Chapter 306
Chapter 306
In the end, they did not make it to the Daoist temple the next day.
Milk Tea brought word that several bears had caught the scent and were heading toward the estate.
Wonderful. The very thing they had feared had come to pass.
Ji Yan’an gathered everyone on the estate and had them start digging traps in the middle of the night.
Once the traps were ready, the estate workers gripped their weapons and waited.
“They are here!”
“Good heavens… Why are there so many bears?”
From a distance, they could see six bears lumbering toward them.
After starving all winter, the bears grew wildly excited as the scent of meat in the air drew closer and closer.
Ji Yan’an said, “Zuozuo, Youyou, lure the bears toward the trap.”
With so little time, they had managed to make only one large trap.
Zuozuo and Youyou ran out to provoke the bears and draw them toward it.
“Woof, woof, woof…”
They were fast, but after running a short distance, they had to look back and bark at the bears a few times.
The bear in front plunged into the trap. The sharpened wooden stakes inside pierced its body, and it let out an agonized roar.
Bears might look slow and lumbering, but they were actually very clever.
When the bears behind saw their companion fall into the trap, they all stopped at once.
They stood at a distance and did not dare approach. Their companion’s screams made them restless, then drove them into a rage.
In the end, they charged straight toward the estate.
Five remained.
Ji Yan’an said, “Grandmother, stay inside and bar the doors. Do not come out. All the other able-bodied adults, take your weapons and fight the bears. Those skilled in martial arts will split up and lead the attacks. Everyone else will support them and harry the bears…”
Under his command, the ordinary people who had been panicking gradually steadied themselves. Gripping their weapons, they followed the martial artists out.
“Roar!”
The bears’ bellows rang out as the people from the estate charged into battle.
“Oh! Little Yunsui, when did you climb up there? Come down! Hurry!”
While no one was paying attention, Jiang Yunsui had climbed onto the roof.
She stood firmly on the tiles, staring toward the bears, while the Ji women below were terrified.
Jiang Yunsui pointed to the ladder below. “I climbed up that.”
Someone had left it behind while repairing the roof yesterday, never imagining that clever little Jiang Yunsui would seize the opportunity.
Jiang Yunsui did not come down. Instead, she took out the whistle hanging around her neck.
Standing on the roof gave her a long, unobstructed view.
At the sound of her whistle, the eagles in the sky began diving in an orderly sequence, clawing specifically at the bears’ vulnerable eyes and noses.
From her high vantage point, Jiang Yunsui directed the eagles to swoop down and harass any bear that exposed a weakness.
Whenever a bear tried to swat the birds from the sky, she signaled for the eagles to retreat.
Outnumbered, faced with weapons on the ground and relentless harassment from above, the five bears were soon defeated.
After two were killed in quick succession, the remaining three turned and fled.
Ji Yan’an ordered, “Chase them down and kill them.”
Bears held grudges. If they were not killed now, they would return when Ji Yan’an and the others were gone, and the estate workers would not be able to withstand their revenge.
Every bear was killed.
The atmosphere on the estate immediately became jubilant.
“Wonderful! There should not be any more bears coming now, right?”
“We killed six bears all at once!”
The six carcasses were piled together, creating a spectacular sight.
Although the bears had starved through the winter, their frames were still massive. Each was built like a small mountain and frightening to behold.
Ji Si went up and plucked Jiang Yunsui from the roof.
She ducked her head between her shoulders and looked innocently at Ji Yan’an.
“I helped. You cannot scold me.”
Ji Yan’an: …
He still tapped her on the forehead.
“What if you had fallen from so high up?”
He did not blame her for helping.
Jiang Yunsui muttered, “I do not care. I am fine, and I helped. I want to eat bear paw.”
Her eyes sparkled.
Ji Yan’an said, “All right.”
They kept the bear paws, gallbladders, and hides, while the rest of the meat was distributed among everyone on the estate.
Bear meat was not tasty, so Ji Yan’an did not want any.
But to the estate workers, it was a rare delicacy.
They kept only four bear paws at the estate for Fat Chef to prepare. Shen Qingzhu was called over to handle the gallbladders, while the hides were taken away to be cleaned up.
Ji Yan’an summoned Nanshu and several guards. “Take these bear paws and divide them among Elder Tang and the other veteran generals.”
He did not leave. He intended to stay and make sure there would be no further wild-animal attacks around the estate.
That evening, they ate one bear paw.
If bear paw was prepared badly, it tasted awful. But when handled and cooked properly, it was a rare delicacy.
Fat Chef knew how to prepare it.
The tender, gelatinous bear paw was full of flavor. Jiang Yunsui’s eyes lit up brighter with every bite.
“I want to eat it again tomorrow.”
Old Madam Ji laughed. “Then eat. We still have more.”
For a time, the dinner table was filled with warmth and laughter.
Over the next few days, Ji Yan’an took Jiang Yunsui back into the woods to investigate the area.
With Milk Tea and the other eagles scouting, they discovered wild bears heading toward a village in another direction.
“Ji Yan’an, there is a village over there. Two bears are heading toward it.”
Ji Yan’an made an immediate decision and led his people toward the village.
The two bears reached it before Ji Yan’an’s group did.
The villagers did not yet know danger was approaching.
They were all working in the fields.
A farmer accepted some water from his child and was drinking when he suddenly saw a black speck running toward their village.
The man instantly became alert.
In Mobei, the first response to seeing a stranger was always caution.
“Father, that ‘person’ is running so fast.”
They were too far away to see clearly and assumed it was a person.
But as the two things drew closer, the man dropped his water in terror and scooped up his son.
“Run! Hurry! Bears are coming! Bears are coming!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
His cry fell upon the village like water dropped into boiling oil, and everything erupted.
“Bears! Bears are in the village!”
“Hurry, get inside! Bar the doors and do not come out!”
The peaceful scene of people farming descended into chaos.
They ran quickly, but the two bears were faster.
A scream rang out.
Everyone looked over and saw that an old woman had been knocked down.
“Mother! I will kill you beasts!”
The man shoved the child in his arms at his wife.
“Take him home! Run!”
Then he snatched up a hoe from the ground. Eyes bloodshot, he prepared to fight the bear to the death.
The result was inevitable. The bear raked him with a paw and left him injured.
Seeing their neighbors struck down roused the fighting spirit of some of the village men.
The village chief shouted, “Pick up whatever you can use! I refuse to believe that so many of us cannot beat two bears!”
They raised their weapons, ready to risk their lives.
Several sharp arrows flew in from the distance.
The wounded bear roared in pain.
The thunder of hooves approached, and the villagers were so overcome with emotion they nearly wept.
“Someone has come to help us! We are saved! We are saved!”
A shrill whistle sounded. A shadow in the sky grew larger as Milk Tea led the other eagles into a dive.
Just as before, they aimed their talons at the two bears’ eyes and other vulnerable spots.