Chapter 287: Chapter 241: The Bear Gall is Gone
When Xing San collapsed, Zhao Jun was stunned. Even with his two lifetimes of experience, he’d never seen hunting like this.
’The bear’s hugging the tree, it’s a sitting duck. It’s not even moving, so why didn’t you aim before you shot?’
’And so what if you miss? That’s no reason to fire a shot, leave the bear unharmed, and then drop to the ground yourself.’
But complaining was one thing; he still couldn’t just leave the old man.
Zhao Jun quickly slung his gun over his back and hurried to Xing San’s side.
Luckily, the bear was still in the tree. With the dogs below, it wouldn’t come down. Otherwise, Zhao Jun would have had to deal with the bear *and* the old man, which would have been a huge mess.
Up close, he saw Xing San’s eyes were shut tight and his lips were trembling. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his face was flushed and contorted in pain.
Remembering Xing San had a heart condition, Zhao Jun didn’t dare move him. He just knelt and called out softly, "Sir, sir!"
Hearing Zhao Jun’s call, Xing San’s eyelids twitched, but he couldn’t open them. His lips trembled as he stammered, "Med... medicine... in..."
"In your pocket?" Zhao Jun saw how much effort it took for him to speak and quickly tried to finish his sentence for him.
"Mmm..." It was a long, drawn-out sound, and Zhao Jun couldn’t tell if it was a groan of pain or an affirmation. Either way, he reached into the pocket of the old man’s cotton-padded jacket.
Xing San’s pocket was like a treasure pouch. Inside was a tobacco pouch, a matchbox, and even a small cloth bag he’d prepared for the Bear Gall.
Zhao Jun sighed softly. ’With skills like yours, you’re still dreaming of Bear Gall?’ he thought.
He saw two matchboxes and opened them one by one. The first really did contain matches, but the other held small black pills.
When Zhao Jun had gotten the medicine and prescription from Xing San before, the old man had told him the dosage. Zhao Jun pinched out two pills and put them in the old man’s mouth.
The pills were a decoction made from a primary plant ingredient and other medicinal herbs. They took effect remarkably fast.
Of course, heart medicine is useless if it’s slow-acting.
About a minute after the medicine went into his mouth, the old man’s groans grew louder, and the unhealthy flush on his face began to fade. Worried he might catch a cold, Zhao Jun used the sleeve of his own jacket to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Another two minutes passed before Xing San’s eyes snapped open. He blinked rapidly, his eyes now bright and clear, though still watery.
"Kid," Xing San said, his voice much stronger now. "Help me up."
"You got it." Zhao Jun carefully helped him to his feet, letting him lean against a nearby tree for support. Then he asked, "Sir, I’m going to shoot the Black Bear. Will you be alright here by yourself?"
Xing San shook his head and waved his hand, signaling he was fine.
Zhao Jun took the gun from his back, stopped about thirty meters from the Black Bear, raised the weapon, and aimed.
The truth is, when you’re shooting, the longer you aim, the less accurate you become.
You bring the gun to your cheek, sight the prey, quarter the target with the Gun Star, and then you pull the trigger.
"BANG!"
With the crack of the gunshot, the Black Bear fell right out of the tree. The four dogs scrambled out of the way as a dark mass plummeted down, landing heavily on the ground.
Snow flew up from under the tree amid an incessant chorus of barking. The four dogs instantly swarmed it, pouncing on the Black Bear and biting down.
But the Black Bear rolled over and got back on its feet. With a swipe of its claws, the four dogs immediately retreated.
The Black Bear glanced left and right, spotted Zhao Jun, and leaped forward to attack him.
Zhao Jun’s previous shot had entered under the Black Bear’s left armpit, pierced through its chest, and finally embedded itself in its right arm.
Now, the wounded Black Bear charged, but Zhao Jun had already reloaded and was taking steady aim at the Bear Head.
Seeing the Black Bear about to attack its master, Hua Xiao’er pounced from behind and bit down hard on the bear’s rear.
Normally, the Black Bear would have ignored Hua Xiao’er and continued its charge toward Zhao Jun, but today, every bite to its backside sent a wave of excruciating pain through it.
The Black Bear immediately spun around. Hua Xiao’er wasn’t in a blood frenzy, though; the moment the bear turned, the dog bolted.
Just as Zhao Jun was about to fire, he saw the Black Bear turn and vanish from his Gun Star’s sight, so he quickly held his fire.
If he had missed that shot, the four dogs, conditioned to the sound of the gun, would have lunged at the bear. When the Black Bear counter-attacked, the hounds wouldn’t be able to dodge in time and would certainly be injured.
Zhao Jun moved the barrel of his gun, searching for the Black Bear, only to see one bear and four dogs engaged in a chase on the hillside.
The bear would chase one dog, while the other three chased the bear from behind, biting its rear when they caught up. The Black Bear would then turn to chase the dog that just bit it, and the other three would once again gang up on the bear.
A scene like this was a rare sight indeed.
It was simply because a bite to its wounded backside was too painful—a pain that made the Black Bear forget everything else.
Watching the Black Bear being led on a series of shuttle runs by the four dogs within a hundred-meter radius, Zhao Jun slowly lowered the muzzle of his gun.
This wasn’t a good time to shoot. Since none of the dogs were hurt, it was better to let them wear down the Black Bear’s stamina first.
He knew this bear had spent all winter hibernating in its den. Its stomach was empty, it had been smoked out by a fire, and it had just taken a bullet. It wouldn’t have much energy left for long.
It was better to wait a little longer than to shoot now.
The Black Bear seemed to have lost all reason. As soon as it felt the pain in its rear, it would turn to pounce on a dog. After more than ten minutes of this, its roars grew weaker and its attacks became increasingly chaotic.
Suddenly, the Black Bear let out a mournful howl, dove into the snow, and instantly went still.
At once, the four dogs swarmed it, pouncing on the motionless Black Bear and biting ferociously.
"What happened?" Zhao Jun, watching from a distance, was dumbfounded. He hadn’t even fired a second shot, so how did the bear just die?
’Could it be playing dead?’
It was well-known that because of their incredible vitality, bears would sometimes play dead. The moment a person got close, the bear would launch a surprise attack.
The four hounds were all over the Black Bear, viciously clamping down on parts of its body, shaking their heads and using all their strength to tear at it.
Meanwhile, Zhao Jun remained at a distance, cautiously keeping his gun aimed at the Black Bear.
He was afraid the bear was playing dead.
After about three minutes, seeing that the Black Bear hadn’t moved at all despite being torn at by the dogs, Zhao Jun finally felt at ease and began to walk slowly toward it, his gun still raised.
Even then, he didn’t let his guard down. He kept his gun pointed at the Black Bear’s head right up until he was standing over it.
Seeing that it still hadn’t moved, Zhao Jun was finally reassured, but he was baffled as to why the bear had suddenly died.
Though he was suspicious, Zhao Jun ignored the Black Bear for the moment and turned to check on Xing San.
Xing San seemed to have recovered by now. He was slowly shuffling toward Zhao Jun, saying weakly as he walked, "Kid, I’ll help you turn it over."
"Don’t even think about it," Zhao Jun said, quickly waving him off. "Sir, you just rest. I don’t need your help." With that, Zhao Jun slung his gun over his back, shooed the dogs away, and grabbed one of the Black Bear’s arms to flip it over.
He didn’t know how much the Black Bear weighed before it hibernated, but now it was only around two hundred pounds. Zhao Jun heaved it over, pulled the Invasion Blade from the small of his back, pierced its throat, and sliced downward.
But when the blade cut through the chest, he saw that the cavity inside was completely empty.
Just then, Xing San arrived at his side. Seeing the situation, he shouted, despite his weakness, "Where’s the Bear Gall?"
Comments