"I..."
Old Man Yu jumped in fright and instinctively tried to thrust out the long spear in his hands. But the tuft of white fur above those eyes made him stop himself.
"What are you doing?"
Though the wolf-bear wasn't part of the Insect Race, seeing it follow them here without making a sound—and even discover the secret of his little tree—stirred a trace of killing intent in Old Man Yu's heart.
Just then, Old Man Yu felt something tugging at his trouser leg. Looking down, he saw a tree root wrapped around his leg, seemingly trying to stop him.
At the sight of it, Old Man Yu glanced again at the two tender buds slowly growing on the branch, and fell into thought.
Even so, he kept a wary eye on the wolf-bear.
Faced with his question, the wolf-bear didn't respond. Its eyes hadn't once landed on Old Man Yu; instead, they remained fixed on the tender buds growing on the branch. They were turning faintly red, filled with longing.
Yu An wasn't surprised by the wolf-bear's appearance. In fact, it had been part of his plan all along.
Now, as he activated his Divine Ability of Bonding, he felt something in his life essence being rapidly drawn out. He didn't even need to check his status panel to know that his lifespan was shrinking.
Nurturing one Natal Elm Seed cost five years of lifespan. Two would cost ten.
The moment he realized the wolf-bear had secretly come back, and saw the intelligence it displayed, Yu An had already decided to "make it his own."
Old Man Yu had only reached Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment. Before it was injured, the wolf-bear had most likely been at Perfection of Fetal Movement.
In other words, it was closer than Old Man