Chapter 256: Not A Single Good Thing
Yun Ce guarded the giant bear, which was in a deep coma, for two days.
Originally, after eating the flesh of the bear spirit, he found that its meat was very effective in repairing his dilapidated body. He immediately thought of the two pregnant women at home and prepared to finely cut this guy and take away the essence to nourish his two wives.
After further research, Doggy told Yun Ce that the energy density in this bear spirit’s flesh was relatively high, which was a great tonic for Yun Ce. However, it wasn’t necessarily good for E Ji and Zhang Min. They needed to consume all the energy within the bear spirit’s body before it could become a tonic for pregnant women and a supplementary food for infants and young children.
This time, he came out almost empty-handed, not getting any good things. It was rare to encounter a bear spirit that came to his door. If he missed it again, he could only return empty-handed.
As for how to consume the energy within the bear spirit’s body, Doggy suggested that waiting for it to wake up and fight until exhaustion and death would be a good method.
During these two days, Yun Ce meticulously protected the bear spirit, which was in a deep slumber.
Because of his protection, the flying birds in the sky and the beasts on the ground did not dare to disturb it. Yun Ce also tried his best to keep its wounds fresh. If they festered and became pus-filled, it would not be tasty.
Fortunately, the temperature was very low, and the wound did not fester, maintaining the freshness of the meat quality.
The giant bear woke up on the third day.
At that time, Yun Ce was packing up the tent. If the giant bear did not wake up, he was prepared to have Doggy forcibly awaken the dog bear spirit and then leave after finishing his business.
Seeing the giant bear open its eyes, Yun Ce stood in front of its head and smiled, “You’re awake?”
The giant bear was clearly still very weak. It propped itself up with its two sturdy forelimbs and sat up, looking down at Yun Ce, saying, “You saved me?”
Yun Ce shook his head. “You saved yourself.”
Yun Ce had seen dog bear spirits before, but this was the first time he had encountered a talking dog bear spirit, which sparked his curiosity.
The dog bear spirit supported its head with one paw and asked, “Were there no enemies pursuing me?”
Yun Ce shook his head. “If the few wild beasts I scared away who wanted to eat your meat don’t count as enemies, then there were no enemies pursuing you.”
“My back hurts a lot.”
The dog bear spirit tried to reach its short, thick arm to scratch its back but couldn’t due to the length. As it twisted its body slightly, large amounts of blood were squeezed out of its muscles, flowing down the inch-wide wound channel.
“You have a huge wound on your back, it’s very serious.”
“I can still endure it. After I eat you later, I’ll be able to recover some.”
Yun Ce looked at the giant bear sitting quietly and couldn’t help but say, “How can you say something so cruel in such a calm tone?”
The giant bear leaned its mighty body against a tree and said with some helplessness, “I was a bear before. This is how bears live. If you didn’t eat me while I was injured these past few days, I would have to eat you once I recovered. According to your human rules, it’s wrong for me to eat you, but I am severely injured now and unable to hunt for food, so I can only eat you to satisfy my hunger.”
Yun Ce pointed at the red date horse standing not far away and said, “Why don’t you eat it? It has a lot of meat.”
The dog bear spirit shook its head. “It runs too fast, and besides, its meat is poisonous. Your meat, though less, is fragrant and sweet.”
Yun Ce sniffed the air. “Have you eaten humans before?”
The dog bear spirit shook its paw. “Yes, cubs are the most delicious.”
Yun Ce nodded. “I think so too. I thought you must have eaten humans before.”
The dog bear spirit placed its forepaws on the ground, looking down at Yun Ce, and said, “Since you protected me, after I eat you, I will not eat humans unless necessary.”
Although the dog bear spirit spoke nicely, its forepaws had unknowingly moved very close to Yun Ce. As soon as it finished speaking, a giant paw swiped towards Yun Ce at the waist.
Yun Ce turned and ran. The giant bear lunged forward. Both of its giant bear claws narrowly missed Yun Ce each time, but he always dodged them at the last moment.
The giant bear’s stamina was truly remarkable. Even though it had just woken up, its movements were still as fast as lightning. However, it couldn’t sustain such strenuous movement for long. The tragic wound on its back severely hindered its agility. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the giant bear stopped, panting.
Looking at Yun Ce, who was still standing in front of it, it said, “Are you wearing down my strength?”
Yun Ce shook his head. “I am depleting your vitality. The meat of spirits like you contains a large amount of energy. If you eat it before your vitality is depleted, I, a warrior like myself, can withstand it and even benefit from it.
Your meat is too harsh for women and children. Only after your internal vitality is completely depleted will the energy in your meat become negligible. Furthermore, the meat quality will improve due to the residual energy. Thus, whether as a tonic for pregnant women or ground into minced meat as supplementary food for young children, the effect will be excellent.”
“You want to eat me?” the dog bear spirit’s voice was no longer merciful.
Yun Ce smiled. “I’ve already been eating you for three days. I roasted it for the first two days, and it tasted good, but it was a bit tough and hard to chew. This morning, I sliced your meat thinly and cooked it in a pot. It tasted great.”
“┗|｀O′|┛Aow~~”
The dog bear spirit roared and lunged at Yun Ce again. This time, its speed was superior to before. Yun Ce punched the bear claw swung by the dog bear spirit. With a bang, Yun Ce’s feet sank half a foot into the ground. The dog bear spirit’s right palm was firmly blocked by him, unable to advance further.
When the dog bear spirit swung its left paw, Yun Ce had already pushed the bear spirit’s right palm forward a few steps, simultaneously raising his left leg and bracing the bear spirit’s left palm with his foot. The man and the bear immediately entered a state of a wrestling match.
Although Yun Ce did not take this weakened bear spirit seriously, for the sake of E Ji, Zhang Min, and his child being able to eat well in the future, he was willing to use the technique of a whetstone to elevate the bear spirit’s meat to a higher level, reaching the most delicious state.
Just as the bear spirit and Yun Ce were roaring and wrestling, refusing to yield, a strong man over two meters tall emerged from the forest. Seeing Yun Ce wrestling with the bear spirit, he couldn’t help but stop and watch from the side.
Yun Ce was indifferent. As long as that tower-like strong man didn’t interfere with his plans, he didn’t care if he watched.
The dog bear spirit did not think the same. The moment it saw the strong man appear, it immediately retracted the force it was exerting on Yun Ce, turned around, and prepared to run.
Yun Ce leaned forward, grabbed its left foot, and roared while holding it, “Run, where do you think you’re going?”
The bear spirit’s forward momentum halted. Not only did it fail to escape, but it was also pulled back by Yun Ce. The bear spirit seemed unwilling to entangle with Yun Ce further. It exerted force with its three legs, and they once again entered a wrestling match.
“┗|｀O′|┛Aow~~”
The bear spirit’s howl was no longer filled with deterrence but mingled with a hint of pleading.
Seeing Yun Ce holding one of the dog bear spirit’s legs and still having the leisure to smile and greet him, the strong man said from the side, “You could kill it with one blow, why bother expending so much energy?”
Yun Ce replied, “There are pregnant women and children at home who need this creature’s meat for nourishment. If its vitality is not depleted, the meat will become sour.”
The strong man said, “You speak the truth. If it dies in anger, the meat will become tough. Since you have such insight, brother, you should completely crush its arrogant spirit.”
Yun Ce found the strong man’s words reasonable. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he freed one hand, raising it high and smashing it onto the bear spirit’s hind leg joint. With a ‘crack,’ Yun Ce’s punch actually broke the thick bear leg. The white bone pierced through the flesh, exposing itself to the sunlight with wisps of white vapor.
Dropping the bear leg, the red date horse quickly ran over. Yun Ce took a horse spear from the red date horse’s back. Before the bear spirit could recover from the intense pain, the horse spear was thrust into its other hind leg. After a few movements of the spearhead, it inflicted great damage on the bear leg, creating a two-foot-wide gash on that leg.
The bear spirit’s two hind legs were ruined. It could only prop itself up with its forelimbs, looking at Yun Ce, then at the strong man, and finally said to Yun Ce, “You are not going to spare me, are you?”
Yun Ce strode forward a few steps, raised his fist, and smashed it towards the bear spirit’s head. The bear spirit roared and braced itself with its claws. This time, Yun Ce pressed down, and the bear spirit resisted, entering another wrestling match.
Seeing that Yun Ce seemed a bit slow-witted, the strong man swung an iron chain, firmly locking the bear spirit’s neck. With brute force, he dragged the bear spirit’s massive body to an ancient tree, selecting a thick branch as a bridge to suspend the bear spirit’s body, leaving only the leg that was cut by the horse spear touching the ground.
To struggle for survival, the bear spirit could only grip the chain tightly with its two forelimbs. To fight for its last breath, once its strength failed, its body weight would fall on the injured leg, and with the increased force of the chain and the enhanced feeling of suffocation, it would have to exert all its strength again to grip the chain.
Yun Ce took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweaty face and said to the strong man, “Brother, you have great skill. So, the cut on this beast’s back was your doing?”
The strong man glanced at the channel on the bear spirit’s back and said, “It was just one strike. I don’t know why so much meat was lost.”
Yun Ce waved his hand awkwardly. “In that case, this prey is partly yours.”
The strong man shook his head. “I’m not very interested in bear meat. However, what it swallowed is very important to me.”
Yun Ce grinned. “May I ask what treasure it is?”
The strong man sighed. “It’s an old artifact from my clan, stolen by this bear spirit. I have pursued this creature for over two thousand li. Just as I was about to succeed, I did not expect it to fall into your hands. If you could return it, my entire Zhou Clan would be eternally grateful.”
Yun Ce looked down at his outer robe, which had been cut by the strong man’s blade, and said to the strong man, “Why is everyone like this? They speak humbly, but their actions are deadly. The dog bear is like this, and humans are also like this.”
The strong man’s thunderous strike was narrowly avoided by Yun Ce. After regaining his balance, he said with some regret, “I actually missed.”
