Chapter 7
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Is that white fur on its forehead? Slander! Utter slander! It’s clearly a mark left by the great spirit inside the house!
What the bear spirit was thinking remained a mystery to Xia Lingze; at least on the surface, the bear spirit appeared very obedient and well-behaved.
Patting the bulging seed pouch hanging at his waist, humming a light tune, Xia Lingze casually opened a snakeskin pouch, poured its contents into another one, combined them, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and headed toward the village chief’s house, calling the bear spirit to follow.
The village chief’s house stood in the center of Guiyi Village, directly facing the square. Whenever there was news or an event in the village, the villagers would gather at this square.
“Village Chief, I’m here!”
The voice arrived before the person.
The village chief opened the door just as Xia Lingze stepped over the threshold of the front yard.
“These are the things I traded for,” Xia Lingze said, walking up to the village chief and setting down the snakeskin pouch.
Snakeskin pouches, also known as woven bags, were beyond the technological level of Guiyi Village to produce. Xia Lingze had exchanged for them at the market with a wild pheasant.
Guiyi Village was poor, indeed quite remote, but surrounded by mountains rich in resources, especially many small animals. For Xia Lingze, trading one wild pheasant for two woven bags was a great deal.
And the little spirit that exchanged two woven bags for food equivalent in energy to a B-grade great spirit felt the deal was equally favorable.
Both sides felt they had won big.
“Good, thank you for your hard work. By the way, what’s this...?” The village chief’s gaze landed on the black bear beside the boy, quiet as a chicken.
The black bear stood four meters tall upright, three meters in a crouch. Standing next to Xia Lingze’s one meter seventy-seven frame, the boy seemed small and fragile. One simple slap from the black bear could easily crush him.
“I met it on the road; it was very friendly and wanted to come home with me, so I brought it back,” Xia Lingze said gently, reaching up to pet the bear’s head. However, the bear was so tall that even standing on tiptoe, Xia Lingze couldn’t reach.
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand to try another spot, the bear suddenly lowered its head, nudging Xia Lingze’s palm from underneath, rubbing affectionately.
The village chief’s eyes stung sharply.
It was rare to describe a bear as sly, but wait—could this creature be trying to flirt with Lingze?
The village chief fell silent for a moment; his gaze instantly sharpened and became terrifying.
Lost in stroking the fluffy fur, Xia Lingze didn’t notice the second side of the usually kind village chief, still murmuring, “Good boy, good boy.”
The bear spirit, locked by the killing intent of a great spirit, stiffened all over, its eyes trembling as if they might fall out at any moment.
Out of Xia Lingze’s sight, the village chief’s face turned greenish, eyes sunken, cheekbones pronounced, skin rough as rock, claws piercing through the disguise of human skin, making a heart-piercing gesture toward the bear spirit.
The bear’s terrified expression was hidden beneath thick fur; Xia Lingze noticed nothing unusual.
The village chief silently whispered to the bear spirit: “If you try to seduce my child, your death is near.”
The bear spirit thought: Are you kidding me?
One calls me “good spirit,” the other says I’m seducing someone.
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The worst one says I want to go home with him!
The bear spirit was indignant, enraged, and wronged.
This life was unbearable!
“Grandpa Village Chief, Coalball and I are going to the fields; call me if you need anything.”
“Alright.”
The village chief instantly transformed into a kindly old man, smiling warmly as he watched Xia Lingze leave. Once out of sight, his lip curled downward, face darkening, radiating a chilling coldness.
After pondering for a moment, the village chief turned and went to find Iron Egg.
By the riverside.
The village chief took out a pipe from his pocket, shook it, and a wisp of ominous black smoke drifted into the water.
The calm river surface bubbled suddenly and violently, and a head broke the surface.
“Ptooey! Nearly choked me!” It was a boy about ten years old, fair and cute, but his forehead faintly tinged blue. His mouth was full of sharp shark-like teeth, different from ordinary children. Slimy water plants hung over his shoulders, and black threads subtly coursed beneath his skin. Most bizarre was the overly mature expression on his face, hardly childlike.
“Lingze brought home a bear,” the village chief said darkly.
The boy paused, “So what? If he brought it, he brought it. It’s not like we can’t raise it.”
“But it’s a bear spirit.”
“Hah, so what? We’re full of spirits here.”
“But that bear spirit doesn’t look well-behaved; it gives off a seductive vibe.”
“Huh?”
“It’s your fault. If you hadn’t blabbed to Lingze about some market, he wouldn’t have gone outside. See? I told you, trouble was bound to happen.”
“No, what exactly happened? You’re making me confused.” The boy climbed ashore from the river, with no sign of being wet.
“He took that seductive bear spirit to the fields.”
“Okay, I’ll go check it out.”
Elsewhere.
Xia Lingze was delighted to discover Coalball could dig holes, so from then on, Coalball dug while he scattered seeds, improving their efficiency significantly.
“Coalball, I like you so much!”
Iron Egg, who had just arrived, was shocked to hear Xia Lingze’s loud confession: “???”
Did the spirit really say that?!
“Lingze!” Iron Egg called, standing on the ridge with short legs.
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Xia Lingze turned back warmly upon hearing his name and happily called out, “Hey! Uncle Iron Egg!”
A boy calling a child “uncle” was indeed odd, but some people had complicated familial generations.
However, the situation between Xia Lingze and the boy was somewhat different.
Since Xia Lingze could remember, the boy had always been this age. He never grew up because he suffered from an illness that made him unable to mature.
Most of Guiyi Village’s population was elderly, weak, or sickly; Xia Lingze was the only healthy person. No wonder the village hadn’t developed well.
“Come here,” Iron Egg said.
Xia Lingze said “Oh” and told Coalball to wait a moment, then walked over to Iron Egg.
“I want to ask, why did you suddenly decide to raise a bear?”
“Actually, I originally wanted a dog, but our village only has one dog named Big Yellow, who can’t have puppies. Then I met Coalball on the road; it was so friendly it reminded me of the golden retriever you said you used to have, Uncle Iron Egg. Plus, it can do a paw shake! Surely it must get along well with you.”
Iron Egg: “...” So it all comes down to me.
Oh no, Long Spirit can’t hear this, or he’ll definitely blame me.
Iron Egg was touched that half the reason Xia Lingze raised a bear was because he thought of him, but worried about how to handle the bear spirit—Lingze even said he liked it, but never said he liked Uncle Iron Egg!
Turning his clever mind, Iron Egg had an idea.
Animals running away or leaving home was normal; if he could make the bear spirit disappear and then lie to Lingze that it had left on its own, problem solved.
“Keep sowing seeds; I have something urgent and must leave now.” Iron Egg came and went like a gust of wind.
Xia Lingze blinked, gave it no thought, unaware of Uncle Iron Egg’s sly plan, turning back to the field to continue planting.
After sowing all the seeds, Xia Lingze took out a candy from his pocket and handed it to the black bear.
He had given candy before, but the bear spirit had scornfully thrown it away.
This time, Xia Lingze was right there; the bear spirit dared not disobey. It grumpily unwrapped the candy and popped it into its mouth.
...
Hmm?!
The bear spirit’s eyes lit up—this candy, this candy—it was so nourishing! Better than eating a hundred people!
Thinking of the candy it had thrown away before, the bear spirit beat its chest in regret; it truly hadn’t recognized a good thing!
No, it had to find a way to retrieve that candy.
Its eyes rolled around, it stuck out its tongue and forced a charming smile, then pointed toward the direction outside the village, hinting it wanted to leave the village.