Chapter 62. Big Panda (6) (Revised)

"Quickly, turn your head away!"

Something flew past. I hastily ducked my head. Then I saw a pebble fly past me and pierce the tree behind me.

'Oh, shit...'

The tree, now with a hole through its trunk, began to creak and bend, forming a bizarre object-like shape.

'If I had been hit by that...'

I would have had a sinkhole in my head. I immediately shouted at them.

"No, I didn't know you were there! This is an accident!"

"You, you pervert! Get out of here! Hurry up!"

The Penggui who had just thrown the rock shouted and hid in the deep water.

'I'll explain later. The timing isn't good right now.'

Just as I was about to turn and go down the mountain path, the Golden Bear Cub, startled by the fireball (physical) the Penggui had thrown, started running towards me.

"Roar! Roar!"

"Oh no!"

The Golden Bear Cub, with its short legs compared to its body, was running very quickly, looking extremely threatening. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to hide.

'Wait a minute. It's a bear. So...'

I had heard that bears, with their shorter front legs compared to their hind legs, tend to stumble on downhill paths. I gathered my inner strength, put force into my legs, and ran down the slope.

'Just need to run a little more!'

I thought that if I could make it to the bottom of the mountain, it would run off to another place. After running for about 30 seconds, I turned back, hoping the distance had widened, but what I saw was completely different.

—Rolling

"No!"

To my surprise, the Golden Bear Cub was rolling down the mountain path. It had curled its body and was rolling down. This was possible because of its thick skin.

'Are you a Ram○s?'

I was terrified by the sight of the Golden Bear Cub rolling towards me and put even more effort into my legs. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't run faster than a rolling bear. I could feel it getting closer without even looking back.

—Rolling

The fear of being crushed by the bear if I didn't do something hit me as I felt the Golden Bear Cub rolling towards me.

'To survive, I have to roll too!'

I thought that all the hard work I had put into learning the Iron Body Technique was for moments like this. I gritted my teeth, made up my mind, and curled my body into a ball. Then I threw myself down the slope.

"Haat!"

—Rolling...

—Rolling...

And so, the Golden Bear Cub and I rolled down the mountain together.

***

After rolling for a while, I finally managed to stop. I had reached a relatively gentle slope. My whole body felt bruised, and my head was throbbing.

'Ouch... My head hurts so much.'

I tried to stand up, but my body wobbled. I noticed the Golden Bear Cub also wobbling and getting up.

"Grumble... Grumble..."

It seemed to be in pain, holding its head and grumbling. I checked my waist to make sure my sword was still there, and fortunately, it was.

'Since it's a bear...'

I drew my knife in case of any unexpected situations. However, the bear cub just grumbled and held its head.

I cautiously approached it, and it looked at me and tilted its head.

"Grumble...?"

'Even when I look at it again, it's still ugly.'

But upon closer inspection, it somehow seemed endearing. Maybe because it was a panda, it looked a bit cute.

If it were just a bit smaller, it would have been fine.

Suddenly, it started rubbing its head against me.

"Grumble... Grumble..."

"Damn, why are you doing this all of a sudden?"

Although I was a descendant of Dangun, I had no intention of doing anything with a bear. I tried to push it away, but it kept rubbing its head against my chest.

"Grumble..."

"Ah!"

Realizing why it was doing this, I took out a honey cookie from my chest.

"Is it because of this?"

"Grumble!"

The bear cub, delighted, tried to pounce on it. I held it back with my whole body and gave it just one. It wasn't because I was stingy, but because I had a plan.

'I need to mix a sleeping potion with the honey cookie.'

The Golden Bear Cub happily munched on the honey cookie, not seeming very aggressive despite its appearance.

'Ugly but a good kid.'

Feeling a sense of kinship, I gave it another honey cookie. After petting its head, I put my left hand in my pocket to check if the potion bottle was intact.

Despite the intense rolling, the potion bottle was fortunately unbroken. Without lowering my guard, I took out the sleeping potion and sprinkled it on the honey cookie, then offered it.

"Here, eat this too."

"Grumble?"

The Golden Bear Cub, sniffing it, frowned and tilted its head. When I reassured it and offered it again, it swatted my hand and stood up, showing its displeasure.

"Roar!"

Standing up, the Golden Bear Cub was truly a terrifying size.

'One punch might kill me.'

It was that threatening. I decided to slowly try to calm it down after discarding the honey cookie.

"Hey, bro. Calm down. Relax."

"Grumble..."

Just as it seemed to be calming down,

a surprised voice came from behind the Golden Bear Cub.

"Cheng Biao?! No!!!"

It was Wijian's voice.

I turned my head slightly and saw Wijian, drenched and barely dressed, holding something in her hand on the hill.

'Damn.'

Usually, she wore fluttery clothes, so I hadn't noticed, but with her clothes sticking to her body from the water, her figure was clearly visible. She had no fat at all, with a body like a Pilates instructor.

'If I posted this on Instagram, it would go viral.'

While I was momentarily distracted by this thought, she shouted at me in a hurried voice.

"Cheng Biao! Run quickly!"

"Wijian? Just a moment..."

Before I could say that it was a good kid and there was no need to worry, something like a flash of light shot out from Wijian's hand.

—Whoosh

The flash, emitted from Wijian's hand, whizzed through the air and hit the back of the Golden Bear Cub's head. Immediately, a sound like a bell ringing echoed around.

—Ding!

"Grumble?"

The Golden Bear Cub's eyes rolled back after being hit on the back of its head. Its legs, unable to support its weight, collapsed towards me as if to embrace me—

I felt its body falling towards me and lost consciousness.

***

"Ugh..."

When I came to, Wijian's worried face was in front of me. She had just fallen, and water was still dripping from her hair.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. My hand just hurts a bit."

I tried to put my hand on the ground but felt a strong pain and flinched. It seemed my hand was sprained. I had no choice but to use my left hand to get up.

As I stood up, I saw the situation around me.

In front of me were Wijian, who was looking at me worriedly, the Penggui, who was glaring at me with a terrifying face, and the Golden Bear Cub, which had fainted after being hit by a monster ball.

'At least it's captured.'

I wondered how I would bring it down, but the Penggui shouted.

"More importantly!"

A sound like metal breaking through rock echoed. Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw the Penggui glaring at me with a ferocious expression.

"You were peeping on us while we were bathing?!"

"That's not true. It was a complete accident!"

I immediately regained my composure and pointed out the incorrect statement. If the story went the wrong way, I might end up hand in hand with the Golden Bear Cub on the Jordan River, so I had to stay calm.

"An accident?"

"Yes. I was just going to get some water. I never imagined you two would be there."

"Lie!"

Another rock shattered against the ground. The Penggui was breaking granite like tofu.

'If I get hit by that...'

I felt a chill run down my spine and continued to explain.

"It's true. If you look at the path I came from, you'll see a fallen water flask."

I pointed to the path, where a broken water flask was rolling around. However, the Penggui still looked skeptical and growled.

"I don't believe you. Confess quickly! Then I might forgive you!"

She won't forgive me.

I decided not to accept the Penggui's plea bargain and shook my head.

"I really had no intention of peeping."

"If you keep denying it, I'll tell Baifeng that you were peeping on us while we were bathing!"

That can't happen. I didn't even want to imagine what it would do to my reputation at work.

'I might end up with a nickname like "White Cloud Mana Hunter".'

All the reputation I had built up could be ruined. Facing the crisis of social death, I stiffened my face and said,

"That's not the issue. Right now, the Golden Bear Cub is more urgent. Ah! How should we deal with this situation...?"

"Don't change the subject!"

With a bang, another piece of granite shattered against the Penggui's sword.

'Even deflection doesn't work.'

This was a big problem.

I decided to try another method and focused my inner strength on my eyes. As the inner strength surged into my eyes, they started to tear up.

"Sniff... Sniff..."

"What's wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

The Penggui, seeing me cry, asked with a slightly softened expression. I sobbed and said,

"I can't bear the injustice. How could you see me like this..."

As I sobbed, Wijian, with a soft heart, started to plead for me.

"Hey, Penggui. It really seems like an injustice... Just consider it a mistake..."

But the Penggui shook her head vigorously and shouted,

"No, it's an act. I can feel it. It's an act! Stop pretending and confess!"

It was an accurate observation.

'Damn.'

Proving my innocence by crying didn't work.

I gritted my teeth, thinking there was no other way. I didn't want to use this method because it was difficult, but I had no choice.

I closed my eyes, put on a solemn expression, and knelt on both knees.

Thud!

Sand and dust flew up, and a tear that had stopped flowing earlier trickled down my cheek.

Seeing me kneel, the two were speechless, wondering what I was doing. I felt their gazes and slowly reached out to touch the ground. The Penggui, puzzled, asked,

"What are you doing?"

With a solemn heart, I sobbed and said,

"I didn't mean to, but since I did see you two bathing, I will apologize like this."

I kicked my legs up and stood on my hands, standing on my head. The two, seeing this, were shocked and stammered,

"What, what is this?"

"Why are you standing on your head all of a sudden?"

Feeling the blood rush to my face, I struggled to answer while standing on my head.

"In our Joseon, we do this bow to show deep apology."

"Umm..."

"What to say... It looks rather grotesque..."

I continued, addressing their confusion.

"If you don't forgive me, I will continue to stand on my head!"

"No, what kind of culture is this..."

"My head is pounding with pain. But I will stand on my head until you forgive me!"

"Ugh..."

"Please forgive me!"

In the end, I was forgiven. It was really fortunate.