Hero

"Roar~"

In the forest to the east.

An old man and a young boy were huddled in the crevice between two massive boulders.

Outside the crevice, a black and white striped tiger, fully three meters in length, loomed.

Its sword-like teeth snapped open and shut, and its thick, powerful paws were reaching into the gap.

Clatter, clatter—

As it clawed, its sharp talons scraped against the rock faces on either side of the crevice, slowly carving away layer after layer.

The gap was gradually widening.

These two rocks had once been a single piece, split apart years ago and eroded by rain, leaving them far from sturdy.

"Help..."

By now, the sweet, metallic scent of fresh blood was drifting through the air.

A deep gash had been torn into the old man's thigh, soaking his patched, faded gray shirt in blood.

He had suffered the wound while fleeing, cut by the sharp edges of the rocks within the crevice.

"Grandpa..." Behind the old man was an eight-year-old child.

His eyes were brimming with tears.

He could hear his grandfather's cries growing weaker and weaker.

"Someone, please save my grandpa..."

The child was terrified, instinctively gripping the old man's withered hand tight within the narrow confines of the crevice.

"Woof-roar!"

Hearing their weak voices and catching the sweet scent of blood, the tiger began to widen the gap even faster.

But just then.

"Roar!"

The ground nearby seemed to tremble slightly.

Rumble—

From the side of the two boulders, a massive black bear, truly like a speeding carriage, slammed violently into the tiger outside the crevice!

"Hoo-roar!"

Seeing such a massive black bear, the tiger was instinctively startled.

It immediately abandoned the two in the crevice, pushing off with its hind legs in an attempt to dodge the charge of Chen Guan.

Seeing the tiger leap backward, Chen Guan pressed his advantage, pushing forward in one continuous motion.

When he was a meter away, Chen Guan used the momentum of his charge to launch himself, slamming a bear paw into the tiger's torso before it could regain its footing!

Thud!

A dull, heavy sound echoed.

The massive bear paw struck with such force that even the three-meter-long White-Browed Tiger had its spine shattered instantly.

Hiss—

The agility of a feline was truly formidable.

The moment its spine was broken, the tiger's sharp claws left deep gouges in Chen Guan's left arm, tearing through skin and flesh.

"Motherfucker!"

Feeling the injury to his arm, though the pain had yet to fully register, Chen Guan's eyes widened, his primal beast-nature ignited.

The next second.

With his uninjured paw, Chen Guan—driven by his ignited beast-nature—easily hoisted the nearly six-hundred-pound beast and slammed it violently against the rocky ground!

Boom!

A sickening sound of bones and flesh being crushed filled the air.

The tiger, which might have struggled for a long time, had its head and body deformed by the immense force of the impact, its breath silenced instantly.

Blood splattered outward from the tiger's head.

"Roar!"

Having killed the tiger, Chen Guan's breathing finally steadied, and he turned his gaze toward the old man and the child.

They looked at the Black Bear Spirit with even greater fear now.

Chen Guan ignored their terror, using his uninjured paw to strike a few heavy blows, completely widening the crevice that had already been expanded by the tiger.

"Run..." The old man, having lost too much blood, was now too weak to move.

He used his final ounce of strength to urge his grandson to flee.

Chen Guan had no time for words, nor did he have time to worry about the grandson who refused to leave; instead, he reached his bear paw toward the vine around his waist.

Hanging on the left side was a small bottle containing herbal powder for healing wounds and stopping bleeding.

It was loot taken from a Taoist.

Pop.

He struggled to pry the stopper open with his fingertips.

Chen Guan poured some onto the old man's wound, tore off a corner of the old man's shirt, and with some difficulty, tied a knot for him.

"Bear..."

The child had been watching Chen Guan with wariness and panic, but seeing this massive bear seemingly saving his grandfather, he was at a loss for words.

Everything was just too miraculous, too bizarre.

"Roar."

After bandaging the old man's wounds, Chen Guan saw his own injuries were minor and decided to save the medicine.

Subsequently.

Seeing the old man drift into a coma-like rest, Chen Guan pointed at the bottle and then at his vine, signaling for the child to help him tie it back on.

The vine currently served as Chen Guan's Storage Waist Belt.

Besides the medicine, it was also tied with an Insect-Repelling Sachet and a Protective Cloth Charm his younger sister had made for him.

It was nothing more than a few scraps of colorful fabric sewn together.

But just then.

Rustle, rustle.

Footsteps emerged from the woods not far away.

Simultaneously, an angry shout rang out!

"Black Bear Spirit! Release that child!"

As the shout faded.

Constable Yan and a group of martial artists appeared one after another, holding bows drawn to their full extent.

At this moment, seeing these people pull their bowstrings taut as if to attack the bear, the child panicked, stumbled a few steps, and fell in front of Chen Guan.

But he quickly scrambled back up, stood straight, and spread his arms to shield Chen Guan.

"You..."

The child's actions caused everyone to pause their offensive, looking at him in confusion, unable to comprehend the situation.

Yet, at this moment.

Though the child's figure appeared exceptionally tiny before Chen Guan's massive frame, he mustered all his strength and shouted:

"Uncles, please, don't hurt the big bear..."

The child cried out, his voice choked with tears and pleading.

"What?"

"Don't hurt the Black Bear Spirit?"

"He..."

"This child..."

Constable Yan and the others grew even more bewildered upon hearing this, their bowstrings instinctively lowering.

However, their gazes remained fixed on Chen Guan.

For a moment.

Chen Guan stared at the constable and the others.

The constable and the others watched Chen Guan with equal wariness.

Truth be told, facing the arrows of so many experts, Chen Guan felt quite panicked inside.

In such an open area, Chen Guan was not confident he could survive.

Is this the end of my life?

Chen Guan cast a glance toward the distant Dilapidated Temple, then looked at his vine, realizing he hadn't had the chance to say goodbye to his sister.

If he didn't return tonight, she would surely be heartbroken, right?

She thought he didn't want her anymore, and she also thought something had happened to him.

At the same time.

Constable Yan and the others faced this Black Bear Spirit, as well as the mangled tiger on the ground in the distance.

Their hearts were filled with panic.

If not for the fear that a volley of arrows might accidentally harm the child in front of Chen Guan.

And the fear that a few arrows wouldn't kill the bear, only inciting its bestial nature.

They would have fired their arrows from the very beginning.

But now, they were mostly filled with confusion.

Especially Constable Yan.

He looked at the tiger, then at the wound on Chen Guan's arm.

He looked again at the child shielding Chen Guan, the bandaged unconscious old man, and the medical supplies Chen Guan had yet to bind up.

Right now, the medicine was in Chen Guan's hand.

In Chen Guan's hand were also scraps of cloth and bloodstains.

"Could it be..." Constable Yan was worthy of being a seasoned investigator; he quickly cleared his thoughts and connected the events.

Even if this answer and line of reasoning sounded somewhat unbelievable.

It was clearly "acting with chivalry!"

It was a bear, a Black Bear Spirit that was likely a monster, acting with chivalry!

"Could it be... could it be... that I was wrong?"

Constable Yan felt that his previous pursuit seemed to have been a mistake.

Those mountain bandits had perhaps been seen by the Black Bear killing people, and only then did it strike to slay them.

Chen Guan, meanwhile, was keeping an eye on the crowd while trying to find a way to retreat or fight to the death.

He could not die today.

He still had many things left to do.

And while Chen Guan was searching for a way out.

Constable Yan calmed his nerves, and amidst the strange gazes of the crowd, he cupped his hands toward Chen Guan:

"Black... Bear... it... it was Yan who misunderstood, here... here..."

As he spoke, he didn't know if the Black Bear could understand him.

But the next second, he turned his sword-wielding right hand and slashed a large gash into his left arm.

Bright red blood quickly soaked his torn sleeve.

"Lord Yan!"

"Brother Yan!"

The martial artists were confused and wanted to step forward, partly to bandage Constable Yan, and partly to prevent the Black Bear from suddenly attacking.

"Everyone, no need..."

Constable Yan's right cheek twitched in pain, but he endured the wound, held his precious blade in reverse, and cupped his hands toward Chen Guan once more:

"Days ago, I pursued... Senior Bear... it was this junior's mistake...

Today... seeing Senior Bear perform such a righteous deed, I regret my past actions; it was my... petty, prejudiced heart..."

With those words, Constable Yan bowed in apology, a gesture second only to kneeling before heaven, earth, the sovereign, parents, and teachers.

"This is..."

Chen Guan looked at him, then at the tense group of martial heroes.

He discovered that things were not as he had imagined.

Today, it seemed there would be no calamity.

It was all thanks to this little child.

"Roar."

The next second, amidst the astonishment and gasps of the crowd, Chen Guan nodded in a human-like manner, as if forgiving Constable Yan.

Furthermore, Chen Guan extended a bear paw, making a gesture similar to standing up.

Since the other party had admitted their mistake, and he couldn't necessarily defeat them all, then the pugilistic world wasn't just about killing and fighting—it was about human relationships and worldly wisdom.

However, this human-like action from Chen Guan caused a massive uproar in everyone's hearts.

"Good heavens! It... it can actually understand human speech?!"

"I thought Brother Yan was exaggerating, I thought it was just a big black bear... but... it really is a demon?!"

Seeing this, everyone felt their scalps go numb; they never expected it to truly be a great demon bear!

Clatter—

At the same time, one of the martial arts experts was so terrified that his hands shook uncontrollably, causing his precious saber to clatter to the ground.

Only the child remained standing in front of Chen Guan, believing the big bear to be good.

"ROAR!"

Seeing that everyone was losing their wits, Chen Guan feared someone might accidentally release an arrow—and arrows have no eyes—so he held back much of his strength and pushed the child to the side.

Once the little one who had helped him resolve this calamity was standing in a safe area, Chen Guan looked back at the dazed martial arts experts.

"Do you have any secret manuals?"

It seemed the hostility had been turned into friendship for now.

Since apologies were meaningless, he might as well ask for something practical.

Perhaps due to his experiences with transmigration and reincarnation, Chen Guan possessed a steady heart; once a crisis was resolved, his thoughts jumped ahead quite quickly.

The next second, Chen Guan quite openly picked up a tree branch and wrote down his request for manuals, along with a few questions regarding cultivation, to see if they knew the answers.

"This..."

"Secret manuals?"

"A demon can cultivate human martial arts manuals?"

"Not only does he understand human speech, he can even write human characters..."

However, this was truly everyone's first time seeing a demon.

And a great demon at that, one who understood human language and speech!

Now, as they looked at Chen Guan, who was busy writing and making demands, it was no longer just shock or panic they felt.

It was as if they were witnessing the strange tales of folklore unfolding clearly before their very eyes.