"Sister Su!"

Upon confirming that it was Su Yun's voice, Zhan Xinjia breathed a sigh of relief.

At least the person is still alive.

Based on the direction from which the sound came, she carefully avoided the withered branches and leaves and made her way there little by little.

After taking only a few steps, Su Yun's frightened voice came again.

"Is that Sister Azhi? Don't come any further this way!! Go to the village and call for help."

Call someone? What for?

Zhan Xinjia, suspicious, crouched down and continued walking forward. Not long after, she saw a strange figure with broad shoulders and a thick waist suddenly hiding beside the lush bushes. The figure was nearly two meters tall, covered in black fur, with only a pair of eyes reflecting light eerily in the night.

Seeing that someone had once again trespassed into its territory, the black bear angrily gripped the ground with its limbs and let out a low roar.

Not far away, Su Yun, carrying a basket, hung pale-faced from a vine. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and she swayed precariously, clearly having been trapped there for some time.

Zhan Xinjia continued walking forward without changing his expression.

She was terrified; she thought it was haunted, but it was just a bear.

"Little Sister Azhi!!"

Seeing the little girl calmly limping towards the black bear, Su Yun was terrified. Forgetting whether the black bear would notice her, she was extremely anxious and shouted until she was hoarse.

"It's dangerous here, don't go any further..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Su Yun fell silent.

Her breathing became rapid, and she clutched her rapidly beating heart, her eyes wide with shock.

Under the tree, just as the black bear pounced on the little girl, she deftly dodged to the side, dragging her limping leg. Despite being a little cripple who could barely walk, her movements were so fast that she was almost just a fleeting white blur.

Easily circling behind the angry black bear, Zhan Xinjia swiftly grabbed the fur on the back of the bear's neck.

Then, she pressed down hard, with a loud "bang," forcing the other person to press their hairy face tightly against the mud.

The little girl looked so thin and frail, like the kind of girl whose bones could be shattered with a single blow from a black bear. Yet, the black bear roared and struggled in her hand for a long time but couldn't break free.

Su Yun was stunned, and so was the black bear.

Zhan Xinjia tightened his grip on the black bear, and casually placed his other hand on the top of its skull.

She smiled slightly.

"I think you're also looking to die."

The sweetest voice uttered the most chillingly cruel words.

Perhaps it was Su Jun's imagination, but she felt as if she could vaguely hear the creaking sound of a black bear's skull being squeezed.

The black bear howled in pain, its massive paws flailing wildly, its sharp, steel-blade claws slashing everywhere. A deafening roar startled the crows on the branches, sending them scattering in a dark mass into the distance, making the earth seem to shake and the shadows of the trees sway wildly.

After all, it was an adult black bear, and it still had some strength.

The moment it broke free using its physical advantage, it roared and turned around, its sharp claws slashing down at the little girl's face without hesitation.

If you fail to dodge this palm strike, not only will you be disfigured, but your skull will probably be smashed.

"Little Sister Azhi!!"

Su Yun, who was trembling in the tree, was terrified. Suppressing her fear, she dropped her basket and shakily tried to go down to save the person.

Although she felt inexplicably resistant to the little girl that Brother Shen had brought back, life was at stake, and her upbringing made it impossible for her to stand by and watch the girl die in the bear's jaws.

Moreover, the other party was in danger because they were looking for her.

Stepping on the broken branches, Su Yun lifted her skirt and jumped down from the tree with difficulty. She hurriedly picked up a stone on the ground and was about to rush up to help, but to her surprise, the little girl casually blocked the black bear's palm strike, which it had used with all its strength in its rage.

Zhan Xinjia broke off a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, then sighed.

We need to hurry back, otherwise the food that Master Shen made will get cold.

A breeze stirred in the woods, but it seemed to linger only around the little girl in the white dress and blue skirt, making her sleeves flutter in the wind.

A circular aura of strong wind gradually formed around her within ten steps, causing fallen leaves on the ground to rustle and dance wildly. In an instant, this strange wind dispersed them in all directions, clearing the area within the circle completely.

In the darkness, she stood at the center of the aura, her dark hair swaying gently to one side in the wind.

Taking a deep breath, Zhan Xinjia took a large step forward with his left leg, turned his body slightly to the right, and swung his left hand from his abdomen to the upper right to his right shoulder with his palm facing inward, while his right elbow naturally sank down.

This is a very common starting stance.

Amidst the fluttering fallen leaves, her brows furrowed, concealing her slender, almond-shaped eyes, which were not as innocent and bright as usual. In her relaxed state, the upturned corners of her eyes revealed a bright and sharp edge.

As the black bear pounced again, Zhan Xinjia raised his hand and pushed with his fist, then thrust his left leg upwards and struck with his knee to the side. In less than a breath, the black bear was slammed to the ground by a powerful force.

It struggled to get up, and the next second, Zhan Xinjia raised his knee high and slammed it hard into its abdomen.

With a bloodcurdling scream, the blow nearly shattered its internal organs.

Under the oppressive force, the black bear subconsciously tried to escape, but it was too late.

Zhan Xinjia grabbed the fur on its chest and pinned the black bear to the ground with just one knee, preventing it from moving.

Under the black bear's seemingly terrified and regretful gaze, the little girl, still with a blade of grass in her mouth, gently placed her palm on its head again.

It's like petting a dog.

She smiled slightly again.

"I gave you a chance, but you didn't do it."

The mountain behind the village is close by, and if the black bear escapes, it will inevitably damage crops or injure people.

Despite the fact that this beast has the deep mountains to go and it's not the season when food is scarce, it keeps lingering near the village, risking being discovered. It's obvious that it has the evil idea of ​​eating people.

Thinking of this, Zhan Xinjia did not hesitate at all and placed her other hand on the side of its neck.

She smiled gently and comforted him.

"Relax, take a deep breath, it's normal to feel some pain..."

"Click".

A crisp sound.

The black bear, its neck suddenly snapped, lost the last glimmer of light in its eyes, its head drooping stiffly to one side, lifeless.

He limped to his feet, spat out the blade of grass from his mouth, and dusted off his palms. He didn't look back at the black bear, who lay dead with its eyes wide open, for another second.

Dragging his injured leg, Zhan Xinjia laboriously made his way to Su Yun, who was staring in disbelief. He bent down and picked up all the scattered herbs on the ground, then kindly helped her put them back into her bamboo basket.

"Here, Sister Su, let's go back."

Zhan Xinjia stuffed the basket into Su Yun's arms, took one of her hands and led her slowly down the mountain.

As she walked, the little girl kept chattering away.

"Don't go this deep into the area next time you gather herbs. Leave before sunset. Although I feel there should only be this one bear in this area, since bears are very territorial and should have chased away the other wild animals nearby, what if there are any that have escaped?"

Stunned and dazed, Su Yun burst into tears.

The girl in front of her held her icy hand in her warm, soft palm, and Su Yun felt an unprecedented sense of security welling up inside her, her whole heart gradually calming and relaxing.

Overwhelmed with relief at surviving the ordeal, Su Yun, unable to control her emotions, hugged the little girl in front of her who was half a head shorter than her and began to cry.

"Huh? Huh?"

Zhan Xinjia was at a loss for what to do.

She had little experience in comforting girls, so she could only awkwardly pat the other person's back like Master Shen and speak dryly.

"Okay, okay, it's alright now."

In the distance, the light of several torches gradually approached, indicating that someone from the village was coming.