Chapter 391 (1/2)

Eye-Catching

xSome people around also noticed the big man approaching. The people who were pushed away wanted to scold this man, but as soon as they saw him, they immediately swallowed their words.

Most of the people present here knew who this man was. He was a famous wanderer, known as Black Bear. With his appearance, it was a very appropriate name, especially him in a thick brown animal leather, combined with his stocky figure. He really was like a black bear.

The surrounding crowd was pushed back as the Black Bear stepped forward with a steady pace towards Shao Xuan.

Shao Xuan did not notice Black Bear and the crowd’s movements, his attention at this time had always been focused on the stone in his hand. He knew that there were already some people crowded around him, and that there were more than he had expected.

Originally, Shao Xuan only wanted to see if he could use his stone carving to attract a few people to check the animal skins. Even if nobody was attracted, after carving the stone well, he could place it here to advertise. There would always be curious people. After all, there was no one else doing the same.

Shao Xuan’s stone carving technique was polished from grinding his tools often. When Old Ke taught him, the requirements were quite strict. His mistakes in subtle places would be pointed out to Shao Xuan, then he’d continue to polish it, to correct it, until there were no more mistakes to be seen.

Since the effect of him trying to attract the crowd’s attention was better than he thought, this had to be taken more seriously. The approximate outline had been formed, so Shao Xuan replaced the stone hammer with a knife and continued.

As he carved again, Shao Xuan also quickly entered a more focused state.

The ding ding sounds were gone, but everyone was already focused on the stone in Shao Xuan’s hands. As stone powder fell, a figure was taking shape.

The traders here had already left their hunting habits which were passed down from generation to generation. Some of the traders had stopped hunting any large beast so seeing a stone carving of something they hadn’t encountered would naturally look strange to them.

“Is this a carved giant bear?!” There were other Flaming Horns tribe warriors next to Shao Xuan talking.

The “giant” word was heard by the rest and, suddenly other people were also talking about it. They did hunt a giant bear, but how could one carve it with such vivid detail?

Although others had carved on bronze or other artefacts, they have never seen such a lifelike stone carving. This stone carving was small, but it made a person feel the deep wild mountain forest with the roaring of a fierce giant bear.

“How much is this stone carving?” Before the stone carving was finished, someone already asked.

When the others noticed it, those of the same mind also moved, taking out a knife a little bigger than the person in front. They directly went to find Du Kang to discuss.

The people here already knew that the head of the Flaming Horns tribe was the person standing nearby. To discuss the trade, of course directly looking for the most powerful person was the best idea. As for the boy carving, why wouldn’t he listen to the leader’s orders?

So, the people who thought they had a smart idea went to Duo Kang to talk.

Meanwhile, Black Bear, who was now standing in front of Shao Xuan, did not move. His eyes were glued to Shao Xuan’s hands, on the nearly finished stone carving.

A stone carving could convey the carving man’s consciousness when one looked closely. Black Bear found that this small stone carving radiated a savage and violent energy, making the giant bear seem like it was roaring in a forest!

If Shao Xuan was carving other fierce beasts at this time, Black Bear would not be interested. What made him like bears so much then? Their ancestors worshipped bears and worshipped the power of bears, but at the same time, they were also called hunters of the bears. Now, the tribe had transformed into caravans, with little chance of going to the mountains to hunt the big bears. But their obsession with bears was still passed down. It was the hallmark of their caravans. It’s their totem—the bear!

From the start, since he’d seen the stone carving forming in the hands of Shao Xuan, Black Bear’s eyes never moved away.

“I want 20 animal skins.” Black Bear called out.

Compared to the other people directly negotiating to buy the stone carving, Black Bear spoke more skillfully.

Du Kang, who was talking to some people, heard this and immediately ordered people to count the skins. He also told them to choose the high-quality ones, since he knew of Black Bear’s good reputation. No matter what kind of attitude he had for other matters, at least in terms of trading, he’s honest and wouldn’t be stingy.

The animal skins were divided. There were large ones, but that didn’t specifically mean that these large pieces of animal skins were the size of the actual beast. Usually, they still had to cut the large ones to smaller pieces. If a beast is huge, a whole piece of its animal skin would be too big and not convenient for sale. People bought these to make clothes and they couldn’t use something so big, so the tribe had to cut it.

Over time, the traders have formed a consensus that an inherent specification of the size of the divided animal skins would be similar for all to also better organize the pricing. When they went to town and gave the gatekeeper a tol feel, each skin had to meet this specification.

Twenty of the skins were sorted out. Du Kang had his tribesmen stack them up and handed them over to Black Bear.