In his astonishment,
and a little further away,
another Jianghu expert, startled by the scene, blurted out in a murmur:
"When I was a child, I heard my father say... there was a scholar from another town who, while traveling through mountains and rivers, encountered a thousand-year-old tree demon that could understand human speech and speak human language... The locals considered it a strange tale of the wilderness... Now... I find myself in one of these strange tales..."
A thousand-year-old tree demon, a Black Bear Demon writing.
Although the two seemed very different,
to this Jianghu expert, they were both equally supernatural and bizarre occurrences.
"Unspeakably strange..." Two people nearby who heard his murmur, after looking at the Black Bear Demon who was still writing, also unconsciously nodded in agreement.
However, one of them seemed to feel that these words were inappropriate, so he hastily tugged at the other's sleeve, signaling him to stop talking.
But,
Chen Guan's hearing was excellent, so he naturally heard what he said.
'A thousand-year-old tree demon? A tree demon that can speak human language? That sounds more powerful than me.'
Chen Guan knew his own situation.
At most, he was human himself, which was why he understood human language and had 'gained sentience'.
Therefore, compared to those monsters who had Cultivated Dao Skill and were truly demon Cultivators,
he was not even enough to fill their teeth.
But now, he had managed to awe these people by leveraging these supernatural and strange occurrences.
This was a good thing.
Thus,
Chen Guan became even more determined to find Secret Manuals and wanted to have these Jianghu experts help him gather some.
Then he would see which ones he could practice.
A moment later,
after about a dozen lines of text were written,
Chen Guan put away the branch and, with a natural smile, looked at the person who had just mentioned the thousand-year-old tree demon.
It was his thousand-year-old tree demon that made many people fear him even more.
He was a hero in disguise.
"Senior..."
When the 'Tree Demon Xia Ke' saw Senior Black Bear's eerie smile directed at him, he immediately gave a dry laugh and cupped his hands, knowing that his original comments had been heard by Senior Black Bear.
Although there was no particular meaning in his words; rather, he was moved by the scene and suddenly remembered this bizarre past event.
But humans and bears were different, what if Senior Black Bear misunderstood something? What then?
Everyone had thoughts, and naturally, complex and changeable minds.
Fortunately,
the Tree Demon Xia Ke noticed that Senior Black Bear merely glanced at him and said nothing more.
'You scared me to death...'
After letting out a big sigh of relief, he immediately looked at Senior Black Bear's handwriting on the muddy ground.
There were nearly a hundred words, written in a flowing style.
It roughly said, 'I am somewhat interested in Martial Forest Cultivation Techniques and Cultivation Secret Manuals. Do any of you have them? Or can you find them?'
After reading it,
the Jianghu individuals looked at each other.
Finally, they all cupped their fists towards Chen Guan.
At the same time, the Tree Demon Xia Ke, as if to make amends, was the first to say, "Junior will return to town in the next few days to search for them for Senior!"
No sooner had he finished speaking,
a Xia Ke with somewhat large ears immediately followed up, saying, "Grandpa Bear, I myself practice a Secret Manual called 'Cloud-Stepping Technique'.
This method is a Qinggong (Lightness Skill) Secret Manual.
I will write it out for you."
As he spoke, his eyes scanned the surroundings and happened to spot a small ink block carried by another Xia Ke. He then tore open a bundle, using it as paper, and prepared to write on the spot.
"Immortal!"
Another lazy Xia Ke said with some uncertainty:
"If Immortal does not mind, my ancestors had a Cultivation Technique called 'Water Forest Art'.
I will go home in a few months to retrieve it for you.
However, no one in my family has been able to Cultivate it successfully, so I don't know if this Cultivation Technique is real or not?"
At this point, he immediately explained the origin of this Secret Manual, which belonged to a Cultivator,
"I heard my ancestors say that the Secret Manual was bestowed by a Cultivator who rested at my home several centuries ago and saw that my ancestors treated him with courtesy..."
After he finished, he looked at Immortal Bear with trepidation.
He now desperately wanted to befriend this 'demon Cultivator who seemed to have a very good personality'.
Perhaps one day, the story of Xia Ke Bear saving an old man and a child would happen to him.
More powerful people, more paths, after all.
But the other silent people looked at Chen Guan with fear.
They had come lightly equipped to hunt demons, so they hadn't brought any Secret Manuals with them.
Of course, they could write them out like the big-eared Xia Ke.
But they were afraid that some human meridian diagrams, etc., would not be accurately depicted.
Meanwhile, in front,
Detective Yan also used his shallow Internal Energy to stop the bleeding from his wound.
And being a man of action, he quickly took out a Secret Manual called "Mad Wind Blade" from his embrace.
He carried it with him because he read and practiced it daily.
It was precisely because of this that he had progressed so quickly, becoming an Acquired Junior expert in others' eyes at the young age of thirty-seven.
"Senior!"
Detective Yan stepped forward two paces and handed over the Secret Manual.
His family still had the original copy.
This one was a one-to-one handwritten copy.
Whoosh—
Seeing Detective Yan hand over the Secret Manual, Chen Guan first cupped his fists, then took the Secret Manual.
But his palm was too large, and the Secret Manual too small, making it quite awkward to hold.
At this moment, a Xia Ke was perceptive.
Swish swish swish—
He opened the bundle behind him, took out his dry rations, then grabbed the empty bundle and handed it to Chen Guan,
"Grandpa Bear, if you don't mind, you can use Junior's cloth bag to carry it for now, no need to use magical power to hold it."
He felt that Grandpa Bear definitely knew magic, but magic consumed magical power.
Now, being able to carry it in a convenient bundle was certainly good.
Including the rest of the people, they also thought so.
Because they saw Chen Guan's waist tied with vines, hanging some trinkets that looked like treasures, which clearly indicated he was trying to save trouble.
'Grandpa Bear's magical power is profound, even if he hangs treasures outside his body, he isn't afraid of people trying to snatch them...'
They believed that Chen Guan's 'display of wealth' was a sign of confidence in his own strength.
But in reality, Chen Guan only had a bottle of medicine, a tattered cloth amulet from his sister, and a sachet.
All were ordinary items.
It was just that to outsiders, with the identity of a Great Black Bear Demon, they thought that the trinkets on Chen Guan's body were all treasures.
Chen Guan saw their expressions and, seeing that they were being good to him, did not explain, but rather enjoyed it and let them speculate wildly.
Chen Guan's current strength was too weak, and he wanted to gain some benefits, so he could only be a scoundrel who accepted all comers.
'When I become powerful, I will repay some of these favors, if I can.
After all, this is a world of gods and ghosts; if there really is such a thing as fate, then today I have sown their cause.'
Chen Guan looked at the Secret Manuals in the bundle and the big-eared Xia Ke who was writing nearby.
Detective Yan, and the Tree Demon Xia Ke, these people all seemed quite good.
If he could repay them, he naturally would.
Chen Guan remembered their appearances; they were all in their twenties or thirties, clean-shaven and very young.
'Tiger skin, useless to me...'
Chen Guan thought and acted, turning his gaze to the tiger's corpse.
The tiger skin, and some of the meat, could all be given to them.
Because this tiger weighed several hundred catties, he couldn't eat it all.
Leaving it would just let it spoil... In the evening,
they left, taking the awakened elder and over two hundred catties of tiger meat and tiger skin.
"Today, I saw a Bear Demon..."
"It was so miraculous... so miraculous..."
"So some of the supernatural legends are true..."
In the departing forest, the Tree Demon Xia Ke and others were still excited about what they had seen and heard today.
"This tiger skin is rare, Immortal Bear is an immortal of character, truly generous..."
Two other Xia Ke were examining the relatively intact tiger skin, liking it more and more the longer they looked.
And they didn't plan to sell it; instead, they intended to use this wondrous experience to disassemble the tiger skin and make a few small vests.
Then, each brother would have one, as a souvenir of today's events.
"It's best not to reveal Senior Black Bear's whereabouts."
Detective Yan was much more composed, looking at the crowd and cautiously warning, "And do not disturb Senior Black Bear's peaceful Cultivation."
As he spoke, he calculated the time,
"After you retrieve the Secret Manuals, we will gather in Xiao Liuzi Town during the New Year's period, five months from now.
At that time, bring the Secret Manuals and some New Year's goods, and together we will pay New Year's respects to Senior Black Bear."
"Indeed, indeed..."
"Good! I'll listen to Brother Yan!"
"Haha, the New Year's appointment with Senior Black Bear, and the appointment with all you brothers, this Junior will definitely be there!"