Despite his short stature, Zhang Yuanmin was at the very front, carrying five Fraxinus mandschurica sticks. He led Minister Li and Li Erchen to a large linden tree.

The Li Brothers looked up and saw the den entrance was about three meters off the ground—definitely too high for one person to reach.

"Brother Zhang, we can’t reach that," said Minister Li.

"So what?" Zhang Yuanmin pointed at Minister Li. "Minister Li, in a minute you’ll be the one to provoke it. I’ll get on Erchen’s shoulders to go up, and I’ll do the chopping!"

"You’re... going to stand on me? Is that going to work?" Li Erchen hesitated. It wasn’t that he was afraid of being stepped on; he just had a feeling that Zhang Yuanmin wasn’t very reliable.

"Of course it’ll work." Zhang Yuanmin leaned the Fraxinus mandschurica sticks against the linden tree and waved his hand with a confident flourish. "You two just watch me!"

The two brothers exchanged a look. To be honest, their hearts had started pounding the moment they arrived at the linden tree. But they had already come this far; there was no turning back now.

Since Zhang Yuanmin wanted to take the lead, the Li Brothers decided to simply follow his orders.

First, Zhang Yuanmin told Minister Li to gather dry branches for a fire. Then he had Li Erchen pack down the snow around the base of the linden tree.

"Minister Li, spread those dry branches out. Make the fire bigger."

Zhang Yuanmin leaned against the linden tree, smoking a cigarette as he directed the Li Brothers.

He was completely shameless, not lifting a finger himself and just ordering others around, putting on the airs of a big boss.

Minister Li had asked him why he wasn’t doing any work.

Zhang Yuanmin had replied, "I handle the important matters. I’ll leave these small chores to you guys."

When Minister Li looked like he was about to say more, Zhang Yuanmin shot back, "What? You want to switch? How about I provoke the bear, and you go up and chop the Black Bear?"

Minister Li immediately lost his nerve at the suggestion and obediently scurried aside to gather more dry branches.

Seeing how obedient Minister Li was, Zhang Yuanmin’s spirits lifted. He called over to Li Erchen, "Erchen, clear a path toward the fire!"

"Okay, Brother Zhang!" Li Erchen agreed at once without any complaints. Ever since the day he had run right into a Black Bear, he’d been having nightmares.

If it weren’t for needing the money to get married, nothing could have dragged him out here.

Once the preparations were more or less complete, Zhang Yuanmin took the Large Axe and began tapping it against the tree.

He started from the bottom and worked his way up. The axe made a sharp THWACK, THWACK against the trunk. Zhang Yuanmin turned to the Li Brothers to explain, "Hear that? Let me tell you, when you knock on a tree and get that sound, it means this part is solid."

Before the two could nod, Zhang Yuanmin moved the axe higher and knocked twice more. Still solid.

Zhang Yuanmin knocked higher still, and this time there was a deep THUD, THUD. He looked over at the brothers again to explain. "Hear that? The sound is different!"

Minister Li just pursed his lips, but Li Erchen nodded eagerly like a chick pecking at rice.

Zhang Yuanmin pointed to the spot that had made the deep thudding sound and ordered Minister Li and Li Erchen, "Take the Large Axe and chop an opening for me right here."

Cutting into a tree in winter is no easy task. The Li Brothers took turns, and it was a good while before they managed to hack open a hole.

Zhang Yuanmin peered inside. He could see black fur and faintly hear the sound of heavy breathing. He turned to Minister Li and said, "In a minute, I’ll get on Erchen’s shoulders. You hand me the sticks first. I’ll shove them all inside the main hole. Then, you take the Invasion Blade and stab it through this opening we just made."

’This plan of Zhang Yuanmin’s is insane!’ Minister Li thought, his heart skipping a beat. He hesitated, "Brother Zhang, is this really going to work?"

"Why wouldn’t it?" Zhang Yuanmin’s eyes widened. "With a dozen-plus sticks jammed in there, it won’t be able to get out easily. What’s there to be afraid of?"

"Brother Zhang," Li Erchen cautiously asked from the side, "why don’t we just stab the Black Bear to death right there inside the tree?"

"Are you an idiot? How would that work?" Zhang Yuanmin instantly flew into a rage. "If we kill it in there, how are we supposed to get it out? By the time we manage to chop the tree down, the liver will have already reabsorbed all the bile. The Bear Gall would be worthless!"

"Li Er." Minister Li tugged his younger brother’s sleeve. "He’s right, that’s not how it’s done. We’ve come this far, so let’s just listen to Brother Zhang. We’ll do exactly as he says."

"Hey! That’s more like it!" Zhang Yuanmin waved his hand expansively, signaling for Li Erchen to move in front of the den entrance. As he prepared to make his own move, he bolstered the Li Brothers’ spirits, "You two just watch me today."

The Li Brothers looked at each other. Minister Li gave Li Erchen a pointed look, and Li Erchen reluctantly walked to the spot below the den entrance.

He crouched down, allowing Zhang Yuanmin to climb onto his shoulders. Then, Li Erchen slowly straightened up, lifting Zhang Yuanmin right to the level of the den’s opening.

"Sticks up!" Zhang Yuanmin yelled without restraint, knowing that hibernating Black Bears were deep sleepers and wouldn’t stir easily.

His nerve alone was enough to earn the Li Brothers’ admiration.

Minister Li grabbed a Fraxinus mandschurica Stick and held it up for Zhang Yuanmin to take.

Zhang Yuanmin grabbed the stick and immediately jammed it into the tree hollow.

Zhang Yuanmin had scouted the location several times beforehand and estimated that if he pushed a whole stick in, just the very end would remain poking out of the hole.

Minister Li, quick on the uptake, immediately handed up another stick.

Zhang Yuanmin took the stick and did the same. Before long, he had jammed all fifteen sticks inside.

With that many sticks shoved into the hollow, they wouldn’t be neatly aligned but would instead form a tangled, crisscrossing mesh.

This way, when the Black Bear tried to get out, its movement would be restricted by the sticks, and it would most likely get stuck.

"Axe!" Zhang Yuanmin shouted. Minister Li hastily grabbed another Fraxinus mandschurica Stick. Tied to one end of this stick with a rope was the Mirror-Like Large Axe.

Minister Li raised the stick, passing the Large Axe up to Zhang Yuanmin. Zhang Yuanmin untied the rope, gripped the axe, and immediately gave the command: "Minister Li, stab it!"

Wasting no time, Minister Li picked up the Invasion Blade he had ready and plunged it through the gap they had chopped open.

The Black Bear inside was deep in hibernation. In its den, the longer it slept, the deeper its slumber became, and the less it wanted to move.

So, even though it was aware of the three humans bustling about at its doorstep, it couldn’t be bothered to wake up.

This time, however, a blade was stabbed right into its body.

SQUISH!

With a sickening sound as the sharp blade plunged into flesh, the Black Bear inside let out a furious roar. Instantly, a cacophony of clattering sticks erupted from within the hollow.

At this sound, Zhang Yuanmin came alive. He gripped the axe with both hands, raised it to his shoulder, and fixed his blazing eyes on the den’s entrance.

The clattering of sticks inside the tree hollow continued for about three minutes before the Black Bear’s head finally appeared at the entrance.

As the Black Bear’s head emerged, Minister Li, seeing Zhang Yuanmin make no move, shouted anxiously from below, "Brother Zhang, strike!"

But Zhang Yuanmin didn’t move, holding the Large Axe poised. He was waiting for more of the bear’s body to emerge.

’No wonder Minister Li botched that last den hunt,’ he thought. ’The man knows nothing. If I kill the bear now, it’ll just fall back into the tree. We’d have to chop the whole thing down to get it out, wouldn’t we?’

’A tree this thick would take two men to hug. How long would that take to cut? By the time we finished, the Bear Gall would have lost all its bile. What would it be worth then?’

Watched by the anxious, terrified eyes of the Li Brothers, the Black Bear forced both its shoulders out of the opening. Zhang Yuanmin could faintly make out the white crescent on its chest.

The Black Bear’s enormous head was now only an elbow’s length from Zhang Yuanmin!

At that moment, Zhang Yuanmin finally struck, swinging the Large Axe down with all his might.

At the same time, he let out a loud curse to hype himself up.

"You son of a bitch!"

CLANG!

But as the Large Axe fell, it was met with a loud CLANG!

Minister Li, watching from below, saw it all clearly and couldn’t stop himself from cursing, "What the actual fuck..."