Chapter 023

Due to this being the territory of the Black Bear King, no savage beasts dared to wander nearby. The hunting team had to travel quite far before catching a savage boar and a savage sheep.

The village chief instructed them to tie up the savage boar and savage sheep. Leading the way with the shaman, they headed towards the mountain valley.

As soon as they entered the valley, Yu Su detected the unpleasant scent of wild beasts in the air.

Beside Yu Su, Lu Yan also noticed it. He immediately became vigilant, reaching out to stop Yu Su and stood firm, muscles tensed, his eyes sharp and scanning the surroundings like a wild beast.

Yu Su was surprised; he hadn't expected Lu Yan to shield him immediately.

It seemed saving this guy was the right decision.

Feeling pleased, Yu Su couldn't help but smile.

"Roar." The Black Bear King had sensed intruders and roared as a warning. The ground faintly trembled, and heavy footsteps approached from the depths of the valley.

Hearing this, tension spread through the team.

Yu Mao even swallowed nervously, showing obvious fear towards the Black Bear King.

Just as everyone's attention focused on the forest, Yu Su was suddenly bumped into.

Turning to look, he found one of the shaman's disciples. The disciple seemed panicked, as if frightened, and when he noticed Yu Su looking at him, his face turned pale. He quickly turned and ran to the back of the team.

"What's that smell?"

After the disciple ran off, Yu Su smelled an even more pungent odor.

Lu Yan, who had been blocking in front of Yu Su, also turned suddenly. His sharp gaze fixed on Yu Su, and then, to Yu Su's puzzled expression, he bent down to sniff Yu Su's body.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Lu Yan reached out and tugged at the animal-skin skirt wrapped around Yu Su's waist with great strength.

Startled, Yu Su grabbed onto his skirt that almost got pulled off.

"It's fishy."

Fishy? Yu Su saw him staring intently at the animal-skin skirt and couldn't help but lower his head to inspect.

Then, he found a reddish-brown handprint on his animal-skin skirt, and the foul smell was emanating from this handprint.

Yu Su quickly figured out the motive behind this when he remembered the shaman's disciple from earlier. Given the Black Bear King's poor eyesight, relying mainly on its sense of smell, it was clear what the purpose of smearing this substance on Yu Su's skirt was.

Yu Su said to the all-encompassing elf, "Little Quan, scan and analyze what this substance is."

The all-encompassing elf quickly performed the scan: [Master, it's the blood of a Black Barb Snake. It has a significant stimulating effect on the Black Bear King. If it smells this, it will definitely go mad and charge towards you.]

Yu Su sneered. That old shaman really had a dark heart.

At this moment, Lu Yan increased the strength of pulling on Yu Su's skirt, attempting to take it off.

"Wait, don't pull!" Yu Su snapped back to attention. Jokingly, he was wearing only this animal-skin skirt. If it were really pulled off, he would be left exposed.

Seeing that Lu Yan insisted on pulling, Yu Su urgently said, "Black Bear, come here, quick, take it off!"

Yu Su: "I know, just let go first!"

With great difficulty persuading Lu Yan to release his grip, Yu Su quickly secured the animal-skin skirt.

"Roar!"

At this moment, the Black Bear King finally walked out of the forest. Its body was like a small mountain, more intimidating than an ordinary savage bear. Its strength was immense; a tree blocking its path was slapped and broken with a single paw.

People in the team retreated in fear, and several even trembled.

The shaman at the forefront suddenly began to howl loudly, with a strange rhythm, jumping around as if performing a dance.

The Black Bear King halted its steps, turning its head left and right as if listening.

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The village chief took the opportunity to have people bring the wild pig and wild sheep to the Black Bear King and had their throats cut.

When the blood splattered, the bear immediately stopped, sniffed, and approached the wild pig and sheep.

The village chief relaxed, and Yu Feng and the others quickly withdrew.

Everyone held their breath, hoping the Black Bear King would let them pass after eating the pig and sheep.

At this moment, the scent of Black Basilisk Snake's blood suddenly wafted through the air.

The Black Bear King, who should have been quietly eating, became restless. It left the food and looked towards the group.

"What's wrong with the Black Bear King?"

"Why isn't it eating?"

Everyone in the group became uneasy.

At this moment, the shaman's gaze swept over everyone, stopping at Yu Su, and he suddenly pointed at Yu Su, saying, "It's you, there's a smell of evil on you!"

What?

Everyone was shocked and confused. How could Yu Su have the smell of evil?

"Shaman, is it a mistake? How could Yu Su have the smell of evil?" Yu Meng couldn't believe it.

Others also didn't believe it. With the protection of their mountain god, how could Yu Su be possessed by evil?

The shaman said coldly, "If you don't believe it, let him come over. If there's no evil on him, the Black Bear King won't harm him. If there is, the Black Bear King will eat him."

The shaman's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness. The substance he applied to Yu Su was Black Basilisk Snake's blood, capable of making the Black Bear King go mad. Once it smelled the snake blood on Yu Su, it would definitely run towards him, and Yu Su's life would be in danger.

It wasn't his cruelty but Yu Su's annoyance that led him to take such ruthless measures. If he didn't eliminate Yu Su, there would be no place for him in the village.

Yu Su coldly stared back at the shaman.

To make him be eaten by the Black Bear King was not that easy; who would devour whom was still uncertain.

"Roar."

At this moment, the Black Bear King became more restless and clearly fixed its gaze on Yu Su's direction.

The commotion caught the attention of others, and they looked at Yu Su in astonishment.

Could it be that Yu Su really had been possessed by evil?

Terrified people quickly distanced themselves from Yu Su.

Yu Meng, Yu Feng, and a few members of the hunting team remained motionless, gripping their spears defensively.

Lu Yan also bared his teeth, his gaze unusually fierce.

"Brother Yu Su, run when the Black Bear King comes." Yu Meng said.

Yu Su looked at them, slightly stunned, and then felt a warm flow in his heart.

"You don't need to do this. The bear is after me. I'll lead it away, and you take the opportunity to leave the valley."

"But we can't!" Even Yu Feng and the others disagreed, determined to stay and face the Black Bear King with Yu Su.

"We don't believe there's evil on you. There must be a misunderstanding."

"Exactly, with the protection of our mountain god, how could you be possessed by evil? The shaman must be mistaken."

Several people firmly believed that Yu Su had no evil on him and refused to leave.

The Black Bear King approached, and seeing that they wouldn't leave, Yu Su told them, "Later, I'll lead the Black Bear King into the nearby woods. Don't worry; it won't catch up to me. Catch up from behind and disturb it when I start fighting."

After a hesitant look among them, they nodded. "We'll follow your lead."

Yu Su jumped out, and the Black Bear King, smelling his scent, immediately charged towards him.

Of course, Yu Su wouldn't let it catch him. With agile footwork, he darted into the nearby woods.

Seeing this, the Black Bear King followed into the forest.

Once inside, visibility was limited, so Yu Su instructed the elves to activate the scan.

"Little Quan, scan the surrounding terrain at all times."

[Understood.]

After a while, it reported, [Master, there's an entrance to a gorge ahead with a separate space inside.]

"That's it. Lead the bear in there, kill it, skin it, and extract its bones!"

Yu Su swiftly moved through the forest. With the map's guidance, he quickly found the entrance to the gorge. The Black Bear King, still in pursuit, followed them into the canyon.

Inside, indeed, there was a vast space. Yu Su found a relatively open area, ready to deal with the Black Bear King. When he turned around, he saw a figure rushing out of the woods. It was unexpectedly Lu Yan.

Yu Su was surprised. This guy had actually caught up!

"Bang!" The Black Bear King caught up, knocking down several trees.

Yu Su didn't pay attention to Lu Yan; he had more important matters to handle. He instructed everyone to stay back and grabbed his spear, ready to fight the Black Bear King.

The bear's strength was immense, but Yu Su had no intention of confronting it head-on.

This bear was practically a highly myopic blind creature. As long as Yu Su lightened his steps and increased his speed, the bear would be clueless.

As for relying on the scent of the Black Basilisk Snake to distinguish positions, Yu Su ran all over the place, saturating the air with the snake's scent. It would be impossible for the bear to discern anything.

Yu Feng and the others caught up after ten minutes, astonished to see how Yu Su had skillfully toyed with the Black Bear King. The situation didn't match their expectations at all.

Looking at the Black Bear King covered in wounds, they found it strangely pitiful.

The helpless rage of the Black Bear King led to indiscriminate attacks.

However, its massive body destined it to be clumsy, and in the end, it hadn't harmed a single hair on Yu Su. Instead, it gradually exhausted itself and was now on the brink of collapse.

Seizing the opportunity, Yu Su, about to pierce the bear's eyes with his spear, witnessed the bear suddenly kneel down, shivering, and shrinking its body.

Yu Su: "...?"

He was perplexed until he felt his hand's back burning. The green leaf mark left by Qingze was glowing.

Could it be... because he had instinctively infused spiritual energy into his hand when preparing to pierce the bear's eyes, activating the mark?

Observing the bear's submissive behavior, Yu Su decided not to rush to kill it. He lowered his spear.

At this moment, Lu Yan and the others had surrounded them, marveling at the mark on Yu Su's hand.