After stuffing the carefree Prince into his pouch, Feng Shan crept to the edge of the tree hollow and listened. The soil around the entrance was freshly disturbed, and he could clearly hear breathing from inside.
Feng Shan quietly led the others dozens of yards back. The three of them hid behind a large tree to plan the hunt.
"How do we lure it out?" Frank asked, pulling out his pistol and gesturing with it.
Tom pulled out his pistol as well, his eyes fixed nervously on the hollow. "We smoke it out. I've seen Hunters do that to drive bears from their dens."
"Good idea," Feng Shan said, agreeing. "I'll be the shooter. Which one of you is setting the fire?"
The two men immediately fell silent, ducking their heads like ostriches.
Feng Shan cursed them under his breath. 'Cowards. These two are all talk and nothing else. Completely useless.'
He'd have to do it himself.
He gathered some flammable dry grass and branches, along with some fresh fir boughs. He carefully piled everything at the entrance to the hollow, used a lighter to ignite the kindling, and then quickly smothered it with the fir leaves to create smoke.
Then he scrambled back over a hundred meters. Without even pausing to catch his breath, he raised his rifle and aimed its iron sights at the hollow's entrance.
「A few minutes passed.」
Billowing clouds of thick smoke poured into the hollow, but the brown bear didn't emerge.
"Feng, think the bear's not home?" Frank asked, peeking his head out to glance at the hollow.
Tom suggested jokingly, "Why don't you go over and ask it? Bring it an apple pie."
"Fack, you want me to feed you to the bear?"
"I doubt it. I've got high cholesterol, high blood pressure, kidney stones, and cirrhosis. I'm probably not the bear's type."
Listening to the incessant chatter next to him, Feng Shan felt a strong urge to just shoot these two idiots first. 'Can't they be quiet even for a hunt?'
Just then, the three heard the deep, angry roar of a wild beast. Their expressions changed in an instant as they all raised their guns and aimed at the hollow.
Immediately after, the fire at the entrance was violently knocked aside. Sparks flew, scattering with the billowing smoke.
A gigantic brown bear charged out of the smoke. Its massive body was like a solid wall, with muscles visible rippling beneath its brown fur. Its powerful claws tore at the snow as it let out a furious roar.
BANG!
With the crack of a rifle, the brown bear's roar cut off abruptly. Its massive body shuddered once, then collapsed heavily onto the snow.
'That fast?'
The chatty duo, who had been about to open fire, turned to look at Feng Shan as he lowered his rifle.
"Feng, brown bears are incredibly tough. You should put another round in it, just to be sure," Frank advised nervously. As a native Alaskan, he'd been taught from a young age to be cautious while hunting and to watch out for an animal's final, desperate attack. This was especially true for brown bears; you never forgot the insurance shot.
"He's right, buddy. One more shot," Tom chimed in from behind the tree.
"Not necessary. I only ever fire one shot when I hunt." Feng Shan's face radiated absolute confidence. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and strode toward the fallen bear.
"Fack, why didn't you stop him? What if it's not dead?" Unable to persuade Feng Shan, Frank snapped at Tom.
"Why didn't you?" Tom shrugged, then followed with his pistol still in hand.
You two!
Frank stomped his foot in frustration. Having no other choice, he switched off his pistol's safety, ready to empty the entire magazine if the bear made a final lunge.
Before Feng Shan even got close, Prince wriggled out of his pouch in the fur coat and jumped down. Letting out a tiny, whining yelp, he pounced on the fallen bear, grabbed a mouthful of fur, and started shaking his head.
Seeing this, Coca-Cola also bounded onto the bear's body and began to paw at it curiously.
The giant brown bear lay peacefully in the snow, its massive body a stark silhouette against the white. Its powerful limbs were splayed out. Though lifeless, you could still sense the ferocious power it once possessed.
Feng Shan walked over. From a distance, the bear had looked like a small hill; up close, its sheer size was even more striking.
"Fack, this big fella's at least 800 pounds," Tom exclaimed.
Frank wasn't focused on the weight. His eyes were fixed on the bullet wound. A small patch of blood seeped from a hole precisely between the bear's eyebrows, the only sign of the bullet that had passed clean through.
'What incredible marksmanship.'
'A clean headshot.'
Suddenly, Frank recalled something he'd heard. Rumor had it that in Feng's homeland, everyone—man or woman—was a master sharpshooter, capable of hitting an airplane with nothing but a rifle.
"Feng, were you in the military?"
"No," Feng Shan said, shaking his head. "Before I came to Alaska, I'd only ever seen guns on TV."
Frank couldn't wrap his head around it. He'd never been in the military, never even touched a gun, yet his aim was better than a seasoned Hunter's. A typical Hunter could hit a target as large as a brown bear from a hundred meters, sure. But a one-shot, instant-kill headshot? That was beyond just 'good aim.'
"Then how are you so accurate?"
"Just a natural talent!" Feng Shan said, waving his hand dismissively, clearly not wanting to discuss it further.
'Should I tell Frank that my ancestors awakened my mind, that I'm a Warlock?'
"Fellas, this bear is over six and a half feet long and more than three feet at the shoulder! It's an absolute beast! We should get it mounted. I know a Hunter who does taxidermy for a reasonable price," Tom exclaimed, circling the bear and gesturing wildly.
Feng Shan crouched down, sinking his right hand into the bear's thick, brown fur.
The Witchcraft Bone Ring on his finger flashed with a red light and began to absorb the Soul Power from the bear's body.
As the Soul Power surged into him, Feng Shan felt a searing current of heat rush through his body.
The heat felt like a burning fire, spreading rapidly from his hand to engulf his entire body. Feng Shan could feel power surging through every inch of his being.
Frank and Tom were discussing what to do with the bear when Frank happened to look up. He was startled to see Feng Shan, still crouched by the bear, with steam rising from the top of his head like he was a pressure cooker.
"Buddy, you okay?"
Snapped out of his trance by the question, Feng Shan shook his head. "It's my first time hunting an animal this big. I'm just a little worked up."
Frank nodded in understanding. "You'll get used to it. When I was eight, I hit a reindeer with a Hunting Knife. I was just like you—so excited I couldn't sleep for days."
"So what's the plan for this bear?"
"Tom, didn't you say you wanted to get it mounted?" Feng Shan asked, turning to him.
"Buddy, I can't afford that! Do you have any idea how much this bear is worth? Besides, we'd never fit it on the plane," Tom said, waving his hands frantically.
"Let's just butcher it for the meat, then. You'll need to stock up for the winter," Frank suggested.
Since no one wanted the whole thing, they had to get to work quickly.
The meat would be ruined if they let the blood cool and settle.
Feng Shan took off his fur coat and pulled out a small knife. With a single, swift motion, he slit the bear's throat.
The sharp blade sliced through hide, and blood gushed from the cut, staining the pristine white snow with irregular crimson patches.
Once the blood had mostly drained, turning the snow a dark crimson, Feng Shan picked up Prince—who was still tearing at the bear's fur—and tossed him aside. He then used his Hunting Knife to slit open the bear's abdomen and begin removing the organs.
Feng Shan had butchered his fair share of sheep back when he worked in a restaurant; processing a bear wasn't all that different.
The heart, liver, intestines, and other organs were removed one by one.
He carefully removed the gallbladder and buried it in the snow to keep it cold. He also set aside the intestines and kidneys.
Seeing Feng Shan set the gallbladder aside, Tom quickly reminded him, "Buddy, Alaskan hunting regulations require you to discard the gallbladder from a brown bear."
"It's fine. This is Feng's private land," Frank said. He knew bear gallbladders were used in Chinese medicine. "But why are you keeping the liver and intestines? They're way too high in cholesterol to be edible."
'Not edible?'
'No wonder you guys only eat canned food and bread.'
Feng Shan didn't bother to explain. He got busy cleaning the intestines, then began separating the meat from the hide, neatly arranging the marbled cuts of bear meat.
At the same time, he managed to peel off the entire bearskin in one pristine piece.
According to Tom, that hide alone, if properly treated, could sell for at least 3,000 US Dollars.
...