Trap

"Hiss..."

The cold, icy beast eyes locked with Qi Liang's. His body stiffened, and he bared his teeth as he sucked in a sharp breath. Every hair on his body seemed to stand on end, a chill seeping out from deep within him.

Qi Liang shuddered. He opened his mouth and tried to shout for ages, only to realize he could not make a sound. He suddenly sucked in a breath, raised his voice, and screamed, "Bear!!"

"Roar!"

Before Zhao Ke could react, he heard a bear's roar and a crashing sound from behind him. He instinctively threw himself to the side.

"Bang!"

Dust, dirt, and roof tiles burst apart like firecrackers, striking Zhao Ke and leaving his whole body burning with pain. When he turned around, his heart instantly sank halfway into an abyss.

"The wall... collapsed!"

This mud house was already old, and its walls were covered in cracks. Zhao Ke had considered that possibility when they first entered, but he had not expected it to actually fall.

"Roar!!"

The low growl made the three people in the room change expression. Within the dust, a blurry outline gradually became clear.

Back in the woods, thick fog had kept them from seeing what the bear looked like. Now, by the light of the oil lamp, its pitch-black mane, sturdy claws, and massive build alone filled Zhao Ke with a deep sense of oppression.

Without a doubt, this was the real Xiong Er. Before such a massive creature, even taking a deep breath seemed like a luxury.

Especially those blood-red eyes staring at the three of them in the room, making every hair on their bodies stand on end.

At that moment, Xiong Er's gaze suddenly shifted, its eyes fixed directly on Chen Jing, who was hiding in the corner.

"Save... save... save me!"

Chen Jing's face went pale. Her muscles stiffened involuntarily as she clutched the fruit knife Zhao Ke had given her, curling herself tighter into the corner.

Xiong Er looked at the fruit knife in Chen Jing's hand. Its thick nose twitched hard. After catching the familiar scent on the knife, its pupils tightened at once. Staring at Chen Jing, it slowly bared its sharp fangs, an extreme killing intent pouring forth with a low growl.

"Roar!"

Chen Jing saw darkness descend before her, and a huge black bear paw rapidly enlarged in her pupils.

"Get out of the way!"

Qi Liang reached out to push her, but his legs were unsteady. The moment he moved, a burst of red suddenly filled his vision. It was as if someone had splashed a basin of hot water across his face, and a thick bloody stench hit him head-on. He wiped his face with his hand and found it covered in blood.

When he looked at Chen Jing again, her body was still standing there, but half her head was gone.

"Fuck you."

Qi Liang's chest tightened. He grabbed the axe from the table and swung it at Xiong Er's head. However, Xiong Er swept its forelimb out, sending Qi Liang and the axe flying.

"Clang..."

Qi Liang's vision went black, and the impact nearly knocked him senseless. The slightest movement made it feel as though every bone in his body were falling apart.

It was fortunate that he was sturdily built. Anyone else would have been knocked unconscious by that blow. He shook his head and struggled to get up, but the light before his eyes suddenly dimmed.

Looking up, he saw Xiong Er's massive body standing upright like a human, its head nearly reaching the roof beam. A savage glint filled its blood-red eyes as it stared coldly at him.

"Hey! Xiong Er."

Hearing someone call it, Xiong Er instinctively raised its head. Its beast pupils tightened as it saw that Zhao Ke was somehow holding a bear's head. With a flick of his arm, Zhao Ke tossed it into the boiling pot.

"Roar!"

Xiong Er's expression changed instantly. It no longer paid attention to Qi Liang and spun around, pouncing toward the stove.

"What are you standing there for? Run!"

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Ke grabbed Qi Liang's arm with one hand, picked up the axe from the ground with the other, and dragged him outside.

Qi Liang's legs were not steady. Supporting one of his arms, Zhao Ke led him out the door, and the two ran straight east.

Dawn was beginning to break. They had not run far before Xiong Er's deep roar came from behind them.

"Roar!!"

Even though they could not understand it, they could still feel the intense killing intent in that roar. Immediately afterward came the sounds of frantic running and furious growling.

Zhao Ke could even hear tree trunks snapping as they were knocked down. Clearly, after seeing the cooked bear corpse in the pot, that creature had completely gone mad.

"Bro, I can't go on! Give me the axe and run."

Dense beads of sweat covered Qi Liang's forehead. He had figured it out: if they kept going, both of them would die.

Zhao Ke froze at his words. After studying Qi Liang for a moment and confirming that he meant it, Zhao Ke's gaze grew complicated.

The reason he had dragged Qi Liang along was to use him as a human shield at the crucial moment, buying himself time to escape.

But now... Zhao Ke wavered. Human nature was inherently complicated. Perhaps kindness existed, but how many people could truly maintain it from beginning to end? At least when faced with life and death, all the instincts hidden deep in one's heart would erupt.

Just like how the female office worker had pushed Chen Jing down the steep slope earlier. Yet the firm resolve in Qi Liang's eyes made Zhao Ke genuinely doubt himself.

"Stop standing around and go!"

Seeing that Zhao Ke did not react, Qi Liang gritted his teeth, snatched the axe from Zhao Ke's hand, and shoved him away. "Hurry up and go. You pulled me along before, so this time I'm paying you back."

Zhao Ke raised an eyebrow. Looking at the stubborn look on Qi Liang's face, he changed his mind.

"What's your phone number?"

"What?" Qi Liang froze.

"What's your phone number?!"

"I..."

Before Qi Liang could finish, rustling came from the bushes behind them. Without waiting for him to answer, Zhao Ke stepped forward, grabbed Qi Liang by the arm, and hoisted him onto his back.

"Let go. If you do this, neither of us will escape."

Qi Liang's expression changed. He tried to struggle off Zhao Ke's back, but Zhao Ke's hand was like an iron clamp. No matter how Qi Liang struggled, he could not break free.

"Shut up."

Carrying Qi Liang, Zhao Ke felt his way east as he ran. The sun had not fully risen yet, but at least it was no longer so dark that they could not see the road.

Then Zhao Ke suddenly stopped. After scanning the surroundings, he slightly raised his nose. Catching a faint scent in the air, he lifted an eyebrow and sniffed carefully.

The damp, cold air carried not only that faint fragrance, but also a heavy smell of blood. Sweeping his gaze to the side, Zhao Ke suddenly spotted a circle of white powder scattered over the grass. If one did not look closely, it would probably go unnoticed.

He set Qi Liang down from his back and crouched. Reaching into the grass, he grabbed at something beneath it. When his fingers parted the grass, Zhao Ke's heart skipped a beat, and the corner of his mouth lifted into a slight smile. He knew he had guessed right.

"Huh, that thing doesn't seem to be chasing us?"

Qi Liang carefully listened to the sounds around them. The roaring and heavy footsteps from before had actually disappeared.

His spirits lifted at once, and joy appeared on his thin face. "It's not chasing us?"

Hearing Qi Liang's words, Zhao Ke could not help feeling puzzled as well. The two of them were not running fast, and to a bear with a sense of smell rivaling that of a hunting dog, their scent should have made them impossible to lose no matter where they ran.

Yet now, they could not hear Xiong Er pursuing them. Looking at the surrounding bushes, Zhao Ke thought, It really didn't follow us? But that thought had barely flashed through his mind before he rejected it.

A bear's eyesight might be poor, but its sense of smell was equally sharp, comparable to that of a hunting dog. It could not possibly have lost their scent.

Just as Zhao Ke was puzzled, a cold wind suddenly shifted direction and blew over from the bushes nearby. He raised his nose and sniffed. A familiar foul stench made his body stiffen, and he abruptly looked up.

In the bushes, a pair of scarlet eyes was staring at him.

"Roar!"

Zhao Ke's face stiffened. He instinctively leaped backward as a claw shot out from the bushes, carrying a thick stench of blood. In that instant, Zhao Ke even saw dark red strips of flesh hanging from its claws.

With a tearing sound by his ear, Zhao Ke rolled across the ground. Looking down, he saw that the clothes over his chest had been ripped into strips. His chest burned, and blood began to seep from four claw marks.

A chill ran through Zhao Ke's heart. If he had been even a step slower, that strike would probably have gutted him.

Looking again, he saw Xiong Er emerge from the bushes. Its glossy black mane and blood-red eyes stared at him. Most bizarrely, that bear face wore a humanlike savage grin.

"Fuck your ancestors! You just won't go away, will you?"

Qi Liang held the axe across his chest and stood in front of Zhao Ke, ready for battle. At the same time, he urged Zhao Ke in a low voice, "I'll hold it off. Get out of here. If you can run, run. Saving one is better than saving none."

"You think I can outrun this thing?"

One hand pressed over his chest, Zhao Ke climbed up from the ground, a bitter smile appearing on his thin face.

"That's still better than waiting to die! Didn't you tell me to trust you? This is what I get for trusting you!"

Qi Liang turned around and glared fiercely at Zhao Ke, signaling for him to leave quickly.

Hearing Qi Liang shout, Zhao Ke's gaze gradually darkened. He held the heavy black dagger in a reverse grip, and said coldly with a false smile, "You really are a hopelessly good person."

"You!"

His good intentions had actually been dismissed by Zhao Ke as being a hopelessly good person. Qi Liang choked with anger, his face turning red as he became too furious to speak.

Ignoring the furious Qi Liang beside him, Zhao Ke turned his gaze to Xiong Er. He bent his legs slightly and sneered, "What? Your mother's meat tasted pretty good, right? It was a little tough, though. Otherwise..."

"Roar!!"

Before Zhao Ke could finish, Xiong Er's eyes turned red. It opened its jaws and pounced at Zhao Ke and Qi Liang. Its huge black body carried an overwhelming pressure that made them feel suffocated.

Qi Liang's face went pale, and his muscles stiffened. He held his breath as he watched that body crash toward him. A chill slithered up his spine like a venomous snake, making his scalp feel as though it would explode.

It's over! That was Qi Liang's final thought.

"Move!"

At that moment, Zhao Ke's shout rang in Qi Liang's ear. Before he could understand what was happening, Zhao Ke kicked him in the back, sending Qi Liang flying away. Using the force of the kick, Zhao Ke leaped aside and threw himself to the ground.

"Bang! Awoo..."

Along with a miserable cry and a thunderous crash, a massive pit roughly three meters in diameter appeared behind where Zhao Ke and Qi Liang had been standing.

Zhao Ke climbed up and walked to the edge of the pit. Looking down, he saw sharpened bamboo spears standing upright inside. Xiong Er had plunged headfirst into them, its head and body instantly pierced into a honeycomb.

But what surprised Zhao Ke was not Xiong Er. At the bottom of the pit, there were two other people.