The Legend of Great Bear Immortal

8:00 PM.

North of the town.

Chen Guan spent two hours weaving through alleys, traveling from his home near the town center to the outskirts bordering the mountain forest.

The public order in this town was excellent.

At this moment, the nightlife was just beginning.

At a glance.

Chen Guan saw merchants and peddlers weaving through the crowds, and the shops on both sides were brightly lit.

"Fortune Gambling House! Step inside and take a chance! Turn your luck around!"

"Oh, sir~ wouldn't you like to come and play? Our girls are all so fresh and lively~"

Accompanied by the constant calls of touts, many people were out on the main street looking for fun and entertainment.

Chen Guan felt that it was truly lively here; he hadn't seen so many people in several years.

I've been practicing martial arts every day for these past few years, I've almost practiced myself into seclusion.

Suddenly seeing so many people, and noticing a brothel madam staring at him from ahead, Chen Guan felt a bit unaccustomed to it all.

But if it were his past life's self, he would have asked straightforwardly, "Is this a respectable establishment?"

If it were respectable.

Then he would be respectable too, and wouldn't go in.

Lost in thought, Chen Guan looked at a large restaurant ahead.

It was built beside a small bridge and stood over five stories high.

In terms of height, it completely dwarfed every other building on the street and appeared incredibly grand.

The foot traffic there was also the heaviest.

This owner has some tricks up his sleeve.

Chen Guan scanned it a few times, but since he only had a little over a hundred wen in his pocket, he had no intention of lingering and instead quickly crossed the street and stepped onto the small bridge.

Meanwhile.

Inside a private room of the restaurant.

The restaurant owner was a middle-aged man with a fair face, though his left cheek was somewhat sunken.

He was the bandit leader.

Currently.

He was standing by the window, gazing at the night-shrouded bridge below, his eyes sweeping over Chen Guan without a moment's pause.

"Interesting, truly interesting.

Originally, I came here to dig tunnels and find treasure.

But after mingling for so long, I've ended up as a restaurant manager?"

The bandit leader sighed for a few breaths, feeling that life was too convoluted and too miraculous.

Because just seven years ago, he was still just an ordinary waiter in the shop.

To ensure the tunnel-digging plan.

He had worked diligently and built a good relationship with the previous manager.

But as he worked, because the previous manager had no heirs, he actually adopted him as a foster son six years ago.

Not long after that, the old manager passed away from illness, leaving a will that bequeathed the inn to him.

Thus, the bandit leader became the manager.

Especially since the money-making speed of this large restaurant was far greater than a hundred taels.

"Truly...

Fortune plays tricks on men!"

The bandit leader shook his head, then, hearing a knock on the door, withdrew his gaze from the window and looked at the two guests walking in.

"Haha, Military Officer Li, Civil Clerk Qin, I trust you have been well!"

He wore a hearty smile and gestured toward the table of dishes beside him.

"Two brothers, please!"

As for the money, he wasn't digging for it anymore.

He had grown fond of this life where he didn't have to hide and scurry about.

Whoosh—

Before long, the wind picked up.

Chen Guan crossed the small bridge and arrived at a quieter street.

Most of the shops here were jewelry stores, teahouses, salt shops, cloth merchants, and the like.

Chen Guan had originally intended to pass through in one go.

But just as he walked past a rather bustling teahouse.

His steps faltered for a moment.

"Today, we shall recount the tale of the pact between Constable Yan and the Great Bear Immortal!"

"Bravo!"

"Please, sir, tell us!"

"My brother and I came here specifically for this story!"

The storyteller's clear, articulate voice drifted from within the teahouse, accompanied by the cheers of the patrons.

Although Constable Yan and his men had never disclosed the whereabouts of the Black Bear Spirit, such a miraculous event was bound to spread.

This storyteller, for instance, had turned the tale of the Great Bear Immortal and the hero into a supernatural script.

Over the past year, it had become quite a popular piece of storytelling in Little Liuzi Town.

"Now, the Great Bear Immortal, upon seeing the White-Browed Tiger Demon..."

The storyteller's diction was crisp.

To make the performance more exciting, he had embellished the White-Browed Tiger into a full-fledged tiger demon.

As for Chen Guan, he was depicted as a great demon with centuries of cultivation!

At this rate, I'll be an immortal before long.

Chen Guan rarely paused at the entrance, but he stayed to listen for a while out of a sense of nostalgia.

"Behold, the wicked tiger demon lunged, but the Great Bear Immortal stood unmoved. With a single breath and a shout, he struck the white tiger dead..."

The storyteller brandished an iron folding fan, describing the day Chen Guan had acted with chivalry in a slightly exaggerated manner.

But it had to be said.

The rhythmic clacking of the iron fan as it opened and closed mimicked the sounds of spells and weapons clashing.

Coupled with the man's exceptional vocal skills—shifting from heavy, muffled tones to sharp, resonant cries that perfectly imitated various beasts—he brought the story to life with vivid detail.

"Well done!"

"Saving lives and slaying the ravenous tiger! The Great Bear Immortal is truly a marvelous spirit!"

The guests inside the teahouse, cracking melon seeds and shelling peanuts, couldn't help but clap and cheer at the exciting parts, as if they were witnessing the scene themselves.

It was Chen Guan's first time hearing a story about himself in person, and finding it amusing, he couldn't help but applaud from the doorway.

"Gentlemen, care to come in for a cup of tea? Rest your feet?"

Just then, as the performance concluded, a teahouse waiter walked to the entrance, beaming with a smile as he invited Chen Guan and a few other passersby inside.

"Alright..." One passerby, thin-skinned and embarrassed to have listened for free, stepped inside.

"Next time, next time..." The others simply walked away.

"I won't be having any tea." Hearing his own story told so well, Chen Guan took out a dozen copper coins and placed them into the hand of the waiter, who had instinctively reached out with a fawning smile.

"Here—"

Chen Guan tilted his chin toward the storyteller, who was currently resting and sipping tea on the stage.

"Give that to the gentleman, a small token of appreciation."

"Right away, young master!" The waiter bowed and scraped, then probed, "Would you like to leave a message?"

"No need." Chen Guan shook his head. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed the storyteller's gaze sweeping toward him.

Meeting his eyes, Chen Guan smiled slightly and nodded.

Seeing the young lad standing there with a friendly smile, the storyteller, who had been relaxing, straightened up, rose slightly from his chair, and nodded back in return.

Tap, tap.

Chen Guan walked away.

The waiter followed him for a few steps before turning back into the teahouse. He approached the storyteller and dropped the fifteen copper coins into the collection tray.

"The young master tipped fifteen coins!"

The waiter announced it loudly, hoping to stir the generosity of the other patrons.

"That young master tipped fifteen coins..." The storyteller only then realized that the youth who had nodded to him earlier was the one who had tipped him.

Had he known, he wouldn't have just risen slightly to nod.

Out of respect and etiquette, he should have stood up and offered a proper cupped-hand salute.

Still, if they were to meet again, he would be able to return the favor.

It was because Chen Guan looked rather strange.

A child's face, a youth's physique, and slightly tall, rounded ears—the entire person was just bizarre.

Such an appearance was very easy to remember.

As he recalled Chen Guan's look at this moment, he clicked his tongue in wonder, yet felt a tinge of regret.

This young master's peculiar appearance surely marks him as a man of extraordinary talent! Not an ordinary person at all!

It is a pity... I failed to befriend him at first sight.

If I were to chase after him now to strike up a friendship, it would appear deliberate rather than a chance encounter.

Subpar, truly subpar.

The storyteller shook his head, and after a moment, snapped his folding fan open with a sharp crack. He stood up and looked at the tea drinkers, who had suddenly fallen silent.

"Honored guests, let us begin the second act. Constable Yan and the heroes of the pugilistic world arrive at Lai Mountain Rock, where they chance upon the chivalrous Great Bear Immortal..."