At the Brink of Life and Death, Goudanzi's Eyes Awaken; a Strange Manifestation Stirs Wang She

"Big Sister, New Year's almost here!"

A festive mood filled the little mountain village on the outskirts of the Vast Cang Mountains. New Year was almost here.

This year was nothing like the years before. In the six months since Wang Tianlei had returned, he had galvanized the whole village. Not only had they brought back several times more game than in previous years, they had suffered hardly any casualties. More game meant more income, and more income naturally meant better lives. Even the old swindler in the village, whom Wang Tianlei had roped into teaching people to read, would get a few meals of meat this New Year. The young women and wives of every family could buy a few lengths of patterned cloth and make themselves a new padded jacket or two. Even Goudanzi had received a new outfit. With their standard of living rising and the annual celebration upon them, the whole village naturally brimmed with festive cheer.

Zhou Hua's belly had grown another size larger than a month ago, and her face had rounded out too. She was now the Wang Tianlei household's most closely guarded treasure. His parents would not let her do a scrap of work. Every day she did nothing but eat and sleep, sleep and eat, while they waited for the melon to ripen and fall from its stem-for her to give them a big, chubby grandson.

This was practically the death of Zhou Hua.

Girls from mountain families began helping with chores as soon as they could run about, at four or five. After working for more than ten years, she really could not adjust to suddenly being made to rest.

But what could she do? The old couple considered her far too precious.

So these days, Zhou Hua could do nothing. Whenever she had time on her hands, she sat by the wall behind the house, stroking her swollen belly and squinting in the sunshine. Over the past few days, however, the weather had turned ugly. The sky was gloomy, and a fierce north wind blew, as though snow were coming. She had therefore moved indoors, where a stove burned and a thick cotton curtain hung over the doorway. Charcoal glowed bright red inside the stove, keeping the room as warm as spring, every bit as comfortable as the air-conditioning in Goudanzi's previous life.

Goudanzi often came over to chat with her too. In truth, he was taking the opportunity to read the Flameheart Method a few more times. He feared his memory might be faulty; if he misremembered even one acupuncture point, he would be in serious trouble.

Seeing Goudanzi come skipping over, Zhou Hua smiled. "Yes, New Year's almost here. Want your lucky money, don't you? Don't worry, you'll get your share!"

"Hehe, you're married now, Big Sister, so you have to cough up too!" Goudanzi chuckled. In this mountain village, even at the absolute most, a child's New Year lucky money amounted to only a copper coin or two-a token gesture. Goudanzi did not really care about it.

The siblings sat in the warm room, chatting on and off. Wang Tianlei had not gone into the mountains; he was still leading a group of young, able-bodied men through boxing practice on the open ground north of the village. None of them had gone hunting these past few days. For one thing, their haul over the preceding months had been plentiful enough to cover everyone's food and expenses. For another, the weather had grown cold, the north wind had started blowing, and snow would soon follow. The beasts in the mountains were all cunning creatures. Before the winter snow came, they had already laid in ample stores of food, and by now they had probably crawled into their dens to await it. Even if the hunters went into the mountains, they were unlikely to find much game. Better to use this spare time to practice their boxing and coordinated battle formations, in hopes of an even greater harvest after the snow.

Time flowed amid that rich festive atmosphere. Goudanzi chatted with Zhou Hua for a while, then found a chance to take out Wang Tianlei's copy of the Flameheart Method and glance through it again before putting it back, satisfaction showing on his face. Seeing that it was getting late, he prepared to head home.

"It's so late already. Why go back? Stay and eat here!" Zhou Hua urged.

Goudanzi quickly shook his head. "No, if I get home any later, Mother will scold me again!"

Zhou Hua smiled. "So you do know Mother will scold you? Then spare her some worry and behave yourself from now on!"

"I know, I know!" Goudanzi waved his arms impatiently and ran outside.

He ran fast, because dusk had already fallen. If he got home any later, he would get another scolding. But just as he reached the woodshed and was about to leave through the courtyard gate,

A tremendous crash came from inside the courtyard, followed by a scream.

"Big Sister?!" Goudanzi stopped dead, his heart clenching. That had been Zhou Hua's scream. What had happened?

With no time to think, Goudanzi snatched a woodcutting blade from the ground, turned, and rushed back into the courtyard.

The moment he entered, he saw Zhou Hua stumble out of the room, her face filled with terror. Hearing her scream, Wang Tianlei's father also rushed out of a side room.

"What happened?!"

Wang Tianlei's father was not particularly old, only around forty, and he was still strong. Seeing Zhou Hua stagger out in panic, he hurried to her side and steadied her.

"A bear! A bear! There's a bear!"

"Roar...!" A tremendous bellow erupted from inside the room. Then the poor little room's doorway and wall collapsed together, and a black bear more than ten feet tall charged out.

"A bear?!"

It really was a bear!

Goudanzi felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

He knew the worst had happened.

Living on the outskirts of the Vast Cang Mountains, he might not know much else, but he certainly knew about bears coming down the mountains to forage in winter.

Bears were at their most savage at this time of year, when they needed to store enough energy to survive the winter. There had been incidents before when bears, unable to find enough food and driven beyond endurance by hunger, had come down the mountains to forage. Each time, the village had suffered terrible casualties. Only by paying in human lives had they finally managed to drive the bears away. But such incidents were uncommon, happening only once every several years, so nobody had given them much thought. Who could have imagined they would encounter one today?

"Aah-!"

A cry of agony reached his ears, along with two screams. The cry came from Wang Tianlei's father. Seeing the black bear charge toward Zhou Hua, he had rushed forward without hesitation. It was not that he felt such profound affection for Zhou Hua; what he was desperate to protect was the child in her belly. Unfortunately, strong as he was, he had no advantage whatsoever against this towering, terrifying black bear. Before he could even reach it, a swipe of its paw caught him on the shoulder and sent him flying. When he tried to rise again, he had not a scrap of strength left.

The black bear had no interest in him either. Its glossy black eyes remained fixed on Zhou Hua and her belly. In its little head, this strange creature with the enormous belly seemed especially appealing.

Goudanzi drew a breath and raised the woodcutting blade in his hand. He was afraid-terrified out of his wits. His legs shook, and so did his hands. But when he saw Zhou Hua trip and fall, and the black bear suddenly lunge at her, hot blood surged into his head. Courage sprang from somewhere he could not name, and with a shout, he raised the blade and charged.

The black bear glanced at the tiny figure charging toward it and paid him no heed. Though it was a wild beast, as one of the few formidable creatures on the outskirts of the Vast Cang Mountains, it could easily judge an opponent's strength. This little thing was not even as strong as the scrawny monkey that had charged it before. He was not worth mentioning.

Thump-!

The outcome was never in doubt. Just like Wang Tianlei's father before him, Goudanzi was sent flying by a swipe of the black bear's paw. It showed him no mercy for being a child. His body was lighter than Wang Tianlei's father's, so he flew even farther, slamming straight into the courtyard wall with a dull crash.

"Urgh-ah-!"

Goudanzi let out a strange cry. The moment he opened his mouth, blood spurted out, and his body bounced twice on the ground.

Is it over? Am I finished?

Lying on the ground, Goudanzi had not lost consciousness. This puzzled him too. With a body like his and injuries like these, he had somehow not passed out. It was something he found both difficult to understand and difficult to accept.

He had never been the sort to sacrifice himself to save others-or at least, he thought he should not be. Faced with something like this, his first reaction ought to have been to run away at once. Even he had not imagined that he would rush forward in a hotheaded attempt to fight a black bear head-on. Now he regretted it. Yet even amid that regret, his body still felt an urge to force itself upright and charge again.

But it was only an urge. Though he had practiced martial arts, after taking a blow from a bear's paw and such a heavy fall, his whole body felt as though it had come apart. The only thing he could do was lift his eyelids a little.

He struggled to open his eyes. Through the haze, he saw the black bear open its great jaws to bite Zhou Hua. From somewhere, strength came to him. Goudanzi thrust both hands against the ground and actually stood up. Then, just as he was about to charge, his body jerked to a halt. Suddenly, his head felt as though it were about to explode. The pain was so intense that he could no longer endure it. He doubled over, clutched his head, and lowered it, howling furiously.

"Aaaah-!" Goudanzi howled like a wild beast, startling the black bear just as it was about to bite Zhou Hua. It raised its head in bewilderment and looked at Goudanzi, who had stood up and was now roaring madly. It seemed unable to understand why this little monkey could withstand such a beating. In the mountain forests, one swipe was generally enough to kill a monkey this size. It had never seen one so tenacious.

By now, Goudanzi had fallen into a strange state. The headache was only the beginning. He could not understand what had gone wrong with his body. Every muscle began to spasm and twitch. Before his eyes lay darkness-no, it was a sea of blood. He struggled to open his eyes, but all he could see was a boundless blood-red haze.

My eyes-why can't I see?! Amid the searing pain, Goudanzi struggled to open his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, all he saw was blood-red.

Why is this happening? Have I gone blind?! Extreme terror surged into his heart, accompanied by pain so fierce that he could no longer spare a thought for anything else. What he wanted most now was to hurry up and faint, or simply die, so he would no longer have to suffer this torment. Yet things refused to go as he wished. He remained conscious-terribly conscious. At least, he felt more clearheaded now than he ever had before.

"Urgh... aah...!" Goudanzi howled again. This howl was louder than the last, and it made the black bear even more irritable-so irritable that it slowly moved away from Zhou Hua and began walking toward him. It wanted to dispose of this shrieking monkey first, then return to enjoy its prey.

It did not notice, nor could it have noticed, the uncanny light flickering in Goudanzi's eyes. None of the others caught in danger there noticed either-except for one person!