After finishing their meal, everyone started to feel a bit thirsty. But without a source of water and no way to collect the falling rain, they had no choice but to go without. They had no bottles or containers, nothing that could help them store even a few drops.
So, they sat in silence, listening to the steady rhythm of the rain, each of them quietly hoping it would stop soon.
As time passed, a few beasts wandered into the cave through the various entrances. All of them were drenched from the rain, and upon seeing the corpses scattered around, they immediately grew cautious and aggressive, but Yuan, as usual, stepped forward and dealt with them swiftly.
Occasionally, Meilan assisted him. Being the only other member of their group who wasn't injured, she slowly began to adapt to combat. With each encounter, she improved, eventually becoming capable of handling one beast on her own. That allowed Yuan to rest a little between fights.
In the quieter moments between battles, the group worked together to sharpen the fangs they had collected from the wolf-like beasts they'd killed earlier in the Deep Pond Forest. Using stones, they ground the fangs until the edges became passable weapons.
The fangs were, by far, the best tools they had, and keeping them sharp was essential for survival. Even the larger fang from the horned demonic beast could be refined with effort, making it even more useful for Yuan in future encounters.
Time passed slowly. The rain still fell outside, its sound never fading. Beasts continued to come and die, and the group remained on edge. Their weapons were now as sharp as they could manage with limited tools, but there was little else they could do except wait, wait for the rain to stop so they could finally continue their hunt for demonic beasts.
Then, suddenly, Haoran's ears twitched. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Did you guys hear that?" he whispered to the group.
"Hear something? No, I didn't hear anything," Yuxin was the first to respond, shaking her head. Meilan followed suit. Tianyu, however, stayed silent, his eyes closed. Yuan, who had kept his eyes shut the whole time, slowly opened them.
His gaze was sharp and cold, his hand already gripping the sharpened fang of the demonic beast. Then Tianyu's eyes snapped open, widening in alarm.
"I hear it now... heavy footsteps!"
As soon as he spoke, everyone tensed. Meilan gripped the fang in her hand tighter, her blue eyes instantly turning cold. She stood up from where they had all been seated. Yuan rose as well, silently mirroring her.
"The steps are too heavy to belong to a normal beast. Be prepared," Yuan said, his voice steady but grave.
His warning said it all, a demonic beast was coming.
Tianyu and Yuxin quickly stood up, followed shortly by Haoran. Although his right arm was still injured, his legs and left arm were functional. But as he stood, memories of the horned wolf demonic beast flashed in his mind. A chill ran down his spine.
He remembered how Yuan had saved him. That moment had shaken his confidence. As he tightened his grip on the fang in his hand, he noticed it trembling. He gritted his teeth, trying to force the fear down, but his body betrayed him.
His hand still quivered, and the confidence on his face began to fade.
No one noticed, though. All eyes were fixed on the various cave entrances, watching for any sign of movement.
Then it appeared.
They couldn't make out the full form of the beast, only its silhouette emerging from one of the larger tunnels, the kind big enough for a person to pass through.
Holding their breath, each of them dropped into a ready stance. Haoran, a bit slower than the rest, joined them stiffly.
The demonic beast sniffed the air, catching the scent of dried blood from the slain beasts littered around the cave. It froze, immediately growing cautious.
Its glowing eyes pierced through the darkness and then locked directly onto Yuan, the one who looked at it with the coldest gaze of all.
Not knowing what kind of demonic beast they were facing put them at a clear disadvantage. The darkness of the cave made it difficult to see, but the blood red eyes staring directly into Yuan's cold black ones revealed one thing: this beast could see them clearly, perhaps as clearly as in daylight, or at least far better than they could.
That realization alone made the situation much more dangerous.
Their faces all tensed slightly. Some clicked their tongues in frustration, but Yuan remained completely still, his expression unchanged. He stared back, unblinking, meeting the beast's gaze with unwavering focus.
One second passed. Then another. The stare stretched on until the beast's glowing eyes seemed to falter, caught momentarily in the abyss like depths of Yuan's black irises. It hesitated, stunned for just a moment.
Yuan didn't waste that chance.
With no fear in his movement or eyes, he launched forward, the sharpened fang in hand. The beast snarled in fury as it realized Yuan was charging, but Yuan didn't flinch. He struck without hesitation, swinging the fang like a dagger.
Now face to face, Yuan finally saw it clearly.
The demonic beast resembled a bear, its size towering over him, nearly the height of an adult human. Yuan, only nine years old and just over 1.4 meters tall, looked tiny in comparison.
The bear-like demonic beast moved with a cautious intelligence, dodging each of Yuan's strikes with unnerving ease. Its reflexes were fast, its instincts sharp, sharper even than the horned wolf demonic beast he had fought earlier.
"This is going to be a problem," Yuan thought grimly. Strong beasts were one thing, manageable if you had speed. Fast beasts were another, survivable if you had power, but something both stronger and faster than him was a serious threat.
With no option to flee, he had no choice but to fight.
The red eyes of the beast gleamed with sudden intensity as it sensed Yuan's slower speed. Then, without warning, it lunged, swinging its massive paw straight at him.
Seeing the sharp claws of the bear like demonic beast swiping toward him, Yuan quickly dodged to the side. As he moved, he twisted his wrist and drove the sharpened fang into the beast's arm.
"Grrr!" the beast growled in pain as the fang pierced its flesh. Yuan twisted it deeper, grinding it against the bone. The added pain made the demonic bear roar even louder, its eyes blazing with rage.
A small smile curved on Yuan's lips. He had figured something out, though this demonic beast was strong and fast, far more dangerous than the horned wolf he fought earlier, its skin wasn't as thick. That gave him an advantage.
The beast, enraged, raised its other paw to strike again, but before it could, a stone smacked against its head.
It turned, growling ferociously in the direction the stone came from, only to spot Tianyu, who was already throwing another rock.
"GRRR!" the bear roared in fury and shifted its attention toward Tianyu, preparing to charge. But in that moment of distraction, it had completely forgotten about Yuan.
And Yuan never missed an opening.
He moved swiftly, aiming to pierce the beast's throat. The timing was perfect, and his strike would have landed cleanly, but there was one problem: he was too short to reach the neck from the ground.
With no hesitation, Yuan leapt, using the beast's own body as a stepping stone. His foot slammed against its thick shoulder, launching him up toward its neck.
The bear's eyes widened in surprise, suddenly aware of Yuan right in front of its face. Instinctively, it twisted its body to avoid the fatal blow. Yuan missed the neck, but his aim adjusted mid-air.
Instead of the throat, the fang stabbed deep into the beast's chest.