Under the power of his talent, Qin Tian instantly retreated more than ten meters, putting distance between himself and the Panda.
He didn’t continue running away. Qin Tian stopped in his tracks. With his talent, he didn’t have to worry about being caught by the Panda, so driven by curiosity, he decided to stay and observe this ferocious National Treasure.
Earlier, the situation had been too urgent for a careful look, but now, upon closer inspection, Qin Tian found the Panda somewhat strange.
As a National Treasure, Qin Tian knew what a Panda looked like. But this one before him was noticeably larger than any Panda he had seen before. Its head, compared to other Pandas, was far less cute.
The Pandas he had seen all had big, round heads, but this one’s head was angular, protruding—similar to a bear’s but even fiercer.
Qin Tian couldn’t help but recall something he had once read on a forum: in ancient times, Pandas were called “Iron-eating Beasts,” said to be the mounts of Chiyou.
Calling them Iron-eating Beasts might have been an exaggeration, but judging by this Panda right here, categorizing it as a fierce beast was definitely justified—something proven by the slap it had just delivered.
The power of the Panda’s paw was terrifying. The deep claw marks it left behind were proof enough. Had it landed on Qin Tian’s body, there was no exaggeration in saying he would have been knocked out cold.
However, despite its fierceness, like most Pandas, it was a bit clumsy.
Qin Tian’s sudden disappearance had clearly surprised it. The Panda kept retreating while looking around, searching for Qin Tian’s figure.
Seeing this, Qin Tian suddenly had an idea and threw the bamboo tube from his body out in front of the Panda.
The tube hit the Panda on the head. The Panda slowly turned around, its face fierce, but when it saw the bamboo tube, it immediately stopped roaring and sniffed it.
“That’s more like it,” Qin Tian said curiously, wondering how the Panda would break open the bamboo tube. “Be good and eat the bamboo, don’t be so aggressive.”
But he was disappointed. The next moment, the Panda raised its paw and crushed the bamboo tube to pieces before charging at Qin Tian.
***
“Damn it,” Qin Tian cursed under his breath, drawing a charcoal arrow and nocking it on his Recurve Bow, silently apologizing.
Qin Tian had thought about driving the Panda away, but the risks were too great—he couldn’t guarantee the Panda wouldn’t return.
So whether it was to claim this place or ensure his safety, he had to kill the Panda.
Taking action against a Panda was truly insane. He was probably the first in nearly a hundred years, but if it weren’t for survival, he wouldn’t do it.
With that thought, Qin Tian drew his Recurve Bow to full draw.
“Shoo—”
He released the arrow, which flew straight toward the Panda’s head.
The Panda seemed oblivious and didn’t slow down.
As expected, the arrow struck the Panda’s head, but to Qin Tian’s surprise, it caused no damage at all.
The arrow hit the Panda’s fur and was bounced aside, feeling like a fist hitting cotton—every bit of force absorbed.
Charcoal arrows were not sharp enough and couldn’t pierce the Panda’s thick fur and skin. This was something Qin Tian hadn’t expected.
Hit by the arrow, the Panda growled angrily and charged even faster.
A chill ran down Qin Tian’s back as the Panda locked its gaze on him. He suddenly regretted shooting the arrow, but it was too late to turn back now.
Despite its large and clumsy build, the Panda was surprisingly fast when running. The short distance of ten meters was quickly closed.
Of course, Qin Tian was no fool to just stand there.
Well prepared, when the Panda raised its massive paw, Qin Tian leapt backward, creating distance while nocking a stone arrow to his bowstring.
This move was extremely dangerous—any mistake and Qin Tian would be bleeding badly. Without his talent, he wouldn’t dare.
At this moment, the distance between Qin Tian and the Panda was barely two meters, and at this range, the arrow’s power was tremendous.
Qin Tian released the string, and the stone arrow struck the Panda’s head, splattering blood.
Seeing this, Qin Tian was elated and shouted inwardly, “Got it!”
Unfortunately, his excitement was premature. The arrow slowly fell, its tip already shattered.
Looking at the wound, there was bleeding, but it hadn’t penetrated deep flesh and certainly hadn’t hit bone. For a creature of this size, the injury was insignificant.
The Panda’s skull was simply too hard, and even a stone arrowhead couldn’t pierce it.
Failing to land a fatal blow, Qin Tian didn’t hesitate and immediately turned to run, the Panda chasing relentlessly, clearly determined not to lose him.
However, thanks to his talent, Qin Tian’s speed was incredibly fast. The Panda couldn’t keep up, let alone catch him.
***
Entering the forest with the Panda in pursuit, Qin Tian used the trees for cover, dodging left and right. In the blink of an eye, he lost the Panda, which vanished into the dense woods.
But Qin Tian didn’t leave immediately. Taking advantage of the Panda searching for him, he circled around to its rear, dagger in hand, intending to give it a small cut.
Holding his breath, he moved slowly closer, but he underestimated the Panda’s alertness.
When he was still a few meters away, the Panda noticed him, suddenly turning around with a roar and lunging.
With nerves on edge, Qin Tian sprinted away, disappearing once more from the Panda’s sight.
Not daring to attack recklessly again, Qin Tian hid behind a tree, watching the Panda from afar, pondering how to deal with it.
But after observing the Panda’s next moves, he abandoned the idea.
“Better not risk it. I should think of a safer plan.”
The Panda had a violent temper. After losing Qin Tian’s trail, it vented its anger on the nearby trees, swinging its paws fiercely, sending wood chips flying.
After a long time, it grudgingly returned to its cave.
Stepping out from behind the tree, Qin Tian watched the Panda’s retreating figure thoughtfully.
He had been quite close to the Panda earlier, yet it hadn’t detected him. This meant its sense of smell wasn’t very sharp—at least not like the Tusks Boar, which could track by scent.
Knowing this, Qin Tian felt a bit relieved. If the Panda’s sense of smell had been keen, he wouldn’t dare return to the camp for fear of being found.
Glancing at the sky, it was already noon. Without delay, Qin Tian headed back the way he came.
***
“Panda?! Isn’t that a National Treasure?! Maybe we should just forget it. We can look for other places. If you can’t even handle it with your Recurve Bow, it’s way too dangerous.”
At night, Qin Tian and Ye Lin were eating grilled fish. After hearing about Qin Tian’s encounter today, Ye Lin found it hard to believe but was mostly worried.
“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything without confidence. Besides, if I can’t beat it, I can still run—just like today.” Qin Tian smiled. Having finally found such a good place, he wasn’t about to give up so easily.
“So, have you thought of a way to deal with it?” Ye Lin asked, seeing the ease on Qin Tian’s face.
“Not exactly a way,” Qin Tian shook his head. Before Ye Lin could speak, he continued, “Since charcoal and stone arrows don’t work on that Panda, why not switch to iron arrows?”
Judging from how little damage the stone arrows caused, if the arrowhead were harder, it might pierce the Panda’s skull.
Even if it couldn’t, it would at least injure the Panda enough to wear it down over time. Killing it wouldn’t be a problem then.
“Iron arrows?” Ye Lin paused, “Where would you get those?”
Qin Tian didn’t answer immediately, instead patting his belt buckle.
“But you can only make two arrowheads at most.” Ye Lin was a bit worried. “Can that really handle the Panda?”
“Just shoot more arrows.” Qin Tian quickly read her mind. “I’ll tie a hemp rope to the end of the arrows. That way, I can pull them back after shooting.”
Hearing this, Ye Lin nodded. That was indeed a clever plan.
“I wish there was some perfect solution,” Ye Lin sighed. As a fellow countrywoman, she had a special affection for the Panda as a National Treasure.
“I actually think that’s not a Panda,” Qin Tian suddenly said.
When he saw the Panda today, something felt off, but the urgency at the time prevented him from thinking it through. Now reflecting, he finally understood what was strange.
Besides its size and facial features differing from a normal Panda, its fur pattern was also different. Though black and white, the distribution varied.
Qin Tian added, “That Panda’s entire head was black, with just two white circles around the eyes. But common Pandas have entirely white heads.”
“Black?” Ye Lin tried to imagine it. When the image of a black-headed Panda formed in her mind, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Haha, sounds pretty ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous or not, it doesn’t stop it from being ferocious,” Qin Tian said quietly.
After a moment, Ye Lin stopped laughing. “If you’re not mistaken, then maybe it’s not a Panda after all.”
“Could it be a subspecies?” Ye Lin guessed but quickly rejected the idea. “No, if it were a subspecies, it should have been reported.”
Qin Tian wasn’t as concerned as Ye Lin. Tossing the fish bones aside, he lay down. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a Panda or not. The outcome’s the same.”