Chapter 16

Cai Xiaoxian wrinkled her nose, sniffed hard, and clapped her hands, laughing, "It's Dahuhei (Big Black) who has returned."

"That scoundrel still knows how to come back!" Bu Li looked in the direction of the sound and saw a bear, slightly smaller but not much different from Cai Xiaoxian's transformed black bear, wobbling back through the forest.

Bu Li was truly helpless this time. The black bear cub he had picked up as a child was too small to be abandoned or killed, so he raised it. However, after growing up, this creature, with its massive body, was as timid as a mouse and as lustful as a demon, probably having ravaged all the female bears in the forest. This time was even more outrageous; looking at Dahuhei's unsteady gait, it was clear he had been indulging in carnal pleasures, probably ruining many female bears.

"You scoundrel, you'll die on the belly of a female bear one day," Bu Li cursed fiercely, tossing a snow wolf leg to Dahuhei. The black bear, with eyes like small mountains, stood up on its hind legs, caught the snow wolf leg with its mouth, and pounded its chest like a gorilla, indicating its immense strength, as if what Bu Li said was impossible. Did it really understand what Bu Li was saying? This timid and lustful black bear was indeed a spirit beast, capable of understanding human speech, though it was unclear if it could ever advance to the point of speaking.

After chewing on the snow wolf leg, which weighed dozens of pounds, for a few moments, it disappeared. It seemed very hungry. Seeing that Bu Li and Cai Xiaoxian had finished eating, the black bear headed straight for the campfire without any fear of the fire. It took the remaining snow wolf, not minding the heat, and swallowed it whole, bones and all, crunching it down in just a few breaths.

"Damn! This glutton..." Bu Li looked at Cai Xiaoxian and then at Dahuhei, thinking that an ordinary family really couldn't afford to raise the two of them.

After finishing the snow wolf, the black bear patted its belly, looking content. Bu Li stood up and kicked the black bear, saying, "Let's go, it's time to work." The black bear suddenly sensed that something had changed about Bu Li. It cautiously lay down, circled Bu Li, stood up on its hind legs, and placed its hands on Bu Li's shoulders, as if trying to smell Bu Li's scent.

Bu Li grabbed the black bear's right front paw with one hand, leaned to the side, and with a smooth shoulder throw, easily tossed the thousand-pound bear to the ground.

"What are you sniffing? It's all saliva, disgusting. Get up quickly, stop pretending to be dead. We're going to try out the patterned beast." Such playful roughhousing was common between Bu Li and the black bear, but this time it was much easier. Bu Li only used half his strength to throw the black bear, and he was secretly amazed at the changes in his own abilities.

Bu Li picked up Cai Xiaoxian and said softly, "Xian'er, are you sleepy? Go to sleep."

Cai Xiaoxian had already habitually laid on Bu Li's back, found a comfortable position, and was sound asleep. She had no sense of direction and would fall asleep after eating, which Bu Li often teased her about.

The two figures, one human and one bear, moved quickly through the forest. The wind rustled the grass and leaves, and their shadows blended into the forest like tree shadows, disappearing in an instant, making it hard to distinguish them.

Bu Li didn't know what he was looking for, and neither did Dahuhei. It was just the wild beasts in the forest. These creatures looked fierce and brutal, but in Dahuhei's eyes, they were nothing. Even without Bu Li, Dahuhei could take down a fierce tiger or a vicious wolf.

Bu Li crouched on a tree branch, his figure hidden among the leaves, as if he had vanished into thin air. Dahuhei curled up under the tree, looking like a boulder next to an old tree, blending in perfectly. Even some light green moss had appeared on Dahuhei's body at some point.

This area was unfamiliar, not part of Bu Li's usual hunting grounds. It was the territory of a large monkey in the forest, which was so agile that Dahuhei didn't even want to provoke it. The monkey's constant jumping and leaping was extremely annoying.

"Wait a moment before you act. I'll try it out first," Bu Li said.

Dahuhei didn't move, still lying like a boulder, not showing any sign of having heard Bu Li's words.

The long bow slowly drew back among the dense leaves, like a cautious sniper waiting to shoot an important target. After waiting for a long time, it was the final moment of the hunt.

The arrow shot out, piercing through the forest, aiming for a giant tree. Behind the dense leaves, a tree hole was vaguely visible, and the arrow shot straight into it, making a muffled sound.

Bu Li didn't use his full strength, only about half. This was just to lure the prey out, to test the patterned beast against the mountain goblin and see its strength.

"Roar!" A roar came from the tree hole as the mountain goblin was awakened by Bu Li's arrow. It leaped out of the tree hole in anger, looking for who had invaded its territory and disturbed its life. Although the mountain goblin was angry, it was very cautious. Being caught off guard, the mountain goblin, with its awakened intelligence, naturally understood the gravity of the situation.

But every move the mountain goblin made seemed to be within Bu Li's calculations.

The forest floor, covered with thick leaves, trembled slightly. If one wasn't paying attention, they might think it was just the wind rustling the leaves and grass as the mountain goblin emerged. No one noticed that a grass-yellow vine had grown on the ground, climbing up the tree silently and quickly. There was no sense of danger, as the vine was part of the forest, making it easier to hide its presence and scent compared to Cai Xiaoxian and Bu Li.

The mountain goblin stood at the top of the tree, looking around for the enemy. The forest was quiet, with no sign of any threat. Just as the mountain goblin was looking around, it suddenly felt a tightness around its foot. Watching the vine climb up to the mountain goblin's foot, Bu Li's breathing became a bit rapid. This new fighting method was exactly what he had envisioned.

Seeing the mountain goblin, with no defense, being entangled by the vine, Bu Li felt more at ease. After enduring so much hardship to become a patterned beast master, it would be disappointing if he couldn't even deal with a mountain goblin. This time, Bu Li didn't plan to act himself; he just wanted to see how strong the patterned beast was.

Although the vine wasn't exactly a wild beast, Bu Li stubbornly considered it a patterned beast.