Divine Level Witch Doctor

"Er..."

Zhao Yuan hesitated for a moment but decided not to tell the old village chief the Xiaoyang's true identity. After all, things like Mountain Spirits and Wild Monsters were too frightening, not to mention the incredibly bizarre Paper Mache Man from before. If he told the old village chief and the villagers all of this, it would scare them to death.

So, Zhao Yuan told a white lie: "It was a black bear!"

The night was dark anyway, and the villagers hadn't seen the Xiaoyang's strange appearance, only its massive body. Calling it a black bear was a plausible explanation.

"What? A black bear?" The old village chief was surprised, asking skeptically, "Where would a black bear come from on our mountain? Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"I didn't see it wrong, it was a black bear! Maybe it wasn't born and raised on our mountain; it could have wandered here from somewhere else." Zhao Yuan insisted it was a black bear. At that moment, some villagers noticed his crumbling courtyard wall. The sight, while shocking everyone, also served as evidence for his words.

After all, aside from a black bear, it was hard for people to imagine what other animal could be so ferocious as to smash through courtyard and house walls! Although the walls weren't made of brick and stone but of packed mud, they were still very sturdy. An adult man, even putting all his might into it, would only end up bloody and bruised, unable to break through the mud wall.

With the facts right in front of him, the old village chief had no choice but to believe it. He clicked his tongue in amazement. "Well, I'll be. I've been hunting in these mountains for decades and have never once run into a bear. To think one would actually barge into the village today. It must have been a starving bear, that's why it came to our village looking for food!"

The villagers nodded repeatedly at his words, all agreeing with his analysis.

Zhao Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But the old village chief's tone changed, and he muttered, "Strange. Why were the dogs so quiet when a bear entered the village?"

"The dogs did bark, but they went silent after a couple of yelps," a villager said.

"Maybe the dogs were scared by the black bear and didn't dare to bark?" another villager guessed.

The old village chief shook his head repeatedly. "That shouldn't be. I don't know about other people's dogs, but the ones I keep at home often go hunting with me. Even if it was a bear that entered the village, they shouldn't have been so scared that they didn't even dare to bark."

It was a question destined to remain unanswered.

While the villagers were gathered and chatting at Zhao Yuan's gate, Cai De also arrived with his workers. Zhao Yuan pulled him aside, pointed at the broken courtyard and house walls, and asked him to bring people over to help with repairs after daybreak.

After Zhao Yuan had made the arrangements, the old village chief came up and asked, "Brother Yuan, should I have a few men stay in your yard to help you stand guard?"

"No need to trouble everyone." Zhao Yuan waved his hands dismissively. "I already injured and scared off that black bear. After getting shot at by everyone's guns, it definitely won't dare to come back."

The old village chief thought about it and figured that made sense, so he didn't insist. He just asked curiously, "Oh, right, how did you manage to chase that black bear away? Even an experienced hunter like me would have to take a detour if I ran into that thing. I wouldn't dare fight it lightly. But you, you chased it right on its heels. You've got some serious guts."

"I just used a stun baton and a torch to scare it away," Zhao Yuan said. As he spoke, he channeled Wish Power into the Wind and Thunder Whip, making it crackle with electric sparks.

The light was dim at night, so the old village chief couldn't see clearly. Thinking Zhao Yuan was holding a regular stun baton, he didn't give it a second thought. He shook his head and said, "You, you're fearless like a newborn calf that doesn't fear a tiger. Chasing a bear with just a stun baton... If you hadn't scared it, and it swiped at you, you would've been a goner!"

Zhao Yuan just smiled and said nothing.

After seeing the old village chief and the other villagers off, the village returned to silence.

Zhao Yuan went back to the main hall and tidied up a bit. He swept the ashes of the burned Paper Mache Man into a dustpan, found a corner in the courtyard, and dug a hole to bury them.

These ashes still contained residual Evil Qi. If not buried properly, they could harm people. At best, it would affect a person's luck for a few days; at worst, it could cause a great decline in their righteous Qi, leaving them plagued by an illness that would not heal.

After he was done, Zhao Yuan felt waves of pain from his body. He went into his parents' room and pulled the light switch.

In his parents' room was a large wardrobe with a mirror on it—the only mirror in Zhao Yuan's house.

He took off his down jacket and undershirt and looked in the mirror. Good grief. Besides the two scratches on his shoulder from the Paper Mache Man, both of his arms were covered in large bruises. These were from the Xiaoyang. In addition, there were red spots all over his body, the result of ruptured capillaries from the concussive force.

Fortunately, although the injuries looked frightening, they were all superficial. They hadn't damaged his bones or sinews and wouldn't affect his strength.

He quickly wiped the bloodstains off his body. He took out the pre-prepared Blood Circulation Soup stored in his Storage Ring and applied it all over his body to invigorate blood flow, reduce swelling, and treat his injuries.

Then Zhao Yuan got dressed and muttered to himself, 'I can't wait until dawn. I have to go "chat" with Mage Zhang now. Delays are dangerous, and who knows what other tricks he might have up his sleeve!'

Zhao Yuan finished getting ready and was about to leave, but he quickly stopped. He decided to use the Tracking Technique first to pinpoint Mage Zhang's location.

It was a good thing he did, or he would have come up empty!

Initially, Zhao Yuan had planned to head to the town police station, because Mage Zhang had been taken away by the police that morning. But after using the Tracking Technique, he was surprised to discover that Mage Zhang wasn't at the police station, nor was he at his own home. He was in Longmen Village, a mountain journey of about ten-plus *li* from Jinhua Village.

'That guy definitely escaped!'

Zhao Yuan was certain the police wouldn't have let Mage Zhang go so easily. And since he hadn't returned home, it meant he must have escaped. With a subordinate like the Xiaoyang, escaping from a police station wouldn't be too difficult. As for this spot in Longmen Village, it was likely one of his many bolt-holes.

'Good thing I have the Tracking Technique, otherwise finding you wouldn't have been easy.' Taking the address and map marked by the Tracking Technique, Zhao Yuan slipped out of his house and, under the cover of darkness, rushed toward Longmen Village.

The entire way, he kept the Shrinking Earth Talisman activated, making his speed as fast as a cheetah's.

A journey that would normally take more than half an hour, Zhao Yuan completed in less than ten minutes.

And that was with the difficult road conditions at night; otherwise, he could have been even faster.

Upon entering Longmen Village, Zhao Yuan took out the map with the address to find his way. He soon located a house and vaulted over the wall. A dog, startled awake, was about to bark when he tossed an Enchanting Talisman at it. The dog now saw him as its master, wagging its tail and falling silent.

Just like that, Zhao Yuan slipped silently into the house and saw Mage Zhang sound asleep in bed, cuddling a beautiful young woman.

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