Bear Blockade—Go Fetch Desert Blade!

After the Bearman knocking-at-the-door incident that night, Feng Gu and the others planned to leave Que Mi Village as soon as dawn broke.

They would abandon the goods and take a long detour back.

They would treat it as though they had been intercepted by bandits this time. Better that than losing their lives.

Yet a few words from the Village Chief frightened Feng Gu badly.

Their group had injured the Bearman severely. With the Bearman's vengeful nature, it would never let them off.

Que Mi Village had many people, so the Bearman dared not come. But they had only this handful of people and could never escape the Bearman's pursuit.

The Bearman might well be waiting at the village entrance, waiting for them to leave before following them and finding a chance to strike.

This was no groundless rumor. Merchant caravans had already died because of it.

"So now, we either risk heading to the next town, or we find a way to kill this wounded Bearman." Feng Gu's expression was far from pleasant.

"Yes, that's the truth of it." Lu Xingshi knew there was another way: staying in Que Mi Village.

He could stay. Once a master from some famous great sect or reclusive sect fated to meet him came knocking, he could leave directly.

But Feng Gu could not. If he remained in this tiny village, what would happen to the merchant company? As the Young Master, he had no shortage of responsibilities.

The goods were gone, and if the people did not make it back either, the losses would be immense.

"Come to think of it, the Bearman has wreaked havoc for so long. Why has the Imperial Court made no move at all?" Lu Xingshi asked a crucial question.

Claiming they could not defeat it was a little absurd. If nothing else, they could hire a few martial world experts.

"They have launched three or five campaigns against it, but the Bearman is cunning. Whenever it encounters armored, weapon-bearing soldiers, it burrows into the mountains and forests, then emerges again once the heat has died down."

"The last Mountain Search was a month ago. Not only did the Bearman evade them, it even used a sudden Rainstorm to drag off a soldier."

"Later, bandits appeared near the County Town, and the troops had no choice but to be transferred back. That is why the matter has been delayed until now." Hearing Lu Xingshi's question, the Village Chief sighed and explained the reasons.

It was not that they had done nothing. The Bearman simply relied on the terrain, along with the extraordinary gifts of a Mutant, to escape every campaign against it.

Then bandits were discovered around Youping County, and the soldiers conducting the Mountain Search were recalled to deal with them.

The Bearman's depredations only affected those traveling along the Official Road between Floating Goose Town and Que Mi Village. At worst, they could simply take another route.

But if the bandits plundered Youping County, the consequences would be enormous.

Naturally, the bandits had to be dealt with first.

Yet the bandits were not easy to handle either. Even now, the bandits in Youping County had not been eliminated.

When Feng Gu heard about the bandits, his face turned somewhat green as well.

Your region really was blessed with outstanding people and fertile land—first the Bearman, then bandits. Was this Trade Route about to become unusable?

Bandits were a roaming breed of criminals, the sort merchants most dreaded encountering. They were unlike those Grass Bandits who occupied mountains and declared themselves kings. Those bandits had territories, so they generally did not attack merchant caravans or trading companies. At most, they collected a Toll; they would not drain the pond to catch every fish.

Roaming bandits were different. They robbed wherever they went and cared nothing for what came after. They had no territory or reputation to maintain, so naturally, they stole as much as they could.

Thus, even if Feng Gu had not encountered the Bearman, he might still have run into bandits in Youping County. This journey truly had not been peaceful.

Even if it was only a possibility, he felt that since they had already encountered the Bearman, running into bandits did not seem like such a great stretch.

"Then... what should we do? We can't stay locked in a stalemate with the Bearman forever."

"Now that Brother Lu has severely wounded the Bearman, could we use ourselves as bait and kill it?" Feng Gu wanted to settle the matter once and for all.

More importantly, killing the Bearman could raise the reputation of their Peaceful Merchant Company around Youping County and help them open up Trade Roads.

Of course, the main thing was allowing them to leave safely.

"I can't beat it." Lu Xingshi said so immediately. The Bearman could go berserk; he could not.

If he died and had to create another Game Villager, it would cost one hundred million Gold Coins. He had no intention of spending such a huge sum over something like this.

He had money, but he was not going to squander it so recklessly.

Lu Xingshi's words left Feng Gu slightly embarrassed.

"Then what about a Trap—" Feng Gu had not finished before he was interrupted.

"The Bearman's hide is thick and its flesh tough. Ordinary blades and swords cannot harm it, unless we have this Young Hero Lu's Innate Divine Strength to help us," the Village Chief said.

In their eyes, Lu Xingshi possessed Innate Divine Strength. Otherwise, he could never have injured the Bearman. It was not as though the soldiers had never tried.

"However, rest assured, everyone. The County Town has invited a Great Hero to come exterminate the Bearman. He should arrive within the next few days," the Village Chief added.

"A Great Hero? Who is it?" Feng Gu hurriedly asked. This was indeed a fine idea, but a martial artist capable of exterminating the Bearman would likely need to be a First-Rate Expert.

"I do not know for now, but I heard he is called Desert Blade." The Village Chief did not know much about the martial world. He rarely left the village and had never involved himself in it, so how could he know?

"Desert Saber Gao Li!"

"It is actually this expert from the Desert North Golden Saber Sect. I have heard of his reputation."

"He is already a First-Rate Expert now, and his Yellow Sand Saber Technique is even more exquisite. I never thought the Imperial Court could invite him to head Southbound and resolve this Bear Blockade." Feng Gu's mood visibly improved.

"For Great Hero Gao to have such a reputation, he truly is remarkable." The Village Chief was somewhat surprised as well. He had thought a minor nobody was coming; the nickname was certainly wild, but true ability was all that mattered.

"Of course."

"According to rumors in the martial world, Great Hero Gao supposedly..."

As he spoke, Feng Gu recounted some of Desert Saber Gao Li's deeds. Everyone listened with great interest.

He had challenged several desert bandit strongholds in succession, or traveled down to Jiangnan to duel some Great Hero or another. In short, his stories carried every shade of legend.

As for how much was true and how much was false, no one knew.

Lu Xingshi was considering whether this person might belong to one of the great sects fated to meet him.

After asking about the Golden Saber Sect, he learned that it could not be considered a great sect. It was famous because of the prestige Desert Blade had fought for, not because of the Golden Saber Sect itself.

It was a classic case of an individual driving an entire force forward.

"With Great Hero Gao, whose name shakes the Desert North, here, the Bearman will surely be exterminated!" Feng Gu concluded.

Lu Xingshi did not hold such high hopes. He would have to see just how strong a First-Rate Expert was.

Moreover, from the deeds Feng Gu had described, the man's martial prowess truly seemed inferior to that of the mutant Bearman.

If they really fought, the chances of defeat would still be high.

Especially if he underestimated his opponent—then the outcome would inevitably be miserable.

But Lu Xingshi did not say any of this. This was not the time to dampen morale; it was enough to keep it to himself.