Chapter 956: Finding the Man-Bear

Seeing this, Wang An also dismounted and began observing the area around the water hole.

As it turned out, by observing, Wang An actually found something.

On the other side of the water hole, Wang An discovered several clumps of weeds that had been stepped on and had not yet fully recovered; furthermore, these grasses were still dotted with water droplets and mud.

It was obvious that this animal had entered the water first and then emerged from it.

However, what was strange was that since the animal had entered and then exited the water, Da Hei and the other dogs were suddenly unable to smell its scent.

Although Wang An didn't know exactly what this animal was, he had a vague suspicion in his mind.

After walking for about several hundred meters like this, Da Hei finally barked again.

Clearly, this was because after the animal had walked through the grass for a distance, the water on its paws had been wiped clean by the vegetation, causing its scent to be exposed once more.

The three of them remounted their horses and continued the pursuit alongside Da Hei and the pack.

Until they encountered another water hole, and the same thing happened again.

Consequently, Wang An and his companions dismounted once more, leading their horses by the reins as they advanced slowly while searching for tracks.

After this happened several times, Wang An grew somewhat impatient, and more importantly, he felt a genuine sense of alarm.

Because when the same thing occurs multiple times, it is absolutely not a coincidence.

Therefore, if nothing unexpected happened, this animal was most likely that "Human-Bear." It was intentionally hiding its scent as it traveled to prevent other predators or humans from discovering its trail.

Of course, the reason he concluded it was the Human-Bear was also based on the approximate area of the flattened grass.

However, one had to admit that the intelligence of this Human-Bear was simply too high.

Aside from entering the water to mask its scent, Wang An and the others discovered after chasing it for so long that the Human-Bear specifically sought out areas of dense wild grass to walk through, leaping over any patches where there was no grass.

In other words, Wang An and his companions had yet to see a single footprint of the Human-Bear.

Upon realizing this, Wang An voiced his suspicion. As soon as Mu Xueli and Wang Li heard it, they felt that the facts must be exactly as he described.

Mu Xueli said

"A bear becoming a spirit... Old Xiao Pao was actually right."

After Mu Xueli spoke, Wang Li said disdainfully

"Why do we need him to tell us that? If an old bear can become a spirit, then any other creature can do the same once it gets old. In my view, among the beasts in these mountains, as long as they've lived a long time, none of them are easy to mess with."

Mu Xueli thought about it and then agreed wholeheartedly

"Mm-hmm, that's true. Old Fifth, you're not wrong."

Wang An ignored their conversation, instead keeping his head down to look at the flattened weeds as he continued leading the horse forward.

There was no other choice; it was hard enough to find a trail like this. If they gave up now, there would be nowhere else to look for the Human-Bear.

Unknowingly, Wang An's group and the dogs arrived at a relatively sparse thicket of shrubs.

Although this thicket looked sparse, each cluster of shrubs had grown quite large. This meant that if something were hiding behind the shrubs, it would be completely invisible from the outside.

More importantly, such a place was simply not suitable for riding horses.

Therefore, after the dogs dove into the thicket, Wang An and the others hurriedly dismounted. Just as he was about to take the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle off his back, Wang An suddenly felt that in a place like this, the clunky Type 56 would certainly not be as useful as a handgun.

Thus, Wang An said to Wang Li and Mu Xueli

"Don't use the long guns, use the handguns."

As he spoke, Wang An pulled out the large Type 54. Wang Li and Mu Xueli quickly slung their Type 56s back onto their shoulders and took out their box pistols.

Wang An pulled the slide to chamber a round, and Mu Xueli and the other man flipped down their folding grips.

The three of them ran into the thicket following the barking of the dogs, but how could human speed compare to that of dogs?

Moreover, although the thicket was sparse, the winding paths made it impossible to maintain speed. As the three pursued, they found the barking of the dogs growing more distant.

By the time the three of them navigated the twists and turns to exit the thicket and reach a poplar forest, the barking had become faint.

And this was precisely the frustrating part of hunting on horseback.

Mainly because in these great mountains, there are many places where horses cannot go, leaving one to rely on walking.

So, although Wang An and his companions had reached a place where they could ride again, the horses had been left on the other side of the thicket before they entered. It was simply too late to go back for them.

Consequently, the three of them continued to run.

In a place invisible to Wang An and his group, the pack of dogs led by Da Hei had already surrounded a black bear—to be precise, a grey-furred black bear.

If one observed closely, they would find a tuft of white hair on the back of the bear's neck, specifically in the middle of the shoulder blades.

And this was precisely the distinguishing mark that defined a black bear as a "Human-Bear."

This Human-Bear did not look fat at all, but its frame was massive. Estimating by its size, it weighed roughly five or six hundred jin.

From the hairless scars on its body and face, and its remaining half-ear, it was not hard to see that this was absolutely a battle-hardened black bear.

The reason it didn't stay in the deep mountains but instead came to the outskirts was likely because it had grown old and could no longer defeat the younger black bears.

Under Da Hei's command, the dogs remained in a state of surrounding the bear without attacking.

Clearly, Da Hei knew the power of the black bear and was employing a stalling tactic.

The Human-Bear sat there just like a human, facing the pack of dogs with an air of complete indifference.

To be honest, looking at the bear's current physical characteristics, no one would think it still possessed any offensive power.

If the dogs and the black bear continued in this state, it would actually be quite ideal, because once Wang An and the others arrived, they could simply shoot the bear dead and the job would be done.

But the black bear perhaps found the dogs too noisy, or perhaps it had rested enough, so it stood up to leave.

Yes, it intended to leave, walking upright like a human.

Seeing it move, the dogs naturally followed. However, under Da Hei's barking, the dogs only followed and did not step forward to bite.

After walking ten odd meters, Da Qing, Er Qing, and San Qing—three dogs who had always been somewhat disobedient toward Da Hei—suddenly lunged forward, attempting to take a bite out of the Human-Bear.

Although Da Hei barked furiously, the three wolf-dogs acted as if they were deaf and continued to pounce.

The Human-Bear, a battle-hardened black bear, naturally noticed the movements of the three wolf-dogs. The moment the three pounced, the Human-Bear suddenly dropped directly onto all fours.

It must be said that the Human-Bear's reaction speed was truly fast.

(End of Chapter)