The deeper he went into Great Green Mountain, the denser and gloomier the woods became. The surrounding silence was broken only by the crunch of his feet on the snow.
Fang Yuan vigilantly watched his surroundings, his axe clenched tightly in hand.
Suddenly, a purple blur shot down like lightning from a towering spruce tree ahead and to the side.
It landed lightly on the snow not far ahead, kicking up a small puff of powder.
Fang Yuan's heart tightened. He instinctively raised his axe in guard, but when he looked closely, he froze in surprise.
It was actually that Purple Sable!
The little creature's fur was sleek and glossy, making it especially conspicuous against the snow.
It stood upright on its hind legs, waving its two forepaws in the air. Its little black-pearl eyes fixed on Fang Yuan as it let out a string of urgent "squeak-squeak-chatter" cries.
It looked less like a wild beast than a tiny person anxiously trying to speak.
[Basic Beast Language Proficiency +1]
A vague yet distinct thought naturally surfaced in Fang Yuan's mind. This little fellow seemed to be complaining about why he had not come for several days.
Fang Yuan lowered his axe, finding it rather amusing.
This Purple Sable was a little too familiar with him. He had spared it last time, and now it seemed to have decided he would not hurt it?
"You... have you been waiting for me?" Fang Yuan asked tentatively. Even he felt that this was a little absurd.
The Purple Sable nodded its little head vigorously. Then it raised a forepaw, pointed at its own nose, gave a hard sniff, and pointed at Fang Yuan again.
Fang Yuan was genuinely surprised now. "You... remembered my scent?"
He recalled that when they had