Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 194: Abyss [2]

"I wonder what I should name this bear... Aoki? Teddy?" Liu Mei mused aloud, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Shan Yifeng, lying near the fire, turned his head slightly. "Are you seriously planning to keep that thing?"

"Of course!" Liu Mei gasped, as if the idea of not keeping the bear was absurd. "Why wouldn't I?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Well… what if Master doesn't agree?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He will! Master definitely will! In fact, I've already gotten his permission!"

"Huh? Since when?" Shan Yifeng sat up in surprise.

"Well… uh… after I ask him. Like... later." She averted her gaze as she said it.

Shan Yifeng stared at her for a long second, then let out a sigh. Without another word, he lay back down, clearly choosing to ignore her antics.

Liu Mei didn't push him further as well.

Instead, she turned to look across the campfire where the massive bear sat curled up in a corner, still looking mildly traumatized.

"Come here, Mr. Bear," she called sweetly. "Let's sleep by the fire together."

The bear hesitated, clearly reluctant, but in the end, it still obeyed and slowly lumbered over.

Once it lay down beside the fire, Liu Mei gave an approving nod, then promptly climbed onto its back, curling up as if it were the softest bed in the world.

Within moments, she was asleep, resting peacefully atop the Tyrant Beast Bear.

Though sadly, their sleep didn't last very long.

Shouts pierced through the stillness of the forest.

"I see him! He's currently in battle with the tyrant bear!"

"There he is! Whoever kills him gets the full bounty!"

"I'm gonna kill him personally! Hopefully this is also not one of his illusion formations."

"Stop jinxing us, you fool!"

Liu Mei's eyes snapped open, her body instantly on high alert. Her hand flew to her sword as her senses flared outward.

Beside her, Shan Yifeng stirred. Despite the sharp pain in his leg, he stood up straight.

"Junior Brother," Liu Mei said, her tone calm but her eyes gleaming with excitement, "should we run? Or…"—she drew a finger across her neck with a wicked smile—"just deal with them quickly?"

"Hehr, don't you think that's a lot simpler?"

Shan Yifeng grimaced. "Liu Mei, you're insane. Let's just hide deeper in the forest."

"Ahhh, Junior Brother, you're no fun!" she whined, though her sword was already out and humming softly. "Can't I just get rid of this pest? I couldn't even sleep properly, you know."

"Trust me, Senior Sister," Shan Yifeng said seriously, grabbing her arm. "Master will praise you if you do as I say."

She stared at him for a beat, then sighed dramatically and lowered her blade. "Fine. But if Master doesn't praise me, I'll break your other leg."

Shan Yifeng flinched instinctively.

Of course, the leg he was currently limping on wasn't injured by enemies.

It had been Liu Mei's idea of 'friendly sparring' after not meeting with each other for a while.

"The illusion formations should keep them at bay for a while," Shan Yifeng muttered, glancing over his shoulder. "Liu Mei, this is why I keep telling you not to start a fire. It gives away our location."

Liu Mei raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed, as she gave a command to the massive bear beside her. "Kneel."

With a reluctant grunt, the towering beast obeyed, lowering itself to the ground like a well-trained mount.

"What do you know, Junior Brother?" she said smugly. "Since I can't kill them directly, I figured I'd lure them deeper into the forest. Let the wild beasts do the cleanup for me."

She patted the bear's head. "Now stop dilly-dallying and climb up."

Shan Yifeng did as told, settling behind her on the bear's back. Inwardly, though, he sighed. I doubt you even thought of that. I'd bet a thousand years of my lifespan that you lit the fire because you just felt a little cold.

But he didn't say it out loud. He'd learned his lesson.

Despite having reached Peak Dark Gold rank, the same as Liu Mei, when they had sparred not long ago, she had handled him like an unruly child.

Tossed him around without breaking a sweat. The experience alone was embarrassing enough that he'd sworn not to provoke her again… at least not until Master returned.

Soon the bear, following Liu Mei's command, didn't gallop or charge. It walked with a slow, steady gait, almost noble in how it carried the two kids like royalty through the dense forest.

"Junior Brother," Liu Mei said, breaking the silence, "where exactly are we?"

Shan Yifeng, still mentally mapping escape routes, responded mid-thought, "We're near the village. This is the Abyssal Forest, remember?"

"Ohhh…" Liu Mei's eyes lit up. "Isn't this the forest the elders always warned us never to enter?"

"Right."

"I knew it."

"I mean," Shan Yifeng corrected with a blink, "go right."

"…Ah okay."

After a few more directions from Shan Yifeng, the bear trudged forward through the dense undergrowth until it arrived at the mouth of a massive cave.

Liu Mei's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Ooh, doesn't this cave look dangerous?"

The entrance was enormous, its shadowed maw wide enough to swallow a house.

A cold draft blew from within, carrying the faint, musty scent of old stone and something far more ancient.

Shan Yifeng eyed it cautiously. "Not really," he said, his tone flat.

"Honestly, I don't feel any spiritual fluctuations. Feels empty. Let's just leave."

"Oh, please," Liu Mei scoffed, hopping down from the bear's back. "Are you scared? I'm telling you, this is the kind of cave where dragons live! Come on, let's check it out!"

The bear remained rooted to the spot, clearly reluctant. It let out a low, uneasy huff. Occasionally even shaking it's head.

Liu Mei turned to it with a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Little bear, I promise you, I'm far scarier than anything inside that cave."

That was all it took.

The bear, trembling slightly, let out a resigned groan and walked into the cave with heavy, cautious steps.

Shan Yifeng, still on its back, sighed long and deep.