Walking toward wild beasts?

Cai Jingwen smoothed down her windblown hair and stepped forward.

Standing before Chen Hao, she bowed deeply, her gentle voice choked with the emotion of having narrowly escaped death. "Sir, thank you so much! If it hadn't been for you, today... I don't dare imagine what would have happened."

Li Li hurried to thank him too. "Thank you! Thank you for saving Jingwen! Neither of us knows how to repay you!"

Chen Siyao smiled and waved a hand. "No need to thank him. My brother's just like that. He can't stand by when someone's in trouble."

Yang Wanqing came over and asked curiously, "Are you here to travel around the Northern Frontier too?"

Cai Jingwen nodded, glanced at the downcast Li Li beside her, and said softly, "Yes. I'm Cai Jingwen, and this is my best friend, Li Li. She's been having some trouble at home lately. Her husband wants a divorce, and she's been feeling low, so I came with her to the Northern Frontier to clear her head and enjoy the scenery."

Li Li sighed, her eyes reddening again. "I thought getting out for a while would help me feel better. I never expected we'd nearly have a disaster just now..."

Chen Hao gave a slight nod. "Chen Hao. This is my younger sister, Chen Siyao, and my friend, Yang Wanqing. We just visited Feng Changqing's tomb, and we're touring the Northern Frontier in a rental car."

Yang Wanqing waved her phone. "We're livestreaming too. Lots of viewers are watching!"

Cai Jingwen looked at Chen Hao, her eyes brimming with admiration and a flutter of attraction, her heartbeat quickening despite herself.

This man was calm and powerful. He had stepped forward in a moment of life and death, stopped a rampaging yak with one hand, and remained utterly composed. She had never felt such a sense of security before. It was as though a pebble had fallen into her heart, sending ripples spreading through it, and her gaze followed him without her realizing.

Chen Siyao looked at the two women and said with a smile, "It must be fate that we met! We're just driving around without much of a plan anyway, so why not come along? We'll have company on the road and can look out for each other!"

Yang Wanqing immediately chimed in, "Exactly! The more, the merrier, and our photos will look better too!"

Li Li hurriedly nodded as well. "Yes, that sounds great! Thank you so much! We'll feel much safer with you!"

Cai Jingwen smiled gently too, looking at Chen Hao as she said softly, "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Chen."

Chen Hao answered evenly, "No trouble. Come along."

Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Yang Wanqing edged up beside Chen Hao and pressed him. "Hao! You were incredible just now! You stopped such a huge yak with one hand. Have you trained before? In kung fu? Or were you in some special forces unit?"

The livestream chat flooded with questions too:

[I Am Ying Zheng]: Ask him, ask him! Has he trained or not?

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood]: Her brother has to be a master hiding his skills!

[Glorious little yellow]: His feng shui skills were already amazing, and now he's this good at kung fu too. He's so mysterious!

[Snow falling across the sky]: That was incredible. A hero saving a beauty might be an old cliché, but it never gets old. Just look at the lovestruck way Cai Jingwen is staring at Hao.

In Treasure Sky City, Song Xinxue watched Yaoyao's livestream. She was the viewer called Snow falling across the sky.

She had followed Yaoyao ever since learning that she livestreamed, hoping to learn more about Chen Hao's interests. Yet the more she watched him, the further out of reach he seemed. This man was simply too outstanding. He would be a worthy match for any woman.

She sighed. Still, being close to him gave her an advantage. She lived near Chen Hao's home, so she might yet have a chance.

Chen Hao turned his head, his tone matter-of-fact. "I learned a few basics as a kid. Nothing worth mentioning."

"A few basics?" Yang Wanqing's eyes widened. "You call that a few basics? If you knew real kung fu, wouldn't you be able to leap across rooftops and run up walls?"

Chen Siyao explained with a smile, "My brother's been amazing since he was little. He's always been incredibly fit. An ordinary person couldn't even get close to him."

Cai Jingwen watched Chen Hao's profile, the flutter in her heart growing stronger. The more she learned about this man, the more mysterious and captivating he seemed.

The group packed up their things, and the two cars drove side by side deeper into the Northern Frontier, the atmosphere inside much more relaxed.

After driving for about an hour, they reached the foot of a beautiful snowcapped mountain.

Unlike the lush green mountains inland, these possessed the rugged grandeur unique to the Northern Frontier. A thin layer of snow covered the slopes, and dense spruce forests grew at their feet. The dark green woods contrasted with the white peaks, while mist wound through the mountains like a scene from a fairyland. The air was so wonderfully fresh that even breathing felt like a pleasure.

"Hao! Look over there!" Yang Wanqing suddenly pointed toward a distant hollow in the mountains, her eyes wide.

"I think there are animals!"

Everyone looked where she pointed. Beside some distant rocks, two figures stood facing off. One was Snow Leopard, snow-white and lithe.

The other was Wolf King, grayish-brown with a fierce gaze. The two apex predators of the Northern Frontier crouched low, baring their teeth and letting out deep growls. The tension was razor-sharp; they could lunge at each other at any moment!

"Oh my God! Snow Leopard and Wolf King!" Yang Wanqing nearly jumped with excitement. "Everyone in the stream! Are you seeing this? Snow Leopard versus Wolf King! What an epic wildlife showdown!"

The livestream chat:

[I Am Ying Zheng]: Holy shit! An actual predator standoff!

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood]: This is incredible! Can we get a closer look?

[Evening Breeze Meets the Woods]: A closer look? Do you have a death wish? Those are wild beasts!

[Just say it]: Those are protected animals, and this is way too dangerous. Watching from a distance is enough!

Yang Wanqing looked hopefully at Chen Hao. "Hao, can we get closer to film? I really want to see! The viewers want a close-up too!"

Chen Hao glanced at the distant predators, then at everyone's expectant faces, and said calmly, "It's fine. I'll take you closer to film. Just stay close to me and don't wander off, and nothing will happen."

At those words, Li Li immediately waved her hands, her face deathly pale. "No, no! Absolutely not! That's Snow Leopard and Wolf King! They're both predators that eat people! If we get that close and they pounce, we'll all be finished! You're asking to die! This is insane!"

She grew more agitated as she spoke. "I've seen the news. When you run into predators in the wild, you can't get away fast enough, and you want to go closer? Isn't that throwing your lives away? I'm not going! Absolutely not! I'm staying in the car!"

Yang Wanqing pouted defiantly. "What's there to be scared of? Hao's here!"

Chen Siyao held tightly to Chen Hao's arm, her gaze resolute and completely unafraid. "I trust my brother. If he says it's safe, then it's safe."

Yang Wanqing nodded emphatically too. "I trust Hao as well! He stopped a rampaging yak with one hand. Why would he be afraid of those two predators?"

Li Li stared at them as though they were mad. "Are you stupid? That was a yak. These are a wolf and a leopard that eat people! How are they the same? No matter how strong he is, he's still human! How could he possibly beat two predators? I'm telling you, don't go. Something really will happen! By then, you won't even be able to run!"

The livestream chat split into two camps, arguing fiercely:

[I Am Ying Zheng]: I trust Chen Hao! He definitely has the skills! What he did earlier was nothing an ordinary person could pull off!

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood]: Her brother is the best! He can definitely protect everyone!

[A worm]: I think this is way too risky. Wild predators don't care who you are. Don't try to play the hero!

[Clear-Eyed Observer]: Li Li is right. This is asking to die. Humans can't interfere with the laws of nature!

[Snow Blows at the East Gate]: Just waiting for the doubters to eat their words! There's definitely more to Chen Hao than meets the eye!

[No delusions of grandeur]: Eat their words? I think you'd better get ready to call the police and send a rescue team.

[Sword saint]: Why even call the police for something that wastes their resources like this?