Li Erchen plunged headfirst into the Black Bear’s chest, stunning the beast for an instant.

The impact sent Li Erchen reeling backward.

The Black Bear shot out a paw, snagged the front of Li Erchen’s cotton-padded jacket, and with a single tug, lifted the one-hundred-and-sixty-plus-pound man into the air.

The Black Bear slammed him onto the ground, took two quick steps forward, spread its hind legs, and sat right on Li Erchen’s waist. The weight, over three hundred pounds, crushed a wretched scream out of Li Erchen.

Li Erchen immediately began to struggle.

Lying flat on his back, he could see the Black Bear’s savage face looming over him. He instinctively started hammering his fists against the bear’s side.

But the Black Bear just lowered its head and bit down on Li Erchen’s left arm. Its teeth tore straight through the cotton jacket and pierced his flesh.

"AHHH—!" Li Erchen’s agonized scream echoed through the mountains.

Just then, Minister Li charged over, swinging his Large Axe at the Black Bear with no regard for his own safety.

This time, however, the Black Bear saw his every move. It released its bite, reared back, and swiped its left paw outward, catching Minister Li on the shoulder.

Minister Li was sent flying, axe and all. He crashed heavily to the ground, and the Large Axe landed some distance away.

Ignoring Minister Li, the Black Bear lowered its head again and went for Li Erchen’s flailing right arm.

This was one of the Black Bear’s typical behaviors.

Why do people say you should lie on the ground and play dead if you can’t escape a Black Bear in the woods?

Because a Black Bear doesn’t just lie on top of you to bite you; it sits on you.

If you’re pinned underneath a Black Bear, it will bite whatever part of you moves.

If you lie perfectly still, it might just take a couple of bites and leave. You might avoid being maimed or killed.

But if you struggle, the bear will fear you’re trying to hurt it, and it will go in for the kill.

Minister Li had actually gone over all this with him before they came. But with a Black Bear sitting on him, Li Erchen’s mind was filled with nothing but terror. ’How could I possibly remember any of that now?’

His left arm was now useless, but he still swung his right fist with all his might, pounding it against the bear’s body.

"Erchen..." Minister Li struggled to his feet in the snow, trying to get to the Large Axe to save his brother.

They were brothers, born of the same mother. No matter how dangerous it was, Minister Li would never abandon Li Erchen.

But just as Minister Li pushed himself up, a figure flashed past him.

"Ah!" Minister Li cried out in surprise. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but when he focused, he saw someone was indeed there, swinging a Large Axe down toward the back of the Black Bear’s head.

It was Zhao Jun. He’d been there for a while, standing on the slope without coming down, watching the two brothers take on the Black Bear’s Den.

He did this because he didn’t want the Li Brothers to get the wrong idea.

Minister Li had previously invited him and Li Baoyu to raid the Black Bear’s Den together. He had undoubtedly been eyeing the three dogs belonging to the Zhao and Li families, thinking they could hold the Black Bear off if things got dangerous.

But Zhao Jun knew that without a gun, raiding a Black Bear’s Den was a fool’s errand. Unless you could kill it the instant it emerged, once that bear was on the ground, it wouldn’t matter how many dogs you had—it would be a total waste.

Dogs aren’t like people. A person knows to retreat and run for their life when facing a Black Bear. But dogs are different. Especially with their master nearby, a dog will willingly give its life to protect them.

Zhao Jun didn’t want to sacrifice his dogs, but he did want to save Li Erchen, so he came alone.

Zhao Jun was confident that with his experience, as long as Minister Li and Li Erchen didn’t screw him over, the three of them could make it out of there alive.

Since he knew they couldn’t take down the Black Bear and his only goal was to rescue them, Zhao Jun hadn’t revealed himself earlier.

He was afraid the Li Brothers would get the wrong idea.

After all, only Zhao Jun had been reborn; the Li Brothers hadn’t. Zhao Jun knew they couldn’t successfully raid this Black Bear’s Den, but Minister Li and Li Erchen didn’t.

If Zhao Jun had shown up earlier, they would have definitely thought, ’When we invited you, you didn’t bring your dogs. Now you show up by yourself? Are you just hoping to get a share of the Bear Gall?’

Zhao Jun couldn’t be bothered to explain, so he just stood on the slope with his Invasion Blade, waiting for the right moment to help the Li Brothers.

Watching the Li Brothers’ initial preparations, he saw they were quite thorough.

But when Li Erchen stood trembling before the Daqing poplar tree, Zhao Jun knew it was all over. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’Letting a rookie with a Large Axe try to chop a Black Bear’s head—from the front, no less. What on earth was Minister Li thinking?’

Li Erchen actually had decent nerves. Plenty of novices would have wet their pants just from hearing a Black Bear roar.

Sure enough, Li Erchen fumbled.

The moment he saw the Black Bear leap out from the den in the tree, Zhao Jun grabbed his Invasion Blade and started down the slope.

But he never expected Li Erchen to plunge headfirst right into the Black Bear’s chest.

By the time Zhao Jun arrived, Minister Li had just been swatted away by the bear, and the Large Axe had landed not far from where Zhao Jun stood.

Zhao Jun glanced at the Invasion Blade in his hand, then decisively dropped it and snatched up the axe. He raised the Large Axe and charged the Black Bear.

His axe came down just as the Black Bear was lowering its head to bite Li Erchen’s face.

In his previous life, that was the bite that had disfigured Li Erchen, leaving him unable to find a wife for the rest of his days.

Zhao Jun had been aiming for the back of the bear’s head, but as it ducked, the axe slammed into its back instead.

"GRRRAH—!" the Black Bear roared. It twisted up off Li Erchen and lunged furiously at Zhao Jun.

Blood streamed down its spine from a gruesome, foot-long gash. The wound was laid wide open, deep enough to expose the bone.

Zhao Jun took off running with the Large Axe, leading the Black Bear in circles around the large Da Hong pine.

Though severely injured, the Black Bear didn’t slow down. Fueled by rage, it was even faster than when it had been chasing the Li Brothers.

After just four laps, the Black Bear was closing in on Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun was already using every ounce of his strength, running for his life.

"Minister Li!" Zhao Jun yelled, his energy failing. He couldn’t hold back any longer.

’This is when I need someone to lend a hand.’

But when Zhao Jun shouted, no one came.

He ran another lap. Still, no one came to help.

As he rounded the tree again, he instinctively glanced from side to side and saw a startling sight.

The Li Brothers were helping each other limp away into the distance!

"You motherfuckers!" Zhao Jun couldn’t help but roar. He had no time for a second curse before he was forced to keep running.

The Black Bear was on him again.

In the distance, Li Erchen heard Zhao Jun’s shout and couldn’t help but ask Minister Li, "Big Brother, aren’t we going to save him?"

"We can’t help him! Let’s go!" Minister Li said without looking back.

Hearing this, Li Erchen fell silent and continued climbing the southern slope with his brother.

Ironically, just a few minutes earlier, Zhao Jun had charged down that very same slope to save them.

Just then, the Black Bear’s speed increased, and it swiped a claw at the center of Zhao Jun’s back.

In the instant before the Bear’s Paw struck, Zhao Jun, in a moment of life and death, unleashed a burst of potential and lunged forward.

The claw missed its mark, but its sharp tip tore through Zhao Jun’s cotton-padded jacket, pulling out a tuft of stuffing.