The sun was blazing, and wisps of heat wafted in from the drafty bamboo house.

Sunlight fell on a bamboo bed, shining brightly on the face of a girl wearing a coarse cloth vest. Despite the bright, dazzling sunlight, the eleven or twelve-year-old girl remained motionless, not even blinking.

It was easy to tell from her excessively pale face that the child was in poor health, which was why she was so deep in sleep that she did not react to the light of the outside world.

The bamboo houses are nestled against the mountains, with a rushing river in front. A gentle breeze blows through, preventing these simple, drafty houses from becoming too hot.

Looking into the distance, the towering mountains, rivers, and rows of bamboo houses stretching across them resemble a paradise, with gentle steam rising from them, giving it a touch of idyllic charm.

However, under the eaves of each bamboo house hang various miscellaneous items, such as smoked cured meat, dried vegetables, and laundry, creating a lively atmosphere.

A set of wet sportswear hung under the eaves of one of the houses. Because it was next to the river, the dampness clung to the clothes, and it didn't dry completely for a while. Water droplets dripped from the bamboo floor and slid into the river.

A sturdy bamboo raft serves as a bridge across the water, with bamboo houses side by side, ensuring the privacy of each house while also preventing them from being completely isolated from each other due to the river and mountains.

Suddenly, two small children ran out from one of the bamboo houses in the distance. The boy was thirteen or fourteen years old and thin, while the girl was eight or nine years old with a round head and was very cute.

She wiggled her two short, lotus-root-like legs, holding the boy's hand, and ran incredibly fast across the bamboo bridge. The bamboo joints trembled, and anyone unfamiliar with the path would definitely be frightened into slowing down by this sense of insecurity.

However, these things could not stop the little girl's eagerness.

"Finally, school's over. Let's hurry home."

The boy dragged his leg impatiently, "What's the rush? I still need to play cards with Xiao Si and the others."

"Playing cards, playing cards, cheating, all the cards have been confiscated, are you trying to swim to the river..." The little girl pouted, but before she could finish speaking, the man covered her mouth and warned her fiercely, "Don't say it."

"Okay, you come home with me, and I won't tell anyone." The little girl's eyes gleamed with cunning. At this moment, her expression was not like that of an eight or nine-year-old child; she was as shrewd as an adult.

The boy snorted and conceded, "Fine, I'll go back then!"

The little girl then revealed an innocent and adorable smile, "I knew my brother was the best!"

The two of them were quite fast, and they ran to about a third of the way up the row of bamboo houses before a few other children started to emerge from the top of the bamboo houses.

Some of them carried schoolbags, while others held several books; their ages ranged from five or six to fifteen or sixteen.

After a while, once all the children had left, a man and a woman, both adults, left the bamboo house. The woman looked at the children on the bamboo bridge and asked expressionlessly, "Should we report this?"

"Report what?" the man scoffed. "A bunch of fools who only know how to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves."

The woman said nothing more, and the two silently walked toward the two nearest bamboo houses. The man paused, then said, "Be more vigilant lately."

The woman nodded dismissively, "I know, he's just a child, what's there to be afraid of?"

Seeing the lifelessness in his sister's eyes, the man couldn't bear it and turned to go inside.

Lying on the bamboo bed, Cheng Shuang heard the footsteps getting closer and closer. Like someone struggling from a nightmare, her eyelids kept fluttering but she couldn't open them.

The sunlight dried her lips, causing them to peel. Her consciousness kept screaming for thirst, but her body's functions were dormant due to the pain and unwilling to wake up.

Just then, the footsteps reached the bedside, and a damp scent carrying the scent of river water drew near. A soft, sweet voice, clear and melodious like a little girl's, said, "Ah, baby's thirsty!"

As they spoke, the footsteps receded into the distance, and soon the sound of pouring water came from behind, followed by the footsteps approaching again.

Cheng Shuang clearly felt something touch her lips. Even though she was extremely thirsty, she still tried to close her mouth cautiously. However, before she could finish closing her mouth, water rushed out.

Some of the fluid went into her nose, and some flowed onto her shoulder, causing the little girl to cough.

Fortunately, the excruciating cough awakened her body's instincts, and she realized that her fingers could move, but she cautiously did not move them.

Once her breathing had calmed down, the little girl actually put the cup back to her lips, clearly intending to pour it straight down again.

Cheng Shuang was smarter this time. She held her breath, and then heard a lazy voice stop her, "If you want her to be thirsty, then keep feeding her like this."

The little girl immediately retorted stubbornly, "I can't, but you can, brother. You feed me!"

"Tch! If you want to boss me around, just say so. Aren't you tired of scheming all the time?"

The little girl giggled, completely unconcerned about the boy's opinion of her.

Cheng Shuang's neck was lifted by a pair of rough hands that didn't look like a child's at all. The hands were rough, and after feeding her only two sips of water, they let go of her, letting her fall straight back onto the bamboo bed.

"Oh dear, my brother broke all the dolls!" the little girl complained.

The boy ignored her; judging from his voice, he was sitting anywhere on the ground.

Cheng Shuang wasn't actually in pain from the fall, because the pain throughout her body was so intense that the slight ache was barely noticeable. However, she keenly sensed that the boy's gaze was constantly on her.

Because of the darkness, the five senses become more acute, like a wild beast scrutinizing its prey, indifferent yet extremely aggressive.

Thinking about where she was, the girl remained motionless, without the slightest tension, just lying there blankly on the bed, as if she wouldn't wake up even if the sky fell and the earth collapsed.

The girl was busy combing her hair and applying makeup to her face, dressing her up like a doll. Only then did Cheng Shuang realize that the doll the little girl was talking about meant this.

The little girl was unhappy.

Because her hair was pulled and her eyelids were tugged, what she found most unbearable was that the little girl actually called out to her brother, asking him to help change the doll's clothes.

Just as Cheng Shuang was about to release the bear cub, the little girl suddenly remembered the moment she fell into the waterfall, and a chill ran through her heart.

Baby bear...

If the cub was safe and sound, Luo An and he would have found her long ago.

"What's the point of playing? It's so annoying and boring. I'm going home!" the boy shouted defiantly. His somewhat shrill voice snapped Cheng Shuang out of her reverie, and then his footsteps faded into the distance.

The room fell silent for a moment, then a burst of giggling laughter rang out.

"My brother is shy! Hehehe!"

If it weren't for the child's voice, the tone of those words would have been extremely lewd.

Cheng Shuang had no mood to analyze the thoughts and words of the brother and sister. She tried to contact Xiong Baobao through her consciousness but failed repeatedly, and her heart was heavy.

Her intuition told her that something had happened to the bear cubs!