Chapter 108: The Half-Moon Bear

Feeling Shang Qinghua’s scrutinizing gaze, Yue Mingxuan grew uncomfortable.

Before Rong Tieshan could start, he took the lead, riding straight into the forest.

Seeing him set off first, Rong Tieshan hesitated briefly before following on horseback.

As soon as he entered the forest, Yue Mingxuan felt a twinge of regret.

This forest didn’t seem designed for hunting; it appeared natural, with winding paths and a few untrimmed branches on the horse trails.

Charging forward recklessly would almost certainly lead to injury.

But now that he had entered, turning back would be embarrassing.

Moreover, the forest might hold some rare herbs.

Although he and Rong Tieshan were unwilling partners, he didn’t want to return empty-handed and humiliated.

Risk always correlated with danger, he reminded himself and slowed his pace, moving deeper into the forest.

At the same time, Rong Tieshan caught up.

The two of them exchanged a glance but said nothing.

At first, Yue Mingxuan could see scattered couples riding together, laughing and chatting as they went.

Gradually, the forest grew denser, the sunlight dimmed and after riding for a long time without spotting any rare herbs, he began to hesitate.

He decided to turn his horse around and head back.

Just as he turned around, a shadow flashed through the trees ahead.

Yue Mingxuan reached for the bow at his side, ready to draw and shoot, but Rong Tieshan stopped him.

Yue Mingxuan who is puzzled looked at Rong Tieshan, but Rong Tieshan quickly covered his mouth.

Rong Tieshan’s hand was dry against Yue Mingxuan’s unmasked face and the warmth of his touch was like white jade.

Yue Mingxuan glared at him in irritation, prompting Rong Tieshan to whisper, “There’s a bear.”

“What? A bear?!”

Yue Mingxuan felt like he wanted to drag the head of the royal hunting guards out and punish him with every cruel method in the Qing dynasty.

Why would such a dangerous animal appear in a hunting ground set up just for the royal hunting festival?

The shadows of the trees rustled as the black shape approached.

Yue Mingxuan’s mind raced with countless thoughts.

He had heard that bears didn’t attack dead people, but he didn’t know if that was true.

After a moment, the shadow revealed itself.

It was indeed a bear, though it seemed a bit small.

Seeing the little bear waddling toward them, both Yue Mingxuan and Rong Tieshan felt a little embarrassed for having been so cautious just moments ago.

The bear was tiny, about the size of a six-month-old husky.

It likely had never seen a horse before; it tilted its head to study them curiously, then started approaching.

Even though it was a young bear, it still carried the scent of a wild animal.

Yue Mingxuan’s horse sensed it and nervously pawed at the ground.

Normally, people liked fluffy animals and Yue Mingxuan was no exception.

Seeing the little bear’s round, furry body, he couldn’t resist.

He dismounted his horse and bent down to stroke its head.

Rong Tieshan hadn’t expected Yue Mingxuan to be so bold.

Before he could stop him, Yue Mingxuan had already scooped the little bear into his arms and the bear nestled against him like a loyal puppy.

Seeing that Yue Mingxuan was safe, Rong Tieshan finally relaxed a little.

Catching a living bear cub in a royal hunting ground where bears were supposed to be absent was arguably more impressive than hunting foxes or rabbits.

Yue Mingxuan petted the bear’s head.

Its soft fur reminded him of the Alaskan dog his family had once kept.

He knew that if he took the cub home, he could likely win first place.

But looking into the cub’s trusting black eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to be cruel.

Although a captive bear would have food and safety, it would lose its most precious freedom.

With a gentle push, he sent the cub back toward the forest. “Go on. Return to the forest. That’s your home.”

The cub looked at Yue Mingxuan in confusion, seemingly not understanding why the human who had been so gentle a moment ago was now pushing it away.

Yue Mingxuan stepped back, mounted his horse, and said to Rong Tieshan, “Let’s go somewhere else.”

Although he didn’t understand why Yue Mingxuan had let the bear go, Rong Tieshan didn’t oppose him.

After all, his goal wasn’t first place, it was spending more time with Yue Mingxuan to understand his own feelings.

So he turned his horse and followed.

The cub, seeing Yue Mingxuan leave, suddenly stood up and let out a sharp “aoo!”

Not far off, a huge shadow appeared and it was a fully grown half-moon bear.

Instead of showing joy at seeing its kind, the cub stumbled toward Yue Mingxuan as if escaping something.

The black bear, seeing the cub, charged toward them in a frenzy.

In a panic, Yue Mingxuan drew his bow and shot an arrow.

It only grazed the bear, cutting a little fur, but it enraged the black bear.

The bear abandoned its pursuit of the cub and turned its gaze toward Yue Mingxuan.

Under the stare of this massive creature, cold sweat broke out on Yue Mingxuan’s forehead.

The black bear stood about one and a half times his height.

Ten Yue Mingxuans combined could not have fought it.

And its eyes were blood-red.

Yue Mingxuan had heard that only bears that had eaten humans had eyes like that.

The half-moon bear eyed Yue Mingxuan, seemingly calculating where to strike first.

Yue Mingxuan’s horse had already frozen in terror at the massive creature before them.

No matter how many times Yue Mingxuan tried to turn the horse, he couldn’t get it to move.

Just then, the sound of a rushing wind cut through the forest.

A white-feathered arrow shot straight into the half-moon bear’s eye socket.

Yue Mingxuan didn’t even have time to see who had fired it before he heard Rong Tieshan shout, “Run!”

Summoning all his strength, Yue Mingxuan forced the horse to turn.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep