Chapter Sixteen: The Bear Hunt (Part Two)

With relentless effort, the brown bear shattered the door with a thunderous crash. Yet, due to its size, it couldn't squeeze inside the cabin. Qin Fei peered through the window toward the neighboring house. The bear seemed to be pawing at the dried meat within. However, Qin Fei felt no concern; the venison and wolf meat he had roasted were tied with cords stripped from fishing nets and suspended high in the air. The hanging meat was still some distance from the door, and the length of the bear's paws was simply insufficient to reach it.

Frustrated by its inability to snatch the meat, the bear lingered outside the cabin for an hour or two, roaming restlessly. Eventually, it ambled away, heading toward the mountains. Only when the bear had vanished completely did Qin Fei step outside. He frowned at the ruined door. The bear must have been drawn by the scent of dried meat; it had likely set its sights on this place. It wouldn't be long before it returned.

Now, Qin Fei had two choices: move away entirely, or hunt the bear down and kill it. If he ignored the threat, the bear would keep coming back, and sooner or later something disastrous would happen. Over the past days, Qin Fei had amassed a large collection of supplies—firewood, crafted iron tools, food, and more. Moving it all alone would be an immense task.

He resolved to wait until his bow and arrows were finished, then attempt to kill the bear outright. Even if he couldn't slay it with a single arrow, driving it away would be a decent outcome. For now, he would have to stall for a few more days.

In the meantime, Qin Fei planned to fish at the nearby ice fishing hut. Not far from the fishing camp stood a birch tree, several meters tall, likely many years old. Armed with an axe and a steel saw, Qin Fei spent half a day chopping the tree down. His fuel reserves were nearly depleted, so he cut the birch into small logs to replenish his stock. He also scraped off some birch bark, sliced it into strips, dried it, and saved it. Birch bark is known for its cooling and anti-inflammatory properties and can be used medicinally.

With birch wood as fuel, Qin Fei grabbed his iron crowbar and a can of white maggots and went fishing for several days at the ice hut. The fish he caught from the sea differed from those he had hooked at the mysterious lake.

Rainbow trout—a common saltwater fish named for its colors—rarely weighed more than one or two kilograms, not particularly large. This was the species he caught most frequently. Another was the silver salmon, which was somewhat larger.

Silver salmon—a species found along the West Coast—tended to be hefty. Each weighed at least four kilograms, though they were far less abundant than the rainbow trout. Sea fish had firmer flesh, and their bones were larger, with fewer fine spines compared to freshwater fish.

As soon as he caught them, Qin Fei placed the fresh fish directly into the stove to cook. The taste was superb, so delicious that hardly any salt was needed. Fish spoiled faster than meat, and rotten fish gave off a pungent stench, so he always ate them first.

Qin Fei fished for four days straight, stopping only when he ran out of white maggots. During this time, the brown bear visited the fishing camp again. Qin Fei was inside the ice hut and didn’t encounter the bear directly, but when he returned, he found his cabin’s door covered in bear claw marks. Fortunately, the door of his sleeping cabin was reinforced with a strip of iron, so it hadn’t been destroyed.

In just a few days, the bear had come twice. Qin Fei now felt his safety was seriously threatened. Meanwhile, the four birch saplings he had been drying indoors were now fully prepared. Though the birch saplings were about the same length as maple ones, arrows only needed to be half as long as the bow. Thus, he split the birch saplings in two, making eight arrow shafts.

Next, he needed to make glue. Qin Fei poured a small amount of glycerin into an iron can, then added leftover fish bones from previous meals. He also tossed in some whale skin—essentially fish gelatin. Finally, he added a bit of water, just enough to cover the materials, and placed the can on the stove to heat.

Once everything was boiled into a viscous gel, the glue was ready. This glue not only served to fasten and bind parts but could also be applied as a wax layer to the outside of the bow, protecting the wood from moisture and oxidation, thereby prolonging its lifespan.

While the glue simmered, Qin Fei carefully preheated the arrow shafts by the fire. Dried shafts didn’t crack easily, and he didn’t heat them for long. Preheating the shafts helped make them straighter during the arrow-making process.

The homemade glue had to be used hot; once cooled, it reverted to a semi-solid state and lost its adhesive properties. Thus, the glue was kept heated by the fire throughout.

Qin Fei used iron nails to drill small holes at both ends of each shaft—the front for the arrowhead, the rear for crow feathers. He then dripped the hot glue onto the shafts, and once it cooled completely, an iron arrow was finished.

He made eight arrows in one go. The remaining glue was used to coat the surfaces of the wooden bow and arrow shafts, effectively waxing them.

The maple sapling bow limbs were powerful; when Qin Fei drew the bow, he felt a bit of resistance. Aside from the effort required, the bow wasn’t difficult to use. Qin Fei practiced with it all afternoon and soon grew proficient. Within fifty paces, he had a good chance of hitting a stationary gray wolf.

The day after finishing the bow and arrows, Qin Fei set out with his new equipment toward the bear’s cave, determined to eliminate the threat once and for all.

Only then could he live in peace at the fishing camp.

With the wooden bow in hand, Qin Fei walked slowly across the snowy ground, constantly scanning his surroundings. He had to remain vigilant at all times, for this territory belonged to the brown bear.

Despite his slow progress, Qin Fei didn’t feel cold. Since fashioning his animal hide trousers, he could stay outdoors much longer.

When he was still a hundred meters from the bear’s cave, Qin Fei stopped, unwilling to advance further, and gazed at the cave from a distance.

The bear, as before, lay inside the cave, snoring deeply.