Yuan Ming had just put his heart at ease when it immediately lifted with tension again. He hastily clambered up to look down below.
He saw the black bear charging over from a distance, its massive body hurtling forward at a breakneck pace. As it drew near, it suddenly swiveled and rammed its incredibly thick back against the banyan tree with force.
There was a "bang" of a muffled crash!
The old banyan tree shuddered violently, and a crack split open on its somewhat withered trunk right away.
Because Yuan Ming had noticed it early on, he had tightly clung to the tree trunk, which kept him from being knocked down. But, seeing the crack that had opened on the tree's body, he couldn't help but feel deeply concerned.
After the black bear's impact, it ran off again, creating some distance before charging toward the old banyan tree once more.
"Crack"
Before it could crash into it, the crack on the tree trunk widened again.
"It's not going to hold."
Yuan Ming's brows knitted tightly, and as he saw the black bear was about to slam into it again, his body twisted and he took a couple of steps at a trot along the tree's horizontal branches then sprung up with all his might, leaping toward an ancient tree about twenty-one to twenty-four meters away.
From the ground, Yuan Ming could never have made such a leap, but now he had the added boost from the bounce of the branches. His body soared through the air as if flying, reaching toward the opposite side.
In the midst of the collapsing sounds of the old banyan tree behind him, his body reached its peak height then began to fall, still some distance away from that tree.
Yuan Ming extended his arms, truly akin to a monkey picking peaches, reaching forward to grab hold.
Just as he was about to fall, his palm caught a horizontal branch of the ancient tree opposite, and with a swing mid-air, he leaped again, making his way toward the tree trunk.
Just when he was about to land on the tree trunk, Yuan Ming didn't let himself fall directly, but stretched out his other arm to grab a branch once more, swinging again and leaping out seven or eight zhang.
Only at that point did Yuan Ming feel that he truly had command over this body.
He swung from limb to limb until his arms were sore and fatigued, and he then came to rest upon a tree.
When he turned to look back, the black bear was nowhere to be seen.
Yuan Ming slowly exhaled, feeling a bit out of strength, and sat down against the tree trunk.
His whole body was soaked with sweat, an oddly peculiar feeling, as if the ape skin he wore truly sprang from his own flesh and blood, even allowing sweat to seep through the hairs.
As his emotions gradually calmed down, Yuan Ming closed his eyes, silently drawing in the void before him with his fingers, beginning to reconstruct the path of his escape from memory.
Even amidst the prior chaos, he hadn't forgotten to mark each spot where he changed direction, and now a map of his escape route quickly formed in his mind.
Yuan Ming opened his eyes slowly, and a "gurgle" sounded from his stomach.
Since his arrival at Biluo Cave, he hadn't eaten anything, and following the intense chase, a strong hunger finally overwhelmed him.
Seeing the sun starting to set in the west, Yuan Ming knew that come nightfall, the primitive forest would become even more dangerous. If he didn't find food and a place to stay before darkness fell, he might not make it through to tomorrow.
With that thought, Yuan Ming could only summon up his spirits and stand up.
He turned to gaze into the distance, cautiously observing his surroundings. The seemingly tranquil forest teemed with tiny movements.
He saw a dusky python, coiling slowly around a grayish-brown tree, its skin patterns almost identical to the scars on the tree trunk—a nearly perfect disguise.
Below a mound not far away, a small creature with crocodile-like armor peeked out from a burrow. It looked around and was startled by a large bird flying overhead, quickly retreating back into the burrow.
Not far from it, a thicket of wild grass stirred and a plump, gray-furred rabbit leapt out, dashing away toward the distance.
Upon seeing this, Yuan Ming immediately leaped in the rabbit's direction.
Midair, he gripped an old vine with one arm, his body crouching down, while his other arm stretched out, reaching for the rabbit in a moon-scooping posture.
Yuan Ming's palm had already made contact with the rabbit's fluffy tail, when a sudden gust, laden with dust and stones, struck his hand.
The rabbit sprung up as if shot from a bow, leaping three or four zhang away in an instant, and upon landing, it swerved and scurried into the underbrush, vanishing from sight.
Yuan Ming hung there midair, his pose somewhat rigid and his heart filled with bitterness.
He found that none of the wild animals in this forest were ordinary.
He slowly descended to the ground, about to search for another target, when a subtle noise came from behind him.
Yuan Ming instinctively wanted to turn around to look, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught a flash of green darting out from a blind spot on his left.
He quickly stopped the motion of turning his head and dropped flat to the ground.
At almost the same instant, a Green Wolf, nearly eight feet long, pounced over his back. If he hadn't dodged in time, the creature might have knocked him down and bitten his throat in the moment he turned his head.
Yuan Ming couldn't afford to be frightened afterward. He started running on all fours toward the front, with the sound of rushing wind instantly behind him.
Suddenly, his forward momentum came to a halt, and he abruptly twisted his body, swinging his long arm back and throwing a straight punch towards the rear. His posture was as if he held a long spear, executing a backhand thrust.
The sound of air breaking echoed from his fist, followed by a "snap" as it swiftly collided with the jaw of a Green Wolf that had been lunging at him with its mouth open to bite.
A muffled "bang" sounded.
Yuan Ming only felt a burst of intense pain from his fist. The Green Wolf, large in stature, was sent flying backward, slamming into a sturdy old tree and collapsing to the ground.
The Green Wolf quickly got to its feet, its mouth edges blurred with blood and flesh, one of its canine teeth broken. It let out a series of whimpers and low growls, its ferocity undiminished, yet it did not immediately pounce again.
At this moment, Yuan Ming's mind was filled with astonishment. Vague memories began to surface, and the image of himself practicing martial arts with a spear in hand on a spacious plaza appeared to him.
Accompanying these images was a persistent grogginess that he just couldn't shake from his head.
Yuan Ming knew this was not the time for such thoughts. He quickly shook his head, pushing all those ideas down, and focused his gaze ahead.
He saw that by the side of the first Green Wolf, another one, slightly bigger, had somehow followed and caught up.
The two creatures split left and right, flanking Yuan Ming and closing in on him.
The punch he had thrown previously, though unexpected and twice as powerful as he thought he was capable of, still failed to severely injure the Green Wolf.
"Can't beat them, only choice is to run," Yuan Ming decided in his heart.
At that moment, the two Green Wolves suddenly accelerated, charging at him, one on the left and one on the right.
Yuan Ming promptly sprinted forward, casting quick glances to the sides only to find that both Green Wolves were maintaining the same speed, with no difference in timing, clearly planning to attack simultaneously and cause him to falter.
His speed already inferior to that of the wolves, with both escape routes blocked, even the thought of climbing back up a tree was now futile.
Then, the sound of the wind suddenly intensified by Yuan Ming's ears as the Green Wolves attacked together.
Without a moment's hesitation, he made an abrupt stop and twisted his torso directly to the right, ready to smash his fist into the injured Green Wolf.
Seeing this, the latter instinctively flinched out of fear.
It was this slight hesitation that gave Yuan Ming an opportunity. His twisting body spun back around, his fist aimed at the injured Green Wolf turning into an elbow strike, slamming fiercely into the Green Wolf on his left.
A "bang" resounded as the Green Wolf was struck hard by Yuan Ming's elbow and hurled through the air.
But almost simultaneously, the Green Wolf on the right bit into Yuan Ming's shoulder.
The sharp wolf teeth pierced through skin and flesh, causing severe pain that made Yuan Ming gasp in shock. He grabbed the Wolf's back fur and threw it forward with all his might.
The Green Wolf, unable to close its jaws firmly due to a broken tooth, was flung from his shoulder by an overhead throw, crashing heavily to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Yuan Ming quickly ran toward a tall and ancient tree, scaling it swiftly with both hands and feet, soon reaching the top.
The Green Wolf he had elbowed chased after him but bit into empty air, failing to stop Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming climbed until he reached a horizontal branch near the top of the tree and paused, looking down to see both Green Wolves gathered below.
The one with a broken tooth and a recent fall was dribbling blood from its muzzle, looking somewhat disheveled, while the one that had suffered his elbow strike seemed completely unharmed, its reddish eyes staring intently at him.
Yuan Ming saw that the wolves were not adept at climbing trees and felt some relief. He found the time to glance at his shoulder, discovering three bloody holes gushing fresh blood.
He slightly moved the muscles in his shoulder and immediately grimaced in pain.
The Green Wolf below circled the tree for a while, then suddenly raised its head and let out a "woo woo" howling sound.
The sound echoed through the forest, carrying into the distance.
Yuan Ming realized that the creature was calling for reinforcements. It seemed that even in the strange wilderness of the Ten Thousand Mountains, wolves still maintained their habit of living in packs.
"Can't stay here, once surrounded by a pack of wolves, there's no escape," he thought.
With this in mind, Yuan Ming tore off a vine from a nearby branch, roughly bandaging his shoulder, and once again used his Long Arm Swinging skill to leap from tree to tree.
The two Green Wolves pursued relentlessly from below.
Unlike the bulky Black Bear, the Green Wolves were more patient and persistent. They were determined not to let their prey escape.
No matter how Yuan Ming leaped and ran, they followed closely behind, occasionally howling to signal their location to their pack.
Yuan Ming dared not stop. He saw shadows moving throughout the forest—his injuries, blood loss, and lack of food were pushing his body to its limits.
His vision began to blur, and even the pain in his shoulder could no longer keep him conscious.
The shadows of the trees ahead darkened, his arms ached unbearably, and each grasp at the vines was followed by an uncontrollable slide. Perhaps on his next leap, he was going to fall.