Cunning Taoist

Crash—

The Taoist stumbled into the wall, his clothes sweeping up the grass and dust around him.

"Cough, cough..."

His ribs on the right had pierced through and mangled half his lung, making him cough up several mouthfuls of bright-red blood.

"Roar!"

Seeing that he was badly injured, Chen Guan did not stop. Instead, he charged forward a few more steps, dropping from an upright stance into a low run, then suddenly raising a forepaw and bringing it down in another swipe that whistled through the air!

A Taoist with the uncanny ability to see his little sister—

He could not be allowed to live, nor could he be given any chance to catch his breath.

Who knew what abilities he might have?

Chen Guan had learned from Bandit Brother and the others that "when pulling up the grass, you must dig out the roots."

"Bear... Lord..."

Seeing the Black Bear charging at him again, the Taoist no longer had the high spirits he'd shown upon entering the temple. Weakly pleading as if he were leaking air, he mustered what strength he could and rolled to the side.

He had barely rolled a meter away.

Thud!

Unable to stop in time, Chen Guan struck the wall behind the spot where the Taoist had been, leaving a deep crater and cracks that spread outward.

Rustle—

Even the Dilapidated Temple trembled slightly, dust and grains of sand shaking loose from the roof beams.

"With such might... I'm done for..."

A meter away.

Half-reclining on the ground, the Taoist lifted his head a little and looked at Chen Guan, who was over a meter tall even crouched beside him, and at the very human fury on Chen Guan's face.

In that instant, he became even more certain that Chen Guan was a demon that had gained supernatural powers!

Otherwise, how could an ordinary black bear have such might? And be so humanlike?

Whoosh!

After his paw missed, Chen Guan quickly turned around and lowered his head to look at him.

Most of the Taoist's face was now stained with blood.

The roll had shifted his fractured bones, worsening his internal injuries. More blood poured out, masking his pallor.

"B-Black Bear... Grandpa..."

When the Taoist saw the Black Bear Spirit raise its paw again, he fought through the air leaking from his blood-starved lungs and made one final plea.

Gurgle...

As soon as he finished speaking, blood flooded his windpipe, and he fell into shock and unconsciousness.

Not even a second later, his chest stopped rising and falling. His breathing ceased completely.

But—

Chen Guan could still hear a faint sound of breath, and he could see yin energy slowly seeping into the Taoist's nose and mouth.

He was replacing normal breathing with the sort of cultivation breathing one saw in mythological dramas.

Fortunately, Chen Guan had Yin-Yang Eyes and could see yin energy.

His sharp hearing also let him sense that the hand pinned beneath the Taoist seemed to be moving.

And then there was the yin energy gathering around him.

It looked as if he were forming a spell.

"Roar!"

Seeing this, Chen Guan wore an expression that said, You're still pretending to be dead? He raised his other paw and brought it down toward the Taoist's head.

As the paw fell—

The Taoist suddenly opened his eyes and used his last breath to curse him clearly: "You treacherous demon, you're no better than your ancestors!"

As he cursed, he thrust his half-formed spell toward Chen Guan's paw.

But the spell was unfinished. As he swung his hand, the yin energy scattered into the air.

It's over... That was his final thought.

Then—

Crack!

Chen Guan's paw came down like a landslide, not only breaking the Taoist's hand and knocking it back, but also carrying on with enough force to smash his head in with a thud.

Blood and a foul stench splattered throughout the temple.

A few drops of blood even landed on the lips of the lofty statue of a deity, giving it a taste.

Meanwhile—

From the moment Chen Guan rushed in to the moment he killed the Taoist, it had seemed like a long time, but in reality only a dozen or so seconds had passed.

Only then did Xiao Qing recover from her fear and lingering dread. Without saying a word, she threw herself against Chen Guan, not caring that his face and chest were drenched in blood.

It was just that Chen Guan's blood and yang energy were a little too strong.

After hugging Chen Guan for a few seconds, Xiao Qing felt some pain and pulled away. Then, worried and anxious, she asked:

"Brother, are you hurt? Did that bad man injure you?"

"Roar." Chen Guan shook his head, then glanced at the headless corpse beside him.

If anyone had been badly hurt, it was clearly the Taoist.

"Brother, you're amazing!" Hearing that her brother wasn't hurt, Xiao Qing immediately cheered.

"Roar..." Chen Guan pointed at the Taoist's corpse, asking Xiao Qing to control some objects and search it.

The vines wrapped around his body had been woven for him by Xiao Qing.

Then Chen Guan pointed toward the back courtyard and struck a "cool big brother" pose, as if saying he was going back to sleep.

"Brother, go get some rest!" Seeing that her brother wanted to sleep, Xiao Qing obediently said goodbye.

Chen Guan nodded and slowly returned to the side room.

Once inside, he went to the corner.

Chen Guan lifted the paw he'd used to strike the wall, then rubbed it against the ground, kneaded it, and shook it out.

Damn... that hurts like hell...

Chen Guan's paw hurt badly. He figured he'd sprained it.

Because "every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

Especially since the wall was made of stone, while he was made of flesh.

That furious blow had definitely hurt.

But his little sister had been nearby.

He hadn't wanted to worry her, and he'd wanted to preserve his image as her dependable big brother.

I'm fine.

The night deepened.

Twenty li away.

Constable Yan was resting inside a cave in the mountains with two constables and several skilled martial artists.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Mountain winds swept through, illuminating their faces with the flickering firelight.

Their weary expressions came into view.

After a brief silence,

one of the martial artists cupped his fists toward the Constable in the lead and said:

"Brother Yan, we've been searching with you for days. Where exactly has that Black Bear Spirit run off to? Can you even find it?"

"Exactly!" another man chimed in. "Constable Yan, I've always admired you, but we've been wandering around the mountains every day these past few days. I'm so bored I could grow feathers!"

"Quite right." A carefree Knight-Errant lounged against the mountain wall. "Brother, you should return to town and attend to official business soon.

"I don't want the money for finding the bear and catching the demon anymore.

"Let's just say I've been keeping you company outside town and helping you clear your mind."

They had accompanied Constable Yan in his search for nearly half a month without seeing so much as the bear's shadow. Their enthusiasm had begun to fade.

Even so, they had kept going because of their friendship with Constable Yan.

At the very beginning,

with a reward of five hundred taels on offer, the "bear-hunting team" had numbered more than thirty.

But after searching and searching with no results, people had gradually come and gone until only these five remained.

"Rest assured, brothers!"

Now,

seeing that these five brothers were still keeping him company, Constable Yan spoke with heartfelt sincerity:

"I beg you all to stay for another half a month.

"When that time comes, whether or not we find the bear demon, I'll take fifty taels of silver from the yamen and divide it among you.

"It's a token of my gratitude, not an insult to your dignity."

At this, Constable Yan added with a smile, "I know you brothers are heroes of the martial world and never care about money.

"But this small token...

"Surely you'll accept it?"

"This..."

"Brother, how could you say that?"

"Since you've put it that way, we can hardly refuse!"

"Exactly, exactly. If we kept refusing, we'd look petty..."

Hearing that they would receive "hardship pay" even if they failed to find the Black Bear, the men had nothing more to say.

They were all brothers, and they'd all share the silver.

Late at night.

Outside a small village.

Rumble—

Heavy rain began to fall from the sky.

It had been an ordinary thunderstorm night.

But outside the village, at an unremarkable mound of earth,

the soil shifted, and half a human figure suddenly emerged.