Chapter 3653 — In High Spirits

Had it been an adult ring-ring bear, even a consummate Heaven-rank master like Meng Zhou would have had no choice but to give it a wide berth. But this cub before him—judging by its strength, it was a Yellow-rank mid-stage beast at best. An ordinary man might have had no way to deal with it, but for Meng Zhou to catch it would naturally be as easy as reaching out his hand.

Yet what happened next left Meng Zhou's jaw hanging.

The ring-ring bear cub seemed to be poking its head about, trying to slip into the mining area. Unfortunately, the great iron gate before it was far too heavy; no matter how it scratched or shoved, the gate remained utterly immovable, showing not the slightest sign of opening. Instead, it seemed that Dai Wuchang, dozing on the table not far away, was about to be woken by the racket of its clawing.

"What's all the noise about!" Dai Wuchang cursed groggily in his sleep.

The ring-ring bear cub was scared out of its wits on the spot. It whipped around and bolted wildly to the side, only to spot Meng Zhou waiting there after just two steps. Startled into a shudder, it frantically changed direction—then, in its panic, ran headlong into a stone pillar beside it and knocked itself unconscious.

"My heavens, there's even a dumb-ass bear like this—truly, all labors spared!" Meng Zhou was instantly delighted. Was this not exactly what the old saying meant by waiting by the stump for a hare? Fortune's star was shining on him today; he was destined for a feast!

Seizing the moment when no one was watching, Meng Zhou wasted no words—he hoisted the unconscious ring-ring bear onto his shoulders and ducked straight into Meng Jueming's private workroom nearby.

Like the other cave dwellings, these private workrooms of the Spirit Jade Hall were warded with restrictive spells. But to make it easier for Meng Zhou to run errands for him, Meng Jueming had deliberately taught him the entry and exit incantation for this one.

And Meng Zhou had his reasons for carrying the ring-ring bear here. The Spirit Jade Hall was heavily guarded inside and out, after all. If he carried the bear out, the matter would be impossible to explain—not only would he fail to get the spirit beast meat that had been delivered right to his mouth today, but he might well end up punished besides.

But in Meng Jueming's private workroom, there was no problem. Though it belonged to the Spirit Jade Hall, when all was said and done it was still Meng Jueming's private space, and under normal circumstances only Meng Jueming came and went here.

Before others, Meng Zhou might not have had the nerve to eat spirit beast meat, but Meng Jueming was different. Not only was he Meng Zhou's patron, but back in the day the two of them had shared a feast together and had a prior offense on their record, so he could set his mind entirely at ease.

When Meng Zhou carried the ring-ring bear in, Meng Jueming was not there, and Meng Zhou was quite content to keep the treat to himself. He slung the bear to the ground and set straight to work.

Though cultivators above the Heaven rank generally no longer ate grain, the private workrooms of the Spirit Jade Hall were thoughtfully appointed—not only fully equipped with washing facilities, but even with a dedicated place for lighting a fire. Plainly this was meant to satisfy certain people's cravings. Of course, the original purpose of such fittings was certainly not for roasting spirit beasts.

This suited Meng Zhou perfectly. He could not wait to boil water—the thing was already desperate to have this ring-ring bear cub that had delivered itself to his door stripped of its fur. But gazing at that round, rolling body on the ground, especially that pair of furry bear paws, he could not keep himself from gulping again and again.

This was a spirit beast that could not be met with even if sought! Meng Zhou had enjoyed many a feast before, but this was his first ring-ring bear—and a cub at that.

After all, for one thing, ring-ring bears were exceedingly few in number, a very rare spirit beast; for another, even if one were lucky enough to encounter one deep in the mountains and old forests, it would certainly be an adult ring-ring bear, not a lone cub like this.

And if one did meet an adult ring-ring bear, let alone enjoying a feast—with Meng Zhou's meager strength, he would more likely be the feast himself!

While Meng Zhou was busy boiling water, the ring-ring bear cub that had knocked itself senseless finally came groggily to: "Woo... woo..."

Its round little head turned in a circle, and when it caught sight of Meng Zhou bustling about in high spirits, the cub seemed to realize its predicament was dire. While Meng Zhou was not watching, it very cleverly tiptoed toward the door, and only when it was nearly there did it abruptly pick up speed and bolt for the outside!

Unfortunately for it, it did not know there was a restrictive spell at the door. With a bang, it was bounced brutally right back.

"Ho ho! You dumb-ass bear cub, you actually thought you could escape this old man's palm!" Meng Zhou started at the sound, and only then noticed that the little creature had come to on its own so quickly.

"Woo woo woo woo!" The ring-ring bear cub reared up on its hind legs and bared its teeth at Meng Zhou in a fierce show. Yet even as it put on that blustering display, its two short little legs kept shuffling backward.

Meng Zhou was delighted at the sight. He folded his arms and watched it at his leisure—even a little runt like this knew how to play tricks! Truly, in a big forest there's every kind of bird.

Sure enough, when the little thing saw that Meng Zhou was unmoved, it crept close to the door once more—and then suddenly whipped around and charged outside.

But before it could hit the restrictive spell again, one of Meng Zhou's big bare feet had already planted itself on its chest first, kicking it flying a full three zhang to slam hard into the wall on the other side of the room.

Smack! The little thing collapsed limp on the ground, a vivid footprint stamped on its chest. Though it had not been kicked to death outright, it was clearly gravely wounded and barely breathing, no longer lively and spirited as before.

Meng Zhou was, after all, a consummate Heaven-rank master; even if that kick of his had not been at full force, it was still more than a mere ring-ring bear cub could withstand.

"Tch! With that much brains you thought you could match wits with your Uncle Meng Zhou? You don't even know how the word 'death' is written!" Meng Zhou cursed with a curl of his lip. Just then the water had come to a boil, so he hauled the ring-ring bear cub up off the ground, ready to finish it off and toss it into the boiling water to strip its fur.

But at the very last moment, just as he was about to strike, a startled voice came from behind him: "What are you doing?"

"Ninth Cousin, you're back!" Meng Zhou spun around hurriedly and, like a child showing off a treasure, held the ring-ring bear cub up before Meng Jueming, exclaiming excitedly, "Ninth Cousin, look what this is!"

Meng Jueming stared blankly at the thing in Meng Zhou's hands and in a daze found it rather familiar. "This is..."

"That's right! It's a ring-ring bear! And a rare cub at that! I caught it just now at the mining area gate—today we can feast!" Meng Zhou's face was full of jubilation.

But at these words, Meng Jueming's expression drained in an instant to a ghastly white. Pointing at Meng Zhou, he stammered, "This—this is what you caught at the mining area gate?"

"That's right! The little thing looks clever enough, but it's really just a dumb-ass bear—it knocked itself out right in front of me, practically delivered itself to our door for a feast..." Meng Zhou, thinking Meng Jueming was pleased, went on boasting endlessly. RS