Chapter 61: Chapter 61: A Shocking Sighting

Through the branches and leaves, Han Meng could see the sun beginning to set.

’It’s tough traveling at night. At my pace, I’ll have to catch up with Lanshan in an hour at most.’

He calculated inwardly.

He then looked over at Shen Yang, who was camouflaged in leaves with only his face showing, and gave him a hand signal.

Shen Yang understood, nodded slightly, and returned his gaze to their former campsite.

They had been keeping watch here for about three hours.

Even though Han Meng was accustomed to the life of a Demon Hunting Team, he was starting to feel weary.

He looked at Shen Yang, who remained perfectly focused, and felt a surge of admiration.

’As expected of a veteran of the Demon Hunting Teams.’

Just as his mind began to drift, Han Meng’s heart suddenly seized, as if someone had gripped it tightly.

He dropped low almost instinctively.

His eyes locked onto the campsite, where he saw a massive black shadow draw near.

With each step, the fur and flab on its body rippled like water.

’A huge one!’

’If it stood up, it would be over twenty feet tall!’

Han Meng cried out in his mind.

A massive black bear was now slowly ambling toward the campsite.

Each footfall sent a gust of wind scattering the leaves on the ground.

Even from a considerable distance, Han Meng could smell the creature’s foul stench.

And amidst its fur, countless dark specks were crawling.

It swiped its claws, dug into the earth, and overturned the soil, revealing the corpse of a small beast underneath.

Its target was clear: the two small beast carcasses that the large, colorful bees had infested.

As he watched the black bear sniffing the small beast carcasses, Han Meng slid down and silently slipped to the base of the tree.

He glanced up to where Shen Yang had been, only to realize the man was already gone.

Han Meng turned his head and saw Shen Yang, already hunched over and running swiftly.

As he ran, he was waving for Han Meng to follow.

Han Meng hurried to catch up.

After only a few steps, he felt something cold on his face and quickly reached up to wipe it away.

’It’s raining!’

...

"This is going to be a bad one," Lanshan said.

After a long afternoon of trekking, they had finally reached the shelter Lanshan had spoken of.

It was a cave, fronted by several massive trees with thick trunks.

It was indeed an excellent place to make camp.

After leaving two people outside on guard duty, Lanshan turned and entered the cave.

Inside, a campfire was blazing, and the group was drying their soaked clothing.

Bai Mo asked, "Will they be all right?"

Lanshan shook his head.

"Han Meng is vigilant, and Shen Yang is sharp. The two of them will be fine."

Bai Mo held out his hands, letting the flames warm his sleeves.

"What are you worried about, Lanshan?"

Lanshan said softly, "If that swarm of bees were acting on its own, it wouldn’t be a huge problem."

"We could just consider it one more thing to be wary of on our journey."

He glanced around at the others, and seeing their spirits were still high, he continued.

"I’m just afraid the swarm has a symbiotic relationship with a Demon Beast. That would make things... tricky."

Bai Mo’s interest was piqued, and he sat up straighter.

"Symbiotic?"

"Mm." Lanshan nodded.

"Generally, Demon Beasts capable of having symbiotic partners are quite intelligent." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"They know how to command their partners to achieve specific goals."

Bai Mo nodded, lost in thought.

That was why Han Meng and Shen Yang had stayed behind—to confirm that very possibility.

RUMBLE!

A clap of thunder sounded, and the world outside was lit in a ghastly white.

The expression of one of the members of the Mountain Breaker Demon Hunting Team soured.

"Damn it, why is it raining this hard this time of year?"

Ma Bizi chuckled. "We’re all rugged men here. What’s there to worry about? It just means the road will be a little harder to travel tomorrow, that’s all."

The man snorted coldly.

"When the weather gets like this, my leg starts acting up!"

As he spoke, he scooted closer to the campfire, muttering something about Saint Hand Hall.

Bai Mo leaned forward and looked out of the cave.

The two lookouts outside had found large leaves somewhere to hold over their heads, and they stood as still as statues.

’So professional!’

"Everyone, be careful of water snakes. When it rains, these mountains are crawling with the venomous little things."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo took out a pill bottle and began handing out two Righteous Qi Pills to each person.

When Ma Bizi took the Righteous Qi Pills from Bai Mo, his eyes lit up.

He held the Pills to his nose and took a whiff, a look of pure bliss spreading across his face.

"As expected of a Pill Master! What you produce is truly extraordinary!"

The members of the other two teams did likewise, carefully stowing the Pills away on their person as if they were treasures.

Holding the pill bottle, Bai Mo then walked toward the two men outside.

The two men outside were at a much greater risk of being bitten and poisoned than those warming themselves by the fire.

These two were not Lanshan’s men. Seeing Bai Mo approaching with the pill bottle, they exchanged a look, and one of them walked toward him.

They probably felt it was improper to have a Pill Master personally deliver Pills to them.

Especially in this stinging rain.

The man had just started forward when he heard a sudden, frantic noise. He froze, then immediately shrank back.

With a flash of movement, Bai Mo was also back beside the cave entrance.

"What is it?"

Lanshan strode over, with Ma Bizi close behind.

Despite his name, the man didn’t actually have a limp and was surprisingly quick on his feet.

"It’s us!"

The voice was muffled by the sound of the rain. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, revealing the figures of Han Meng and Shen Yang a moment before the thunder boomed.

Seeing their comrades, the two men’s tense nerves eased slightly.

"We saw the one controlling the insects! It’s a Demon Beast, no doubt about it."

"It’s a bear demon!" Han Meng said as he hurried over.

"I suspect it was after those poisonous bees we ran into last time."

"These beasts just love the taste of them!"

He and Shen Yang hadn’t dared to speak much on the run back, but he had already figured out the general situation.

"Those insects must be how it tracks down the poisonous bees!"

Shen Yang wrung the water from his sleeves.

"Save the talk. Let’s get out of these wet clothes first."

His constitution was weaker than Han Meng’s.

The drenching he’d received on the way back had left him feeling quite unwell.

Lanshan nodded slightly upon seeing the two return.

Though he hadn’t said it aloud, he had been worried.

As Han Meng and Shen Yang walked past the two Cultivators on guard, another sudden clap of thunder rang out.

The flash of lightning cut through the gaps in the canopy, bathing the area in a ghastly white light.

Lanshan’s pupils contracted sharply.

In the distance, back the way Han Meng and Shen Yang had come, a massive figure was standing on its hind legs, gazing in their direction.

A patch of yellowish-white fur on its chest stood out in the dark.

The black bear stood on its hind legs, looked at the group, and began waving its paws at them.

The entire group fell silent. Bai Mo’s breath caught in his throat just as he heard Lanshan bark a short, sharp command:

"Enemy attack!"

The two Cultivators on guard didn’t hesitate for a second. They reached out and yanked Han Meng and Shen Yang aside.

The reaction inside the cave was even more immediate; everyone scrambled for their weapons.

The leader of the Giant Spear Demon Hunting Team shook his shoulders, and a spearhead along with several sections of a pole fell from a harness on his back.

CLICK. CLACK. In moments, he had assembled them into a long spear.

As he moved, his black robes billowed, revealing the gleaming silver-white armor he wore underneath.

It was obviously an extraordinary piece of equipment.

Seeing the group on high alert, the distant black bear finally lowered its paws.

Rainwater streamed down its fur, making it appear slick and matted.

It was only the rain that kept its stench from carrying further.

"You bastards," Ma Bizi licked his lips and said, "you led it right to our front door!"

The black bear, however, seemed to have no patience for talk.

Its massive body crashed back to all fours, and it charged through the curtain of rain, straight toward them.