By the time Clara dragged the black bear back to the cave, night had completely fallen.
The beast must have weighed around 700 pounds, far too heavy for Clara to carry. So she fashioned a simple stretcher out of branches and dragged it back.
The makeshift stretcher worked surprisingly well, and Clara decided she'd use it tomorrow to haul down all the game she'd hunted over the past few days.
But the bear's wounds gave off a strong stench of blood, certain to attract scavengers and predators.
Although she hadn't been injured in the fight with the bear, the struggle had drained a significant amount of her strength. And since she'd be hauling everything down the mountain the next day, she needed to conserve her energy tonight.
Throughout the night, eerie howls of prowling beasts echoed intermittently from the woods. Clara didn't dare relax. She built two bonfires outside the cave, staying on high alert.
Whenever she sensed danger creeping near, she fired warning arrows. She stayed inside the cave as much as possible.
Finally, the first streaks of orange light began to brighten the edge of the sky.
Wasting no time, she wolfed down two roasted wild chickens, tied the bear and the rest of her game onto the stretcher, and set off.
Rather than retracing her steps, she took a different route—skirting the mountain range and heading straight toward the county town of Willowridge.
The nearby village couldn't possibly consume an entire black bear, and Clara didn't have the time or energy to butcher and sell it piece by piece. Better to go straight to the county town—more people, more money, faster sale.
She'd travelled light on her way up, so her pace had been swift.
Now burdened with nearly 800 pounds of game and descending steep terrain, speed was no longer an option.
But her spirits were high—after all, she had a bear. Before she knew it, she emerged from the forest onto the official road.
It was nearly dusk.
The Sheng Kingdom didn't impose a curfew, but the city gates closed at around 7 p.m., after which no one could enter or exit.
Clara pushed herself hard, and just as the city gates of Willowridge were about to shut, she made it through.
There was an entry toll—one copper coin per person.
Clara didn't have a single coin on her. So she sold a wild chicken weighing just over four pounds at the gate for 80 copper coins, paid the toll, and was allowed in.
The guards at the gate went from disbelief to sheer astonishment when they spotted the black bear tied to her stretcher.
In less than an hour, word had reached the managers of two of the town's biggest inns: someone had just brought a black bear into the city for sale.
"Is it true?" Manager Fan asked, wide-eyed.
The errand boy who had gone to investigate nodded frantically. "Absolutely, sir! I've never seen a bear that size before—its head was bigger than two of mine put together! You'd better hurry, or the competition across the street will get it first!"
Manager Fan didn't need more convincing. He forgot his astonishment and rushed toward the city gate.
Meanwhile, Clara was at a nearby wonton stall enjoying a meal.
She had ordered five bowls of pork wontons in one go. At eight coins a bowl, she slapped down forty coins on the vendor's chopping board and calmly took a seat at the only table. She picked up a bowl and began eating with gusto, one bite after another.
The vendor could barely cook fast enough to keep up with her. After three bowls, the fourth was still in the pot. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he apologized, "Hang on, miss, the next batch is boiling right now."
As he spoke, his eyes kept darting toward the game Clara had casually piled by the roadside.
Four wild chickens, two squirrels, a roe deer, and a yellow weasel—all still alive.
On a normal day, live game like that would be rare. A hunter bringing in live catch was usually someone with excellent skills.
But today, nobody even blinked at the live animals—because right beside them was a massive black bear.
The bear had knife wounds on its belly and neck. Who—or what—had managed to send it to the afterlife?
As the vendor brought over the last two bowls of wontons, his eyes flicked to the short blade Clara had placed beside her.
The knife was old, its spine pitted with rust, and the handle was wrapped in fraying cloth, darkened with old stains.
The vendor only needed a glance to realize—that was blood.
Then he looked at the woman sitting calmly at the table, eating steadily and without fuss, as if none of this was out of the ordinary.
Clara felt the vendor's gaze and slowly lifted her eyes from the bowl. Her clear, black-and-white irises stared back at him—unblinking, emotionless, like polished obsidian.
That look didn't feel like it came from a person. It was as if she were gazing at something less than human… maybe even a ghost?
The vendor shuddered and quickly looked away, pretending to busy himself.
Manager Fan arrived just as Clara finished her fifth bowl, her stomach pleasantly full and her expression deeply satisfied.
Since she'd arrived in this world, this was the first proper meal she'd had.
Truly, there's nothing in this world more important than eating well.
With a full belly, everything seemed to make sense again.
"Miss, did you really hunt that black bear?" Manager Fan asked in awe.
He hadn't believed the errand boy when he said it was a woman who'd hunted the bear. But now, seeing Clara in person, he had no choice but to believe.
Hearing someone ask about the bear, Clara stood and walked over to her game pile. She replied to the middle-aged man, "It's mine. You want it? I'll give you a good deal if you take the whole thing."
Manager Fan looked at Clara, then at the bear, then around for a cart or wagon of some kind. Finding nothing, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you bring all this down by yourself?"
Clara nodded and continued her pitch. "The live ones are all fresh. I killed the bear yesterday evening. Weather's been cool—it's still in good condition."
Manager Fan asked, "And how much are you asking for the bear?"
"You tell me," Clara shot back.
She hadn't had the chance to ask around about market prices yet—she'd been too distracted by the wonton smell and her growling stomach.
Manager Fan thought for a moment and cautiously offered, "Eighty taels."
Clara quickly did the math in her head. In Liu Family Village, a family of five living comfortably for a year would spend about twenty taels. So eighty taels—that was four years of good food and living.
Yep, that was about right.
Bear meat wasn't exactly premium—just a bit pricier than pork, maybe 50 to 60 copper per pound. Her bear was 700 pounds. Even averaging it out, the meat alone could go for about 40 taels.
But the real value lay in the pelt, the gall bladder, and the paws. So 80 taels was decent.
"Deal. Eighty taels," Clara agreed cheerfully. She even threw in a wild chicken as a bonus.
"Want me to deliver it for you?" she asked with a smile, seeing that both the manager and his assistant looked completely clueless about what to do with a dead bear.
Before they could answer, Clara placed her knife and bow back onto the stretcher, lifted the whole thing effortlessly, and nodded at Manager Fan to lead the way.
Stunned, Manager Fan nearly dropped his jaw as he watched the towering "black bear mountain" float past.
"She… she…" he stammered, utterly at a loss for words.
"Lead the way!" Clara called from ahead. "I'm waiting to settle the bill."
(End of Chapter)