As luck would have it, misfortune rarely comes alone. To save Xue Wentai’s life, Zhou Fugui ventured alone into Bear-Felling Ridge. The ridge, true to its name, was inhabited by bears, and a massive white bear, standing over ten feet tall when it reared up, lunged at Zhou Fugui, its enormous paws swiping at him.
Zhou Fugui knew the immense power and weight of a bear's paw, easily weighing a thousand catties, and he dared not confront it head-on. A direct hit would surely kill him or leave him gravely wounded. Seizing an opportunity, Zhou Fugui rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging the bear’s fierce swipe.
"Splat!" Although Zhou Fugui evaded the brunt of the blow, the bear’s sharp claws grazed his right shoulder, shattering the shoulder guard and tearing through the padded cotton beneath. Four deep claw marks instantly appeared on his right shoulder, and blood gushed out.
"Ah!" Zhou Fugui roared in pain, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Roar!" Despite its immense size, the mother bear was incredibly agile and nimble. Before Zhou Fugui could recover, it lunged again, its gaping maw revealing four fangs like daggers, aiming for his throat.
If that bite had landed, Zhou Fugui would surely have met his end.
In moments of extreme danger, people either freeze, their limbs paralyzed by fear, or their reactions become extraordinarily swift. Zhou Fugui belonged to the latter. Seeing the bear’s sickeningly large mouth coming towards him, he rolled again on the ground.
"Crack!" The mother bear missed its bite, sinking its teeth into the snowdrift instead, sending up a cloud of snow.
"Hoo!" Having dodged the bear's snap, Zhou Fugui sprang to his feet, let out a fierce cry, and with rage fueling him, swung his saber down onto the bear's right flank.
The sharp saber sliced off a chunk of thick flesh from the bear's back. Enraged by the pain, the mother bear shoved Zhou Fugui down the snow-covered slope. Reluctant to let him escape, it lunged again to tear at him.
"Puff! Puff!" With two light sounds, Zhou Fugui quickly drew his Zhuo Yue bow and fired two arrows in rapid succession. One arrow struck the bear’s left eye, and the other hit its throat. Both were incredibly precise and carried immense force. The arrow that pierced the bear's left eye went deep, penetrating its skull. The bear reared up in agony, roaring loudly, its one good eye glaring furiously at Zhou Fugui.
Zhou Fugui intended to shoot again, but the bear charged forward. He had no choice but to abandon his bow and grip his saber tightly, staring intently at the charging beast.
"Hoo!" As the bear lunged, Zhou Fugui put all his strength into a saber strike. However, the bear swiped with its paw, shattering the saber. The tip of the broken blade spun through the air and buried itself in the snow with a "thud."
Now disarmed of both saber and arrows, Zhou Fugui was weaponless. Seeing the bear charge again to tear at him, he could only dodge. After a few more exchanges, his strength began to fail, and he was on the verge of being devoured by the bear's jaws and claws.
"Chh… chh… chh…" Just as the situation reached its most critical point, the whistling of arrows filled the air, accompanied by the thud of javelins. Numerous arrowheads embedded themselves in the bear's body, and one javelin struck its shoulder and back.
The bear, wounded in multiple places and besieged by attackers, could no longer hold on. After several furious roars, it abandoned its cub and fled into the thicket, a panicked retreat.
Even severely injured, the mother bear was extremely fierce. This was the meaning of a cornered beast fighting desperately. The onlookers could do nothing but watch as the bear escaped.
Zhou Fugui's life-or-death struggle with the mother bear had been brief, yet it felt like an arduous battle. After the bear fled, Zhou Fugui, utterly spent, staggered to his feet. The world swam before his eyes, a blurry expanse of white. Figures seemed to be rushing towards him from across the snowy plains, holding up spears, sabers, and bows, pointing them at him.
"Thump!" Zhou Fugui collapsed into a snowdrift, unconscious.
...
"Where did this fellow come from?"
"What’s he up to? Bandit?"
"Doesn’t look like it. Eagle Claw?"
"Is an Eagle Claw surveying the territory?"
"The Eagle Claw is awake! The Eagle Claw is awake."
"..."
Zhou Fugui, groggy and disoriented, felt something poking his face with a weapon. A moment later, he awoke to find a group of fierce-looking men, armed with various weapons, surrounding him and chattering amongst themselves.
Seeing Zhou Fugui stir, the ruffians took a step back in unison, pointing their weapons at him as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Eagle Claw, are you from the rooftops? State your name!" a burly ruffian demanded ferociously, pointing a dagger at Zhou Fugui.
"Damn it, I’ve likely run into bandits or horse thieves," Zhou Fugui cursed inwardly, seeing the situation.
However, he couldn’t understand a single word of their slang, and could only stare blankly at the ruffians.
"Eagle Claw, why waste time talking? I’ll gouge out his eyes first!" Another ruffian, enraged by Zhou Fugui’s silence, drew a short dagger and lunged towards Zhou Fugui’s eyes.
A gust of wind accompanied the ruffian’s forceful thrust at Zhou Fugui’s eyes. If it had hit, not only would Zhou Fugui have lost his sight, but the dagger could have pierced straight into his brain. Zhou Fugui reacted instinctively, kicking the ruffian in the leg. The ruffian lost his balance, and Zhou Fugui followed up with a punch to his jaw, sending him reeling. Then, using both hands and feet with decisive movements, he threw the ruffian to the side.
"Clang!" The ruffian's dagger clattered to the ground. Zhou Fugui snatched it up, flipped over, and pinned the ruffian beneath him, pressing the sharp blade to his throat. "You want my eyes? I’ll take your life first!" he snarled.
Zhou Fugui had understood the ruffian’s intent to blind him. Facing imminent death, he was determined to take someone down with him.
"Clatter!" The sabers and spears of the other ruffians were all pointed at Zhou Fugui. However, he seemed to have subdued their leader, causing the others to hesitate, like a dog afraid of its master's leash.
"What the hell is an 'Eagle Claw,' I don't understand…" Zhou Fugui, ignoring the weapons pointed at his back, continued to press the dagger against the ruffian’s throat. "I've just arrived in this place, merely sightseeing. And you lot, without asking any questions, want to take my life? Where is justice? Where is the law?"
Zhou Fugui's words clearly carried a hint of pleading.
"Pfft!" Just then, a woman's laughter echoed through the air.
"Sightseeing and ending up facing a ferocious beast… he truly is the world's number one tourist," the woman thought with amusement.
"Release him," she added.
The ruffians, hearing her words, lowered their weapons and parted like a tide, creating a path. A young woman in red, leading a horse, approached Zhou Fugui.
"Aren't you going to let our Third Commander go?" the young woman asked Zhou Fugui with a smile as she stopped before him.
The woman had bright, almond-shaped eyes, rosy cheeks, a slender waist, and long legs – a truly exceptional beauty.
She wore a wide-collared, bright red leather robe, its opening revealing elegant collarbones. Over it, she wore a pale lavender stand-collar short jacket. A wide, pale lavender sash cinched her waist, while red padded trousers hugged her pert, round hips. Her sleeves and cuffs were tight, and she had a short sword on her left hip and a delicate crossbow on her right. She exuded an aura of exceptional gallantry.
Knowing Zhou Fugui wouldn’t understand their underworld jargon, the woman spoke in plain, clear Mandarin, her voice exceptionally crisp and pleasant.
"Hiss…" Zhou Fugui released the Third Commander and got to his feet. He inadvertently aggravated the wound on his shoulder, letting out a sharp intake of breath.
The five bear claws, like five daggers, had carved five deep gashes into his shoulder.
The Third Commander, after being freed, sheepishly rejoined the ruffians, filled with shame and resentment. He, the esteemed Third Commander of the mountain stronghold, known for his bravery, had been subdued by Zhou Fugui in a single move, and that too, while Zhou Fugui was injured. How could he not feel utterly mortified?
"Justice? Law? Hmph, on Fly Dragon Mountain, there is neither justice nor law," the woman in red said, her gaze fixed on Zhou Fugui. "Who are you, and what brings you here?"
"So, you are the brave folk of Fly Dragon Mountain!" Zhou Fugui said, raising one hand to his chest in a respectful salute. "This is not Bear-Felling Ridge, then?"
"Bear-Felling Ridge? That's still quite a distance from our Fly Dragon Mountain. Are you headed there?" the woman asked, looking at Zhou Fugui with a touch of curiosity.
"Yes. May I ask your honorable name, miss?" Zhou Fugui nodded.
"You haven't answered my question, yet you ask for my name?" the woman’s face flushed slightly, and then she scowled.
"Quickly state your name, or else… or else…" The Third Commander tried to utter a threat but couldn't finish, having nearly been killed by Zhou Fugui just moments ago.
"Oh, miss, could you spare some water?" Zhou Fugui, having fought bears and boars, and with his injured shoulder, was exceedingly thirsty.
The woman frowned slightly and nodded, signaling to hand him a waterskin filled with clear water.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp…" After drinking several large mouthfuls of water, Zhou Fugui felt much revived. Wiping his mouth, he said, "I am from the Yan army…"
"Whoosh!" The ruffians immediately raised their weapons again, looking as vigilant as ever. The young woman also tightened her grip on the short sword at her waist.
All the ruffians, including the young woman, had witnessed Zhou Fugui’s struggle against the bear and boar. Such a fierce individual, and from the Yan army at that – their sworn enemy. They were all extremely tense, fearing Zhou Fugui might suddenly lash out again.
"A convict from the Yan army…" Zhou Fugui took another drink and chuckled. "I am a convict exiled to Snow Rime City for military service."
He was alone, injured, and unarmed. He wondered why they were so nervous. Zhou Fugui found it rather amusing.
"A convict? Exiled to Snow Rime City for military service?" The young woman heard him and immediately ordered her subordinates, "Bring him up to the mountain."
Fly Dragon Mountain had encountered ordinary soldiers and prisoners from the Yan army before. In this light, Zhou Fugui was indeed not an Eagle Claw surveying their territory. However, they needed to bring him up the mountain for a thorough interrogation. If Zhou Fugui truly was a convict, they could keep him.
Such a formidable warrior, and quite handsome too, she thought with a hint of shyness. Keeping him in the stronghold would undoubtedly make for a capable fighter.