’s chest.
The bear’s massive body shuddered violently, and the sudden, intense agony forced a short, startled roar from its throat.
Qin Ming did not pause for a fraction of a second. Reaching back, nocking another arrow, and drawing the string, his movements were so blindingly fast they left nothing but afterimages.
Two more lethal whistles pierced the air, striking almost simultaneously.
One arrow embedded itself precisely next to the first wound, while the other angled itself fiercely just beneath the bear’s thick neck.
The immense agony caused by the three bleeding arrows erupted all at once, unleashing a furious, earth-shattering roar that shook the mountain forest. Dark red blood gushed from the wounds like three miniature fountains, quickly soaking the thick fur across its chest.
Seeing the bear charge through the pain, Qin Ming finally drew a heavy arrow and unleashed it at the oncoming beast.
This shot carried an immense, devastating force. Combined with a two-stone horn bow and an arrow shaft as thick as a thumb, this level of impact was powerful enough to pierce through enemy shields and iron armor at close range on a battlefield.
The moment the heavy arrow struck, the bear’s running momentum was entirely disrupted, sending its massive body rolling into the dirt and kicking up a mist of crimson blood.
“I’ll hack you to death!”
Seeing the black bear roll down into a ridge below the slope, the Village Head’s son, who had completely lost his senses to rage, charged forward while wielding a woodcutter’s cleaver.
“Mu An!”
“Get back! It’s not dead yet!” the old Village Head and the other villagers shrieked in terror.
Sure enough, the black bear was already struggling to its feet from the ditch.
Standing at its full height, the bear loomed over two meters tall, unleashing a deafening roar that reverberated through the entire stockade.
The Village Head’s son froze in his tracks, his previous rage instantly dissolving into sheer terror. With the bear standing just a few paces away, stretching its bloody jaws wide, it lunged violently toward him.
Right at this critical, life-or-death moment, a sudden flash of cold light sliced through the air.
A heavy felling axe struck the black bear’s head with tremendous force.
The razor-sharp blade split the bear’s skull in half, sending blood, shattered bone, and fur arcing through the air in a gruesome, crimson streak. It was a terrifyingly bloody sight.
“Ah…” The Village Head’s son stood frozen, completely traumatized by the scene.
Behind them, the hundred or so villagers who had just reached the top of the hill collectively gasped, the air catching in their throats. Time seemed to freeze as absolute shock and disbelief washed over every single face.
Qin Ming finally let out a long breath. Under the final, fading rays of the setting sun, his powerful silhouette resembled a towering iron pagoda. Holding the blood-stained felling axe, covered in crimson splatters, he looked like a god of slaughter reincarnated.
It took a long while before the other villagers finally gathered the courage to edge closer.
“The beast is dead!” two brave villagers shouted after poking the bear’s corpse a couple of times with their hoes.
“Damned monster!”
“Give me back my Xi’er! Oh, heavens…”
A crowd of villagers rushed forward, kicking and punching the bear’s lifeless body to vent their grief.
“Everyone, take it easy! Don’t ruin the bear skin, it’s worth a lot of money,” Qin Ming warned, feeling a sudden pang of anxiety as he watched them damage the carcass.
A bear’s body was a treasure trove, worth a fortune. Aside from the hide and meat, the paws and gallbladder were highly sought-after delicacies and rare medicinal ingredients.
In ancient medical texts, a bear’s gallbladder was regarded as an exceptionally precious medicine, holding the top spot among the four rarest traditional medicines, alongside tiger bone, ox gallstones, and musk. Meanwhile, bear paws were highly coveted by nobles and wealthy elites during this era, making them an incredibly rare delicacy. In the current market, both fetched exorbitant prices, though they were rarely ever available for purchase.
“Get back, you lot!” Seeing that the crowd had no intention of stopping, Qin Ming charged back into the fray with his felling axe.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, he raised his axe and brought it down with clean, decisive strokes.
Four heavy, precise chops severed the thick tendons and bones connecting the bear’s paws. He claimed the four heavy paws one by one, tossing them straight into a thick cloth bag he had prepared around his waist, the viscous blood instantly soaking through the fabric.
Then, he crouched down and skillfully reached into the massive wound torn open by his heavy arrow. He plunged his arm almost entirely into the warm abdomen of the bear, feeling around for a brief moment before pulling back with a sharp tug.
A firm, dark-green gallbladder the size of a fist, still radiating body heat and dripping with blood, was ripped out cleanly. The sac was tough and bursting with bile. Completely indifferent to the thick, metallic stench of the blood, Qin Ming carefully slid the gallbladder into a specially prepared waterproof leather pouch and tied the opening securely.
With everything secured, a satisfied smile finally broke across Qin Ming’s face. He had hunted this bear solely to make money. As for grand ideas like enacting justice or ridding the people of a menace, those were luxuries he would only care about after his stomach was full.
Just as Qin Ming turned to step away, the old Village Head suddenly dropped to his knees right in front of him.
“What are you doing?” Qin Ming stammered, caught completely off guard.
“Master Qin, your valor today is unmatched. You have rid our Mu Family Stockade of this man-eating beast and saved us all from total ruin. On behalf of the entire village, I bow to you in deepest gratitude.”
“Thank you, Master Qin!”
Seeing the chief kneel, the rest of the villagers followed suit, kneeling down and bowing their heads to the ground in deep reverence.
The sight of Qin Ming single-handedly hunting down the black bear had left the villagers utterly awestruck. Especially that final blow, splitting the bear’s skull with a single swing, displayed a level of courage and raw strength that made him look like a celestial being descending to earth. Thus, alongside their immense gratitude, the villagers felt a profound awe and fear of Qin Ming’s terrifying power.
“Please, everyone, stand up.
Qin Ming quickly helped the old village head to his feet.
“There’s no need for this.”
“Master Qin, we’ve already prepared food and wine at my house.”
The old man smiled warmly.
“Tonight, you must join us. It’s the least we can do to express our gratitude.”
“That sounds perfect.”
Qin Ming laughed.
“To be honest, I’m starving.”
Surrounded by grateful villagers, Qin Ming followed the village head, Mu Quan, back to the stockade.
After arriving at Mu Quan’s home, Qin Ming shed his blood-soaked clothes, washed the grime and blood from his face and body.
Only then was he invited inside to join the evening feast.