Chapter 44: Caught While Escaping

"Alright, all that talk is done and you've worn me out. Why are you still refusing to get off me?" Naya blinked playfully.

"Say 'Princess, please get down.'"

"What in the blazing world, get the hell off me!" Su He shouted in anger, forcefully shoving Naya away before scrambling into the corner of the bed and pulling the blanket over himself. "It's already dawn. Hurry up and go patrol your forest. I need to get some early rest."

"Sigh, fine. Happy times are always so brief. However, before I leave, there is one more thing I need from you."

"W-what thing?"

Naya walked over to Su He and yanked the blanket off him, immediately reaching for the spiritual stone hanging around his neck.

Realizing Naya's intent, Su He hastily raised his hands to block her, but after the intense struggle earlier, his body was completely devoid of strength. Naya easily snatched the spiritual stone.

"Little He Brother is guarding this so closely against me, which means this stone must be very important to you, right? But the more important it is to you, the better—that way, when I keep it with me, I can feel like you are right here with me."

"What kind of twisted logic is that? Give it back to me right now!"

With that, Su He tried to get up and wrestle it back from Naya, but she effortlessly pushed him back down onto the mattress.

"Little He Brother should rest first and recover your strength. After all, when I come back tonight, I'm going to want you again."

She then walked out and locked the door behind her from the outside. Holding the stone in her hand, Naya didn't know what it was, but back when Su He had been unconscious, she had seen it glowing brightly as it channeled a mysterious blue aura into him—it was likely used for healing injuries. If she left this behind and it healed Su He's wounds, allowing him to run off, he wouldn't be easy to catch later.

Inside the room, Su He stared blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

"It's over, it's all over. With the spiritual stone stolen, how am I supposed to escape?"

"No, I have to leave. Today is too good of an opportunity; not even the Jade Emperor himself could stop me now."

After resting a bit to regain some strength, he busied himself around the room, dismantling one of the bedposts. He fiercely pounded against the heavy door, but when that proved completely useless, he turned his attention to the window—only to find it sealed shut from the outside as well.

In the midst of this predicament, Su He suddenly noticed some water stains on the table leaning against the wall, and upon closer inspection, he saw water trickling down the wall itself.

"How is water leaking down from here?" Shifting his gaze upward, he noticed the wooden panels on the ceiling were soaking wet—it must have rained last night during their intimate escapades.

Seeing this, an idea instantly struck Su He. He piled up everything in the room that could serve as a step stool, climbed up, and knocked on the ceiling boards. He discovered that, after enduring wind, rain, and sun for so long, some of the wood had become utterly rotten.

(Note: Baldy Qiang's house also has a wooden roof, so don't ask why this roof is made of wood.)

Excitedly, he picked up a tool and frantically hacked away at the wooden boards. Through his hard work, he finally carved out a small hole, allowing a beam of light to filter through and shine upon his face.

"Hahaha, damn it, I can finally escape!"

After a burst of manic laughter, he pried open the edges of the hole until it was wide enough for him to crawl through, squeezing outside with eager anticipation.

Feeling the warm sunlight shining down upon him, he found this single moment indescribably comforting.

"I'm finally free, dammit!"

"Naya, you witch, you still wanted to mess with me? You can go scratch yourself, I'm done playing with you." He bolted into the forest, looking around cautiously while plucking a wild fruit from a tree branch and biting into it.

"With the current level of spiritual energy and physical strength in my body, there's no way I can reach the glacier in a short time. I'd better find a hidden shelter in the direction of the glacier to hide out and recover my strength first."

Several hours later, Su He gathered some wild fruit and hid inside a secluded cave.

Meanwhile, Naya, who had been patrolling the forest, returned home, flung the door open, and called out loudly, "Little He Brother, I'm back! I'm sure you've rested enough by now, so let's get started right away!"

However, as her eyes swept across the chaotic and empty room, her heart skipped a beat and practically stopped.

"No, impossible. Little He Brother must be playing a joke on me. He must be hiding in some corner of this room!" Muttering to herself, she frantically tossed aside the clutter before her, yet there was still no trace of Su He.

"No! Su He, get out here right now! Come out!"

Naya collapsed to the floor as if all hope had been shattered. But after a moment, as though remembering something, she stood up to search and eventually found some torn pieces of clothing in a corner.

"Hehehe... I originally thought that as long as I was gentle with you, you would eventually accept me. You really like running away, huh? Once I catch you this time, you won't ever have the thought of running again."

Enduring the intense longing for Su He burning in her chest, Naya lay down on the bed to wait for dawn, knowing full well that in his weakened state, Su He wouldn't dare move about at night—the forest after dark was far too dangerous.

Unbeknownst to how much time had passed, morning finally arrived. Su He woke up early and sprinted toward the glacier. Originally, he wanted to rest a bit longer, but he knew that every second he lingered here increased the chance of Naya tracking him down.

Out in the forest, Naya also set out. She found the big green-haired dog and a massive, colorful multi-hued bird, holding the torn scrap of clothing up to the dog's nose.

"Big doggy, your nose has always been sharp. Whether we find Su He this time depends entirely on you."

She then turned to the giant bird. "And you, help me scan the skies for any trace of Su He."

At that moment, the big green dog seemed to catch a scent. It turned around, hoisted Naya onto its back, and charged furiously in the direction Su He had fled.

By this time, Su He had already drawn close to the glacier. But just as he was about to climb up, he heard a commotion erupting from the forest behind him. Panicked, he bolted toward a small stream near the glacier's edge.

Spotting that bootlicker of a dog darting out of the forest with Naya riding on its back, Su He thought, *What the hell, why did they catch up so fast? That simp dog must have caught my scent.* Thinking quickly, Su He threw himself right into the stream to thoroughly soak his clothes in water.

Deprived of the scent, the big green dog came to a halt. On its back, Naya looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong, big doggy? Why did you stop chasing?"

Seeing that they temporarily couldn't locate him, Su He tried to quietly slip away toward the glacier. As he gazed at the finish line drawing closer and closer, his entire heart trembled with suspense.

Suddenly, a pair of gigantic bird talons dropped from the sky, blocking his path.

"??? What the hell is this? Where did this tree trunk come from?"

Before Su He could even react, a deafening bird screech shattered the air directly above his head.

Hearing the sound, Naya immediately urged the big green dog to charge forward. Spotting Su He right in front of her, she roared in fury, "Su He, get your ass back here right now, or I'll give you a proper punishment!"

Hearing the voice closing in behind him, Su He threw all caution to the wind, swerved past the giant bird, and sprinted headlong into the glacier.

(The translation continues in the next chapter as Bear Big and Bear Second arrive.)