Chapter 1 Chapter 1 "Are you sure we really want to go in...
"Are you sure we really want to go in?" A teenager who looked no more than eight or nine years old looked around and asked his companion cautiously.
His companion looked a year or two older than him. He was very excited, as if he was about to dig out treasures from the previous dynasty. His eyes were slightly red in the light of the fire. He lowered his body and whispered, "We finally got here. Are we going to go home?"
The young man hesitated and said, "But the villagers have told us since we were little that we can't get close to this place because there are wolves, tigers and leopards in it. It's extremely dangerous. If we are not careful, we will end up with nothing left."
"Come on, they have never been here, how do they know there are wolves, tigers and leopards? They must be lying to you, and you actually believed it." The companion shook his head and crawled forward.
The boy couldn't dissuade him, so he had to follow him and continued, "But it's true that no one is allowed to come in here. If they find us here, we will definitely be beaten."
"It's just a beating, not killing you. What are you afraid of? We are all from the same village, we won't be cruel. Besides, only those who have endured hardships can become the best. The more cruel they are, the more it proves that there is something here! How can they really not come?" The companion sneered.
"They said there were jackals, tigers and leopards here, but you didn't believe them. They didn't say there was anything here, but you believed it. Do you really think that the rumors outside are true?" The young man frowned tightly, with an unhappy look on his face.
His companion didn't take it seriously and said excitedly, "The rumor may not be true, but it may not be false either. We can find out if we come and see it ourselves. Otherwise, why do you think I came here?"
The young man sighed, followed him slowly, pushed aside the branches around him, and said earnestly: "It's obvious that rumors are false. Why do you still believe them?"
His companion sneered and asked, "Do you believe that the present emperor is a benevolent ruler?"
The young man raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course I believe it. I heard from the elders that the days in the previous dynasty were very difficult. We can live so well now because the current emperor is a benevolent ruler. Is there any reason not to believe it?"
The companion shook his head and said with disdain: "Old people are confused. They may not remember what they ate in the morning. How can they remember clearly what happened so many years ago?"
"So what?" the young man asked, somewhat unconvinced.
"The fact that the old people can't remember the past proves that what they say about the hard times in the past is not necessarily true. They just like to exaggerate the facts and say how hard their lives were." The companion shook his head and walked forward with all his heart, saying with a half-smile, "According to this logic, the present times may not be good, and the current emperor may not be a benevolent one. After all, they have never seen one."
The boy's face suddenly looked a little ugly. He felt that he could not convince him. He felt depressed and angry. He walked around aimlessly and replied, "You are just making up excuses."
The companion smiled and was about to answer him when a dark shadow suddenly flashed by not far away. He couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise, and shouted at the boy in a low voice, "Stop!"
The boy stopped where he was unhappy, turned around and looked at him and asked, "What's wrong again?"
When the boy saw the horrified expression on his companion's face, he suddenly realized that the other party was not joking with him. He immediately tensed up and became a little stiff.
His companion approached him step by step, as if approaching a cliff, and said carefully: "Don't move. I think I saw a black bear nearby. Let's leave immediately. Black bears are afraid of fire."
The boy became more and more nervous. He nodded and stared at his companions. He felt that the wind was getting colder tonight, and his fingers were frozen stiff.
The footsteps on the opposite side suddenly stopped.
The companion's expression became more and more terrified, his eyes gradually moved down, fell on the boy's hand, and he took a breath.
The boy was about to ask him what happened when he suddenly felt a wet warmth slowly coming from his right hand, as if there was an animal next to him, licking his hand with its tongue.
The boy's body began to tremble. He thought he was going to die. His mind started to race in advance and he couldn't help but regret coming to such a dangerous place on such a night.
His companion held the torch in both hands, his expression suddenly firm, and walked towards him with big strides, saying to him: "Don't be afraid, you were brought up here by me, I won't abandon you."
The boy didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but couldn't help but persuade him with a tearful voice: "Is this the time to be loyal? Why don't you run away! How can one person beat a bear? When the time comes, we can die together, and you will be satisfied."
The companion shook his head, and a monster was reflected in his trembling pupils. He tightly grasped the torch in his hand, as if drawing endless strength from it, and replied: "It's not a bear."
The boy was stunned for a moment. If it wasn’t a bear, what could it be?
His companion had already walked up to him, took a deep breath, and suddenly took the torch in his hand to poke the thing next to the boy's hand.
The boy felt the moist warmth on his hands disappear. A gust of cold wind blew, and his hands became sticky. He felt not only colder than before, but also more disgusting.
He looked over quickly.
It was not an animal, but a green plant growing on the ground.
The green color of the plant was a very dark green, and it didn't look conspicuous in the dark. Even if they lit torches, in order not to be discovered, this was the smallest one, so it was normal not to see the plant when walking.
I don't know how this thing grows.
There is a dark red bud between two green leaves. At this time, the bud has opened, and each petal looks like a human tongue, not to mention the blood vessels, and even tongue coating and teeth marks.
I guess the flower that was licking the boy's hand just now was this flower.
The boy couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but then he started to worry about his companions.
His companion took a torch and burned the flower.
The flower soon withered into a black and shriveled state, as if it had lost its moisture due to being roasted. However, no matter how the companions burned the flower with fire, it would not turn into ashes.
The boy was a little scared, and he couldn't help but step forward and pull his companion and say, "Let's go quickly."
The companion hesitated for a moment, nodded, put away the torch and was about to leave with the boy.
But just as they took a step outside, they stopped, because a huge black bear appeared in front of them, staring at them on the way back.
"It seems like we are going to die here today." The young man said with a wry smile.
"You go quickly, I'll hold the bear back." The companion held the torch tightly, pushed the boy with a firm look and said.
The young man was stunned and became furious: "What do you think I am? A coward? Since I came here with you, I can't leave you here alone!"
"We can't outrun the bear. If two of us stay together, we'll just die together. But if one of us holds the bear back, the other might be able to get back. Just think of it as saving some reputation for me." His companion shook his head and still pushed him out.
The two of them were pushing each other and the situation was deadlocked.
The bear next to them approached them and pounced without a word.
The two men widened their eyes, pushed each other, rolled on the ground and dodged.
"Why don't you run away? I'm holding a torch, and this bear can't do anything to me for a while. You will be a burden if you stay here. Go back to the village and bring people to rescue me, maybe I can still survive." The companion said to the boy with clenched fists.
The young man gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, then turned and ran, saying as he ran: "I will definitely bring someone to rescue you, just wait!"
What responded to him was not his companions, but the roar of the bear.
The flames crackled and burned, but the light was getting farther and farther away from the boy.
The road ahead was pitch black and he couldn't see anything. The boy had no choice but to grope his way back, wishing he could go faster and faster.
The black bear slapped his companion with its claws, and his shoulder was immediately injured so deeply that the bone was visible. The hand collapsed completely, and he had to use his other hand to hold the torch and block it in front of him.
But this is of little use.
Because if the black bear claps its paws again, the fire will go out.
He knew in his heart that he should run away at this time, but he was injured and could not run fast, and he was afraid that he would still die. Even if he ran away, if the black bear chased the boy, his injury would be in vain.
It’s better to just stay here.
Even if you die, you can still say that you fought with a black bear before you die, without losing face.
He smiled bitterly.
The bear pounced on him.
He thrust the torch in his hand hard into the bear's mouth and thought: Even if I must die here, this bear will chase my friend after I die. At least this bear cannot catch up with my friend and then bite him with its intact mouth.
The bear was injured and roared loudly, pressing its two claws hard on his body. He was in so much pain that he saw stars and could not see clearly. He lost his strength and was hanging on the bear's claws.
He slowly closed his eyes and thought: It looks like I'm really going to die.
Just as he was waiting to die, he suddenly heard a shrill bear roar.
The bear claw pulled out from the wound on his body and waved to the side with a bloody smell, as if someone was coming.
He lay on the ground, struggling, and opened his eyes and looked forward.
A man in white clothes holding a sword was standing in front of the bear. Opposite him was a tall and graceful woman who killed the bear with just one sword.
The bear didn't even have time to roar again. It fell to the ground on its back with a thud. Its head and body were separated. Blood flowed out of the wound, staining the flowers and plants red.
He wanted to struggle to get up and kowtow to thank the man who saved his life, but he felt a huge pain in the wounds on his body, his eyes went dark, and finally, he fainted.
The swordsman walked up to him, looked down at him for a while, and saw that he was indeed completely unconscious. He looked around and saw that there was no one around. He picked him up from the ground and walked away quietly.
Not long after, the man with the sword arrived in front of a villa with familiarity, jumped up, and carried the person in.
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