The rainy night was damp and cold, and the little bear cub's fur was damp. Sun Miao'er held it in her arms, and it kept burrowing inside, longing for a warm haven.

Sun Miao'er took some water from the suede water bottle and poured it into her palm. The bear cub buried its head and licked it. Some water leaked out from between her palms, and some of it was completely emptied into the bear cub's belly. The bear cub licked its tongue with lingering satisfaction and sniffed around.

"Master, what's wrong with it?" Sun Miao'er was anxious when she saw the bear cub running around like a headless fly. She had never even fed a kitten or a puppy before, so this bear cub that suddenly appeared out of nowhere was quite a challenge for her.

But we can't just stand by and watch someone die.

Fu Yuchi remained calm. The herbs in the bamboo basket had been neatly sorted and categorized. "It's looking for comfort from its mother bear. You gave it water just now, and it mistook you for its mother bear."

"Master, shall we send him back?" Sun Miao'er guessed that the bear cub was probably still nursing. If they could find its mother, it might still have a chance to survive.

Seeing that he had almost finished packing up, Fu Yuchi got up and finally took a closer look at the bear cub. “As a master who can treat animals, I can also examine them. This bear cub is naturally weak. The mother bear has other cubs to feed and is unwilling to waste her time on it. If she abandons it, she will definitely not leave any trace. Besides, it has been tainted by your scent. Sending it back would be a dead end.”

Sun Miao'er knew that this was natural selection and survival of the fittest, something she couldn't change. She held the bear cub in her arms and muttered to herself, "Bear cub, don't blame me. You can only blame your bad luck. I can't save you. You'll have to rely on your own fate."

These mountains are rarely visited by humans, and a bear cub that is only a month old would probably not survive even a few hours without its mother.

As night deepened, the silver moon shifted to the west of the cave entrance, its light streaming in and illuminating a corner of the cave where Fu Yuchi leaned against a rock and fell into a deep sleep, while the bear cub's whimpers gradually faded.

Sun Miao'er was so nervous that she dared not close her eyes. She carefully reached out to check the bear cub's breathing. After each check, she would breathe a sigh of relief and feel thankful that it was still alive. Or she would fetch some water, pour it into her palm, and feed the bear cub.

The bear cub was quite capable, always managing to drink all the water. Sun Miao'er didn't dare pour too much, fearing that the bear cub's stomach was too weak and that drinking too much cold water would cause it to die immediately.

She didn't know how many times she woke up like this, until the moon set in the east and the first ray of morning light shone down from above, falling on Sun Miao'er's eyes and piercing her awake. The first thing she did upon waking up was to check on the bear cub in her arms.

It still has a breath, but it seems it can't be woken up.

Fu Yuchi was not in the cave. The bamboo basket and his outer robe were still there. She didn't know when he had gone out. She just put the bear cub in the bamboo basket, lined with herbs, and left it to its own fate.

Sun Miao'er stretched, her whole body aching from sleeping. She poked her head out of the cave and saw Fu Yuchi coming up from the other side of the hillside. "Why didn't you call me, Master?"

"It's not a big deal that you're sleeping soundly." Fu Yuchi held some mushrooms in his hands. After the rainstorm, the fresh mushrooms in the mountains had sprouted up one after another. He was greedy for this delicious food, so he went along the road to find some.

Sun Miao'er took the mushrooms and immediately understood what he meant. "Master, your apprentice knows a dish of mixed mushroom and fresh vegetable soup that is incredibly delicious!"

"Alright, stop joking around. It's getting late, let's go down the mountain. If we linger any longer, these fresh mushrooms will turn into withered mushrooms, and what will your teacher eat then?" Fu Yuchi entered the cave and was bending down to carry the bamboo basket when he saw the bear cub lying inside, but he didn't say anything.

Sun Miao'er thought that since there was no bear milk, there must be goat milk or cow milk. Yesterday, Fu Dan's ewe had just given birth to lambs, and thanks to her master's help, it shouldn't be a problem to borrow some goat milk today.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, the two parted ways. Fu Yuchi returned to the medicine hut, while Sun Miao'er carried the bear cub to Fu Dan's house.

"Oh, isn't this Doctor Fu's little apprentice? What brings you here at this hour?" When Fu Dan's mother saw that it was Sun Miao'er, she wiped her hands from washing vegetables and came over to greet her.

Sun Miao'er dared not tell anyone that she had picked up a bear cub, so she could only make up a reason: "My family's guard dog, Da Huang, gave birth a few days ago. It's a single puppy, but unfortunately, Da Huang went out yesterday and hasn't come back. The puppy is about to starve to death. Miao'er wanted to borrow some goat milk from you. Just a little bit! That Da Huang has guarded my family's medicinal herb field his whole life. He's so pitiful!"

Yesterday, Fu Dan's mother received a favor from Fu Yuchi and his apprentice, who went to great lengths to save the three lambs. Now that they had some goat milk, she was a straightforward person and said, "Girl, go and milk them. The sheep are in the pen behind."

Sun Miao'er walked to the sheepfold. The lambs were much fatter than when they were born. They were fast asleep in their mother's arms after finishing their milk. The mother seemed to recognize her and was not flustered when she approached.

"I'm sorry, little lamb, I need to borrow some of your milk urgently. I'll cut some tender grass for you to nourish yourself in a few days!" Sun Miao'er bent down and approached the ewe, took out a chamois water bottle, and squeezed the ewe's milk, but dared not squeeze too hard. She squeezed out some milk intermittently. The ewe was getting a little impatient, so Sun Miao'er quickly withdrew her hand, tightened the water bottle, and left the sheepfold.

After leaving Fudan's house, Sun Miao'er hurriedly opened the bamboo basket. The bear cub was already on the verge of death, breathing weakly. Sun Miao'er picked up a straw from the roadside and poured goat milk into the bear cub's mouth.

The bear cub smelled the milk and, as if using its last bit of strength, opened its mouth and swallowed several mouthfuls of goat milk. With the goat milk to fill its stomach, the bear cub recovered in about half an incense stick's time and had the strength to whimper again.

Sun Miao'er excitedly hugged the bear cub in her arms. If Xiaoman saw it, she would definitely like it even more.

When they arrived at the Sun family's house, before they could even put down the bamboo basket, Grandma Sun and Xiaoman anxiously came out to greet them. "Miao'er, you're finally back! Where were you yesterday? Where were you yesterday?!"

“Yesterday I went into the mountains with my master to collect herbs, but we were caught in a rainstorm and were trapped in the mountains. We didn’t get down until dawn.” Sun Miao’er comforted Grandma Sun’s anxious heart and ruffled Xiaoman’s hair.

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Sun was at a loss for words and stammered, "This...this, you and Doctor Fu are indeed master and apprentice, but you are still a young woman who will get married in the future. You still need to be careful about your reputation. You must not tell anyone about this."

"Don't worry, Grandma, my master is a very upright and kind person. If it weren't for his help, I probably would have caught a cold from the rain. Besides, I'm going there to learn a trade. If I were to worry about these things, it would be like protesting too much!"