Where is this?
Hu Tao opened her hazy eyes and saw the rocky cave ceiling. Shouldn't she be on her way back to Liyue?
Feeling the cold wind whistling, Hu Tao couldn't help but tighten her grip on the warm arm she was holding.
Huh?!
An arm!!!
Looking down again, she found herself lying naked on the ground, and Feng Yi next to her was also naked.
This moment brought forth a flood of thoughts!
Hu Tao closed her eyes and, with a little imagination, could guess what had happened last night.
As she thought about it, tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably. She never expected Feng Yi to be such a beast in disguise!
After all, Hu Tao was just a thirteen-year-old girl. Although she was usually lively and cheerful, deep down she was still as sensitive and fragile as any ordinary girl.
Unable to accept reality, Hu Tao looked at the arm in her embrace and, without thinking, bit down hard.
It was as if only by biting Feng Yi to death could she alleviate her inner pain.
Ah!
Feeling the sharp pain in his arm, Feng Yi suddenly woke up from his dream and found that the one biting him was this girl, Hu Tao.
She had so much energy, she seemed to have recovered well!
But Hu Tao's bite was truly terrifying, drawing blood from his arm!
Feng Yi quickly pulled his arm away, looking at the swollen limb with a slight frown.
He looked up and met Hu Tao's furious and ashamed gaze. The scolding words he wanted to utter died on his lips.
"We've finally gotten through it! It seems you've recovered well. You scared me to death yesterday!"
Feng Yi smiled and touched Hu Tao's forehead, confirming that her fever had broken. Only then did he relax.
"Hmph! I never expected you to be such a beast in disguise! I, Hu Tao, have misjudged you!"
Hu Tao directly slapped away Feng Yi's hand, glaring at him angrily, ready to pounce and bite him to death.
"Wait, have you misunderstood something? I'm being framed! Let me explain..."
Feng Yi thought, "Dou E, I'm even more wronged than you!"
Feng Yi swore to the heavens that he was innocent!
The feeling of being wronged after doing a good deed truly made him feel extremely stifled.
"Explain? Heh, what is there to explain?!"
Hu Tao stood with her hands on her hips, gritting her teeth as she looked at Feng Yi. In her opinion, what else could this guy possibly argue about?
Weren't the evidence all laid out before her?
"It's like this: after you fainted, it started to rain heavily. When I found this cave, I discovered you had caught a severe cold and had a high fever. To bring your fever down, I tried many methods..."
Feng Yi sat up straight and recounted everything that had happened yesterday to Hu Tao. He felt it was necessary to explain and clear his name!
"What about the clothes?!"
Hu Tao looked into Feng Yi's sincere eyes. She could feel that Feng Yi wasn't lying, but did bringing down a fever require taking off clothes?
"Ah, that's because when the fire was burning to dry the clothes, the damp clothes would absorb a lot of heat from your body. You were too weak yesterday. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have even made it to today to scold me!"
As he spoke, Feng Yi cast a resentful glance at Hu Tao.
That look of resentment sent shivers down Hu Tao's spine.
Realizing that she might have completely misunderstood and acted ungratefully, her confidence instantly vanished. Looking at the teeth marks on Feng Yi's arm, Hu Tao sheepishly stuck out her tongue.
"I'm sorry! I misunderstood you."
Hu Tao clasped her hands together, looking pitifully at Feng Yi and begging for his forgiveness.
"Sigh~ Don't be so impulsive next time!"
Feng Yi was amused by Hu Tao's pitiful expression. He ruffled her hair and casually admonished her.
"Don't worry! This Hall Master has noted it down!"
Having achieved her goal, Hu Tao's usual lively personality returned, and the plum blossom-like pupils in her eyes regained their sparkle.
Seeing this, Feng Yi shrugged helplessly. Although he had only known Hu Tao for a short time, he understood her character too well. She would definitely take his advice as a mere whisper in the wind.
"Um, Feng Yi, these golden, golden pants, did you put them on me?!"
Hu Tao lowered her head, a blush spreading across her face, and poked her fingers as she asked somewhat shyly.
"Is there someone else here?"
Feng Yi retorted. He had stayed up with tired eyes last night to put on Hu Tao's pants, which had exhausted him.
"Oh~"
Hu Tao's voice grew quieter and quieter, eventually fading intoaudibility.
"Hurry up and get dressed! Let's leave here quickly before the owner of this place returns!"
Feng Yi nimbly got up, put on his own clothes, and casually tossed Hu Tao's clothes to her.
After being dried by the fire all night, the clothes were completely dry and warm to wear.
The thought of the pile of dry bones he had discovered while searching for dry grass last night sent a chill down Feng Yi's spine, making his hair stand on end.
They had to leave as soon as possible. He didn't want to be trapped in the cave by the owner, caught like a turtle in a jar.
Feng Yi turned his back to Hu Tao and urged her to hurry and get dressed.
"Um, Feng Yi, can you help me? I have no strength!"
Hu Tao, her face flushed, asked Feng Yi for help dressing. She felt too weak to even lift her arms now. Who knew where she had gotten the strength to argue with Feng Yi earlier?
"Where did the strength you used to bite me go? You left such a big tooth mark that it bled!"
Feng Yi complained as he deftly helped Hu Tao dress. Having had the experience of taking them off, putting them on was not difficult.
Finally, he placed a wide-brimmed hat on Hu Tao's head. The dressing was complete.
At that moment, the light suddenly disappeared, and the cave plunged into darkness.
Feng Yi turned around and saw a terrifying giant beast crawling into the cave entrance.
This monstrous bear was enormous. Its half-body filled the two-meter-high cave entrance so completely that it was completely blocked.
Feng Yi roughly estimated that the creature was at least four meters tall. He hadn't expected the cave's owner to return so quickly!
Just a little more time! Just a little more time, and Feng Yi could have led Hu Tao to safety.
But...
"How is this possible?!"
Hu Tao gasped, covering her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief as she watched the massive bear continue to squeeze in.
"Hu Tao, do you recognize this fellow?"
Seeing Hu Tao's expression, it seemed she knew the identity of this monstrous bear.
"My grandfather mentioned them. The Cang Xiong clan are monsters comparable to elemental beasts. Although they cannot use elemental energy, their brute strength is enough to make many elemental beasts retreat. I never thought they would still be around..."
Hu Tao's lively eyes instantly dimmed. She knew that being cornered in a cave by this top predator meant she couldn't escape death today!
Hu Tao had no fear of death, but she didn't want to die meaninglessly, especially not by dragging her friend down with her.
If she weren't a burden, Feng Yi would definitely have escaped this calamity. Thinking this, Hu Tao felt even more guilty.
"Feng Yi, dying with a good friend is also a kind of happiness!"
Hu Tao took Feng Yi's hand, trying to dispel his fear of death.
She had witnessed too much death and had no fear of it, but she knew Feng Yi was different. Hu Tao guessed that Feng Yi must be terrified right now!
To her surprise, as they faced death, Hu Tao saw Feng Yi wink and smile at her.
That kind of confidence left her completely bewildered.