Chapter 246: Should I Have Known?

The moment Su Wangchuan saw that scene, a chill ran through his heart.

No wonder Captain Zhao had called this giant bear the Mountain God!

With that thick hide, fur, and fat, even if an Armor-Piercing Arrow managed to break its skin, an ordinary hunter would never be able to truly injure it.

Fortunately, Su Wangchuan had cultivated the 《Black Tortoise Art》, and his realms in 《Archery》 and 《Five-Finger Rapid Flick Technique》 had just broken through. They were already far from low.

BANG!

Su Wangchuan nocked an arrow at high speed…

Four more Armor-Piercing Arrows infused with internal energy slammed into the giant bear’s body.

Because the bear was drawing closer and closer, one of Su Wangchuan’s Armor-Piercing Arrows struck with perfect precision—straight into the bear’s mouth!

The bear let out a wail, agony tearing through it, and it immediately reached up to yank out the Armor-Piercing Arrow buried deep in its oral cavity.

But with a sudden rip, the wound sprayed blood in a fan.

A heavy gush of fresh blood burst from the bear’s mouth. The sight was almost too horrible to look at.

“The giant bear is hurt!”

“Helm Leader is mighty!”

“It is running!”

“Stop it!”

“A black bear that big? Its paws and gallbladder must be worth a fortune!”

Su Wangchuan stopped them at once.

“Do not go!”

“It is already poisoned. It is as good as dead.”

“Everyone, keep killing snakes!”

Only then did the crowd understand.

Zhao Heiniu stared in shock.

He clearly had no idea when Su Wangchuan had poisoned the Armor-Piercing Arrows.

Of course he did not know!

For this operation, Su Wangchuan had prepared with extreme thoroughness. To deal with any sudden emergencies, he had deliberately coated his Armor-Piercing Arrows, his Hundredfold Steel throwing knives, and his Armor-Piercing crossbow bolts with poison.

If he truly ran into an expert from the Five Poison Sect, then even if that opponent had Third-Rank cultivation, he would not be afraid.

The giant bear’s oral cavity and face had been wounded by the Armor-Piercing Arrow. The vicious poison of the Five Poison Sect had penetrated deep into its body, draining one point of health per second. Even if it had a thousand points of health, it could hold out for no more than ten-odd minutes.

As the bear fled into the distance, Su Wangchuan arranged for one person to follow it from far away and keep it in sight. Everyone else continued clearing the Snake Den.

Sure enough…

Ten-odd minutes later…

The man who had followed it came back to report.

“Helm Leader!”

“The giant bear is down.”

Everyone burst into joy.

Su Wangchuan nodded. “There are not many venomous snakes left here at the Snake Den. In a little while, we will go over and collect the corpse.”

In truth, he felt a faint sense of regret.

Just now, he had glanced at his status. After the 《Five-Finger Rapid Flick Technique》 hit the bear’s mouth, its experience had risen by quite a bit, reaching 1387/5000.

This time, there was no way to push the 《Five-Finger Rapid Flick Technique》 all the way into the realm of Perfect Mastery.

If he could push this technique into Perfect Mastery, he should also be able to create a martial arts manual for the 《Five-Finger Rapid Flick Technique》.

A Second-Rank martial arts manual was far more precious than 《Archery》.

Ten taels of gold for a single copy!

Before long…

No more venomous snakes emerged from the Snake Den.

No one knew whether they had been cleared out completely, or whether the snakes inside had been frightened into hiding.

“Move!”

“Find the giant bear!”

At Su Wangchuan’s order, everyone put away their bows.

With someone leading the way, they quickly found the giant bear, barely clinging to life.

It lay prone on the ground, still as tall as an adult man.

“Good heavens!”

“Hauling this thing back will be a tremendous merit!”

Zhang Cha’er was so excited that he stroked the bear’s fur, stammering, “Incredible. This, this, this… truly incredible.”

Su Wangchuan looked stunned.

“How much can this giant bear sell for?”

“Helm Leader, this is not about money at all.”

Zhang Cha’er hurried to explain, brimming with excitement.

“A giant bear like this has strength comparable to a Third-Rank or even Fourth-Rank martial artist. It is a rare treasure. I remember that someone once shot a white tiger, and they laid that pelt beneath a gang leader’s seat. It looked unbelievably imposing! After that, many gang bosses said they would buy such rarities. Some can sell for a hundred taels of gold!”

“A hundred taels of gold?”

Su Wangchuan had not expected the giant bear he had lucked into killing today to be worth so much.

“A hundred taels is only the ordinary purchase price.”

“In truth, this thing is simply priceless on the market. You cannot find it even if you have money.”

Zhang Cha’er continued enthusiastically.

“Two years ago, someone found a top-quality pelt and put it up at an auction. It drew bids from many gangs and sold for an astronomical price of over three hundred taels of gold!”

As he spoke, he gestured at the bear’s body. “That pelt was not even this big! This one is definitely worth more. Look—those arrow wounds are barely visible.”

Su Wangchuan’s heart stirred.

So this meant that a single trip outside had not only advanced his training, but he had also picked up several hundred taels of gold out of nowhere?

That was absurdly lucky.

“What a pity.”

“The bear’s flesh and blood are poisonous now, so it is no longer clean. Otherwise, if we cut out the heart and the gallbladder, those alone would be worth a great deal. Bear paws are also a delicacy.”

Zhang Cha’er smacked his lips and shook his head.

Su Wangchuan spoke decisively.

“Butcher it on the spot. Peel the pelt for me and take it back.”

“Helm Leader Zhang, you will direct everyone.”

“Yes!”

Everyone immediately got to work.

It took roughly half an hour before they finally peeled the pelt off intact, all of them drenched in sweat and splattered with blood.

The pelt alone weighed over two hundred jin. It took several people carrying baskets together to haul it down the mountain.

By late afternoon, the group returned fully loaded.

…

That night, a pack of wild wolves found the bear’s corpse and began to gnaw at it—only to be poisoned to death nearby.

The night wind was bitter cold.

Icy moonlight spilled over the dense spread of snake corpses.

A lone figure paused for several breaths by the lake, then followed the enormous bear-paw tracks left by Blackwind Stronghold and found the skinned giant bear’s corpse.

A face covered in hideous scars lifted toward the bright moon, revealing an expression of cold savagery, eyes brimming with killing intent.

“Who!”

“Who was it?”

“How dare you slaughter the snake sons and grandsons left behind by my sect’s Snake Elder, and skin the divine beast of our Holy Sect!”

“No matter who you are, I will make you repay blood with blood!”

The furious roar carried through the night wind like the cry of a solitary, wintry owl—harsh, shrill, tearing through the sky.

…

Su Wangchuan still did not know he had already become someone’s target for vengeance.

After returning to the Sanjiang Branch Helm, he immediately ordered people to properly treat the giant bear’s pelt, wipe away every trace of blood and grime, and then set out overnight for Sanhe Commandery.

He had already decided on the road.

Keeping such a thing for himself was inappropriate.

Selling it…

was also inappropriate.

He did not lack money anyway.

A few hundred taels of gold…

He would rather give it to Old Seven.

As a rarity seldom seen, this was absolutely a gift given with real thought.

When he brought the intact giant bear pelt before Old Seven and spread it out in the hall, the bear’s fierce presence from life seemed to perfectly match the Caobang hall.

“Good!”

“Good!!”

“What a treasure!!!”

Old Seven—usually calm and steady—rarely showed such open excitement. Facing the lifelike bear-head pelt, he praised it three times in a row, then laughed loudly at Su Wangchuan.

“You brat!”

“You really are not someone who stays out of trouble!”

“You actually skinned the Five Poison Sect’s guardian divine beast of a helm and brought it back.”

Su Wangchuan felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him from a clear sky. He stood there gaping, his throat gone dry, his heart trembling.

The Five Poison Sect’s guardian divine beast?

“So this thing… had an owner?”

Old Seven narrowed his eyes with a smile and nodded, asking, “You did not know?”

Su Wangchuan’s smile turned bitter. More than anything, he wanted to say: Should I have known?