Chapter 2: Wu Song Fights the Tiger

  Once again, he saw the sunlight and it was abundant. Zhu Yongxing took a refreshing bath in the creek and lay down on the scorching hot rocks that had been baked by the sun, feeling like he was taking a sunbath. He felt the dampness being slowly released from every pore of his body.

  After lying down for a good half of the day, Zhu Yongxing finally got up and sat up. The sun was shining comfortably, but he didn't have the ability to absorb energy after all, so his stomach was still hungry! Although he also counted as an outdoor enthusiast, knowing some wilderness survival skills, it was obviously difficult for him to live like a special forces soldier in the tropical jungle. Making bows and arrows, making spears, swallowing snakes alive... Zhu Yongxing smiled bitterly, his eyes fixed on the earthenware hunting rifle and bullet pouch beside him.

  Minorities, remote areas, yeah, it's good, can play with guns and hunt. Zhu Yongxing quickly put away his envy, opened the bullet pouch shaped like a sharp-mouthed frog shell, poured the wet gunpowder onto the scorching hot stone, then twisted open the other end of the bullet pouch, pouring out bullets wrapped in silk cloth, placed them next to the gunpowder to dry together.

  Fortunately, his vanity took over and he hastily put the rifle and ammunition on his back, pretending to be a professional hunter. Zhu Yongxing lay down again, looking up at the unusually clear sky, thinking about what to do next. The forest was too difficult to walk through, so next he should follow the stream, if the creek bank couldn't pass through, then tread on the cobblestones and wade through the water. This way, he wouldn't lose his direction, and the possibility of encountering a village would be greater. Moreover, with the creek by his side, the journey should be much easier, and he wouldn't have to suffer from thorns and brambles again...

  As he set out on the road again, Zhu Yongxing held his ready-to-fire shotgun and walked at a slow pace. Whenever there was a rustling in the wind, he hoped that only rabbits or wild chickens would come out, so that before it got dark and he couldn't find anyone's home, he could still have something to fill his belly.

  The leaves rustled above, and on the branches of the deciduous trees, a woodpecker tapped its sharp beak, making a "knocking" sound. A squirrel darted back and forth between the branches like a gentle breeze, flicking its large tail and staring curiously at the unfamiliar newcomer with eyes as small as beans. Just as Zhu Yongxing moved his gun barrel, the little creature had already jumped to another place.

  Squirrel, shouldn't be good to eat? Zhu Yongxing swallowed his saliva and comforted himself. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, holding his gun and listening carefully. Besides the gurgling sound of the water, it seemed like there were some other sounds mixed in. After reevaluating, Zhu Yongxing continued forward. Before long, he turned around the stream and saw a relatively wide grassland before him. The grassland led up to a hillside, and on the hillside was a sparse forest.

  Just as Zhu Yongxing was looking around, he heard another sound. It came from the mountain slope, like someone shouting. Zhu Yongxing opened his eyes wide and watched vigilantly. This time, he heard the cry more clearly, it was a woman's voice.

  Although he couldn't understand what the woman was shouting, Zhu Yongxing still made out that it was a trembling cry like a madman, which was not without reason. The scene of a woman being insulted flashed through his mind. After hesitating for a moment, he quickly climbed up the slope, this might be dangerous, but he could see how things went and wouldn't just ignore it and do nothing.

  As he climbed up the gentle slope with sparse trees, the cries became clearer, as if right next to his ear. He looked intently and was shocked by what he saw, his feet suddenly stopping in their tracks. A terrifying scene unfolded before him. A frightening roar also came, deafeningly loud.

  Just ahead, a woman was climbing the tree, screaming loudly. A bear was roaring loudly, gnawing at the trunk with one side of its mouth and scratching it with its sharp claws on the other. After a while, it stood up again, embracing the trunk with its two powerful paws and shaking it violently.

  The tree trunk was covered in scars. The not-too-thick tree had almost been stripped of its bark, and it was still shaking violently. The woman clinging to the trunk high up was being shaken violently, and she looked like she was about to fall off. Clearly, this woman wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. The bear might bite through the trunk or knock the tree down, and the beast was going wild with rage.

  This is a fairly large bear with eyes that seem to be burning bright red, and its terrifying roar shakes the sky, as if it could uproot trees.

  Zhu Yongxing raised his gun, his heart racing wildly, and he could even feel the force of his heartbeat pounding against his chest. The shotgun in his hand was shaking, and he really lacked confidence in shooting such a big guy.

  The woman let out a scream again, and judging from the sound, she wasn't very old. This scream made Zhu Yongxing make up his mind, he couldn't just watch this girl die in the mouth of a wild beast.

  "Boom!" After repeated aiming, Zhu Yongxing finally pulled the trigger. However, he aimed at the bear's head but hit its buttocks, although not a complete miss, it brought big trouble.

  A roar like thunder, the bear opened its eyes to the target in front of it, turned its body around, paused for a moment, and then pounced over with a momentum that could overturn mountains and seas. Its whole body hair stood up, which was not only a manifestation of anger but also because after standing up the hair, even if running wildly in the forest, no sound would be made, as the bear's hair became a silencer.

  Zhu Yongxing did not expect the seemingly clumsy bear to be so agile, and it suddenly stood up on its hind legs, jumping and pouncing towards him with a loud thud, shaking the ground, and immediately rushed in front of him, forcing him to turn around behind the tree.

  "Bang!" The bear's front paws slammed into the tree trunk, and the bark was smashed to pieces, with debris flying everywhere. A deafening roar was right next to his ear, and a foul odor rushed towards him. Zhu Yongxing only felt a sharp pain on his left cheek, and the huge force sent him flying out.

  The wounded bear became extremely enraged, it opened its bloody mouth wide, let out a loud roar, and pounced over, its massive body like a small golden mountain. Ka-chunk! A dull sound, the tree trunk bent.

  Zhu Yongxing dodged the attack again, rolling and crawling down the mountain slope. The bear chased after him relentlessly, its blood-red eyes fixed on Zhu's back. The heavy footsteps were getting closer and closer, the nauseating stench seemed to have already sprayed onto his neck, Zhu was so scared that his heart and gall were shattered, his feet tangled together, he fell heavily, only feeling a strong gust of wind sweeping past his back and the back of his head.

  The bear's sudden pounce was miraculously dodged by Zhu Yongxing, but it couldn't stop its momentum and rolled down the mountain slope until it finally came to a stop at the bottom.

  Taking advantage of the empty space, Zhu Yongxing had already climbed up, not caring about the blood flowing on his face, and the pain made him grimace. He didn't even have time to pick up the hunting rifle that fell to the ground, nor did he care to carefully select a spot, but instead hugged the trunk of a nearby tree and climbed up with a rustling sound.

  ……