Big Bear and Second Bear

"Roar!"

Gu Chenfeng spotted the Crimson Flame Savage Bear that the Four Directions Gate had surrounded earlier.

Covered in blood, it came charging from the distance.

As it ran, it kept growling at the Mutated Giant Bear.

At the sight of the Crimson Flame Savage Bear, a surprisingly human flash of delight appeared in the Mutated Giant Bear's crazed, bloodthirsty eyes.

The red light in its mouth swiftly faded as well.

Anyone else witnessing this would probably have been completely baffled.

But Gu Chenfeng could understand Beast Speech.

He heard the Crimson Flame Savage Bear call out to the Mutated Giant Bear.

"Big brother, don't hurt him! This human saved me."

At that moment, Gu Chenfeng felt an urge to drop to his knees and kowtow to the Crimson Flame Savage Bear.

Brother Bear, your timing couldn't be better!

Earlier, he had rescued the Crimson Flame Savage Bear only because he wanted its help dealing with the other members of the Four Directions Gate.

Who would have thought it had such a fearsome big brother?

After hearing its little brother's words, the elder bear's gaze did indeed clear as it looked at Gu Chenfeng.

When the younger bear ran up to it, the elder bear swung a paw at it.

"Thump...!"

The slap sent the younger bear tumbling several times.

Yet the elder bear exclaimed delightedly, "Little brother, are you all right? I was worried sick about you!"

The younger bear scrambled up, slapped the elder bear's thigh, and said excitedly,

"Big brother, I'm fine. Just a few injuries. It's all thanks to this human saving me."

The two giant bears conversed by trading one slap after another.

Gu Chenfeng's eyelids twitched at the sight.

Thank goodness their hides were thick and their flesh tough. Otherwise, they would surely have slapped a few good brothers to death.

After the brothers had talked for a while, Gu Chenfeng knew his life was safe.

Sure enough, a moment later,

The two enormous creatures turned to face him.

They clasped their forepaws together and bowed to him in a rather comical display of gratitude.

Gu Chenfeng hurriedly cupped his fists and returned the salute.

"As the saying goes, saving a bear's life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda. Brothers, there's no need to thank me."

Since they could not converse with each other, after a few casual pleasantries,

Big Bear led Second Bear toward the distant forest.

Watching the two colossal creatures disappear into the depths of the forest, Gu Chenfeng had just breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thud, thud...!"

The ground suddenly shook.

Big Bear's mountain-sized figure burst out of the forest again and charged up to him in the blink of an eye.

Gu Chenfeng's heart tightened.

But Big Bear merely tossed something wrapped in an enormous leaf onto the ground in front of him.

"This is... for me?"

"Roar...!"

Big Bear nodded repeatedly.

Gu Chenfeng unwrapped the leaf and looked inside.

It actually contained an animal heart the size of a human head, giving off a faint red glow.

Beside it lay an ordinary-looking red, withered twig.

"Roar...!"

Big Bear roared at Gu Chenfeng repeatedly while gesturing.

Gu Chenfeng understood. These were Big Bear's gifts of thanks.

The heart belonged to a Tiger-Type Origin Beast-a Tiger Demon Big Bear had killed deep within Great Wilderness Ridge.

As for the withered twig, Big Bear explained that if Gu Chenfeng ever encountered trouble in Great Wilderness Ridge,

He could light it, and the brothers would smell it and come to his aid.

Having finished explaining, Big Bear affectionately reached out a paw and patted Gu Chenfeng on the chest.

Then it turned and dashed into the forest.

A moment later,

"Cough, cough!"

Gu Chenfeng struggled up from the grass more than a dozen zhang away, seeing stars.

With evening approaching and the sun about to set,

He hurriedly cleared the battlefield and left Great Wilderness Ridge.

An hour later,

In the west chamber on the top floor of the Thousand Beauties Pavilion,

Su Wanyue covered her lips with her delicate hand, looking somewhat astonished.

"That thing of yours is so big!"

"Obviously. Just look at whose it is."

Gu Chenfeng closed the wooden box containing the tiger heart again and instructed her,

"The Source Qi nourishing this tiger heart will keep it from rotting. I have no use for it just yet, so I'll leave it with you for now."

Su Wanyue nodded. "This is probably the heart of a Source Sea Realm Origin Beast. I can seal the Source Qi inside to prevent it from escaping."

Gu Chenfeng nodded in satisfaction.

His trip to Great Wilderness Ridge today had yielded a rich harvest.

Not only had he successfully gathered the Blood-Crest Flower, the main ingredient for the Essence Pill,

He had also received the heart of a Source Sea Realm great demon from Big Bear and forged a friendship with the two giant bears.

Moreover, when Gu Chenfeng had later searched the battlefield,

He had found many spiritual materials in the Third Boss's bundle, including Ice Condensation Grass, the main ingredient for the Spirit-Nourishing Pill.

There had also been twenty thousand taels in banknotes.

He had more than surpassed his goals for this trip.

His only regret was that

He still hadn't had a chance to unleash the first ultimate move of the Tiger-Subduing Spear Technique.

Who could understand the frustration of never getting to unleash your big move?

"Oh, and there's one more thing, Lady Su. Sorry for the trouble.

Starting tomorrow, reserve a quiet room for me here, and buy me an alchemy furnace and the necessary pill-refining supplies."

"You're going to refine pills?"

Su Wanyue looked somewhat surprised.

"Yes. I'm bored, so I'll refine a few for fun. Just do as I said," Gu Chenfeng replied casually.

Su Wanyue's graceful brows drew together in displeasure.

"Young Master Gu, please get this straight. We're partners. I'm not your maid."

Gu Chenfeng raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Su, I have countless matters to attend to every day, and I still have to look after your Gu insect.

You wouldn't want anything to happen to your Lifebound Gu, would you?"

Su Wanyue's imposing air faltered, and she forced a smile.

"Young Master Gu, you've misunderstood. I was only joking. Leave this little matter to me."

Gu Chenfeng nodded. "By the way, have you made any progress on that matter?"

Su Wanyue naturally knew he meant investigating the true culprit.

"My injuries still need some time to heal. Once I've recovered, I'll follow the clues and investigate."

"Good. Report any information to me immediately."

After that reminder, Gu Chenfeng took his leave.

Once he was gone, Su Wanyue huffed angrily and kicked the meditation cushion beneath her with her delicate foot.

"Hmph! If my injuries weren't still unhealed, and my Lifebound Gu hadn't fallen into your hands,

Would a useless wastrel like you be able to order me around!?"

After fuming for a while, Su Wanyue calmed down and couldn't help murmuring to herself.

"This fellow can resist my hypnosis, obtain the heart of a Source Sea Realm demonic beast, and compose poetry of that caliber.

Now he even wants to refine pills. Could a good-for-nothing do all that?

Or has he been pretending all along?"

At that thought, Su Wanyue couldn't help feeling startled.

There was no shortage of capable people in this world.

But someone so capable who could still disguise himself as a notoriously useless wastrel in the Imperial Capital,

Keeping even the crafty old schemers of the Imperial Capital's great lineages in the dark-that person was far from ordinary.

"Just what secrets is this fellow hiding?"

A flame of curiosity quietly sprang to life within her.

Su Wanyue actually began to feel an urge to pry into Gu Chenfeng's affairs.

"That mission requires me to approach the Great Li Dynasty's powerful noble lineages anyway. Why not start with him?

Although my Lifebound Gu is temporarily in his hands, I can also use it to gather information.

First I'll understand him, then control him, and then... toy with his feelings!"

Beneath her veil, Su Wanyue's smile grew increasingly playful.

She seemed to picture a certain someone becoming madly infatuated with her.

Only to be cruelly discarded in the end, left with nothing to live for.

She had absolute confidence in her charm.

Especially when she set out to win a man's heart.

Meanwhile, Gu Chenfeng had already returned to the Prime Minister's Residence.

He took a jade box from the hidden compartment beneath his bed.

Opening it revealed an iron cage half a foot square.

Su Wanyue's Lifebound Gu was confined inside.

Gu Chenfeng didn't know Su Wanyue's exact cultivation level, but she was certainly stronger than him.

The Lifebound Gu was his means of keeping her in check, so naturally, he had to safeguard it.

With its many guards and experts stationed in the shadows, the Prime Minister's Residence was already the safest place.

Gu Chenfeng casually sprinkled some dark red pellets through the cage.

These were the Gu insect's feed, which Su Wanyue had given him.

Su Wanyue had instructed him to feed it three times a day at fixed hours.

But Gu Chenfeng had been busy gathering herbs these past few days, so he could only feed it once a day, and not at any fixed time.

As a result, the Gu insect often went hungry.

Now, as it wolfed down its food, it kept hissing.

"I'm starving to death! Why hasn't Master killed this bastard yet?

She even told me to secretly watch him, saying she wanted to find a way to control him.

This villain keeps me locked up and hungry every day. How am I supposed to watch him?

What a pain! Once I get out, I'll definitely make Master kill him!"

As Gu Chenfeng fed the Gu insect, he sneered inwardly.

Control me?

He had a rough idea of what this woman was plotting.

Su Wanyue treated this Lifebound Gu as a spy for uncovering his secrets.

In reality, it was Gu Chenfeng's "intelligence extraction station."

Although Gu Chenfeng could only understand Beast Speech and could not converse with it,

This Gu insect was not only ill-tempered but also a chatterbox.

Whenever Su Wanyue secretly gave it orders, it would always grumble and complain in every imaginable way.

Thus, Gu Chenfeng knew Su Wanyue's intentions perfectly well.

He knew she truly bore him no ill will.

At the same time, she had brought people to the Imperial Capital for an extremely important purpose.

Even her Lifebound Gu had never revealed that purpose.

Gu Chenfeng was intensely curious about it and thought to himself,

This Gu insect seems to have plenty of potential as a turncoat.

Once I learn to refine pills, I can try feeding it something different and get it to spill a little more intelligence.