I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 198: The Sulking Black Bear

On this day, Xiao Zongting finally finished the mid-year inventory work.

In the evening, Xiao Zongting, Shen Ping, and Duan Rong sat in the pavilion at Liu’s House, drinking and chatting.

Duan Rong had specially gone to the shop on the street to fry a few hot dishes, and the food nearly filled the lunch box to the brim.

Then he bought a few pancakes from the beef soup shop and got a small pot of yellow wine to bring back.

In the evening courtyard, a cool breeze blew, mingling with the sounds of cicadas and crickets, creating a noisy scene...

The three of them were in the pavilion, eating and drinking together.

Shen Ping took a sip of wine, looked at Xiao Zongting, and said, "Old Xiao, if it weren’t for you, I probably would have ended up dying on the street this time."

Shen Ping’s words were true. He had been in the Death Prison with a burning fever for several days, on the brink of losing his life. If thrown on the street with no one looking after him for a day or two, he would probably have perished.

However, Xiao Zongting had long been attentive to his situation and bribed one of the old prison guards in the Death Prison to get first-hand news. As soon as Shen Ping was tossed onto the street, Xiao was there to carry him to Duan Rong’s place without delay for the treatment.

Shen Ping raised his glass and said, "I, a man with nothing but debts, have no possessions to thank you with. I’m borrowing the wine and food from Duan, offering flowers to Buddha, and drinking to you!"

"Get lost! Why this pretentiousness with me?"

Although Xiao Zongting cursed with a smile, he still raised his glass and clinked it with Shen Ping’s. "Old Shen, I won’t lie, seeing you like that, I thought you were done for. But you managed to pull through; you’re truly fortunate!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ping glanced at Duan Rong with indiscernible eyes and laughed, "I’m certainly a fortunate man; otherwise, how could I meet you tricksters in the Jianghu?"

The two of them laughed heartily.

Duan Rong took the opportunity during the break to get up and refill wine for Xiao Zongting and Shen Ping, but Xiao Zongting’s cup was only filled to seventy percent before the wine pot was empty.

Duan Rong smiled awkwardly and said, "Bought too little wine. Please wait a bit, I’ll go to the street and get some more."

Earlier, Duan Rong, with both food box and pancakes in hand, had only bought a small pot of wine, thinking Shen Ping was barely recovering from illness and they’d only drink a little. Unexpectedly, the two got increasingly excited as they drank.

Duan Rong took the wine pot and left Liu’s House.

Shen Ping looked at Duan Rong’s back and said, "This kid has potential! Pity, my Dantian is ruined, or I would really take him as a disciple."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zongting suddenly put on a stern face and said, "You’ve come too late, the boy is already under my wing."

Shen Ping glanced at Xiao Zongting coldly and retorted, "Others might think you’re capable. But Xiao, let me tell you, I don’t fancy your tricks."

"You’ve always had your nose up in the air." Xiao Zongting snorted coldly, "Sadly, you’re just average."

Shen Ping said, "As average as I am, I still cultivate in both medicine and martial arts, walking on two legs!"

At Shen Ping’s words, Xiao Zongting’s temper flared instantly, as Shen Ping seemed to liken dual cultivation to walking on two legs, effectively mocking Xiao Zongting as a cripple.

Xiao Zongting’s face shifted, clouded with uncertainty, and he said no more, standing up and leaving with a flick of his sleeve.

Just then, Duan Rong returned with a jar of wine, he arrived at the door to find Xiao Zongting leaving in a huff, limping away.

"Elder Xiao!"

Duan Rong called out to Xiao Zongting, but it was as if Xiao did not hear.

Perplexed, Duan Rong walked into Liu’s House and saw Shen Ping sitting alone in the pavilion, asking, "What happened with Elder Xiao?"

Shen Ping snorted, not even glancing at Duan Rong, and got up to head to the bedroom inside.

Looking at the two, Duan Rong was suddenly filled with frustration.

These two stubborn old guys, already at their age, still acting like kids. When he left, they were laughing and chatting; now, they’re quarreling.

Duan Rong was helpless, so he just sat in the pavilion, eating and drinking by himself.

On the second morning, Duan Rong had just started washing up by the big water tank when Shen Ping suddenly came over and said, "Duan, go to the carriage shop later and rent a horse carriage; take me out of town."

"Out of town? Where to?"

"Just rent it," Shen Ping said, standing in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Duan Rong pouted and quietly muttered: This old geezer is acting quite high and mighty!

Yet, after breakfast, Duan Rong still eagerly went to the carriage shop to rent a horse carriage.

Duan Rong parked the carriage at the entrance of Yuan Shun Escort Agency, went into Liu’s House to call Shen Ping out and asked, "Old Shen, where are we going with this rented carriage?"

"East Suburb, Wild Boar Mountain!"

"Wild Boar Mountain?" Duan Rong was surprised; he’d been there plenty.

"Yes, come with me, you drive the carriage!" Shen Ping said in a friendly tone.

Duan Rong scratched his nose, unsure what Shen Ping was planning.

Familiar with the road to Wild Boar Mountain, Duan Rong drove the carriage, heading there while Shen Ping sat inside.

Driving a carriage wasn’t as fast as horseback, and by the time they reached the village edge under Wild Boar Mountain Range, it was late at night.

A bright moon hung over the Wild Boar Mountain Range, like a mysterious goddess draped in veils amidst the clouds.

Duan Rong initially wanted to trouble Old Qin again and enter the mountain overnight.

But Shen Ping proposed resting the night in the carriage and entering the mountain the next day.

Duan Rong thought, they weren’t in a hurry this time, unlike last time when he had to rush back for the regularization assessment, so there was no need to disturb Old Qin’s house at night.

Besides, Shen Ping’s appearance was quite intimidating, wouldn’t want to scare the old man in the middle of the night.

Duan Rong tethered the horse to a tree by the village and they slept in the carriage for half the night.

The next morning, as dawn broke, Duan Rong drove the carriage to Old Qin’s house, handed him a Broken Silver piece, gave some instructions, then entered Wild Boar Mountain with Shen Ping.

Duan Rong soon realized that the path Shen Ping took him on was entirely different from what he was used to in Wild Boar Mountain.

Usually, when Duan Rong visited Wild Boar Mountain, he would go into the old forest in the valley... But the path Shen Ping took led mostly through cliffs, dismissing the vast valleys entirely.

The Wild Boar Mountain Range stretches hundreds of miles. The two walked for half a day, and Duan Rong noticed Shen Ping showed no signs of stopping. Despite his damaged Dantian, Shen Ping’s vigor after recovering from illness was impressive; he traversed long mountain trails without panting...

This indicated that before his Dantian was ruined, he was accustomed to mountain hiking...

While they walked to a mountaintop, suddenly they encountered a black bear scratching itself against an Old Pine Wood.

This black bear was a mature one, weighing as much as four hundred pounds, charging like a tank, capable of killing with one paw.

At the sight of the bear, Duan Rong’s heart skipped and he prepared to draw his blade.

But just then, the bear glanced at Shen Ping and, like it had seen a ghost, scrambled away, tumbling down the mountainside into the valley’s old forest...

Perplexed, Duan Rong looked at Shen Ping, not understanding why the bear was so afraid of him.

Shen Ping noticed Duan Rong’s gaze, laughed, and explained, "I mixed some honey with a knockout drug, knocked that bear out, and harvested its gallbladder for days."

"At that time, I was mixing a medicine that required bear gall, so it suffered a bit. But after concocting the medicine, I let it go and even healed its belly wound! Unexpectedly, that beast shows no gratitude, fleeing the moment it sees me!"

"How rude!"

Shen Ping’s words made Duan Rong shake his head in disbelief.

Are you alright? You cut open its belly, took its gall, and still expect it to be grateful?