Novel Full Chapter 61: Winter Feels Blissful With You Around
Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Winter Feels Blissful With You Around
The dense forest was deep and mysterious.
Fragmented sunlight filtered through the dense foliage onto the ground covered with grass, casting the shadow of a person and two pet beasts into countless little pieces.
This time venturing into the mountains, Chen Yuan felt more relaxed, but compared to last time, he made more thorough preparations.
He specially carried the heavy-duty hiking backpack he had bought during his university days, with an egg cradle mat attached to it, containing warm clothing. This appearance was more like a hiker than a forest ranger.
Although it was midsummer, the average temperature in Qinling was only 22 degrees, thanks to its geographical and ecological environment.
Thus, before the Spiritual Energy Revival, the biggest concern when traversing Qinling was not encountering wild animals, but getting hypothermia.
But Chen Yuan was well-prepared, and after becoming a Beastmaster, his physical fitness improved significantly, allowing him to handle harsh environments with ease.
However, Song Guohao, considering that Chen Yuan was venturing into the mountains alone, planned to have Zhang Hao accompany him so they could look out for each other.
Chen Yuan thought for a moment and chose to decline.
He was originally a child of the mountains and knew them as well as Zhang Hao, though he was not as familiar with the specific forest ranger routes.
And after the Spiritual Energy Revival, the majority of the mountains’ dangers came from Extraordinary Creatures.
With Spark and Cola accompanying him, Chen Yuan was not worried about this. On the contrary, he would have to take more care of Zhang Hao’s safety if he came along.
Venturing alone into the mountains, Chen Yuan only needed to take care of himself.
As he walked along the path he had taken last time, Chen Yuan felt something was strange.
He could understand that the trees had become tall and lush after the Spiritual Energy Revival, but why did it feel like the mountain and river landscapes had subtly changed?
He was clearly walking in the same direction, but the surrounding environment had slight differences; places that used to have paths were now blocked by rock walls, and areas that had no paths suddenly sprouted grass and trees.
Chen Yuan stopped in his tracks, took out his phone, and opened the pre-downloaded satellite map, carefully comparing it with the surrounding environment.
Soon,
He put his phone back into his pocket expressionlessly, squinted up at the sun, then swept his eyes over the surroundings, saying in a deep voice, “Fortunately, the mountains and rivers haven’t changed much, just a bit different.”
“But I should report this situation to the Association when I return to the village.”
Chen Yuan continued advancing, referring to the offline satellite map and marking the locations with errors, which slowed his progress a bit.
It was around three in the afternoon by the time Chen Yuan reached the place where the Blazing Fruit tree was located.
“Sang Biao.”
“Sang Biao.”
Chen Yuan walked around the Blazing Fruit tree several times, calling out the name of the Flame-tailed Fox.
His voice echoed in the area, startling a flock of birds and inciting a chorus of beastly roars, while pairs of glimmering red eyes emerged from the shadows.
“Woof woof woof!”
Cola bared its teeth, with its fur standing on end, letting out a fierce, oppressive bark, as gusts of wind arose around it, swirling up dead branches and leaves, and sweeping against Chen Yuan’s clothes.
In an instant, the beastly roars ceased and the pairs of red eyes vanished.
Cola’s intimidation was immediately effective.
Chen Yuan couldn’t help but remark, “Without a Pet Beast accompanying me, it’s really hard to get by in the wild.”
“Woof woof～”
Cola affectionately nuzzled against his pants leg, its tail wagging furiously like a dandelion in full bloom, as if its earlier ferocious demeanor had never existed.
“Cola, can you catch Sang Biao’s scent?” Chen Yuan suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Cola lowered its head to the ground, circled the Blazing Fruit tree several times with its nose constantly twitching—it picked up various scents, some sweet and delicious, making it involuntarily swallow;
others were foul and putrid, causing Cola’s face to scrunch up in disgust, almost gagging;
yet one had a distinct fox odor, prompting Cola to wrinkle its brow and turn to look at Chen Yuan: “Woof woof woof.”
“Did you find it?” Chen Yuan asked.
“Woof.” Cola nodded.
Seeing that there was still plenty of daylight, Chen Yuan said, “Then lead the way.”
With Cola taking the lead, tail wagging as it followed the scent trail of Sang Biao, Chen Yuan called Spark down from the air to act as a close guard.
This arrangement provided a strong sense of security.
In the depths of the forest, a cold wind occasionally swept through, but as long as Spark was by his side, Chen Yuan could always feel a gentle warmth enveloping him, shielding him from the chill.
Turning his head to look at Spark, Chen Yuan grinned, “Having you in winter must be really blissful.”
Spark was taken aback for a moment, then turned its head away, avoiding Chen Yuan’s gaze, replying in a murmur, “Tweet…”
“You’re like a portable, unlimited energy source and a high-power mobile heating pad.”
Spark: “?”
…
An hour later,
The once dense and mysterious forest gradually thinned, allowing more sunlight to pour in from all directions, making the view increasingly open.
In front of a patch of shrubs, Cola suddenly stopped, furrowing its brow as it tried to trace the scent of the Flame-tailed Fox, but the chaotic mix of odors here was like streams merging into a river, leaving it momentarily unable to distinguish which one belonged to the Flame-tailed Fox.
“Woof…..”
Feeling helpless, Cola lowered its head and walked dejectedly to Chen Yuan’s side, its previously wagging fluffy tail now wilted like a drooping piece of dog tail grass.
It awaited Chen Yuan’s reprimand.
Chen Yuan smiled gently, “Cola, you’ve completed the task perfectly.”
“Woof?”
Cola suddenly looked up, puzzled, at Chen Yuan.
“Look ahead.”
Chen Yuan pointed straight ahead—pushing aside some leaves blocking the view, a deep, serene blue mountain lake appeared unexpectedly in sight.
This lake was backed by a steep cliff, with the mountain behind it piercing the clouds like an arrow, while its other three sides were encircled by a dense forest where trees swayed in the breeze, resembling a green ocean.
For a moment,
the forest’s green, the lake’s blue, and the mountain’s gray appeared like three different layers closely adjacent, yet distinctly separate.
Chen Yuan had seen this mountain lake on the satellite map and remembered its name—Crescent Lake.
And by the shores of Crescent Lake, there was a large gathering of figures, among which Chen Yuan spotted the long-sought Flame-tailed Fox.
“Woof woof.”
Seeing the Flame-tailed Fox, Cola got extremely excited, barking repeatedly, poised to dash off the next moment.
Chen Yuan hurriedly grabbed the excited Cola, “Don’t rush, let’s see what’s going on first.”
The man and his two pet beasts used the trees and leaves to conceal themselves, observing the events unfolding by the lake from the shadows.
They saw the group of figures forming a circle, leaving an open space in the middle, from which two enormous figures slowly emerged.
Taking a closer look, these two figures were almost identical in appearance, differing only slightly in size—they were deer-like in shape, covered in thick, dark brown fur with starry patterns, a distinct moon symbol on their chests, and a pair of dark brown antlers extending from their heads.
From these characteristics, Chen Yuan quickly identified their identity—Dark Type Extraordinary Creatures, the Star Moon Deer.