"That's right, I was overthinking it. How could you possibly do something like that, even if you were confused?"
Lin Xue probed with her spiritual energy, finding nothing out of the ordinary. That was the most terrifying part. Was that bear just an ordinary bear that was attacked by black energy? Was the bear a victim?
"Master, this bear is not dangerous. We can go take a look first. If we don't look at anything now, we can only guess."
Lin Xue made a valid point, and Ye Tiancheng immediately agreed. He felt that without a spirit of adventure, there would likely be no progress.
So, Ye Tiancheng took Lin Xue with him to take a look. To their surprise, the bear was indeed just an ordinary bear, and it was already on its last legs. It looked particularly pitiful.
"Master, I suspect this bear isn't as ferocious as they say. It just looks like a very ordinary bear."
"What should we do then? This bear is still breathing. Should we save it or not?"
Ye Tiancheng asked this question because he already felt a pang of pity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said such foolish things.
"Master, are you really planning to save this bear?"
Ye Tiancheng hadn't decided yet when a surge of black energy struck. At that moment, it was a purely instinctive reaction.
Since the black energy intended to kill the bear completely, it meant the bear was not on the side of evil. In that case, Ye Tiancheng had to save it.
A surge of true energy countered the black energy. Everything happened so naturally, and Ye Tiancheng saved the bear.
"It's very seriously injured. Master, I've done my best to save the bear's life, but I don't know how much longer it can last."
The bear seemed to understand their conversation. After all, it had lived for so long and was quite intelligent.
The bear struggled to stand up, likely due to Lin Xue's spiritual energy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have had the strength to stand after being so badly injured.
"Let's follow the bear. I feel like the bear has something it wants to express."
Ye Tiancheng sensed it keenly and decided to follow the bear to see its intentions.
The master and disciple followed the bear and soon discovered something. The bear stopped under a large tree, then pushed aside the grass, revealing a large hole.
"Master, I've found it. This should be a bear's den, likely a gathering place for that bear and other bears."
Lin Xue's meaning was clear. This bear seemed to have called for reinforcements, which was quite amusing. Did it want to fight the perpetrator of the black energy?
"I understand. This place is quite good, but I don't think this bear will fight anymore. It's already lucky to have saved its life. How could it dare to be so bold?"
"Let's see what's going on."
After observing outside for a few minutes, the master and disciple heard whimpering sounds from inside. After listening carefully for a long time, they managed to discern that it wasn't the large bear from before. The large bear's roar was majestic, while this sounded like a cub.
"Something seems to be wrong. We shouldn't wait any longer. We should go out and see. I think something has likely gone wrong."
Lin Xue made a quick judgment and rushed in first, followed closely by Ye Tiancheng.
The two of them reached the bear's den and found that the large bear, the one that had been almost beaten to death by the black energy, was now lifeless.
"Master, it can't be saved now. It's completely gone."
Lin Xue tried to use her spiritual energy to save the large bear, but it didn't work. It seemed it was truly dead.
Ye Tiancheng also felt a sense of regret. Regardless, it was a life, and to see it perish before his eyes was too much. It was unrealistic to say he felt nothing. Death was sometimes helpless, and no matter how upset he was, he had to endure it.
"Alright, let's bury this bear's body. Whether it's human or bear, it's best to be buried in peace. If we can't see it, that's one thing, but in this situation, we should help as much as we can."
After Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, he began to bury the bear. Before he could even bury it, he heard the strange whimpering sound again.
"Master, look, there seems to be a lump of something inside. It's the sound of the cub we heard earlier."
At these words, Ye Tiancheng's gaze was immediately drawn, and he looked over with a shocked expression.
"It's one thing that the big bear is dead, but now there's a cub left. What are we going to do?"
Anyone would feel pity seeing this little bear cub. Although bears are generally considered ferocious creatures, seeing a cub that had lost its parent was truly heartbreaking.
Both of them felt a pang of sadness, especially when the large bear was about to be buried and the cub struggled frantically. At that moment, it was clear that no matter the species, family affection was very important.
Ye Tiancheng, with tears in his eyes, buried the large bear and then picked up the cub. "I don't know if you can understand human speech, but it's useless for you to be agitated now. At this time, the only thing you can do is to calm yourself down. You absolutely cannot suffer any more losses. Your family is gone."
If it were Ye Tiancheng in the past, his mind would have been filled with thoughts of becoming stronger, of being a powerhouse, and of crushing the weak. He would never have felt pity for an animal.
After all, the Ye Tiancheng of the past had little compassion and preferred to put his interests first. Interests were the most important thing to him.
Lin Xue, standing nearby, also sighed and even joined in comforting the cub. They had no choice but to comfort it now, as the cub seemed to be overcome with grief and even had thoughts of ending its own life.
With the combined efforts of Ye Tiancheng and Lin Xue, the master and disciple had little hope, as they were dealing with a bear, not a human. How could it understand what they were saying?
However, the cub hugged Ye Tiancheng's arm, resting its entire head in his embrace, clearly trusting him. At that moment, it was truly shocking.
"Master, if I'm not mistaken, I think the cub has adapted to what you said and has likely taken it to heart."
Even Ye Tiancheng himself couldn't believe it. "The cub really listened."
"Yes, it seems to consider you family now. Look at how it relies on you; it's quite heartwarming."
Even though Lin Xue was usually cold, she was still a woman. Seeing such a young creature, her maternal instincts were instantly ignited. She suddenly felt that this cub was particularly pitiful, well-behaved, and sensible. Such an intelligent little creature deserved everyone's love and support.
"Master, why don't we take this cub with us? It's likely only a few months old, still quite small. We can move it. I don't think it's safe to leave it here, especially since the big black bear was killed by the black energy."
Lin Xue's words made Ye Tiancheng pause and think. He had quite a few responsibilities on his shoulders now, with too many matters to attend to. The issue of caring for the cub required further consideration.
"Master, look how pitiful this cub is. It still has tears in its eyes and has fallen asleep in your arms. We can't let such a cute creature suffer. We must take it with us."
Ye Tiancheng was still uncertain whether to take the cub with him, but suddenly a cold breeze blew from behind, followed by a surge of black energy, which felt very dense.
"Xue'er, we can't waste any more time here. Let's run!"
Neither of them was in a state to fight this black energy again, but the current situation was complicated. No matter what, they couldn't abandon this little life. Ye Tiancheng's words implied that they would take the cub with them.
The master and disciple ran with the cub, and Lin Xue had Phoenix cover their rear, preventing the black energy from catching up.
The group cooperated very well, and coupled with Ye Tiancheng's familiarity with the forest, they no longer got lost as they had initially, wandering for hours without finding their way out.
It seemed that practice makes perfect. In fact, Fatty also knew what was going on here, but Fatty was still receiving treatment in the hospital and couldn't come over anytime soon. Speaking of which, Ye Tiancheng missed him a little.
The group quickly escaped the forest and returned to the cabin. When the refined man arrived and saw Ye Tiancheng and Lin Xue holding the bear, he retreated in terror. His usual refined demeanor was forgotten, and he hid behind his younger companion, Huang Mao, completely losing face as a leader.
"I say, Glasses, why are you so scared? It's just a small bear, probably less than a month old. What are you afraid of with a little cub?"
Lin Xue said it nonchalantly, but the refined man was genuinely terrified. He felt his courage was about to break, and if it did, he imagined only yellow water would come out.
"Miss Xue'er, this is not something to joke about. Don't be fooled by its cub appearance; it's ferocious. One swipe of its paw can tear off a person's face."
"That's quite a statement. Do you have a grudge against bears? Perhaps some of your many brothers met their end at the hands of bears? You're doing this for treasure, aren't you?"
Despite her usual quiet demeanor, Lin Xue was intelligent and saw things very clearly. There was nothing she couldn't figure out.
"You can't just say such things. I am a very upright person. That bear has always been ferocious, specifically bullying honest people like me. I am not a bad person, so please don't misunderstand me."
Lin Xue didn't understand what he meant, but she felt the refined man was becoming increasingly suspicious. Something indescribable must have happened while they were away.
"The truth will eventually come to light. Let's take our time. I'm not in a hurry, and neither should you be."
Lin Xue issued a warning, but not too explicitly. She brought the bear into the house anyway.
Once inside, the bear had to be placed in their room. Lin Xue quickly made a nest for it, and Grandma Jiang also came to help.