Chapter 7

“Sticky rice dumplings?”

Liu Axiang was puzzled. “Tiezhu, why did you bring sticky rice dumplings into the mountains? Are they for yourself?”

Wang Tiezhu smiled. “My mom made them for me. You’ll see why soon enough.”

Ever since his father was injured in a fight with a bear, his mother had always worried about what would happen if her son encountered a bear while in the mountains.

So, he always brought these sticky rice dumplings with him on his trips. And today, they were finally put to use.

The bear rummaged through the bamboo basket, grabbed the sticky rice dumplings, and started eating right away. They were fragrant, sweet, and perfectly suited to its taste. However, the dumplings were also incredibly sticky. As the bear ate, it smeared them all over its face. In no time, its face and even its eyes were covered in the sticky mess.

Now it was a real blind bear!

“Ah! Tiezhu!”

Liu Axiang exclaimed in surprise, “This bear is so dumb! It covered its own eyes! Tiezhu, you’re amazing! Now that the bear can’t see, can we escape?”

Wang Tiezhu looked at the bear stumbling blindly below, but instead of thinking about escaping, he was already eyeing its valuable parts. The family’s debts depended on this bear. Since it had eaten his honey, it had to pay the price.

“Xiangxiang-jie,” he said, “this beast has eaten our hard-earned honey and my sticky rice dumplings. If we just leave now, wouldn’t that be a waste?

You stay up in the tree. I’ll go down and kill it.”

“What?!”

Liu Axiang panicked. “Tiezhu, you shouldn’t! That bear is as big as a small mountain! You… You’re no match for it!”

“Don’t worry,” Wang Tiezhu reassured her confidently. “It can’t see anymore, so I’ll take my time with it. And we can’t stay in this tree forever. If night falls, other dangerous animals and poisonous insects might come out, and we’ll be even more trapped.”

“Alright, but be careful!”

Wang Tiezhu nodded. He then cut several thick branches from the tree, sharpened their tips, and tied them to his waist. Carefully, he climbed down the tree using a vine. When he was still five or six meters from the ground, the bear continued to stumble around, completely unaware of the danger approaching.

Wang Tiezhu pulled out a homemade spear from his waist, held his breath, aimed carefully—then leaped down. The spear plunged straight into the back of the bear’s neck.

Squelch!

The spear pierced deep into the bear’s flesh. Bright red blood gushed out like a fountain.

“ROARRR!!”

The bear roared in pain and went berserk, blindly thrashing around, trying to find its attacker. But Wang Tiezhu had already rolled away and sprinted to another tree, climbing it swiftly to observe the raging beast from above.

The bear rampaged for a while, but when it couldn’t find an enemy, it gradually calmed down—just a little.

Wang Tiezhu repeated the attack. One by one, he drove four more spears into the bear—its neck, belly, rear, and back—turning it into a living pincushion.

Blood gushed from all over its body, staining the ground red and filling the air with the heavy scent of blood.

The bear, losing too much blood, began to weaken. It panted heavily, foamy blood spilling from its mouth.

After staggering for a while, it finally collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, struggling to breathe.

Wang Tiezhu watched from the tree for a moment. When he was sure the bear was no longer a threat, he climbed down and approached cautiously. The bear’s breathing was growing fainter. He kicked it twice—no response.

“Time to send you on your way, beast.”

Without hesitation, he raised his last sharpened spear and plunged it into the bear’s heart.

Squelch!

“ROOARR—”

The bear let out one final roar before its body convulsed, limbs stiffened—then silence.

It was dead.

“Hah!”

Wang Tiezhu collapsed onto the ground, panting hard. It had taken nearly two hours to take down this beast, and he was utterly exhausted. After resting for a bit, he climbed back up the tree to help Liu Axiang down.

Liu Axiang had watched the entire battle, her heart pounding the whole time. Now, seeing the enormous bear lying lifeless on the ground and looking at Wang Tiezhu—his calm expression, resolute gaze, and muscular, blood-stained body—she couldn’t help but feel a flutter in her heart.

He was… incredibly manly.

Blushing, she said shyly, “Tiezhu, you’re amazing! You actually killed such a huge bear!”

Wang Tiezhu said, “Xiangxiang-jie, we need to handle this bear quickly. Look at all this blood—it’s bound to attract other wild animals soon.”

If another bear, a tiger, or even a wild boar showed up, they would have no strength left to fight.

Liu Axiang nodded. “But Tiezhu, this bear must weigh five or six hundred pounds! We can’t carry it back.”

“We don’t need the whole thing.”

Wang Tiezhu replied, “We’ll take the bear paws, gallbladder, and heart—those will fetch a good price.”

“Oh!”

With that, Wang Tiezhu pulled out his machete and got to work. After half an hour, he had gutted the bear and collected all the valuable parts.

Liu Axiang looked into the bamboo basket and pointed at something inside. “Tiezhu, what’s this? It’s so long… and black?”

Wang Tiezhu glanced inside and burst out laughing. “Xiangxiang-jie, this is a great tonic. Perfect for making medicinal wine.

It’s the bear’s… prized possession.”

“Prized possession?”

Liu Axiang froze. Then, realizing what it was, her face instantly turned bright red. She squeaked, “Ahhh! Tiezhu, you’re so bad!”

Yet, she couldn’t help sneaking another glance at the basket. Damn, this beast… it’s really that big?

Wang Tiezhu rolled his eyes. You were the one who asked—why are you blaming me now?

After packing everything up, he slung the basket onto his back. “Xiangxiang-jie, it’s getting late. We should head back. Tomorrow, I’ll take these bear parts to the county and sell them. I’ll give you your share of the money then.”

Liu Axiang shook her head. “Tiezhu, you killed the bear all by yourself. I didn’t help at all—I can’t take your money.”

“What do you mean you didn’t help?”

Wang Tiezhu said, “If you hadn’t reminded me, I wouldn’t have thought of this plan to deal with the bear. You played a part, so don’t refuse your share.”

“Alright then!”

Liu Axiang nodded. Then, with a soft voice, she murmured, “Tiezhu, you’re so good to me.”

Wang Tiezhu grinned. “Xiangxiang-jie, when I was a fool, you used to bathe with me and even scrub my back. You were good to me too.”

“Ahhh! Tiezhu, you—”

Liu Axiang’s face turned scarlet. “You… you still remember that?!”