The four of them were in low spirits, and the delicious dinner no longer tasted good.
Each wore a solemn expression, as if they were having their last supper.
Suddenly, the roar of a wild beast echoed from afar.
"Roar, roar!"
This was clearly the sound of a ferocious beast!
Jiang Fan immediately became alert and picked up his entrenching tool.
Yao also grabbed a wooden stick, ready to defend.
"Could it be something terrible has come?"
Dai Xiaomei's voice trembled, and Zhou Niannian quickly held her in her arms.
The sound of the beast's running footsteps grew louder and closer.
Soon, the sound of bushes being crushed could be heard from the dense jungle surrounding them.
A pair of glowing green eyes shone in the darkness.
Jiang Fan and Yao's palms were slick with cold sweat. It seemed to be a very fierce animal.
ROAR! A massive black shadow leaped out from the bushes, charging towards the bonfire.
Jiang Fan and Yao both leaped into the air.
"Hit it!"
Jiang Fan delivered a flying kick that landed squarely on the beast's belly.
Yao, also in mid-air, dodged sideways and struck the beast's head with his wooden stick.
"ROAR!"
The beast cried out in pain, falling to the ground and rolling frantically.
The beast had black and white fur, with black eye patches and black ears.
Dai Xiaomei and Zhou Niannian cried out in unison.
"Gun Gun?"
Where was this ferocious beast? It turned out to be a panda, which had traveled a long distance, crossed the snow-capped mountains, and finally come to seek refuge with Jiang Fan and the others!
The panda wailed, "Didn't they say friends are welcomed with good wine?"
Instead, when the panda arrived, it was met with sticks.
Fortunately, there were no hunting rifles, or the panda would have been shot in the head.
"It's Gun Gun! Why didn't you call out louder? You scared us, and you deserve to be hit."
Seeing the panda's miserable state, Jiang Fan couldn't help but smile wryly.
They had been discussing terrible things, and everyone was on high alert.
The panda had suddenly rushed out at this moment, right into the line of fire.
Jiang Fan had treated it as a monster and had not held back at all with his kick.
Yao's strike was even more brutal, hitting the panda squarely and even breaking the stick.
The panda scrambled to its feet, clutching its belly and crying out.
Then, tears streaming down its face, it gestured to Jiang Fan.
It meant, "I clearly made a noise from a distance to signal my arrival, but you kicked me!"
Jiang Fan rolled his eyes at the panda, "The roars of wild beasts all sound the same, how was I supposed to know it was you?"
Then he pointed to the bump on his head and gestured to Yao with a wailing sound.
"You broke the stick, you hit too hard!"
Jiang Fan shrugged, indicating, "You could have come out slowly. What's with the wolf-like pounce?"
The panda cried, tears flowing. It hadn't eaten in a long time.
During the avalanche, the panda had initially wanted to follow Jiang Fan.
But the snow was too heavy. The panda got separated from Jiang Fan and was buried by the snow.
Fortunately, the panda was sturdy and quickly dug its way out of the snow.
Along the way, it was starving and could only eat snow for sustenance. It had finally reached the desert.
In the desert, the panda was extremely hot. It wandered blindly and ended up reaching the oasis.
The panda realized that this was the oasis they had visited before, but it was brave and not afraid.
Wandering around, it spotted a bonfire in the distance and someone roasting something.
No matter how skilled one was, one had to eat. From a distance, the panda could smell the aroma of fish.
It drooled and rushed out, only to be met with fists and sticks.
Fortunately, the panda was resilient. If it had been an ordinary animal, it would have been knocked out by those two blows.
"Wuwuwu!"
The panda touched the big bump on its head and cried incessantly.
"Stop crying."
Jiang Fan stuffed two grilled fish into the panda's mouth and told it to go to the side and eat.
The panda, holding the two grilled fish, sat with the green sea-bristle lizards and ate with gusto.
"Hehe, Gun Gun, seeing you makes me happy!"
Dai Xiaomei came over to pet the panda again. She hadn't petted a panda in a long time and felt a rare sense of closeness.
The panda ignored Dai Xiaomei and turned its rear to her.
The joyful atmosphere slightly dispelled everyone's fear.
Dinner was over, and Jiang Fan proposed that someone should stand guard at night.
This meant they would have to take turns on watch.
"Why don't we all stay awake and play Truth or Dare!"
Dai Xiaomei was timid and desperately wanted someone to keep her company, so she came up with this idea.
"Talking together will help everyone stay alert."
"Stop messing around. If we don't have enough energy, we'll surely die if any unexpected event occurs."
Jiang Fan immediately rejected this terrible idea, as Dai Xiaomei had never come up with a good one.
"But, but..."
Dai Xiaomei's teeth chattered with fear, and she couldn't speak.
Clearly, asking Dai Xiaomei to stand guard alone would be the death of her!
In this dark night, with unknown terrors lurking around, it was truly terrifying.
Even the viewers in the live stream felt sorry for Dai Xiaomei.
"Alas, Dai Xiaomei is truly pitiful."
"Her eyes are big, but she's so timid."
"Don't joke! In this dark night, even I would be scared to stand guard alone."
"That's right, and there are supernatural things around."
"I was scared even when the panda jumped out just now."
"If you're afraid, let Yao and the panda help you stand guard."
Jiang Fan, seeing how terrified Dai Xiaomei was, made this suggestion.
"Yes, we are a team. No matter what happens, we will face it together."
Zhou Niannian also said, patting her chest.
Hearing that Yao and the panda would help guard, Dai Xiaomei was no longer so scared.
After all, Dai Xiaomei knew how skilled Yao and the panda were.
"Okay, then I'll take the first half of the night watch."
Dai Xiaomei was still afraid. She reasoned that statistically, fewer malevolent spirits appeared in the first half of the night.
It was already bedtime, but the viewers in the live stream were even more nervous than Dai Xiaomei.
Few people went to sleep; instead, more and more viewers tuned in.
They sipped their goji berry tea and chatted.
With all sorts of strange things already appearing in this secret realm, the viewers wouldn't be surprised if any supernatural events occurred.
"I say, won't any ghosts or spirits come out?"
"Maybe Black Mountain Old Demon and Xiaoqian will show up."
"It would be good if Xiaoqian appeared, but I'm most afraid of only the Elder."
"Dai Xiaomei, don't be afraid. Chant with me: Heaven and Earth are boundless, borrowing the power of the universe!"
"Do you think you are Yan Chixia?"
Zhou Niannian and Jiang Fan went to rest first. The panda, Yao, and Dai Xiaomei were on the first watch.
The panda and Yao flanked Dai Xiaomei on either side.