Little Pink Starfish

The Bear in the Valley

Ferocious beasts like bears and tigers usually avoid places where humans gather—it’s an instinct. So even though the gang led by the Boss had been living in this mountain valley for quite some time, the only visitors they’d ever had were some wolves. Never once had they been troubled by bears or tigers.

The Boss turned around and saw a massive black bear charging straight at him and his men, roaring furiously.

“Damn, it is a bear!”

“Fight it!”

“Crap, where’s my knife?!”

“Where’s my weapon?!”

“Help——!”

…

In an instant, the valley exploded like boiling water in a kettle. Some of the former pirates rushed forward to fight the bear, while others scattered in panic. The chaos was worse than back in the East Sea when they were being chased down by government soldiers.

Gu Xingyan sneered and said to the Boss, “Once a thief, always a thief—never presentable.”

The Boss didn’t have time to argue with the second young master. Face red and veins bulging, he roared, “What are you running for? Grab your weapons!”

With that command, the panicked goons finally had some direction. They calmed down—after all, they had hijacked ships and spilled blood before. Now united, they grabbed their weapons and surrounded the big black bear.

“I’m eating bear paw tonight!” the Boss shouted, charging forward with his broadsword.

But no matter how tough, a hero can’t beat four hands. The Boss and his crew thought their dozens of men would easily be enough to hack down a bear. But they underestimated the ferocity of a mother protecting her cubs. Even after being wounded, the mother bear didn’t flee. Instead, she became more violent and terrifying.

“There’s something wrong with this bear!” the Second-in-Command shouted.

The Boss took a heavy swipe to the arm from the bear, tearing off a chunk of flesh, blood gushing everywhere.

“Why are the bear’s eyes blood-red?!” another man shouted.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, the Boss looked closely at the mother bear’s eyes and shivered. They were bloodshot and filled with tears. The murderous glint in her eyes was enough to terrify even a ruthless man like him.

“Is this bear rabid?” the Second-in-Command yelled, seeing more of his men being knocked down. In a panic, he leapt onto the bear.

“You trying to die?!” the Boss shouted in alarm. The bear could still move all its limbs. Jumping onto it now was a death wish.

The Second-in-Command tried to grab the bear’s head, but before he could lock onto its neck, the mother bear swatted him hard to the ground. If Er Gouzi hadn’t rushed in and dragged him away, he would’ve been killed on the spot.

The Boss looked at the crazed mother bear, then at his fallen men, heart bleeding. Just the cost of medical treatment alone would bankrupt him!

The mother bear stormed through the simple camp in the valley, hurting people while searching for her cubs.

Gu Xingyan was thoroughly enjoying himself. After days of being tied up here, he finally got a bit of revenge—even if it came courtesy of a bear. Watching the chaos unfold, he grinned. Let this beast wipe them all out. Not once did he consider what he’d do if the bear came after him next.

At that moment, from the mountaintop to the left of the valley, Yu Xiaoxiao came leaping down with Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei. With the map etched in her mind, the princess took a route that no normal person would ever consider—but it was the fastest.

The mountaintop was so thick with trees and shrubs it was almost impassable. From their vantage point, the three of them couldn’t see what exactly was happening below. When they landed and saw bodies scattered everywhere, they were stunned.

“What happened here? And why is there blood?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.

“They’re not farmers, are they?” Xiao Wei said. Who would farm in a place like this? And where were the fields?

The Boss spotted Xiao Zhuang holding two little black bear cubs and suddenly understood why the mother bear had gone berserk. She had lost her cubs—of course she was ready to fight to the death.

“Little sis!” Er Gouzi also spotted Yu Xiaoxiao and ran toward her shouting. She had picked the worst possible time to show up—there was a bear here!

Xiao Wei’s face darkened when he heard Er Gouzi calling the princess “little sis.” Calling Her Highness that—are you looking to die? Without waiting for Er Gouzi to get closer, Xiao Wei moved like lightning and kicked him flying.

“Look out, sis——!”

Er Gouzi shouted his warning mid-air before crashing to the ground, thanks to Xiao Wei’s kick.

The mother bear finally caught the scent of her cubs and charged toward Xiao Zhuang. She had lost a lot of blood by now, so she wasn’t moving as fast as before.

“Princess!” Gu Xingyan called out from the crooked-neck tree, tears brimming in his eyes. Someone from home finally came for me!

Yu Xiaoxiao turned toward the tree and exclaimed, “Eh? Second Brother?”

Xiao Wei now clearly saw that the person tied to the tree was Gu Xingyan. Being a sensible young man, he immediately realized that since the Second Young Master had left the capital with the Seventh Prince—and now he was here—where was the prince? He turned and shouted to Xiao Zhuang, “Go rescue the Second Young Master!”

Seeing Xiao Wei running toward Gu Xingyan, Xiao Zhuang casually handed the two bear cubs to Yu Xiaoxiao. “Princess, I’m going to save the Second Young Master!”

Yu Xiaoxiao had no interest in the bear cubs. She casually tossed the two black furballs aside and ran toward Gu Xingyan. But a question lingered in her mind: Wasn’t Second Brother supposed to be in Wuzhou visiting the Empress’s family? What’s he doing here?

The Boss had just been about to shout at his men to capture the three newcomers from the mountain when—bam—two black figures flew through the air. He instinctively reached out and caught them. It was the two bear cubs, and they immediately started happily licking his fingers.

“Big Bro!” a crew member screamed in despair.

The Boss looked up again and—holy hell—there was the mother bear, eyes red as blood, charging straight at him with her fangs bared, clearly intent on dragging him to the grave.

“RUN!” one of his men shouted.

His body moved before his brain caught up—still holding the two cubs, he turned and ran.

The mother bear saw that the man had found her and was now trying to flee with her babies?! She let out a furious roar and chased after the Boss with everything she had left.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wei had freed Gu Xingyan from the tree. “Second Young Master, are you alright?”

Without the rope and the support of the tree, Gu Xingyan collapsed. His body had gone soft—he couldn’t stand, no matter how hard he tried.

Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei were startled and quickly reached out to help him.

Gu Xingyan waved them off and said, “I’m fine… just got hit with some boneless powder.”