Chapter 61: Tiger in Front, Bear Behind

Wei Qing and his party chased to the cave where Liu Che and Liu Li were temporarily staying and saw the traces they left behind, at least confirming that the Empress and the Princess were still alive.

Everyone seemed to have a direction and goal in their hearts and planned to continue chasing.

"Who?" Wei Qing's expression tightened, and he turned to look behind him, his gaze sharp.

The soldiers also turned to look with him, but behind them was still a silent forest, and there was nothing special.

Wei Qing's brows sank. He walked forward two steps and then directly reached out to pull Huo Qubing, who was hiding in the grass, out with one hand.

"Young Master Huo, why are you here?" The soldiers gathered around when they saw this.

Wei Qing threw him to the ground with a dark face: "You..."

Huo Qubing looked at his uncle with a guilty conscience and hurriedly said: "Uncle, I followed you down, look, I can do it!" He was dissatisfied that his uncle always treated him like a child, even though he had been training in the Feathered Forest Guard for a long time.

"Do you know how dangerous it is here?" Wei Qing didn't want to reprimand his nephew in front of his subordinates. He just said with a dark face: "You follow for now, we'll talk after we go back."

Huo Qubing immediately straightened his body: "Yes."

This was the third night Liu Li and Liu Che spent in the dense forest.

The day before, they were quite lucky to find a small cave where they could stay and spent the night safely. But on the third day, they weren't so lucky. Not only did they not find a cave to stay in, but they also seemed to vaguely hear the sounds of wild beasts.

Seeing the light in the dense forest gradually disappear and night about to fall, Liu Che's expression became more and more solemn, as if he was thinking about how to get through tonight.

After the last bit of light in the sky above the dense forest completely dimmed, Liu Che turned on the flashlight in his hand and pulled Liu Li to a large tree with dense grass: "Let's rest here tonight. Only by getting enough energy can we continue on our way tomorrow."

Because in the jungle, starting a fire rashly might attract wild beasts. Finally, Liu Che turned off the flashlight in his hand and sat down with Liu Li under the large tree to rest.

Liu Li stared at the dense grass, feeling a hundred times unwilling in her heart. After all, in this wild environment, who knew if insects would crawl onto her body. But she also understood that now was not the time to be delicate, so she could only bite the bullet and sit down in the grass.

"If you want to sleep, lean on me and sleep for a while, but don't sleep too deeply." Liu Che reminded in a low voice. During the day, he had vaguely heard the sounds of wild beasts. Although he hadn't encountered them yet, he couldn't slack off at all at this time.

Liu Li nodded and leaned her head in Liu Che's arms, but she couldn't sleep at all. She estimated that it was at most six or seven in the evening, but it was already dark in the dense forest.

Liu Li closed her eyes, her mind chaotic and unable to calm down. She hated this kind of unknown and the danger that could happen at any time. And she hadn't bathed for three days; not only did she have a smell on her body, but Liu Che also had one.

When would they be able to walk out of this forest?

Just when Liu Li was worried about her future, Liu Che's body suddenly tightened. Liu Li just raised her head to ask what was wrong, but Liu Che reached out to cover her mouth, looking at the distance with great vigilance.

Liu Li turned her eyes to look and vaguely saw a beam of light from afar, a bit like a torch.

Someone is coming?!

How could there be people in such deep mountains and old forests?

Liu Li rolled her eyes and started guessing in an instant who the people holding torches in the distance were.

Were they hunters from nearby villages? No, from the direction the torches were moving, it was clear that these people were following the path they had walked during the day.

Liu Che was also pondering who these people could be. Seeing this group of people holding torches getting closer and closer, they lay in the grass and observed secretly.

Wei Qing and the soldiers had been chasing Liu Che and Liu Li's footsteps for a day and a night. He couldn't imagine how the "Empress," a weak woman, could carry the Princess and walk all the way here.

The soldiers who followed to search for people were already exhausted and showed signs of fatigue.

Suddenly, Wei Qing keenly felt that there was something in the grass in front of him.

Movement. He raised his hand slightly, and everyone quickly set up the crossbows in their hands, aiming at the grass.

Chen Fei, holding a torch, walked forward two steps. Everyone only saw the grass move slightly again. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the wild beast lurking behind the grass to jump out, and then shoot with the bows and crossbows in their hands.

Wei Qing was also afraid of encountering wild beasts at this time. He stared at the grass even more tightly, not daring to relax at all.

"It's me!" A familiar female voice came from behind the grass, the voice a bit hoarse but still clearly distinguishable.

After Wei Qing was slightly startled, he suddenly reacted: "Put down the bows and crossbows, it's the Empress!"

After hearing Wei Qing's words, everyone put down their bows and crossbows: "The Empress? Is it really the Empress?"

Seeing that Wei Qing and the others had let down their guard, Liu Che poked his head out from the grass and said pleasantly: "How did you find this place?"

Under the jumping firelight, Wei Qing saw a gray but still beautiful face. "Her" eyes reflected the firelight, dazzling and brilliant.

Although in a sorry state, it made people feel admiration.

Just as the words fell, Liu Che saw Wei Qing instantly raise the bow and crossbow in his hand, the sharp arrow pointing straight at himself.

His expression instantly froze, his mind went blank, and his head was full of: Wei Qing actually wants to kill me?!

Before Liu Che could react, the arrow in Wei Qing's hand had already been shot, flying over Liu Che's head with a "whoosh" and hitting something behind him.

Accompanied by the howl of a wild beast, Wei Qing said loudly: "Your Majesty, lie down!"

Liu Che also reacted in time. He quickly lowered his body, hugged Liu Li beside him, and rolled on the ground. When he turned his head again, he saw a huge black bear rushing towards the position where he had been before.

Liu Li was already dumbfounded. She had lived for more than twenty years, and except for seeing images of black bears on science programs and the cartoon "Boonie Bears," she had never seen a real bear.

Now, by the firelight, she saw a black bear several times larger than an adult man, and she was already stunned.

The arrow Wei Qing just shot hit the black bear's arm. The pain directly enraged the black bear, and it roared and rushed towards Wei Qing.

The other soldiers reacted and set up the bows and crossbows in their hands again, aiming at the black bear and shooting arrows. Who knew that the black bear's skin seemed very thick, and the arrows shot at it were like scratching an itch.

The black bear raised its claws and slapped a soldier away with one paw. The soldier hit the tree trunk and died on the spot.

Seeing this, the others panicked. Seeing that the arrows they brought were about to be shot out, the black bear was not injured at all, but its attack power was even stronger.

Wei Qing shouted: "Run, Your Majesty, take the Princess and run first!"

Liu Che held Liu Li tightly in his arms, witnessing this sudden behemoth that had slapped two soldiers to death with one palm, knowing they were no match.

He turned on the flashlight in his hand and shone it at the black bear's eyes. The black bear seemed to be stimulated and roared with its eyes closed. Taking advantage of the strong light making the black bear temporarily unable to see, Liu Che said loudly: "Go, run together."

Wei Qing and the others also reacted quickly and ran towards Liu Che. Finally, the group ran wildly in the dark dense forest. After the black bear recovered its vision, it also chased after them.

Actually, the black bear also has another name, "blind bear." The black bear's courage is very small, and it rarely attacks actively. But it was clear that their behavior just now had enraged the black bear.

The black bear's body looked clumsy, but in fact, its speed was very fast, better than a hunting dog. A slow-running soldier was soon caught up by the black bear and slapped to the ground.

The soldier's screams came, and the whole person seemed to be torn in half by the black bear.

However, because of this, the group and the black bear pulled away a distance, but they still didn't dare to slack off. Because Liu Che was holding Liu Li, his speed slowed down.

Seeing this, Wei Qing hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, hand the Princess to this subordinate."

Liu Che didn't refuse. When Wei Qing reached out, he handed Liu Li in his arms to Wei Qing. And in order to facilitate running, Wei Qing directly carried Liu Li on his shoulder.

There seemed to be no movement from the black bear behind, and everyone's footsteps gradually slowed down. Everyone stopped to catch their breath, panting, and only then did Wei Qing put Liu Li down.

Liu Li felt dizzy and felt like she was going to vomit. She squatted on the ground and retched a few times, then said weakly: "No, we can't stop, we still... haven't run out of the black bear's territory."

"What?" The soldiers were surprised: "We've run so far, and sacrificed so many brothers, and we still have to run?"

There were eleven people who went down the cliff. Three died unfortunately when going down the cliff, two were slapped to death by the black bear just now, and one was caught up by the black bear while running away.

Now, including Huo Qubing who followed secretly behind, there were only six people left, losing half of their brothers.

Liu Li remembered that when she watched Animal World before, the TV said that the black bear is an animal with a strong sense of territory and will be full of hostility to animals that appear in its territory. And the territory range of an adult black bear is 10-40 square kilometers.

So the range they just ran was not out of the black bear's territory at all.

Although the black bear's vision is not very good and it can only see things within ten meters in front of it, its sense of smell is very keen. As long as they are still breathing now, they will be tracked by the black bear.

Sure enough, before Liu Li had time to popularize the black bear to everyone, everyone heard the black bear's roar again, and their nerves tightened instantly.

"Run!" Someone shouted.

Chen Fei on the side scooped up Liu Li and carried her on his back: "I'll carry the Princess!"

Don't look at Chen Fei's young age; he is seventeen this year, but his running speed is the fastest of all. After all, he often went into the mountains to hunt with hunters when he was a child, and he was quite familiar with such dense forests.

The black bear's speed was very fast. Even though it was far behind them, it approached them again in the blink of an eye.

Liu Li lay on Chen Fei's back, feeling very uneasy in her heart. Judging from the current situation, they might all die under the bear's claws.

What to do? How could they escape?

Liu Li closed her eyes and saw the system. Only then did she remember that she still had a golden finger. She hurriedly clicked on 【Encyclopedia】 and then asked: "How to escape when encountering a black bear in the wild?"

【1: Do not enrage the black bear. You can face it and retreat slowly, use a stick to scare it, and scare it away.】

Liu Li: "..." It's already enraged.

【2: In case you enrage the black bear, then good luck.】

Liu Li: "??"

【Throw away the things on your body to attract the black bear's attention and provide yourself with time to escape. The black bear's vision is not good but its sense of smell is keen. If you want to survive, run downwind. The black bear can't smell the scent, so naturally, it won't chase anymore.】

Throw away the things on your body? Liu Li thought about it and felt that she didn't have anything to throw away. She hurriedly said: "Everyone can throw the things you brought to the black bear, preferably food, to attract the black bear's attention."

Running downwind is impossible, after all, there is no wind at all in this forest.

Hearing Liu Li's words, everyone hurriedly threw the steamed buns and dried meat they brought to the black bear. Smelling the scent of these things, the black bear's speed indeed slowed down.

Seeing this, everyone felt a little happy in their hearts and almost took out all the things they carried to feed the black bear.

However, just as everyone was throwing food at the black bear, the black bear had already rushed towards Huo Qubing who was lagging behind. Huo Qubing stumbled under his feet and fell to the ground, looking at the black bear rushing towards him in horror by the faint moonlight.

"Qubing!" Wei Qing exclaimed. He didn't think at all, turned around and rushed towards Huo Qubing, rolling on the ground with him, letting the black bear pounce on nothing.

But Wei Qing's arm was still pounced on by the black bear's sharp claws. The smell of blood seemed to stimulate the black bear even more.

Seeing this, Liu Li closed her eyes and spent 500 points from the system store to exchange for a bucket of honey. She originally wanted to unscrew the lid before throwing it to the black bear, but she really didn't have the strength, so she had to throw it backward directly.

Seeing this, Liu Li closed her eyes and spent 500 points from the system store to exchange for a bucket of honey. She originally wanted to unscrew the lid before throwing it to the black bear, but she really didn't have much strength, so she had to throw it backward directly.

squeezed the entire plastic bucket, and the honey flowed all over the black bear. It ate happily.

Taking this opportunity, Huo Qubing pulled Wei Qing up and returned to the main force.

Don't know how far they ran, everyone was really unable to run anymore and finally collapsed on the ground. A soldier asked with a crying voice: "Are we safe now?"

As he said this, he looked at Liu Li, expecting to hear a positive answer.

"Not yet." Liu Li said: "We have to keep running." After the black bear finishes eating the honey, it will definitely catch up. They must run completely out of the black bear's territory.

It is said that at the black bear's running speed, it can run 30 kilometers per hour. The distance that humans run until they are exhausted is nothing more than a blink of an eye for a black bear.

Wei Qing's arm was slapped by the black bear and was already bleeding. After the running exercise just now, it accelerated the blood flow, and the blood flowed along his arm, finally dripping from his fingertips non-stop.

Huo Qubing had a pale little face and struggled to support Wei Qing so he wouldn't fall.

Liu Li looked at Wei Qing's arm dripping with blood and knew his situation was very bad. And everyone was tired, so they had to find a place to rest.

The black bear behind could catch up at any time, and it was still dark. What could they do to get out of the current predicament?

Liu Che said: "Climb a tree, the black bear can't climb a tree, right?"

Liu Li: "Very unfortunately, the black bear is best at climbing trees."

Everyone heard what Princess Jianling said and was almost desperate. However, just at this moment, everyone suddenly heard another roar of a tiger. This roar almost shook the entire forest.

Truly worthy of being the king of animals.

"There's a tiger!"

Chen Fei made a prompt decision: "Climb the tree!" At this time, everyone had no strength left. Even if it was a tiger, they probably couldn't hunt even a rabbit.

The soldiers reacted quickly and climbed up the nearest tree with their hands and feet. Chen Fei carried Liu Li and climbed up the tree as fast as a monkey.

Wei Qing's left arm was injured, and he had no strength to climb the tree at all. He pushed Huo Qubing away: "Qubing, you climb up quickly."

"Then what about you, Uncle?" Huo Qubing was unwilling, his voice even a bit choked.

Wei Qing said weakly: "I naturally have a way."

Liu Li carefully hugged a branch and sat down, whispering: "Brother Chen Fei, go help Leader Wei."

Chen Fei nodded: "Good."

As he said this, he slid down the tree in one go, supported Wei Qing with one hand, and then said to Huo Qubing: "Young Master Huo, you go up first, and then look after things in the tree."

Huo Qubing nodded hurriedly: "Good."

Wei Qing turned his head to look at Liu Che's direction: "Empress..."

Liu Che had already walked to the tree. He lifted his skirt and raised his eyebrows: "Don't worry about me." The tree he climbed the most when he was young was the crooked-neck tree outside the Tangyi Marquis Mansion wall.

Liu Li, sitting in the tree, looked at Liu Che's movements and raised her hand to support her forehead. Fortunately, after Liu Che had his period last time, under Liu Li's persuasion, Liu Che had worn the pants improved by Liu Li ever since, otherwise, he would probably be exposed while climbing the tree now.

Chen Fei struggled to support Wei Qing to climb up the tree, and the tiger that roared in the distance just now had smelled the blood and came over. The soldiers lying in the tree watched this scene nervously, their hearts jumping to their throats.

Liu Li couldn't see the tiger's appearance clearly, but she could vaguely see its huge size, which actually looked bigger than the tiger Liu Che hunted in Shanglin Park last time.

Just as the tiger pounced, Chen Fei and Wei Qing also climbed onto the branches, and everyone's hanging hearts fell.

The blood on Wei Qing's arm was still dripping down, and his lips had almost no color. The smell of blood stimulated the tiger under the tree to roar, circling the tree where Wei Qing was and refusing to leave.

Fortunately, tigers can't climb trees.

Liu Li exchanged gauze from the system store and handed it to Chen Fei: "Help Leader Wei bandage it simply first, and then think of a way when dawn comes."

Chen Fei nodded: "Good."

Wei Qing's voice was hoarse: "Thank you, Princess."

Liu Li pursed her lips

and reached out to hold the tree trunk gently: "You're welcome, you also fell into such danger to find me and the Empress Mother."

As she said this, she took out two Ibuprofen capsules and handed them to Wei Qing: "Eat this, it's for pain relief."

Wei Qing took the capsule from Liu Li's hand. Although he was puzzled about what this thing was, he only hesitated for a moment before stuffing it into his mouth.

Liu Li hurriedly reminded: "Don't chew it, drink water and swallow it!"

Wei Qing held the capsule in his mouth, his expression a bit embarrassed. The water bottle he carried had already been thrown to the black bear. Huo Qubing hurriedly opened the water bottle he carried and handed it to Wei Qing: "Uncle, drink water."

The capsule had already melted in Wei Qing's mouth, and the medicine inside instantly filled his mouth. The bitter taste made Wei Qing frown. When Huo Qubing handed him the water, he hurriedly drank it in big gulps.

Liu Che and two soldiers were in another tree. He turned on the flashlight in his hand, shone it in the direction of Liu Li's tree, and asked loudly: "A Li, are you okay over there?"

Liu Li hurriedly replied: "Temporarily okay."

The two soldiers stared in surprise at the thing in the Empress's hand. What is this thing that can actually glow!

Chen Fei bandaged Wei Qing's wound by the moonlight. Finally, everyone sat quietly in the tree, watching the tiger's figure wandering under the tree and unwilling to leave.

A good Mid-Autumn Festival, which should have been a day of reunion, actually turned out like this. Liu Li tilted her head and leaned against the tree, sighing long in her heart. Tonight was really exciting.

It was late at night, and everyone gradually fell asleep leaning against the tree trunk. Because of excessive blood loss, Wei Qing also fell asleep quickly. Huo Qubing didn't dare to close his eyes, supporting him tightly and staying awake all night.

The sky gradually brightened. Because they were all in the tree, they were also the first to see the morning sun.

Liu Li turned her head slightly to look at the blue sky, feeling an inexplicable sense of survival after a disaster in her heart. And the big tiger under the tree seemed to have disappeared.

She was planning to tell others this news, but when she turned her head, she met Huo Qubing's two big dark circles. His dark eyes were looking at her, and his face looked a bit pale under the light.

"You didn't sleep all night?" Liu Li looked at his state and inexplicably thought of an internet-addicted teenager who stayed up all night playing games; it was just like this.

He nodded: "Yes."

"The tiger seems to have left." Liu Li swung her legs: "We should be able to go down."

Huo Qubing said: "It didn't leave." He pointed to the grass beside the tree under the tree: "It's squatting over there."

Liu Li looked in the direction Huo Qubing pointed, but only saw a patch of lush green grass and didn't see the tiger.

Huo Qubing: "Its tail is there."

After Huo Qubing's guidance, Liu Li indeed saw a small section of the tiger's tail exposed outside the grass.

Good fellow, is it waiting for a rabbit to hit the tree stump here?

Huo Qubing didn't sleep all night and saw the tiger's figure jump into the grass with his own eyes, and then there was no movement. But people in other trees didn't know. A soldier had already come down from the tree, seemingly intending to explore the path first.

Seeing this, Liu Li hurriedly said: "Go up quickly, the tiger hasn't left yet!"

The soldier seemed not to have heard Liu Li's words and asked back: "What?"

Immediately after, the tiger, which had been squatting and waiting for an opportunity, jumped up and pounced on this soldier. Seeing this, the soldier turned and ran, climbing onto the tree trunk the moment the tiger caught up with him. The tiger only bit off a piece of his clothing.

Such a thrilling scene made people feel terrified. Liu Li frowned tightly. This tiger kept guarding and wouldn't leave. What should they do?

Huo Qubing suddenly said: "I'll go down and lure the tiger away, and then you take the opportunity to take my uncle and run."

Liu Li and Chen Fei turned their heads together to look at Huo Qubing, who was preparing to die. Liu Li said angrily: "With your small frame, it's not enough for the tiger to stuff its teeth."

Huo Qubing: "..."

Looking at Huo Qubing's expression, Liu Li guessed that he was feeling guilty for causing Wei Qing's injury, so he wanted to save everyone in this way. Just as Liu Li wanted to enlighten him, another roar came from under the tree.

Looking closely, it was actually the black bear that chased them yesterday! ===== CHAPTER 62 =====

Upon closer inspection, it was actually the black bear that had chased them yesterday!