Four hours ago.
Dayi Mountain.
The first rays of dawn were just breaking. A pale blue mist drifted through the forest, tinting the distant, overlapping peaks into an ink - wash painting of varying shades.
"Damn tyrant!" Wan Mo cursed angrily as she hacked at the branches blocking her way. "I don't know where he's run off to. We've been looking for him all night and still can't find him!"
He Muhao propped himself up with a thick tree branch as a walking stick, gasping for breath. "Wife... let's take a break..." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Maybe... His Majesty has already... returned..."
Wan Mo knew he really couldn't go on any further, so she said, "You wait for me here. I'll look for a while longer." She pointed ahead. "If we still can't find him after reaching that hilltop, we'll go back!"
How could He Muhao agree?
He immediately stood up straight and shook his head. "I'm not tired. I'll go with you, wife!"
Was he joking?
In this desolate mountain, how could he feel at ease letting Wan Mo go alone?
"Can you still walk?" Wan Mo frowned at him.
He Muhao puffed out his chest. "No problem! I could climb five more hilltops, not just one, with ease!"
After saying that, he dragged his heavy feet and followed behind Wan Mo again, gasping as he climbed up the mountain.
The mist in the forest gradually dissipated, and the scenery in the woods became clearer.
Just as they rounded a gentle slope covered in moss, Wan Mo suddenly froze.
"What..." He Muhao didn't finish his sentence when he saw Wan Mo put a finger to her lips.
Her pupils contracted violently, her face instantly turned deathly pale, and the knuckles of her hand holding the sickle turned slightly blue from the strain.
He Muhao had never seen Wan Mo show such an expression. He instinctively held his breath and tensed up, only hearing his heart pounding like a drum in his chest.
A gentle breeze blew, and a faint stench came from up ahead.
Suddenly, the bushes in front shook violently. A shadow flashed, and a black bear emerged!
He Muhao's scalp went numb!
The black bear was as tall as a man, with a strong, muscular body and shaggy fur. As it walked, it was like a moving hill. Its dull - yellow fangs protruded outward, and there was sticky saliva at the corner of its mouth.
Wan Mo sensed his fear. She pulled him close to the grass and whispered in his ear, "Don't be afraid. Black bears usually don't attack humans. Don't look it in the eye and don't provoke it..."
The warm breath of the young girl gently brushed against his earlobe, as if carrying the fragrance of mountain mint.
He Muhao stiffened all over.
Maybe it was because Wan Mo had never been this close to him before, or maybe her soft voice was like a cloud. Her voice had a strange magic that actually calmed He Muhao down.
Thump, thump...
He heard his heartbeats gradually calm down, and the cold sweat on his forehead was slowly dried by the gentle breeze.
Wan Mo was right beside him, tightly gripping his arm. Her breath was warm, and he could even feel the curve of her body pressing against his shoulder and back...
The dewdrops on the fern leaves dripped onto his nose, cold but somehow burning.
He Muhao felt as if he was standing on a cloud.
Just then—
"Chirp!"
A mountain falcon suddenly swooped out from the oak tree above their heads. Its sharp cry shattered the tranquility of the mountain.
The black bear was startled by this sudden noise—it was enraged!
The next second, the black bear stood up on its hind legs. Its thick paws swatted aside the branches in front of it. This terrifying beast suddenly roared and charged straight at the grass where they were hiding!
"Run!"
Wan Mo suddenly pushed He Muhao away and at the same time threw the sickle in her hand at the black bear, trying to buy him some time to escape!
She took a quick step out of the grass, drew out the long spear on her back, and stood between He Muhao and the black bear.
"Find a place to hide by yourself!"
Wan Mo roared. The long spear was already held in front of her.
The black bear was completely enraged. Its mountain - like body rushed towards them like a black whirlwind, and the whole ground trembled.
He Muhao ran down the mountain like a madman!
Wan Mo remained calm in the face of danger. She dodged to the side and stabbed the tip of the spear at the bear's belly.
But the black bear had thick skin and tough flesh. This spear only scratched the surface of its fur. It didn't seem to care at all and continued to slap its thick palm down at Wan Mo recklessly!
Wan Mo was very agile. The long spear in her hand was like a silver snake, but the bear was too strong, and she couldn't gain the upper hand.
Soon, she began to show signs of exhaustion.
The bear's broad paws swept towards her one after another with a whistling sound. Wan Mo quickly crouched down and rolled away. The bushes where she had been standing were immediately smashed to pieces, and the broken branches flew everywhere like arrows.
Although she reacted very quickly, she was still scratched by the bear's sharp claws. A wound about an inch long opened on her abdomen, with the flesh turned over.
In a critical moment, Wan Mo swept the spear horizontally, but unexpectedly, the bear bit the spear shaft with its mouth and shook it wildly from side to side, directly knocking the spear out of her hand!
The bear swiped another claw at her, and a large piece of flesh was torn off her shoulder. Blood gushed out, and the white bone was clearly visible.
He Muhao was hiding behind a tree. His face turned pale with shock.
"Wife!"
In his great surprise, he suddenly picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the black bear.
"You brute!"
"Let go of my wife!"
"If you have the guts, come after me!"
"What kind of hero are you, bullying a girl!"
...
These chaotic noises really attracted the black bear. It turned its huge head, and a pair of scarlet eyes looked over.
He Muhao's legs went weak with fear, but he still stood still and threw stones at the black bear one after another.
"Come on!"
"Come after me!"
"What? Are you scared!"
...
"Roar!"
The black bear roared and immediately dropped Wan Mo, then turned and pounced on He Muhao. Its huge black body was like a runaway carriage, knocking down an oak tree as thick as a bowl beside it. Grass clippings flew everywhere!
He Muhao let out a scream and turned to run down the mountain.
Sweat dripped into his eyelids. His lungs were burning, and every bone in his body was trembling.
He Muhao seemed to have never run so fast or been so nimble before. The branches and vines in the forest suddenly seemed to have a spirit of their own at this moment, allowing him to dodge left and right without getting tripped by a single one...
He ran desperately, ran until he couldn't feel his arms or legs...
But for some reason, he could sense the mountain - like body behind him, the heavy, stinking breath getting closer and closer. He could even hear the sound of its claws digging into the soil with each step...
He Muhao didn't dare to look back and just ran all the way.
When running past a depression, the black bear leaped forward and directly knocked He Muhao out!
Bang!
The sharp pain hit his back like a meteor. He was thrown into the air like a kite with a broken string.
In a dizzying spin, he rolled down the hillside like a broken doll.
The sharp thorns tore his robe, and the angular stones broke his ribs. It seemed that the whole world was shattering into pieces in the jolt.
He was finally stopped by an old tree with intertwined roots. Then his head hit the trunk with a thud, and he fainted...