Divide and Devour

Seeing that Zhou Ping and his son would not take the bait, the massive bear flashed a fierce, vicious light in its eyes. It pushed off the ground and charged at them, its upper body slumped and dragging like a rampaging zombie.

The two had long been on guard and stood far away, so the giant bear could not close the distance at all.

It managed to run for a few zhang before its spine, unable to bear the strain any longer, completely shattered. With a heavy thud, the beast collapsed to the dirt. Crimson blood soaked its fur as it let out a whimpering wail.

After a long while, the giant bear fell completely still.

Still uneasy, Zhou Minghu prodded it several times with his long staff. Only after confirming the giant bear was thoroughly dead did he truly feel at ease.

In the distance, the villagers watching the giant bear fall erupted into cheers.

"The black blind-bear is dead! The black blind-bear is dead!"

For a time, jubilant shouts echoed from all around the village. More and more villagers ran over from afar, jostling to the front just to catch a glimpse of the beast, only to be left palpitating in fear at the sight of it.

"Good heavens, this bear is massive! Those claws are bigger than two of my heads," a burly man exclaimed, involuntarily taking a step back.

Someone, shoved around by the people behind him, eventually tumbled right onto the giant bear's corpse. Startled pale, he hurriedly scrambled up and cursed, "Who pushed me? If you've got the guts, show yourself!"

"Hahaha, Ma Houzi, you aren't scared, are you?" another man teased with a laugh.

Ma Houzi's face flushed crimson. Flustered and exasperated, he lunged into the crowd, stirring up a small commotion.

A woman lamented sorrowfully, "It's just a pity for Li Lai's family. Every last one of them was bitten to death by this beast."

"Ah, it is a blessing our master is here. Otherwise, who knows how many more would have met with disaster," Qian Fangsu called out from the crowd, drawing continuous nods from the villagers.

"That's right. If the Village Head hadn't stepped in when he did, heaven knows how many more people this beast would have eaten."

"Exactly. We are lucky to have cultivators in our village. I heard wild beasts also broke into the neighboring Lin Family Village and bit several people to death in the night, and they still haven't caught it."

The villagers chimed in one after another, praising them until Zhou Minghu felt somewhat bashful, his cheeks tinging red.

Zhou Ping shot a rather surprised glance at Qian Fangsu. This lad was quite perceptive, knowing to build up the Zhou family's prestige at a moment like this. He had a promising future.

Immediately, Zhou Ping stepped to the front and declared, "As the Village Head, it is naturally my duty to safeguard the village."

"This black bear grew to such a massive size, it must have become a spirit beast. Eating its meat will nourish the body. Therefore, I have decided to stew a great pot tonight so everyone can have a taste. How does that sound?"

"Good!"

An old man sighed emotionally, "Wonderful. The Zhou family is truly generous."

Zhou Ping's decision to distribute the black bear meat was naturally a calculated move.

After all, summer was approaching, and the weather grew hotter by the day. This black bear meat could not be stored for long, and turning it into cured meat would ruin its quality. It was better to divide it up and harvest a wave of good reputation. At any rate, this black bear weighed well over a thousand jin. Keeping a few hundred jin would be enough to feed his own family for a good while.

In the distance, members of the Wang and Sun families emerged from their large courtyards, watching the glory of Zhou Ping and his son with endless envy. Some of the younger children gazed at them with yearning and worship. To them, these were great heroes.

Night fell.

Baixi Village was brightly lit. A massive bonfire roared to life beneath the large tree at the village entrance, with a great iron pot sitting beside it.

It took over a dozen strong men a full half-hour of strenuous work to skin the giant bear, pull its sinews, and butcher it clean. When they pried open the giant bear's bloody maw, a foul wind and vile blood spilled out; as the fluid hit the dirt, it let out a sizzling hiss.

The tough bear hide naturally went to the Zhou family. Zhou Ping planned to fashion it into several sets of leather armor. Zhou Minghu also extracted several jin of the bear demon's heart-blood and stored it in a gourd, intending to brew it into blood wine.

This gourd had been obtained from the fox demon during one of their later exchanges. It was not an offensive Magical Artifact, resembling instead the wine gourd of a high cultivator. However, because it was heavily damaged, it only retained a mild nourishing effect. Since demonic creatures were hard to come by, Zhou Ping had previously only used it to brew medicinal wine.

Now, with a bear demon right in front of him, he naturally could not miss the opportunity. The bear demon's heart-blood contained faint traces of Spiritual Qi. By sealing it inside the gourd with some medicinal herbs and letting it ferment for eighty to a hundred days, it could barely be considered a rudimentary spirit wine.

Once the heavy labor was mostly finished, a group of men gathered around the great bonfire, joking and laughing, bragging loudly about just how exhausting it had been to skin the giant bear.

The women, meanwhile, finished cutting the meat and brought out scallions, ginger, and other ingredients to cover the gamey stench. Some suggested roasting it, while others argued that stewing was better for the body. The bickering was lively and boisterous, though in the end, they decided to do a bit of both.

Every household brought something from their own pantries. The wealthier families brought out cured meats and mountain goods, while those struggling to get by picked a few fresh vegetables from their fields.

A great crowd gathered, holding bowls of savory meat soup and eating roasted skewers amidst waves of cheerful laughter. The children ran and played through the throng with boundless energy, treating the night like a grand festival.

Zhou Minghu, Zhou Changhe, and their brothers mingled in the crowd, blending right in with the villagers.

Zhou Ping held a bowl of bear meat soup, savoring it slowly. Strands of comforting warmth spread from his stomach out to the rest his body, making him feel exceedingly comfortable.

He could even sense the Spiritual Qi within his body showing a faint trend of growth. Naturally, mere bear meat could not possess such miraculous effects; rather, it was because his aptitude had recently improved, meaning his cultivation had not yet reached its new peak. Consuming the flesh and blood of these spirit beasts naturally provided some benefit.

He made up his mind. Once the spirit wine in that gourd finished brewing, he would prepare for another breakthrough.

By then, he should have as many as fifteen strands of Spiritual Qi. Though it was still short of sixteen strands, relying on the efficacy of the spirit wine, there was still hope for a breakthrough.

The drought was terrifying, driving wild beasts and demonic creatures down from the mountains with increasing frequency. If he could truly break through, his family would be far more secure.

"Xuanya, come here," Zhou Ping called out toward the distance.

A young boy, a little over four chi tall, walked over. Dressed in a green robe, his features were handsome and uncommonly refined. It was Zhou Xuanya.

"Father," Zhou Xuanya said respectfully as he stopped in front of Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping looked at his son, feeling both gratified and a little wistful. The boy was always so polite and obedient in his presence. Ultimately, it was his own lack of presence in the boy's early years that had bred such deep reverence in his son.

"Take some bear meat back with Changxi and Chang'an," he said gently. "Distribute it to everyone in the household."

"Especially your grandfather. His health is failing more each day. Go back, simmer some spirit rice porridge for him, and make sure he rests early."

"Your son understands." Zhou Xuanya bowed, then turned to seek out his two older cousins.

Changxi was currently sitting beside a few young maidens, while Zhou Chang'an was following behind a scholar, listening to his endless lecturing.

Upon learning it was their uncle's instruction, they naturally gathered a few retainers and headed toward the estate.

Zhou Ping remained seated by the bonfire, watching Zhou Changhe amidst the crowd. The people surrounding his nephew were either full of awe or desperately trying to curry favor, chattering endlessly. Zhou Shi stood guard beside him, accompanied by a few estate guards keeping a close watch.

Meanwhile, Zhou Minghu was surrounded by a group of teenage boys and a swarm of young children, all looking up at him with worship, begging to hear how he had slain the bear demon. Among them were a few of Zhou Shi and Zhou Hu's own children.

He could not help but feel a deep sense of gratification. His family had finally made it through the hardest of times.

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