The blue fur swirled, and two crimson eyes emerged from beneath its ears, resembling red beans set in blueberries.
Though the rabbit in this forbidden land also possessed sharp claws, it retained its timid, trembling demeanor. Having narrowly escaped death, it poked its head out only to be startled by the unblinking bird's head, tumbling to the ground and feigning death.
This act of feigning death was utterly unskillful, simply flattening itself into a rabbit pancake on the ground. Zhang Qiling watched speechlessly for a moment, then withdrew his dagger, intending to continue exploring.
...The dagger had been useless in the recent encounter, primarily because he hadn't expected the bird to be so weak.
He meant no insult to birds, merely stating a fact.
Zhang Qiling lightly avoided the blades of grass, but soon, stumbling sounds came from behind him.
The blue rabbit, as if suddenly imbued with a will to survive under the watchful eyes of many powerful foes, realized that despite Zhang's peculiar appearance, he at least didn't eat rabbits!
What was this? This was a lifeline!
It stumbled along, crashing into several trees in a manner highly uncharacteristic of its species, vividly demonstrating the feasibility of the "waiting by the stump for a rabbit" strategy.
Such a creature, by all rights, should not have been able to survive in this terrifying forest. Zhang Qiling cautiously observed this anomalous animal and finally discovered the reason—
Despite its fluffy appearance, the blue rabbit possessed an extremely hard defensive skeleton.
When it slammed headfirst into the tree trunk, its skull remained unharmed, but the tree trunk visibly bore a shallow indentation.
It was likely due to this that it survived the giant bird's claws; the clumsy bird's talons simply couldn't penetrate its defense.
Seeing this clearly, and recalling the rabbit's act of feigning death upon being startled by the bird's corpse, one couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity.
Zhang Qiling had no intention of bothering with the rabbit that trotted along behind his legs. However, when he instinctively warned the rabbit, which was about to leap into a pit, and the rabbit stopped accordingly—
He discovered the true use of this blue rabbit.
...This rabbit could understand human speech.
Or rather, perhaps the rabbit's comprehension wasn't limited to human language; most of its skill points were likely invested in linguistic talent.
So, Zhang Qiling silently watched the rabbit for a moment, then reached out and grabbed it by its ears.
The moment he touched it, the hardness of its skeleton became even more apparent. Zhang Qiling squeezed gently, feeling as though he were lifting a steel war chariot.
The blue rabbit blinked its red bean eyes, attempting to pass by with its cute appearance.
But our Zhang wasn't swayed by such tactics.
"...Take me to places that feel strange to you."
Zhang Qiling looked at the rabbit at eye level and spoke calmly.
The blue rabbit: (Innocent) I don't understand what you're saying, because I'm just a cute little blue rabbit!
The rabbit looked left and right, committed to its passive resistance, playing the game of outright refusal.
So Zhang Qiling thought for a moment and slowly drew his dagger.
The blue rabbit: ???????
...
In short, after the dagger's friendly greeting, the blue rabbit was soon overcome with gratitude, expressing its willingness to dedicate itself wholeheartedly to the forbidden land exploration activities as repayment.
Zhang Qiling slowly followed the rabbit, watching it voraciously eat grass to clear a path, gaining a new appreciation for the appetite of this blue rabbit.
Initially, when the blue rabbit found strange places, it trembled, as these were often the territories of powerful and bizarre creatures.
But after those bizarre creatures were sent to play mahjong in the underworld one by one by Zhang's bare hands, the blue rabbit's attitude became noticeably arrogant and overbearing.
If it had entered their territories with utmost humility before, now it practically wished it could announce its arrival with gongs and drums.
Zhang Qiling stared blankly as the rabbit swaggered and ate grass from the edge of a bizarre lord's den, then cheekily bared its backside at the bizarre lord hiding in its den, afraid to look directly at Zhang Qiling, a sense of doubt rising in his heart.
...Is this really a rabbit?
All in all, although the blue rabbit's attitude was exceptionally irritating, it did possess its own set of rules for finding strange things.
After several trial-and-error attempts, the rabbit led Zhang Qiling to a clearing at the very edge of the forest.
Unlike other areas, this place was eerily barren. Zhang Qiling looked around and found that even animals that dared to approach were few.
After leading them there, the blue rabbit had been cowering in a corner, trying to blend in.
Glancing at the rabbit, Zhang Qiling quickly focused his attention on a massive fissure in the center of the clearing.
This fissure ran north to south, was bottomless, and a faint chill emanated from within. Zhang Qiling approached and examined it closely, realizing it wasn't a pure fissure—
Something enormous must have been deeply inserted into the ground here before.
A strong sense of familiarity arose from the depths of his heart. Just as Zhang Qiling was about to investigate further, his brain was suddenly struck by a tearing pain, instantly interrupting his thoughts.
This pain came on intensely, and the surrounding world seemed to turn blank at that moment. Zhang Qiling faintly heard ringing in his ears, like bothersome mosquitoes that wouldn't go away.
Just then, something soft and warm brushed against his hand. Zhang Qiling snapped back to attention, looking down to see the blue rabbit, which had somehow come over and curled up into a small ball beneath his hand.
...There were beasts lurking around, perhaps the rabbit felt scared.
Though he thought this, Zhang Qiling still slowly reached out and petted it. The soft touch made Zhang Qiling curve his lips slightly.
...There was only a fissure before him, so what should he do?
His mind was blank, so Zhang Qiling chose to follow his inner voice.
He checked the dagger's durability, probed it slightly, and then leaped directly down.
The suddenly abandoned blue rabbit: ???!!!
After Zhang Qiling left, the grass around the clearing became boisterous. Numerous bizarre creatures, previously mocked by the rabbit's face-to-face taunts, poked their heads out, staring intently at the ball of blue fur with bloodshot fangs.
The blue rabbit spun frantically in place, as if its intelligence and instincts were in fierce conflict. Then, quickly, it found a solution—
With a whoosh, it jumped into the fissure, determined to share the same fate as its lifeline.
Zhang Qiling, almost crushed by the steel rabbit: ...?