A thin vine, pointed at one end, easily burrowed into the wound.
The massive rhinoceros beast was still thrashing wildly, trying to throw Bai Maomao off.
Bai Maomao clenched his teeth and gripped the beast’s horn tightly, refusing to let go.
While struggling to maintain balance, he repeatedly stabbed his dagger into the previous wound.
Bright red blood dripped down in a steady stream.
The beast’s eyes were bloodshot, and with a loud roar, it raised its front hooves and started running wildly.
Bai Maomao was nearly thrown off by the sudden motion.
The slender green vine had already burrowed completely into the beast’s body.
It was so small and unremarkable that only the dwindling blood on the beast’s body hinted at something strange.
The rhinoceros beast seemed to sense danger and thrashed its head violently, spinning in circles with Bai Maomao still clinging to its back.
Bai Maomao crouched low on its back, gripping both horns tightly—so tightly that he broke the tip off one of them.
The vine stopped near the beast’s neck—right at the main artery.
The green vine pulsed, its thin body gradually becoming plump, the vibrant green darkening into a rich wine red.
Sensing the beast’s weakness, Bai Maomao looked at it in confusion.
The beast could barely stand, swaying unsteadily.
Bai Maomao cautiously jumped down and observed the suddenly weakened beast from two meters away.
The beast let out a weak, raspy cry, then collapsed to the ground.
“Huh?”
Bai Maomao scratched his cheek, curiously leaning closer.
Only the beast’s massive skeleton remained intact; its flesh had shriveled rapidly, leaving behind a thin layer of skin clinging to the bones.
Beneath the skin, a round, wriggling object could be seen.
Bai Maomao squatted and curiously poked at the writhing bulge.
The vine under the skin pierced through with its sharp tip and peeked out.
“?”
Bai Maomao stared curiously at the little tip that popped out.
The vine had absorbed so much blood and flesh that its original green color turned a deep, almost black, red.
Sensing Bai Maomao nearby, the vine happily wriggled, emerging completely and even nuzzling his hand affectionately with its tip.
“This feels so familiar…”
Bai Maomao bit his lip, deep in thought.
When Bai Maomao didn’t respond, the vine shyly scooted closer and wrapped itself entirely around his wrist.
“You’re Little Vine?!”
A flash of recognition struck Bai Maomao—he finally remembered the familiar feeling.
The vine wiggled happily, stood upright on his wrist, and slowly unfurled a small black leaf.
The leaf was glossy like jade, with faint visible veins.
“Why do you look like this now?”
Bai Maomao poked the little leaf in confusion.
The vine wiggled again, gently nuzzled Bai Maomao’s face with its tip, then withdrew the leaf and wrapped itself around his wrist, pretending to play dead.
“This monster was drained by you, right?”
Bai Maomao tugged at it.
The vine stayed completely still, like a real vine.
Bai Maomao: …
Getting no answers, Bai Maomao had no choice but to store the rhinoceros beast’s corpse and head back to find Yan Miao.
Although the beast had run for quite a while, it had mostly run in circles, so Bai Maomao was still near the bamboo grove.
He used a cleansing spell to remove the bloodstains on his body and set off with Little Vine.
The bamboo grove wasn’t far—
Bai Maomao reached it in about ten minutes.
The dense bamboo forest was shrouded in a faint mist, like something from a fantasy drama.
It looked so ethereal that Bai Maomao half-jokingly wondered if an immortal lived inside.
But the priority was still to find Little Black.
Bai Maomao gathered his strength and called out loudly,
“Yan Miao!”
His clear, youthful voice echoed across the empty grasslands.
The bamboo grove remained silent—no one answered.
Bai Maomao tried shouting a few more times, his voice imbued with spiritual power traveling far, but there was still no response from Yan Miao.
Bai Maomao was starting to feel anxious.
He tried to sense the green-leaf boat, but there was no response at all.
The bamboo forest before him remained still and silent.
Occasionally, a breeze would blow through, yet the bamboo didn’t sway in the slightest.
The more Bai Maomao looked at the forest, the stranger it seemed.
It was odd enough that a whole patch of bamboo would grow suddenly on the grassland, but even stranger that there wasn’t a single sound.
Something wasn’t right.
He pinched his fingers together, deciding to find the others before going into the bamboo forest to search for Yan Miao.
After making a mark on the ground, Bai Maomao used his spiritual energy to rush off toward their designated meeting spot.
In the bamboo forest.
Yan Miao sat leaning against a thick stalk of bamboo.
His eyes were closed, his breathing calm, and his expression was peaceful.
The green-leaf boat rested beside his hand, now shrunk to the size of an ordinary leaf, lying quietly on the ground.
At the center of the bamboo grove was a clearing, filled with a milky white mist.
A delicate bamboo house stood in the middle of the open space.
Through the hazy fog, one could see a bamboo couch placed by the window, with a small table on top of it.
On the table was an unfinished game of chess.
The sun gradually slanted westward, and orange light filtered through the layers of bamboo leaves, casting a faint glow over the bamboo house and adding a sense of solitude.
The mist thickened, and faint singing could be heard from somewhere within.
Yan Miao leaned against the bamboo, looking even more serene.
At the rendezvous point, Bai Maomao arrived to find Mo Qin and the others already waiting.
“Maomao!”
Mo Qin spotted him from afar and excitedly jumped up high, waving vigorously.
Liu Lei and Meng Qu, though more reserved, were equally delighted to see their roommate safe and sound.
They joined Mo Qin in waving enthusiastically.
Bai Maomao quickly came over.
“Where’s Xiao Hei?”
“He went to look for you,”
Mo Qin explained.
“We agreed he’d return every hour to check in.”
Liu Lei glanced at his watch.
“It’s been almost an hour—he should be back soon.”
Bai Maomao nodded, finally feeling a little more at ease.
“What about Yan Miao?”
Mo Qin asked curiously.
Yan Miao had left with Bai Maomao—so how had Maomao returned, but not Yan Miao?
“He ran into some trouble,”
Bai Maomao frowned at the thought of the strange bamboo forest.
“He’s probably trapped inside. I didn’t feel confident going in alone. Let’s wait for Xiao Hei to come back, then we’ll go look for him together.”
Bai Maomao briefly explained what had happened to him and Yan Miao, skimming over the part where the horned beast died, and focused instead on the oddity of the bamboo forest.
The others didn’t think much of the glossed-over details, but once they heard Yan Miao had gone in and never came back, they became anxious.
Mo Qin, especially, immediately started urging them to go find Yan Miao once Lang Junxian returned.
They ate a little and rested in place for a while.
Soon enough, Lang Junxian came back.
He hadn’t been able to find Bai Maomao on his trip out.
His heart had been in turmoil, worried that he might’ve missed Maomao who could’ve already returned.
He had searched all the way south without any sign of Bai Maomao and finally had to rush back in frustration.
Bai Maomao had indeed returned.
When Lang Junxian saw him and the way his lips were pursed, he breathed a sigh of relief, eyes reddening as he hugged Bai Maomao tightly.
“I’m sorry…”
Lang Junxian held him close, finally feeling like all of this was real.
When he heard the roar by the river earlier, he immediately regretted agreeing to split up with Bai Maomao.
By the time he rushed back, only two horned beast cubs and a massive footprint were left on the riverbank.
He had followed the tracks all the way, but still couldn’t find Bai Maomao.
In those few hours, regret and fear had consumed him.
Bai Maomao nuzzled his face against Lang Junxian’s chest, obediently allowing himself to be held.
The other three watched the touching reunion and couldn’t help feeling that something was…off.
They exchanged glances, then quietly moved to the side to wait.
If they stayed any longer, they felt their eyes might just go blind…
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