Chu Liuyue’s words unsettled Gu Mingzhu, making her cry out sharply. “Chu Liuyue, wh-what do you want?! I’m telling you that I’m the Gu family’s Gu family. If anything happens to me, they’ll never let you off!”
Chu Liuyue could not be bothered with her. “Make her shut up.”
Gu Mingfeng looked around and ripped out a section of the sleeve from Gu Mingzhu’s shirt. He crumpled it into a ball and shoved it in her mouth.
Gu Mingzhu felt embarrassed and upset by her exposed arm. She tried to cry out, only to find that she was gagged and could not speak.
Gu Mingfeng suddenly looked at her.
Gu Mingzhu immediately thought of the slap from earlier, and she instinctively kept quiet. Gu Mingfeng seems exceptionally quiet and aggressive today. I even feel that Gu Mingfeng might actually kill me if he is provoked!
At the end of the day, Gu Mingzhu valued her life. She chose to keep quiet.
Chu Liuyue ground the golden mane bear’s pearl of essence into powder. She added two herbs that could help with recovery and blood production to the mixture before feeding it to Mu Hongyu.
Cen Hu saw this and could not help but ask, “Liuyue, why does Hongyu get better treatment than I do? I swallowed the pearl of essence directly, but hers is so refined. You can’t just treat me like this because I’m a guy!”
Mu Hongyu felt that she was recovering, so she was in a good mood. She raised her chin arrogantly and said, “Cen Hu, you still remember that you’re a guy? Why so jealous? Of course, Liuyue treats me the best! You all are behind! You’re not as lovable as I am!”
Her words amused the others.
Chu Liuyue explained the reasoning behind her actions. “The livid horse is a third-grade fiend, so it’s okay to consume its pearl of essence directly. However, the golden mane bear’s pearl of essence is different. Hongyu is injured and weak right now. If she ingested the entire pearl of essence now, it would be more harmful than it is helpful.”
She placed the remaining powder in Mu Hongyu’s hands, and solemnly gave her instructions. “Split the rest into two portions and take one portion every eight hours. Your internal injuries should feel much better then.”
“Really? That’s great!” Mu Hongyu put it away carefully. “I never expected that I could actually use a powder made from a golden mane bear’s pearl of essence to treat my injuries! Not to mention the pearl of essence from one that I helped kill!” She said her thoughts aloud as she thought about everything that had happened.
Liuyue said that we were key participants too. This victory belonged to the four of us! Even though we are hurt, such a result will make us look good when the others find out!
Rong Jin was the talk of campus for a long while after he hunted a fourth-grade fiend back then. Our achievement is definitely better than his! Even if one looks across the entire campus, we can definitely be considered the best!
“Sigh, it’s a pity that the golden mane bear is dead. If not, it would be great if we could hunt and tame it,” said Cen Hu. “That’s a fourth-grade fiend after all!”
Chu Liuyue curled her lips. “That golden mane bear is a mother bear that has been angered. There is no chance of taming her. You would only create problems for yourself if you kept her by your side.”
Cen Hu laughed. “Just kidding! It was either the bear that died or us. Of course, we had to end its life!”
Mu Hongyu agreed as she leaned against a tree with her non-injured shoulder. “Yeah, a fourth-grade fiend is a rare sight… Now that all of us are hurt, it’s going to be tough to take down a fiend of this grade.”
They finally ran into one, but it was a death trap brought by Gu Mingzhu.
Chu Liuyue and Gu Mingfeng were in better shape, but Mu Hongyu and Cen Hu’s injuries were rather serious. They probably would not get much out of their time in Wan Ling Mountain this time.
“Sigh, I wanted a fourth-grade fiend. I guess there’s no hope now…”
However, Chu Liuyue suddenly knocked on her head. “Who says that there’s no hope?”
Mu Hongyu’s eyes widened. “Wait… are you going to help me hunt for one?”
Chu Liuyue smiled cryptically. “Don’t bother. We already have one present, don’t we?”
…
“It’s right inside,” said Gu Mingzhu unwillingly as she stood in front of a cave.
“You walk ahead,” commanded Chu Liuyue.
Gu Mingzhu suppressed her anger as she headed inside.
Chu Liuyue and the others followed closely behind.
Gu Mingzhu had been tied up well, so they were not worried that she would have any tricks up her sleeve, nor were they afraid she would escape.
The cave seemed narrow but was actually rather spacious. The few of them only arrived at the cave’s innermost area after walking for a while.
Chu Liuyue saw a nest.
“That’s where the golden mane bear cub is,” Gu Mingzhu said unwillingly, her resentment slowly killing her. She thought that she had found a shortcut, only to realize it was a deathtrap, which left her stuck with Chu Liuyue!
She had been tied up since yesterday. She could not lie down nor sit down. She stood all night and looked more haggard than ever. However, Chu Liuyue did not let her leave. Instead, she forced her to divulge the whereabouts of the golden mane bear cub. She could do nothing else but bring them here.
As if noticing the commotion, a noise came from the nest, like something was moving.
A small round head peeked out.
“It really is a golden mane bear cub!” Mu Hongyu cried out.
The cub was only the size of an adult human’s forearm. Its fur was still a light gray, only the ring of fur around its neck was a little darker. It was clearly a newborn. As it grew, its fur would turn into a golden-brown.
It blinked and curiously looked at Chu Liuyue and the others as it scratched its round ears as if it were confused by what was happening. Finally, its eyes landed on Mu Hongyu, and it stretched out its arms.
Mu Hongyu’s eyes widened. “W-what does it mean? D-does it want me to pick it up?”
Chu Liuyue pondered for a moment before saying, “Perhaps it’s because you consumed the mother bear’s pearl of essence. Therefore, it feels a familiar aura coming from you. That’s why it’s especially close to you.”
“Really?” Mu Hongyu did not fully believe it.
As they spoke, the golden mane bear cub realized that it was not getting a response. It made its way out of the nest and stumbled over to Mu Hongyu’s side. It grabbed her leg tightly.
Mu Hongyu felt her heart melt, and she picked it up.
The cub rubbed its head against her shoulder intimately.
Chu Liuyue smiled. “It’s still too small and young. It will not survive if we leave it here. Why don’t you take it with you?”
Mu Hongyu was stunned and elated. “Really?”
“No one else here is a better fit.”
Mu Hongyu obviously did not turn the offer down. It was the cub of a fourth-grade fiend. It was easier to hunt and tame. Besides, the cub was really close to her, and she was really fond of it.
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony!” Mu Hongyu carried the cub carefully and pinched its ears.
Chu Liuyue suddenly felt an itch on her cheek. She looked down and saw that the small fellow had poked its head out as if waiting for something. The blood ferret’s ears trembled when it saw that Chu Liuyue did not move.
Chu Liuyue raised her brows. It is… asking for pats?!