Chapter 247 The Reluctant Brown Bear

The brown bear was eating canned meat. [Stationmaster Xu, to be honest, I really wanted to eat you guys just now, but I held back.]

Xu Ying laughed dryly at Brown Bear's frightening words and said, "Thank you so much for not killing me."

[Humans are not very tasty. I will only eat them if I am starving.]

The brown bear scratched his head.

[I saw two humans fighting in the snow before. One of them was killed and fell in the snow. I wondered if I could eat the corpse of the other one after he left.]

After hearing what Brown Bear said, Xu Ying's expression immediately turned serious. She quickly asked, "So what happened next?"

The brown bear licked its paws: "I didn't expect the human who injured him would throw the fallen man down the cliff. Damn it! My food supply is gone."

I looked over and saw this dead human stuck in a gap in the tree. I couldn't fly like a golden eagle or any of those other birds, so I could only watch helplessly as the food lay before me, unable to eat it. I squatted there for a long time, unwilling to accept the loss, before I left.

Xu Ying asked excitedly, "When did this happen?"

The brown bear thought for a moment. He had no concept of time. “It was probably just recently that the sun came out once.”

Xu Ying immediately became alert and said to the other three, "We have a new discovery!"

"This brown bear sister said she saw two people fighting. One of them beat the other to death and threw him off a cliff. The body got stuck between the trees. That happened the day before yesterday!"

Ji Xuehui looked excited: "Great! Does this brown bear still remember the location of the cliff where the man fell off?"

Xu Ying turned around and asked the brown bear, "Do you remember the location of the cliff where the human fell?"

The brown bear nodded, his tone regretful. "I still remember that, because I was too unwilling to give up, I went back to that cliff a few more times. The man had already frozen to the ground between the trees, and there was no food left for him."

Xu Ying told the other three the good news.

Ji Xuehui couldn't help but admire: "Master Xu, you are truly a god-sent soldier!"

Xu Ying felt embarrassed by the compliment, "It's these little animals that are awesome."

The brown bear had just shielded Xu Ying and the others from the wind and snow, and the fur on its back was already wet.

Xu Ying found a dry towel and gently wiped the brown bear's wet fur.

When she touched the back, her hand suddenly stopped - under the thick fur of the brown bear, several fresh wounds were faintly visible, and the edges were red and swollen.

"Sister Brown Bear, are you hurt?" Xu Ying slowed down her movements with concern.

The brown bear lowered its head meekly and whimpered softly: "A few days ago, I was fighting with another female bear for food and got scratched a few times. It's okay."

"Is it because you didn't hibernate because you were competing for food and didn't steal it from other bears?"

Xu Ying asked softly as she continued to dry its fur.

The brown bear gently nudged her hand and said, "If there's not enough food, I'll leave it to the cubs. I can handle it myself."

It turns out that this brown bear was protecting its cubs.

Xu Ying's heart tightened, and his hands moved more gently. "When we go down the mountain, do you want to go with us to the foot of the mountain? I'll have someone prepare enough food and leave it near the ranger's booth."

The brown bear suddenly stopped chewing and jerked its head up, its dark eyes gleaming with surprise. "Really? Thank you, Xiao Xu, Station Master!"

It excitedly touched Xu Ying's cheek with its wet nose, then suddenly seemed to remember something and took a half step back awkwardly, fearing that its enthusiasm would scare the human.

Ji Xuehui watched this scene from a distance, her eyes warming. "Stationmaster Xu, so this bear didn't hibernate because it was too hungry?"

Xu Ying nodded and explained, "Yes, it shared its food with its cubs. It didn't have enough for itself. The cubs are probably hibernating now."

Ji Xuehui couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where did Daddy Bear go?"

Xu Ying explained to her: "The brown bear's parenting model is that a single mother takes care of her cubs, while male bears completely ignore their cubs. Other male bears may even kill their cubs to force the females into estrus and mate."

"Other female bears may also attack the mother bear with cubs in order to compete for food."

Ji Xuehui opened her mouth in surprise and looked at the brown bear with admiration: "It's not easy for the mother bear and the cub!"

Xu Ying agreed very much: "Yes, 50% of cubs don't survive the first year."

She looked at the brown bear, happily eating, her eyes softening as she smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the snow wolf cubs still circling Chen Su, sniffing and muttering, "Strange, Captain Chen has a floral scent, but Stationmaster Xu doesn't."

Xu Ying suddenly remembered the funny incident of the snow wolf cub mistaking someone for someone else. She couldn't help but reach out and poke the little guy's chubby butt: "Baby, how come you mistook Captain Chen for me?"

The Snow Wolf cub was curled up in a ball, dozing off. He startled when he was poked, and drowsily raised his head: "Hmm. Because Mom and Dad said that Station Master Xu has a nice floral scent."

It rubbed its nose with its little paw, "I smelled the same scent on him as soon as I came in!"

"Floral scent?"

Xu Ying tilted her head in confusion, and then she suddenly realized - the last time she went up the mountain, because the weather was dry, she applied the newly bought floral hand cream.

It seems that the Snow Wolf Clan regards this unique scent as her symbol.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glance at Chen Su who was sorting his equipment.

She remembered that one day when Chen Su was teaching her the art of grappling, the other person's dry palms always generated static electricity, and every time they touched hers, there was a "pop" sound.

She couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so she stuffed the hand cream into his hands.

At that time, Chen Su accepted it with a look of disgust and said that he would not use skin care products for little girls. Unexpectedly, he actually used it and is still using it now.

The corners of Xu Ying's mouth rose unconsciously, and he couldn't help laughing.

The Snow Wolf cub keenly noticed her change in mood and curiously came over to rub her knees: [Why are you suddenly so happy, Station Master Xu?]

"Nothing~" Xu Ying hugged the little guy in his arms and rubbed him, his eyes glancing at Chen Su's back.

Xu Ying's eyes flashed with cunning, and she deliberately raised her voice: "Some people say they don't use girls' skincare products, but they still secretly use them~"

Before he finished speaking, Chen Su's hands, which were organizing his equipment, suddenly stopped, and his broad back visibly stiffened for a moment.

He slowly turned around, his sharp jawline tensed tightly, and a cold light shone under the refraction of ice crystals on the cave wall.

However, the tips of those well-defined ears turned crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye, standing out particularly against the silver-gray coat.

Just when Xu Ying thought Chen Su wouldn't respond to her teasing, Chen Su suddenly raised his eyes and looked directly at her, his deep voice carrying a rare softness: "This was given to me by Station Master Xu, I must have kept it in my pocket."

(End of this chapter)