Free Web NovelChapter 30: Chapter 30: A Great Harvest
Looking at the massive black bear, Xie Yuan couldn’t stop smiling.
What a huge score!
Bearskin, bear gall, bear paws... every part of a black bear is a treasure.
The last tiger sold for forty taels of silver. This big bear shouldn’t be much different!
Forty taels of silver!
With that, he could build a small courtyard home, buy a few sets of clothes, and eat meat at every meal for a long time. Then there were the medicinal soups, and even medicinal baths...
Forty taels of silver... people in a mountain village might not save that much money in their entire lives!
Xie Yuan let his imagination run wild with the possibilities for a moment, but then reined in his thoughts.
’Building a house can wait. As long as I patch up the drafts in my wooden cabin, it’s livable.’
’I’ll exchange these Silver Coins for food and medicine to increase my strength first.’
’Once I’m powerful enough, everything else will follow.’
As Xie Yuan recalled the life-and-death struggle with the bear, he suddenly felt a wave of relief.
A normal person could never fight a bear head-on. Even someone who had just started training in martial arts couldn’t do it. It would take a First Training Martial Artist at the very least.
He had encountered this bear completely unexpectedly, placing him in an extremely perilous situation.
Thankfully, he had his wits about him this time. His judgment had been sharp, and he hadn’t just panicked and run blindly.
The key to his survival had been circling the tree, exploiting the black bear’s clumsiness to slowly bleed it and impair its mobility. Looking back now, that was probably his only way out.
Although there were still some unexpected turns at the end, he had relied on a bit of raw courage, a desperate will to live, and a crucial stroke of luck—the axe landing not far from where he fell. In the end, Xie Yuan was the one left standing.
Luck is the best reward for those who fight with everything they have.
Xie Yuan checked the wound on his leg and let out a sigh of relief.
"Good, the bone isn’t injured. It was just a graze, but it still had so much power. If it weren’t for my Iron Cloth Shirt, it probably would have been much worse!"
"This black bear was surprisingly cunning. It knew to take the high ground, and it could even learn... For a bear, it was a little too smart.
"And its body was bigger than any black bear I remember, almost the size of a brown bear. I wonder if it’s a different species here, or if it was on the verge of becoming a spirit beast? It wanted this Spirit Fruit. Would it have really turned into a monster if it had won?
"So, I wonder what effect this Spirit Fruit has?"
Xie Yuan felt the fruit tucked in his shirt, planning to eat it as soon as he got back.
After resting for a while, he caught his breath and struggled to his feet.
He fell silent as he stared at the mountain-like black bear. Even though it was black, it looked even larger than the brown bears from his past life.
’How am I supposed to get this thing out of here? And my leg is busted.’
’I need to go back and get help... Right, Zhu Dongming is my only option.’
’I’d better hurry. A treasure this big is a feast for every animal in the forest. It’s only because it’s winter that something hasn’t already smelled it and come running.’
’Mmm, I’d better get moving too, just in case some other creature that doesn’t like to hibernate shows up...’
Xie Yuan tore a strip of cloth from his undergarment and tied it around his leg, then started limping down the mountain.
As he was about to leave the forest, he cautiously lowered his head and sniffed, making sure the Spirit Fruit wasn’t emitting its alluring fragrance. He pulled his lapels tight and headed for the village.
「Zhu Dongming’s home.」
Zhu Dongming, Chen Yun, and Zhou Feng were all in the house, sitting on small stools and warming themselves around a stove.
Even Wu the Fourth, who hadn’t fully recovered, was half-reclined on a chair nearby. All the Hunters from Little Rock Village were gathered today.
Zhou Feng rubbed his hands together, held them out to the stove, and sighed with contentment.
"This iron poplar firewood really burns hot!"
"Take a couple of bundles with you when you leave. Don’t worry, I have enough firewood to last until spring."
Zhu Dongming waved his hand, signaling for Zhou Feng not to be so polite.
Zhou Feng grinned.
"I couldn’t possibly, Brother Zhu. When spring comes, I’ll catch you a rabbit!"
Wu the Fourth grunted from his recliner.
"How long has it been since you caught anything? And you’re going to catch a rabbit for Old Zhu?"
"Brother Wu, it’s just that there’s nothing to be had recently, right? Otherwise, would we be sitting here warming ourselves by the fire and shooting the breeze? It’s winter, what can you do."
Zhou Feng threw up his hands.
"Every winter we eat through our stores. It’ll be a long wait till spring."
"Good thing we bagged that big one this year, otherwise this winter would have been tough."
Chen Yun was, of course, talking about the tiger.
The men all nodded. Zhou Feng recalled that hunt and sighed.
"It was all thanks to Xie Yuan... I haven’t seen him in a while. I wonder what he’s been up to?"
"I heard he went to Panlong Town to learn martial arts,"
Zhu Dongming said.
"Learn martial arts?"
Zhou Feng looked astonished.
"He took the tiger money to learn martial arts?"
Zhu Dongming nodded. freewёbnoνel.com
"Sigh. My Brother Yuan... I’m afraid he doesn’t get it. What’s the damn point of learning martial arts?" freewebnøvel.com
Zhou Feng shook his head and let out a long sigh.
Chen Yun and Wu the Fourth also felt it was a shame. They weren’t young anymore and knew Zhu Dongming well. They had seen plenty of cases where someone saved up a bit of money with great difficulty only to have it all go down the drain on martial arts training.
Zhu Dongming placed a piece of firewood into the stove and shook his head.
"I tried to talk him out of it, but it’s no use. Some things you have to learn the hard way."
The men sighed, lamenting the naivety of the younger generation.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Hearing the knock, Zhu Dongming set down the fire tongs, got up to open the door, and exclaimed in surprise,
"Yuanzi? What are you doing here?"
Xie Yuan was a little out of breath. Seeing all the Hunters through the doorway, he smiled.
"Perfect timing. Brothers, I have a job that I need your help with."
"What kind of job?"
The men perked up their ears.
They had nothing better to do anyway, and since it was Xie Yuan asking, they were quite willing to get moving.
"I ran into a black bear in the forest..."
"What! Where?"
"A bear in the middle of winter? How... Oh, did you find its den?"
"Let’s go, let’s go! Big game’s here! No, big game is here *again*!"
Seeing the idle Hunters’ excited expressions, Xie Yuan gave an awkward smile.
"No, I’ve already killed it. I just can’t move it by myself, so I was hoping you brothers could help. There’s a reward."
The men fell silent for a moment, then looked slightly disappointed.
"You killed it during hibernation? You’ve got guts. Fine, we’ll help you move a bear. No need for a reward. Where is it?"
But Zhu Dongming noticed the faint bloodstains on Xie Yuan’s leg and frowned.
"How did you get hurt?"
"The bear put up a real fight. I struggled with it for a long time and got a small injury. It’s near where we hunted the tiger."
The other men heard this and sensed something was off. They asked in surprise,
"You’re saying the bear was awake?"
"Yeah."
"Impossible! A black bear is definitely hibernating in this weather. And you were alone..."
Wu the Fourth didn’t finish his sentence, but he clearly didn’t believe it.
’Kill a bear alone? They say bears are even more dangerous than tigers. What a load of bull.’
"It’s true. The body is still there. If you help me bring it out, I’ll pay you."
Seeing his insistence, the men were now half-convinced and half-doubtful.
They had fought alongside Xie Yuan before and didn’t think he was the type to idly boast or play pranks.
Besides, he really was injured... Did he actually escape from a black bear’s claws?
The Hunters were full of shock and suspicion. Zhu Dongming stared at him and asked again,
"Yuanzi, are you serious?"
"I am. You’ll know once you see for yourselves. I wouldn’t joke about this."
Zhu Dongming and the others looked at each other.
’What should we do? Go take a look?’
They had nothing better to do, so there was no harm in going to see.
While Wu the Fourth stayed behind to rest, Zhu Dongming and the other two grabbed their gear and prepared to take a look.
It was hard to believe, but they figured they could at least do it as a favor to Xie Yuan for saving them last time.
Zhou Feng asked half-jokingly,
"Brother Yuan, how did you kill a bear all by yourself?"
"I’ve been training in martial arts recently and made some small progress. I only managed to bring it down through sheer luck,"
Xie Yuan said seriously.
Zhou Feng grunted, "Uh..."
"Martial arts... alright then. Brother Yuan, if we go and there’s nothing there, you’d better treat me to a meat dinner when we get back!"
"I’ll treat you whether it’s there or not."
Half a day later, the sky was beginning to darken.
A high-pitched shout echoed through Little Rock Village.
"Heavens! Folks! My Brother Yuan has killed another black bear!!!"
A commotion erupted in the village, and many villagers gathered around.
Xie Yuan bowed with his hands clasped to everyone.
"Everyone, please disperse! It was just a coincidence. And, uh, Brother Zhu and the others helped!"
He shot a look at Zhu Dongming, who understood immediately and spoke up.
"We worked together to take down a bear, but... Yuanzi still did most of the work."
"Yuanzi, Yuanzi! How do you do it? Hunting a tiger and now killing a bear! Are you still the same skinny beanpole Yuanzi we knew?"
"Yeah, yeah! It’s like Yuanzi’s a completely different person!"
"Exactly!"
Xie Yuan couldn’t stand hearing this. Wiping away imaginary sweat, he quickly said,
"I should let you all know, I’ve been learning martial arts in Panlong Town recently and made a little progress. That’s why there’s been a change.
"What’s all this about being a different person... I’m still the same old Yuanzi! Don’t spread nonsense."
Martial arts?
’Did he really make something of himself?’
The villagers were stunned and couldn’t help but ask,
"Yuanzi, are you a Martial Artist master now?"
"Yuanzi is a Martial Artist master!"
The rumor spread like wildfire. No matter how much Xie Yuan tried to explain, it was useless. Everyone now treated him as a true Martial Artist.
The way the villagers looked at him changed instantly, from seeing him as a down-on-his-luck junior to regarding him with a degree of reverence.
What was a Martial Artist? A Martial Artist was a status equivalent to that of a master or lord!
The only other Martial Artist from their village was now a high-ranking official in the county yamen! His younger brother strutted around the village, and not even the village chief dared to say a word against him!
And now, was the boy from the Xie family about to have his fortunes turn?
After the crowd dispersed, Xie Yuan shook his head with a wry smile. Seeing the other Hunters staring at him, he sighed.
"I’m not a Martial Artist yet."
"We can tell."
Zhu Dongming nodded, his expression complex.
"But you’re close enough."
Zhou Feng’s mouth hung open.
"Brother Yuan, learning martial arts... it’s really useful?"
Xie Yuan looked at Zhu Dongming.
"Brother Zhu, could I trouble you to handle this black bear for me? I’ll give you some silver afterward."
Silver?
Zhu Dongming and the others were startled and quickly waved their hands.
"We don’t need silver for moving a dead bear!"
"It’s fine. Brother Zhu, just help me sell it first, and we can talk about the reward later. Besides, I might have other things I need your help with in the future."
Xie Yuan said.
Seeing the Hunters idle today while he was busy with his training, an idea suddenly popped into his head.
Perhaps he could save time for his training and earn money at the same time.
Zhu Dongming was touched by Xie Yuan’s trust in him.
"Alright, Yuanzi, I’ll get you a high price for it! Don’t worry, I’ll keep the accounts crystal clear for you."
"Brother Zhu, there’s no need for such talk between us."
Xie Yuan said, conveying an unspoken understanding.
After taking care of everything, Xie Yuan spoke a few words with Sister Orchid, assuring her that he was fine. Then he returned home and locked the courtyard gate and the house door.
Then, by the light of the moon, he took out the glistening, jade-green fruit and examined it in his hand.
Others thought he had struck it rich by killing a bear, but his real prize was this.
A prize far greater than the bear he had hunted.
