Chapter 49: Danger All the Way

Cursing bitterly in my mind, I remained submerged in the river, not daring to stand up immediately.

Though the swarm seemed to have dispersed, a few wild bees were still hovering nearby. I didn't even dare to take the risk; after all, the place where my arm had been stung burned as painfully as if it had been scorched by fire.

I shuddered to think that if I hadn't reacted in the nick of time, I probably would have been stung to death right under that large tree.

Still haunted by lingering fear, I looked around cautiously. Naturally, I didn't forget to touch my cloth pouch, and feeling relieved to find the bird eggs intact, I felt a slight sense of comfort.

At that moment, regardless of whether this swarm of wild bees would find me again, the memory of the dense mass—easily numbering over a hundred—that I had caught a glimpse of earlier sent a chill through me. The fact that I had managed to escape by sheer luck, and even cleverly hide in the river, filled me with retrospective dread.

It felt almost like cheating death. I wondered if Qu Xiang and Lan Fang would believe such an encounter if they knew about it. Of course, at that moment, I didn't really care, as such experiences are felt by oneself alone.

After a while, I looked upstream again, gasping for breath while realizing that I couldn't stay in the water indefinitely. Regardless of whether there was a passable path further up the river, for now, the waterway was my only option.

Since I had traveled along the edge of the water, fearing I might drift too far off course—I hadn't even dared to venture more than a hundred meters away from the riverbank—I knew the dangers of the rainforest were immense. The swarm of bees I had just encountered was the ultimate proof of that, and I even felt a sense of gratitude toward my ancestors for watching over me.

Setting aside the chill of the river, I was still too close to that swarm of bees and had to press onward. As for how long it would take to return, that was no longer a consideration. I had other plans, and staying alive was an absolute necessity.

The air was still filled with birdcalls, accompanied by the faint, ominous buzzing of bees. I felt like a startled bird at the sound of a bowstring.

Fortunately, the depth of the river here only reached my chest. Moving forward cautiously, I didn't walk too fast. After all, the water was freezing, and the vegetation along the banks was lush. To me, every shadow concealed a potential threat.

After progressing for a stretch without incident, as the buzzing sound faded away, I gradually picked up my pace slightly in the water. Just as I began to feel a sense of relief, a flock of small birds suddenly burst from the trees in a panic, screeching as they flew through the forest.

I instantly froze in the water, every fiber of my being alert.

Since humans rarely appeared in these parts, the local wildlife consisted mostly of birds, and it would take something significant to startle them like this! What I was witnessing could only mean that something ahead had frightened the flock!

Danger!

That was my instinctive reaction in that split second!

I tightened my grip on the wooden spike and the trekking pole containing the short blade. I also longed to use the quiver of arrows; I could sense that this handcrafted wooden bow might be even more powerful and accurate than modern compound bows.

I rarely had the money to visit modern archery ranges, but I happened to have an acquaintance from my hometown who worked at one. During a period when I was unemployed, I used to go and help him out just for the sake of a few dollars an hour for meal money. Although I didn't earn much, I had listened to him boast about various techniques.

When helping him clean up late every night, I always liked to handle those bows and arrows, which had truly opened my eyes. Thinking back, I should be grateful; at the very least, upon acquiring this wooden bow, I felt a surge of excitement.

However, I had always harbored doubts about the quiver of arrows, so I didn't dare to test them lightly. I knew the rainforest was full of taboos and terrifying things, and until I had experimented with them, I wouldn't recklessly rely on them as lethal weapons.

This surge of alertness made me attune my hearing to the surroundings. At the same time, my eyes scanned the area slowly, refusing to miss any clever camouflage. After all, immense danger could strike at any moment here. The tense, unnerved feeling throughout my body made me want to climb out of the river immediately.

Yet, seeing that the river water remained relatively clear brought me a shred of comfort. I knew that even if a snake appeared in the water, I would at least be able to spot it in time. Thus, even with my nerves strained to the breaking point, I still held onto a sliver of hope.

After confirming there was no immediate danger nearby, I slowly resumed my movement through the water. As I looked ahead again, my entire body suddenly stiffened as if nailed to the spot, and a wave of icy cold washed over me.

A small black bear was standing in the shallow water not far ahead, lazily licking its snout and drinking! The black bears in this region were different from the massive ones in the north; they had a dark brownish-grey coat and stood about as tall as an average man. However, they were solidly built, typically weighing around two hundred pounds or more.

Even so, seeing this black bear, I didn't dare make a reckless move. I had no doubt that a single swipe of its paw would knock me flat and keep me down. Although it was in the shallow water on the opposite bank, its keen senses had already detected me.

It immediately stopped drinking, fixing its beady black eyes on me. Perhaps misinterpreting my appearance as an aggressive stance, it actually opened its jaws, bared its sharp teeth, and let out a menacing roar. Then, shifting its upper body slightly forward, it plunged directly into the water and charged straight toward me.

I estimated it was only about ten meters away. By the time I reacted, the bear was thrashing through the water, kicking up sprays as it charged directly at me. I wasn't paralyzed by panic, but as the saying goes, misfortune never comes alone. Just as I prepared to scramble onto the bank and run, I heard that terrifying buzzing sound once again.

At that moment, I was truly terrified.

Whether it was because of the commotion made by the black bear or sheer coincidence, the few remaining wild bees in the sky were instantly drawn back by the noise. Seeing the black bear bearing down on me at a distance of no more than five or six meters, while the swarm of bees simultaneously descended from above, my mind went completely blank!

Climbing ashore meant being stung to death by the bees; failing to run meant being mauled to death by the bear. A flurry of thoughts raced through my mind, and for a second, I felt entirely helpless. Yet, as I moved my arm and felt a sharp pain from my right shoulder, a hard edge took hold in my heart, and I abruptly ducked back beneath the surface of the water.

The reason I submerged myself was to use the clarity of the water to gauge whether the bear was truly determined to kill me, giving me a chance to put up a desperate struggle if necessary. However, seeing the bear charging recklessly toward my exact spot, I had no choice but to move sideways through the water, utilizing its depth to drift downstream.

Whether it was truly my lucky day, I did not feel the bear follow me; instead, I heard water splashing wildly all around. The swarm of bees had rushed over and happened to intercept the black bear. I never could have imagined that a swarm of bees with minimal intelligence would cross paths with a bear of similarly low intellect, instantly locking them in a chaotic clash.