Chapter 9

Gubuziqing crouched on a locust tree, his clothes tattered from his escape through the forest, the fine silk and embroidery he had bought in Tao Yi now reduced to rags. His grand Chu-style headdress was gone, and he had lost one of his shoes, looking utterly disheveled.

However, he had no time to feel sorry for himself, as the danger below had not yet passed. A massive black bear was breathing heavily and roaring loudly, gnawing at the tree trunk with its sharp teeth and clawing at it with its huge paws. After a while, it stood up to nearly one and a half times the height of a man, its chest marked with a prominent crescent of white fur. It hugged the tree trunk with its powerful paws and shook it violently.

The not-so-thick locust tree was already covered in wounds, the bark almost completely gnawed off in a circle. With each blow from the black bear, the tree trembled violently.

Gubuziqing could only cling tightly to the branch, one hand gripping his sword and shouting at the bear, "Thief! Go away, go away quickly."

However, it was to no avail. In a moment of carelessness, he dropped his sword, losing his only weapon. Gubuziqing felt like dying.

"This morning's divination was supposed to be extremely auspicious, even showing the 'Dragon in the Field' hexagram, which means I should encounter a person of great importance! How could this happen?"

Gubuziqing was very confident in his divination skills, but he felt something must have gone wrong. However, now was not the time to think about it, as the bear below was intent on tearing him to pieces!

At that moment, he suddenly saw three fully armed young riders dismount and stealthily approach, the leader gesturing for him to be quiet.

Gubuziqing quickly swallowed his cry for help and watched nervously as the three hid in different bushes.

Clever! Gubuziqing silently praised them in his heart.

The black bear, with bloodshot eyes, was consumed by rage and did not notice the three young hunters sneaking up behind it. They drew their bows and shot three arrows from different directions.

Thud, thud, thud. The massive body of the black bear was an easy target, and all three arrows hit. However, the skill levels of the archers were uneven; two arrows merely scratched the bear, while the leader's arrow struck a vital point.

In pain, the black bear became even more enraged. It abandoned its pursuit of Gubuziqing and turned to find the humans who had harmed it.

Gubuziqing breathed a sigh of relief but was now worried about the three young men. This black bear, fattened over a year, had thick skin and fur, making it difficult to kill with ordinary arrows.

The black bear paused for a moment and then charged forward with a force that shook the ground. Its fur stood on end, a sign of its fury, and it was about to reach the three young men.

In that short time, the three hunters had reloaded their bows. At the leader's call, they fired another round. This time, all the arrows hit vital points, blinding the bear, and the leader's arrow pierced through the thick bear skin and flesh, striking its heart.

The black bear staggered a few steps and finally fell with a loud thud. The three young riders, led by Zhao Wuxu and his two deputies, emerged from the bushes.

...

Zhao Wuxu looked at the massive body of the fallen bear and could not help but feel lucky. If this volley had not killed it, the three of them would have had to flee, leaving the unfortunate man in the tree to his fate.

He looked at the disheveled traveler clinging awkwardly to the tree, a destroyed carriage nearby, and the horses that had fled. Provoking a bear preparing for hibernation, with a full belly of anger, had serious consequences.

Yu Xi and Mu Xia were excited; it was their first time killing such a large prey. Zhao Wuxu, however, remained cautious. He approached the bear's body at a safe distance, not caring about damaging the valuable bear skin, and fired a few more arrows. Only when the bear stopped twitching did he approach the locust tree, which was now completely stripped of its bark and about to fall.

"Sir, this beast has been killed by us. You can come down now."

The traveler, who had been forced to stay in the tree for a long time, was thirsty and exhausted. Hearing this, he sighed in relief, let go, and fell directly from the tree, fainting immediately.

Zhao Wuxu was speechless at the traveler's clumsiness and had to pour cold water on his face to revive him. Yu Xi and Mu Xia discussed how to drag the massive bear out of the forest.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Soon, the traveler was jolted awake, looking around in confusion.

"Sir, you are only shaken and have some minor cuts. There is no serious injury."

"Thank you, young sirs. If not for your help, the consequences would have been unimaginable." The traveler, speaking with a Song accent, clearly was not from Jin.

Zhao Wuxu became alert. "Sir, you are not from this area? This is the territory of the Zhao clan, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter. How did you end up here alone?"

"Cough, cough, it's a long story. I am a counselor to the Grand Works Minister of Song, Gubuziqing. This morning, I left the inn to visit the tomb of Jie Zitui in Mianshang. On my way back, I lost my way and accidentally entered this forest, disturbing the beast. It smashed my carriage with one swipe and chased me here." Gubuziqing said, still shaken.

As he spoke, Gubuziqing paused, noticing the unique features of the young man before him: a high nose bridge, slightly sunken eye sockets, indicating some Di blood, and eyes that were black and bright, like a vortex, drawing his gaze.

Out of habit, he reached out to grab the young man's hand to examine his palm.

Being grabbed by a strange man in his thirties, Zhao Wuxu felt a chill and stepped back, drawing his sharp short sword. "Sir, what are you doing?"

Gubuziqing realized his behavior was impolite but could not resist the curiosity. "To be honest, I am a famous diviner from Song. Your features are unique and intriguing. Please forgive me, but could you let me examine your palm?"

Zhao Wuxu, having dealt with many charlatans in his past life, laughed dismissively. "Sir, if you are so skilled at divination, why couldn't you predict the right path to take or the danger you would face today?"

As he spoke, he suddenly paused. A diviner? Could this be the one mentioned in the historical records who spoke well of him to his father, Zhao Yang?

He looked closely and saw that Gubuziqing, after wiping the dirt and blood from his face, did indeed have the appearance of a renowned scholar.

"Very well, I will comply." Zhao Wuxu quickly changed his expression to a harmless smile and extended his hand, allowing Gubuziqing to study it.

"Strange, strange indeed..." Gubuziqing alternated between marveling and frowning, looking very serious.

"Sir, Sir? Have you seen anything?"

"The young sir's features are of great nobility, and you may become a feudal lord in the future. However..."

"However?"

"Your destiny has been abruptly cut off recently. I have never seen such a fate in the thousands of people I have examined since I began studying divination at the age of ten... As the poem says: 'If we trace the stream, the path is long and difficult; if we trace the stream, the path is steep and arduous.' The future of the young sir is uncertain, and I am truly unable to predict it."

Zhao Wuxu felt a bit uneasy. It seemed that Gubuziqing was not a fraud and had indeed seen something. He needed to get rid of him quickly before he figured out more.

He laughed dryly and said, "Sir, you are a guest of the Zhao clan. It was already a lapse to let you be frightened. Xi, use your horse to escort the sir out."

"Also, call for some people to carry this beast away. We can have stewed bear paws tonight." Thinking of the rare delicacy he had only seen in his past life, Zhao Wuxu's mouth watered.

Before Gubuziqing left, Zhao Wuxu asked him half-jokingly, "Sir, I am chasing a prey. Can you divine which direction it has gone?"

True to his profession, Gubuziqing pulled out some divination rods from his tattered sleeve and set up a divination on the spot.

One can lose a sword, but not the tools of one's trade!

Gubuziqing frowned and mumbled in the refined language of Chengzhou. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh in excitement.

"Amazing, it's the omen of King Wen encountering a flying bear!"

King Wen of Zhou once dreamed of a bear with wings flying into his arms. The next day, while hunting in the Zhou plains, his diviners predicted that he would encounter something that was neither a dragon, nor a tiger, nor a bear. He then met Jiang Taigong, who was fishing with a straight hook on the Wei River.

Gubuziqing pointed to a deep path in the forest and said, "If the young sir follows this path, you will have great fortune, beyond words!"