When I woke up, it was already night. Old Li and the others hadn't gone any further but had made camp beneath that broken tree. Not far away, it sounded like Old Li and the others were talking, but I had only just woken up, my head swimming so badly that I couldn't make out a word of what they were saying.

I only vaguely heard someone shouting about doing something immediately, even through the night. Slowly, my head grew dizzier, and those faint sounds became increasingly ethereal, until finally, I could hear nothing at all, as if only the incessant buzzing inside my own skull remained. The forest region of Tibet freezes you to the bone once night falls.

Though bundled in my quilt, I could still feel the marrow-deep chill. So, even though my head wasn't clear, I instinctively moved, trying to warm my body up a little. The moment I moved, a hand landed on me.

Sensing someone beside me, my mind cleared slightly, and in the dim firelight, I saw Old Li’s face etched with worry. He noticed I was awake too. Without a word, he handed me a biscuit, tucked a tube of Wuji Salve into my hand, and then stood up and walked away.

My mind was still sluggish, but I reacted enough to realize Old Li wanted me to apply more of the ointment. Following the previous method, I rubbed the Wuji Salve into my ears. The moment it touched, a sharp jolt instantly cleared my head considerably.

Only then did I take in my surroundings: the others were asleep on the far side of the fire; they must have been exhausted to be snoring so loudly. I didn't see Old Li; he was probably standing guard, as the lion that never left his side was nowhere in sight. I had slept for the better part of the day, and now, despite the dizziness, I couldn't sleep at all.

I lay on the ground, looking up at the countless stars scattered across the heavens. Recalling the day's events always left me with a strange feeling. Especially that footprint that vanished into thin air baffled me completely, as did the shredded shoes and bloodstains.

Had that deserter become breakfast for that bear? Yet, for some reason, I had a persistent premonition that the deserter wasn't dead yet. Perhaps something else had happened that I didn't know about?

And just as I woke up, I thought I heard Old Li and the others arguing about something, but my ears were useless then; I couldn't make out the specifics. Thinking kept swirling, and my head grew hazy again, threatening to drag me back to sleep. In a daze, I thought I heard someone approaching.

Assuming it was Old Li returning, I let my guard down. Unexpectedly, just as I relaxed and was about to drift off, the footsteps paused right beside my ear. I was already in a semi-sleep state, utterly unprepared for anything else uncanny to happen, and Old Li shouldn't have anything urgent to tell me at that moment.

While mulling this over fuzzily, I suddenly felt the person lean down, bringing their mouth close to my ear. That mouth drew nearer and nearer, and hot, moist breath blew directly into my ear canal. In that freezing cold, having someone blow hot air into your ear is certainly no pleasure.

I jerked my head back, trying to escape his mouth, but it seemed he was hooked. Before I could turn my head for two seconds, that dampness chased after me again, and it felt like something saliva-like dripped onto my face. I started in shock, instantly recalling the stories they had told about black bears attacking people at night.

Having already taken a swipe from a bear’s paw during the day, I was now thoroughly scarred by the sight of those black brutes. Thinking of a black bear jolted me into greater sobriety. I had heard that their tongues were barbed; if that brute managed to lick me even once, my face would likely be ruined.

Fortunately, it seemed to be merely testing me now, showing no immediate intent to attack. Though terrified to death, I tried to keep my breathing as steady as possible. I couldn't provoke it now; if it swiped again, I'd surely be finished for the night.

Innumerable thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant, trying to evade the cursed black bear. As I kept my eyes shut, deep in thought, I suddenly felt a tongue slowly approaching my ear. This was no good feeling; one wrong move, one lick from the bear, and my ear would be gone.

In this moment of chaotic crisis, all I could think about was that I, an old man, hadn't even gotten married, and I couldn't die here. While my mind was a mess, something icy cold suddenly touched my right ear! My head boomed, feeling like an explosion, and every hair on my body stood on end...

Without time to think, I lunged forward, then violently rolled over, tossing the quilt covering me away. I didn't know where my head hit, but I was determined to throw the quilt off, hoping to cover the black bear for a moment, immobilizing it so I could escape. Even I don't know where I found such agility, but in the instant I flung the quilt toward the bear, I scrambled onto the fallen giant tree.

Barely settling in the branches, before I could even react, I saw a pair of pitch-black eyes peering out from the dense foliage—Old Li. He had been hiding in the tree the whole time. Just as I started to speak, he clapped a hand over my mouth.

The suddenness of it all stunned me; I didn't have time to struggle before a low growl rose from below. But that sound wasn't a Tibetan Mastiff's, nor was it a bear’s. It sounded more like...

a person... a human sound! Old Li’s face immediately contorted into a grim mask.

He urgently dragged me deeper into the thick branches. Once I was tucked into the cover, he patted my shoulder and pointed downward, signaling me to look. The moonlight was excellent just then, even clearly illuminating the shadows on the ground.

I followed his finger and saw that the quilt had been tossed aside by whatever was emerging from underneath. The moment I saw what crawled out from under that blanket, a massive thud echoed in my skull. If Old Li hadn't been holding me, I would have likely tumbled straight to the ground in fright!

The terror I felt then surpassed any fear I had of encountering a bear, because crawling out from under that quilt was none other than Section Chief Wang! His face was ashen, and he kept emitting low growls from his throat, seemingly still trying to track my scent. He roughly threw the quilt aside...

I huddled in the tree, trembling uncontrollably. Section Chief Wang’s current state made him look nothing like a normal human being. Old Li carefully climbed to the other side of the tree, produced a handful of dry grass from somewhere, and handed it to me, whispering, "In a moment, I’ll draw him away.

You take this chance to throw these things into the fire and light them." The grass looked indistinct in the moonlight, but the scent was terribly familiar—it was a common weed found around our camp perimeter. Looking at the grass in my hand, I couldn't help but feel bewildered, asking, "Old Li, what... what happened to him?" Old Li shook his head.

"I don't know." Since morning, everything had seemed to be under Old Li's control; unknowingly, my every move felt dictated by his expressions. But at this critical juncture, he gave me a vague "I don't know" to brush me off. My mind instantly flooded with anger.

In this situation, it was clear that he and I were in this together, yet he kept withholding information. With my usual temperament, I would have exploded on the spot under these circumstances. However, glancing down at Section Chief Wang searching frantically below, I forcefully crushed all my rage deep into my gut—self-preservation came first.

Moreover, if we started fighting among ourselves now, we would be the ones to suffer! I softly grunted to show I understood, then gripped the dry grass tightly and shifted myself aside. Old Li seemed to sense my displeasure; he hesitated slightly, let out a soft sigh, and then jumped down from the tree.