However, things were not as smooth for William Carter and his group as outsiders might have imagined. After the three of them charged into the forest on horseback, they too were constantly hindered by branches and thickets—how could they possibly compare to the elk that had grown up and thrived in these woods? In no time at all, the white deer vanished from sight, its tracks covered by the carpet of withered yellow leaves.

The three were quite unwilling to give up and expanded their search area. Unexpectedly, instead of finding the elk, they discovered a huge creature on the other side of the forest, along with a disheveled traveler who was facing off against it.

Chapter 9 Philip Scott

Philip Scott was sprawled on a locust tree. His clothes, once fine Lu gauze with embroidered patterns bought in Taoyi, had been torn to shreds by branches as he fled for his life, now reduced to rags. The towering Chu-style high hat on his head had vanished without a trace, and he had lost one of his shoes, making him look utterly bedraggled.

But he had no time to feel sorry for himself, because the danger beneath the tree had not yet passed. A massive black bear was huffing and roaring furiously. It gnawed at the trunk with its sharp teeth while battering and scratching it with its huge paws. After a while, it reared up to nearly one and a half times the height of a man, a striking crescent of white on its chest. Its powerful paws gripped the trunk as it shook the tree with all its might.

The not-so-thick locust tree was already covered in wounds, its bark nearly gnawed off in a ring. With each blow from the bear, the tree shook violently.

Philip Scott could only cling tightly to the branch, one hand gripping his sword as he tried to scare off the bear: “Thief! Go away, get away quickly.”

But it was useless. In a moment of carelessness, he even dropped his sword, his only weapon. Now, Philip Scott felt so desperate he wanted to die.

“Didn’t my divination this morning say it would be extremely auspicious, even the sign of ‘the dragon appearing in the field’? By rights, I should be meeting someone of great fortune! How could I end up in a situation like this?”

Philip Scott was very confident in his skills of divination and the Book of Changes, and felt that something must have gone wrong somewhere. But now was not the time to think about that—the black bear below was intent on tearing him to pieces!

Just then, he suddenly saw three fully armed young men on horseback in the distance. They had dismounted and were quietly sneaking over, with the leader signaling him to keep silent.

Philip Scott quickly swallowed the cry for help that was about to burst from his throat, nervously watching as the three hid themselves in different bushes.

Smart! Philip Scott silently praised them in his heart.

The black bear below, its eyes bloodshot and consumed by rage, did not notice the three little yellow birds sneaking up behind it. The youths drew their bows and arrows, and from three different directions, loosed three arrows.

Thud, thud, thud—the black bear’s huge body was an easy target, and all three arrows hit… but the archers’ skills were clearly uneven. Two of the arrows merely scratched an itch for the bear, while only the leader’s arrow struck a vital spot.

The bear, enraged by the pain, became even more furious. It gave up trying to force Philip Scott down from the tree and instead turned to seek out the humans who had hurt it.

Philip Scott breathed a sigh of relief, but now worried for the three youths. After a whole year of fattening up, a black bear’s paw was at its most succulent in this season, but its hide and flesh were also at their thickest, making it hard for ordinary arrows to kill it.

The bear paused only briefly before charging forward with overwhelming force, its fur bristling—a sign of its madness and rage. Its steps thundered on the ground as it rushed straight at the three youths.

In that short moment, the three hunters in the bushes had already nocked their arrows for a second shot. At the leader’s command, they loosed another volley. This time, all the arrows struck vital points in a frontal assault. The bear was blinded, and the leader’s arrow pierced through the thick hide and flesh, stabbing into the bear’s heart…

The black bear staggered forward a few steps, then finally collapsed with a heavy thud. Only then did the three mounted youths emerge from the bushes—it was William Carter and his two lieutenants.

……

William Carter looked at the massive body of the fallen black bear and couldn’t help but exclaim at their luck. If that volley hadn’t brought it down, the three of them would have had to flee for their lives, leaving the unlucky fellow in the tree to his fate.

He glanced at the bedraggled traveler sprawled awkwardly in the tree. Not far away was a completely destroyed carriage, and the horse had broken free and run off, nowhere to be seen. Provoking a black bear preparing for hibernation, full of pent-up rage from being woken, was a very serious matter.

Stephen Ford and Matthew Hill were excited—it was their first time bringing down such a large prey. William Carter, however, remained cautious. He approached to a safe distance and, not caring about damaging the valuable bear hide, shot a few more arrows into the bear’s corpse. Only when it stopped twitching did he approach the locust tree, now stripped of bark and on the verge of collapse.

“Sir, this beast has been slain by us. You can come down now.”

The traveler, who didn’t know how long he’d been tormented by the bear, was parched and exhausted. Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief, let go, and fell straight from the tree, immediately passing out.

William Carter was completely speechless at this fool. He picked up a water skin and splashed cold water on the man’s face, while Stephen Ford and Matthew Hill discussed how to drag the massive black bear out of the forest.

“Cough, cough, cough…” Soon, the traveler was choked awake, looking around in confusion.