What Led to This

The next day, the three of them got up early.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er's injuries had already healed. After casually eating some breakfast together, they began discussing their next steps.

The two women wanted to return the way they had come and see if they could reunite with their Mentor and teammates, but they had forgotten the way back.

Lin Manshan took the opportunity to ask.

"Since you had an academy Mentor traveling with you, why did you get separated in the middle of the night and end up being chased by a pack of Spirit Beasts?"

Shui Yue'er's face instantly turned red.

A trace of self-reproach appeared on her delicate features as she said softly, "It was all because I was too careless."

"According to the plan, this hunting operation was supposed to be carried out by me and my teammates working together. And we did succeed—we killed a Thousand-year Spirit Beast with a suitable cultivation near the River. After the battle, everyone was a little tired, so we rested by the River, and then..." She lowered her head and stammered, "Well... mine came."

Which kind? The bleeding kind or the peeing kind? Lin Manshan chose to remain silent and waited for her to continue.

"Everyone has their urgent needs..." Shui Yue'er revealed the answer. "So I found someone to accompany me and keep watch..."

So that was it.

Lin Manshan Slightly Nodded and listened attentively.

"I don't know what happened. Everything was fine at first, but not long after, the leaves nearby suddenly started trembling. I..." Shui Yue'er's cheeks were flushed as though water could be squeezed from them. "I cleaned up as quickly as I could, then got up and ran with Bing'er toward our Mentor."

"But before we had taken more than a few steps, a Thousand-year Spirit Beast suddenly sprang out of a Grass Patch to the side." She subconsciously patted her small chest, still looking shaken. "I was terrified, but thankfully Bing'er used First Spirit Skill: Ice Seal to freeze it. The situation was very urgent. We could hear something running toward us from behind the Grass Patch, and it was moving very fast, so we hurriedly jumped into a tree together."

"Our Mentors were also shouting outside, telling everyone to climb the trees. Since our vision was blocked, I shouted back to report the situation."

"The moment I spoke, several more Spirit Beasts sprang out from the surrounding forest—leopards, cats... They were all small Agile Spirit Beasts, and all of them were Thousand-year Spirit Beasts. Before that group of Agile Spirit Beasts had even run past us, the ground began rumbling again, and the noise was especially loud. Then a number of large Spirit Beasts appeared—water buffaloes, hippos, rhinoceroses... Several of them rammed into the tree we were standing in and nearly snapped it in half." Shui Yue'er spoke with a frightened expression.

"At the time, we guessed that something might have happened deeper in the forest, causing a Spirit Beast Riot and setting off a chain reaction that drove the Spirit Beasts from the forest and the River's upper reaches downstream."

"Our academy Mentors once taught us that if we encountered a Spirit Beast Riot in the forest, we absolutely couldn't flee in the same direction as the Spirit Beasts. We definitely couldn't outrun them. We could only retreat or move off to either side. So we picked a direction with fewer Spirit Beasts and jumped away. Then, as if our luck couldn't get any worse, the moment we escaped the area, we ran into a Thousand-year Phoenix Tail Cock's Comb Snake."

"Who knew what was wrong with that thing? It flew straight at us."

She spoke indignantly.

Because it saw you as prey. Lin Manshan said to himself. A Spirit Beast Riot was the best hunting opportunity for flying Spirit Beasts. As long as they caught one that was weak or injured, they could easily have a full meal.

Driving prey away, then fishing in troubled waters—this was an advanced hunting technique.

The Spirit Beasts running at the front had been Agile Spirit Beasts, so the vibrations they caused had been minimal. That was why the two women had failed to notice them immediately and return to the group. Besides, girls did have certain matters that were rather troublesome to clean up afterward. By the time they were done, the Thousand-year Agile Spirit Beasts were already too fast for them to leave. They had no choice but to climb a tree, which led to the series of events afterward. Lin Manshan pictured the scene and could not help sighing inwardly. To run into a Spirit Beast Riot just by going to the toilet... they really were unlucky.

And to run into a Thousand-year Phoenix Tail Cock's Comb Snake fishing in troubled waters the instant they escaped the area too—this really was...

Unlucky as hell.

Lin Manshan gave the two of them a sympathetic glance. Riverbanks had always been the favored habitat of large, herd-dwelling herbivorous Spirit Beasts, especially since they were right within the territory of Thousand-year Spirit Beasts. If it had been anywhere else, they would not have encountered so many large Spirit Beasts crashing into trees.

If they had not been near the River, or if the Spirit Beasts had been of lower cultivation, there would have been no risk of trees falling, and the two women would not have been frightened into changing locations.

"The Thousand-year Phoenix Tail Cock's Comb Snake flew extremely fast, and we definitely couldn't outrun it in the trees, so we jumped straight to the ground. Fortunately, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is nonvenomous, and its attacks are simple—it can only use its body to coil around enemies." At this point, a trace of pride appeared on Shui Yue'er's face. "Relying on Sister Bing'er's First Spirit Skill: Ice Seal, we used the surrounding trees for cover. Whenever it landed, we would Ice Seal it and beat it up. Whenever it was about to break free, I would run again. After trying that a few times, we drove it away."

"Smart choice!" Lin Manshan's eyes lit up as well, and he nodded in praise.

"Then we got lost." Shui Yue'er sounded helpless and dispirited. "The trees in the Star Dou Great Forest are tall and huge, and it was pitch-black everywhere we looked. At the time, we had no idea where we were. And it was getting dark, so we could only find a place to rest temporarily. But..." Her face reddened. "I accidentally got scratched by a thorny bush along the way."

Speaking as though she were a child who had done something wrong, she quietly defended herself, "It was too dark around us. I didn't notice that the bushes near the ground had thorns."

"Then we found a small cave beneath a rocky mountain. We spent some effort driving away the poisonous insects inside, spread some leaves around, and laid out blankets to make a temporary shelter. Nothing happened during the first half of the night, but around dawn, perhaps because my foot had been scratched earlier and I left bloodstains along the way, a Leopard-type Spirit Beast found our shelter."

"At first, we wanted to drive it back. Sister Bing'er did use her Ice Seal Spirit Ability to restrain it, but it broke free almost immediately. We knew it wasn't an ordinary Thousand-year Spirit Beast, so we could only flee. Whenever the Leopard-type Spirit Beast got close, we would freeze it with Ice Seal."

"But the farther we ran, the more Spirit Beasts we encountered. Since we couldn't see the road clearly, we also ran into quite a few plants along the way, and our hands and feet were all scratched up. After running for a while, my head started feeling dizzy and I had no strength left, so we quickly took Detoxification Pills. My strength isn't high, and I soon ran out of energy. After that, Sister Bing'er could only carry me on her back as she ran."

"And then we met you."

After saying that, Shui Yue'er's expression immediately brightened. She raised her head, her eyes sparkling, looking adorably cute.

This story taught him that one had to be cautious when surviving in the wild. While making sure not to leave tracks, one also should not run around blindly when something happened—especially in the Star Dou Great Forest, where Spirit Beasts were everywhere. Lin Manshan summed up the story and firmly committed the lesson to memory.

"Do you still remember the direction where the beast tide began?" Lin Manshan pondered for a moment before asking.

"Northwest of the River."

Shui Yue'er answered without hesitation.

"!!!?"