Chapter 630: A Friend’s Enemy
It was hard to imagine how many expressions a bear could display within such a short period.
First, there was a look of shock.
Then, it looked content.
It was the expression one would wear while sitting down after a filling meal.
The most suitable word to describe it was ‘satisfaction’.
Neither Lin Jin nor Huang Shi Sanren may be able to sense it, but Zuo Men, who had stuck with Dopey Bear for over a century was startled.
So many years had passed since Zuo Men last saw such a satisfied expression on Dopey Bear’s face.
The last time was probably twenty years ago when they lured out out a nest of ‘sorrow wasps’ together. Dopey Bear scaled the thousand-foot tall tree and pushed off a 1.6-ton nest. It proceeded to help itself to an all-you-can-eat honey buffet.
That was the only time Dopey Bear had a satisfying meal.
However, they had to pay a price for it. Even with its thick hide, Dopey Bear was still swollen all over from being stung by the sorrow wasps. The injury was so bad that it could be considered heavy.
When given the choice between a nice meal or safety, Dopey Bear would choose the former every time.
This time, Dopey Bear was able to enjoy a filling meal without sacrificing anything. This scene touched Zuo Men, whose heart ached as well.
Hic!
Dopey Bear burped from a full stomach.
Zuo Men’s fingers trembled as he saluted Lin Jin formally. “Taoist Lin, if I may ask, what was the treasure that you just fed Dopey Bear?”
He saw it. It was only three pills.
He was aware of medicinal pills, and knew a thing or two about pelletization since he was an immortal. There were times when he had to craft them himself too. While pelletization was easy to learn, there was no limit in mastery. Some pills were worth nothing while others were worth an entire city.
Because of this, Zuo Men was starting to lose his cool.
This could be used as Dopey Bear’s staple food. It didn’t take much to figure out how unusual this pill was. Zuo Men knew that he could never produce these pills if his life depended on it. Otherwise, he would have kept Dopey Bear well fed a long time ago.
For this reason, Zuo Men suspected that the pills would cost a fortune in the market.
Despite that, Taoist Lin had zero hesitation when he fed three of these invaluable pills to Dopey Bear, which was a huge favor to them.
This was what made Zuo Men tremble.
Besides joy and excitement, he was also worried that he couldn’t repay Lin Jin’s favor.
Lin Jin didn’t notice Zuo Men’s anxiousness, nor was he aware of the giant’s complicated feelings. Upon hearing his question, he merely waved his hand dismissively.
“They are no treasures. As I said, I made the kibble myself. Since Dopey Bear is hungry, we should just let him eat his fill.”
It sounded like an indirect way of saying, ‘You don’t have to worry even if they’re treasures.’
His response confirmed Zuo Men’s previous suspicion, which made him incredibly grateful toward Lin Jin.
As a giant spirit, he had grown used to being looked down upon by human immortals, since his kind had always been used as servants or guards. They mostly engaged in hard labor, and for a lack of a better word, they were the immortals’ beast of burden.
Zuo Men disliked this identity so he left the giant spirit tribe to roam the world alone. Although he didn’t make many friends, he at least came across like-minded individuals.
Today, Zuo Men was deeply touched by Lin Jin’s actions, and he came to regard him as a genuine friend.
Zuo Men wanted to say more but Lin Jin stopped him.
It was only a handful of kibble and Lin Jin didn’t think much of them. To him, this was merely an experiment to assess its effectiveness, and Lin Jin was satisfied with the outcome.
In the beginning, he thought of the kibble pile as a waste of space. Thankfully, that was proven wrong, and Lin Jin was delighted by it.
After all, there could be countless creatures out there like Dopey Bear; beasts with unique constitutions or sizes so big that they rarely got to eat their fill.
Seeing Lin Jin’s resolute demeanor, Zuo Men didn’t dawdle on the subject. While he stayed silent, he made sure to burn this favor into his memory.
Simultaneously, Huang Shi Sanren’s impression of Lin Jin improved once more.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them became closer friends and even Dopey Bear started liking Lin Jin more. If Lin Jin commanded Dopey Bear to do something, the latter would probably heed his order obediently.
They continued walking for another half-day, and they crossed a mountain in the process.
Huang Shi Sanren broke the silence when he said, “We’re almost there. The area ahead is Lotus Valley where the Immortal Empress Spirit Pond is located.”
Lin Jin could sense Huang Shi Sanren and Zuo Men’s growing alertness.
From now on, they might come across other people who were also aiming for the Immortal Empress Spirit Pond, so they might have to engage in combat at any time.
It didn’t hurt to keep their guard up.
When they entered Lotus Valley, Dopey Bear’s ears twitched and it looked up. Almost simultaneously, something came up in Lin Jin, Zuo Men, and Huang Shi Sanren’s senses.
“Look out!” said Huang Shi Sanren as the yellow crystal sword on his back launched upward as a light beam, slashing the space above their heads.
Rumble!
They watched as a large hand get hacked away by Huang Shi Sanren’s sword light. However, the pressure from the clash left a massive handprint on the ground beneath their feet. All three of the travelers suffered minor scratches from the odd phenomenon.
A person clad in long robes descended from the forest canopy. He exuded a rich aura, and he had a strong body and his hands glowed faintly. The way he dressed made him appear like an upright individual, but his hooked nose gave off a malicious vibe.
“Divine Palm Qiu Bin, to think a student of orthodox teachings would ambush another so shamelessly. Are you perhaps still bitter over the defeat you suffered at my hands the last time we clashed?” asked Huang Shi Sanren contemptuously.
The two were acquainted. To put it more accurately, they appeared to hold a grudge against each other.
Divine Palm Qiu Bin scoffed.
“Ambush? I was merely testing you. Why are you over-reacting, Huang Shi Sanren? Now that the Immortal Empress Spirit Pond is here again, I knew you wouldn’t miss it. I may have been weaker than you, but a decade has passed since then. Hmph, tis’ now time for me to teach you a lesson!”
His words confirmed Lin Jin’s suspicion that they were enemies, and their grudge sounded pretty deep.
Lin Jin was able to tell that the attack earlier was merely a casual attack. However, since it came from an immortal, even a casual attack was overwhelming to Lin Jin, who spent tremendous effort resisting it.
This taught Lin Jin just how dangerous the extraterritorial zone is. He was thankful for meeting Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren on the get-go or he would have found it difficult to handle a hostile immortal on his own.
Though, the current situation wasn’t that different from what he imagined.
Divine Palm Qiu Bin was on the same level as Huang Shi Sanren and much stronger than Zuo Men. However, he still couldn’t compare to Dopey Bear if it went on a rampage.
With Lin Jin’s assistance, they should be able to hold up against this immortal.
Still, the enemy could have allies too.
Lin Jin noticed two individuals standing not too far behind Divine Palm Qiu Bin.