I Have a Golden Crow

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, Du Yu and Fu Jianzhou, with farewells from Master Qing and others, drove away from Xishu Garden, heading straight to Songta Airport.

Songta?

It sounds like this airport was built from pinecones.

Turns out, it wasn't.

As the vehicle parked steadily in the lot, Du Yu opened the door and got out, saying, "Thanks for accompanying me on this trip, Senior Brother Fu."

"No trouble at all, I've never been to the Bamboo Grove either, it's a good chance for me to broaden my horizons."

Fu Jianzhou retrieved a large backpack from the trunk and said with a smile, "If Master Qing wasn't tied up, I wouldn't be lucky enough to get this beautiful errand, haha."

"Whew..."

Hearing a sound from the horizon, Du Yu looked up and saw a plane passing through the sky.

"Little junior brother, you've never flown before, have you?"

Du Yu shook his head, "I haven't even left the province."

Not only in this life, but Du Yu in his past life also stayed confined to the small plot of his hometown, never having the chance to see the great scenery beyond.

Unexpectedly, his first romantic journey for two was with Senior Brother Fu.

Fu Jianzhou slung the backpack over his shoulder, put his arm around Du Yu, and walked him toward the terminal: "You've had the experience of riding a Dust Spirit Deer; for you, the takeoff and turbulence of a plane are child's play."

Du Yu nodded, remembering the reluctant little face of Bai Yujing just now.

Ah...

No choice, taking the Dust Spirit Deer on a trip draws too much attention, such a precious Demon Pet, Du Yu can't trust it to luggage handling.

While thinking, he looked at the exuberant Fu Jianzhou beside him.

It'd be better if it were Master Qing instead...

No, that's wrong too!

Traveling with Master Qing would mean I'd be serving her.

Traveling with Senior Brother Fu, well, I don't need to worry about anything, Senior Brother Fu takes care of everything.

Shaohai Province's Ancient Pine Tower direct flight to Celestial Province's Jinguan City.

A distance of fifteen to sixteen hundred kilometers, just a three-hour flight.

Du Yu only felt like he'd zoned out staring at the clouds outside the plane window for a while before they arrived.

First-time visitor Du Yu curiously took in everything.

This city is warm, it's almost November, and the temperature is still around 15, 16 degrees. The driver who picked them up was talkative and articulate in Mandarin, which Du Yu could mostly understand.

By noon, the two brothers arrived at a famous spot outside the city — the Bamboo Grove.

Seeing the crowds of tourists, Du Yu got out of the taxi and instinctively lowered his cap.

Wearing a gray tracksuit gifted by Lin Shiwei, he easily blended into the tourist crowd.

"Wait here, I'll go buy the tickets."

"Okay."

Traveling with a warm guy is so comfortable, oh!

As for Master Qing, um... we'll talk about it later~

Du Yu gazed at the huge park gate in the distance, with a cute cartoon image of a Chi Bear atop it.

The Little Chi Bear hugged a piece of bamboo, full of joy, as if it had found a treasure.

Little Fen Yang: "Xiongxiong!"

"Yeah, Chi Bear, was it among your original teammates?"

Little Fen Yang thought for a while and said uncertainly, "There seemed to be a time, but I can't remember clearly~"

Du Yu wondered in his heart, "A period of time?"

"I seem to have fought side by side with Xiongxiong... oh, yes! Xiongxiong died!"

Du Yu: "Ah?"

"So pitiful, it was so small, didn't even have a Demon Soul, and once it died, it was gone." Little Fen Yang pondered deeply and murmured, "How did it die again?"

Fu Jianzhou: "Du Yu."

"Ah." Du Yu looked up to see Fu Jianzhou in the distance, waving two tickets in his hand.

Du Yu walked over, his mind echoing Little Fen Yang's voice: "I only remember we were all so sad after it died.

It seemed like we sent it home, buried it in a bamboo grove."

Du Yu didn't know what to say for a moment.

He followed Senior Brother Fu past the ticket checkpoint, flowing with the crowd for quite a while, and Little Fen Yang's mood improved significantly.

After all, this is a "theme park."

All sorts of Chi Bear merchandise were available, and in the streets, many staff members wore Chi Bear costumes, interacting with the visitors.

The various amusement rides were dazzling, the children holding toys and eating snacks, their happy and laughing faces made Little Fen Yang eager to try.

But Du Yu felt miserable.

This was his first time at an amusement park, and yet it was with Senior Brother Fu...

"Let's take this path, the Chi Bear Culture Hall," Fu Jianzhou said, looking at the map and leading Du Yu into the bustling crowd.

The direction to the Culture Hall had the most tourists because in this huge theme park, it was the only place to see real Chi Bears.

Due to the crowded visitors, progress was quite slow, and in the Culture Hall, Du Yu re-experienced some information he had previously found online.

"Tai Sui Bamboo." Du Yu looked at the wall painting, which was quite lifelike.

In the painting, a sea of bamboo with one particularly thick bamboo was defined by its special status.

Under the giant Demon Plant·Tai Sui Bamboo, there were many Little Chi Bears gathered around, lying or sitting cutely.

Obviously, Tai Sui Bamboo is the Mother of the Demon Spirit Realm in this area; within the Bamboo Grove, its status is equivalent to the Twin Trees.

Interestingly, in the Twin Tree Realm, there's only one Twin Tree.

However, in this Bamboo Grove, there are as many as 60 Tai Sui Bamboos!

This Mother of the Demon Spirit Realm's main attribute is "Wood."

Meanwhile, Tai Sui Bamboos in different locations possess different secondary attributes, including water, earth, wind, fire, and lightning.

Under such a unique environment, the Demon Beast - Chi Bear, naturally inherited from the Mother of the Demon Spirit Realm.

All Chi Bears have a wood attribute, and as for their secondary attribute, it's a myriad of possibilities.

Du Yu absorbed various knowledge while following the crowd to the third floor, entering a huge indoor glass corridor.

Through the window, he saw a beautiful bamboo sea, giving a somewhat Immortal Realm-like feeling!

What greatly disappointed the tourists was that there were no sightings of the Chi Bears in the bamboo forest; today, the round and chubby ones seemed not open for business.

No Chi Bear generously passed from under the glass corridor...

After going downstairs, Fu Jianzhou and Du Yu did not follow the crowd back, but instead, negotiated with the on-duty guards and were then taken to the staff passage.

It was apparent that the qualification for contracting with a Chi Bear was issued very, very rarely!

Even the entrance to the Bamboo Grove was through the staff passage; unlike other Demon Spirit Realms, this place never intended to be open to Demon Tamers.

Led by the guard, Du Yu and Fu Jianzhou walked for quite some time in the underground passageway, occasionally seeing figures in white coats, which unavoidably made Du Yu feel like he had entered a research institute...

"Hello." Finally arriving at the exit, a middle-aged soldier from the team guarding the entrance walked out, "Please show your IDs and tickets."

The two immediately handed over their IDs, and Du Yu also handed over the envelope.

After a lengthy inspection, the soldier returned the IDs: "No problem, Mr. Fu can accompany Student Du Yu inside, but please note Mr. Fu, you do not have the qualification to contract with a Chi Bear."

"Understood." Fu Jianzhou nodded at once.

"Alright, please follow me."

The soldier led them up the stairs, advising: "Once you enter the Bamboo Grove, you will be under our surveillance.

You will have no privacy there, so please mind your behavior. If you disagree, you may leave now."

Du Yu appeared obedient and said nothing.

The soldier continued: "In non-combat situations, you are not allowed to damage or alter the environment of the Bamboo Grove.

You must only defend passively, and must not provoke the Chi Bear Race proactively.

Even in combat, it should be limited to determining victory or defeat only.

Please be very careful with your actions; you cannot kill Chi Bears, or we will arrest you.

I also don't recommend severely injuring a Chi Bear. If subsequent treatment issues cause a Chi Bear's death or disability, you will be legally responsible."

"Since Student Du has been granted the qualification to contract with a Chi Bear, expectations from all sides must be high. Don't ruin your future on a whim."

"Uh-huh." Du Yu nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking rice.

"This is a brief map of the Bamboo Grove." The soldier handed the map to Fu Jianzhou while placing another hand on the side scanner of the door.

As the palm print was entered, the thick door slowly opened, and the soldier nodded, "I wish you both a pleasant journey in the Bamboo Grove."

Du Yu couldn't help but twitch a smile, a pleasant journey?

With so many rules and regulations, how can I enjoy myself?

Just get beaten up, that's all!

In hindsight, the stricter and more rules there are, the happier Du Yu should feel!

This further demonstrates the rarity and value of the Chi Bear Race!

In the future, when the round and chubby ones make an appearance, what a statement that would be!

Du Yu and Fu Jianzhou stepped into the bamboo forest, the door behind them looked rather out of place in the bamboo sea environment, resembling a misplaced subway station entrance.

"Hoo~"

A gentle breeze blew through, stirring the tender green bamboo leaves, and tousling Fu Jianzhou's hair.

He took a deep breath, his nostrils filled with the fresh scent of grass and earth, feeling extremely comfortable.

"Eek~"

A delicate cooing sound came, and Du Yu hugged Xiaoyan tightly.

The little one looked around curiously, gazing at the layers of forest, a mysterious look gradually appearing in her pair of golden-brown fox eyes.

"Xiaoyan, I'm showing you around the bamboo forest, enjoy the scenery, but you mustn't damage the flowers and plants, not even a single leaf!" Du Yu held Princess Consort Yan, gently pinching her little paw.

The pad under her paw was very soft to the touch. I wonder how the pads on a Chi Bear's paw would feel?

"You can't harm any Demon Beast here either, even if you're beaten don't retaliate, listen to my orders, okay?"

"Eek!" Xiaoyan nodded obediently.

"Very good! Let's go find the Chi Bear!"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyan broke free from Du Yu's embrace and swiftly darted off into the distance.

"Slow down, slow down!" Du Yu called out, hurriedly chasing after her.

Fu Jianzhou, carrying a large mountaineering bag, also stepped up his pace.

He also wanted to summon Hua Mantang to see this beautiful bamboo forest world, but the little one was still young. If it accidentally picked a bamboo leaf, that would be a big trouble!

"Stop! Xiaoyan! Don't touch it!"

While Fu Jianzhou was pondering, he suddenly heard Du Yu's exclamation.

He quickly turned his gaze and saw a black-and-white "soccer ball"?

Little Chi Bear was being rolled into a ball under Hu Xiaoyan's paw and was being pushed in his direction.

The little fellow cooperated quite well, not struggling at all, truly turning into a black-and-white dumpling, perfectly embodying "round and chubby".

Hearing the owner's command to stop, Xiaoyan immediately withdrew her paw, standing by the black-and-white dumpling, giving a fox cry to Du Yu: "Eek?"

The meaning was clear: is this what you're looking for?

"Uh-huh, it's this." Du Yu said with a peculiar expression, cautiously approaching.

Little Chi Bear stopped rolling and finally came to a halt.

It lay on the ground, belly up, seemingly unaware of any danger.

"Eek~" It stretched out a small bear paw, scratching its furry belly, smacking its lips contentedly, then dozed off again.

From start to finish, the Little Chi Bear hadn't even opened its eyes...

What embodies noble status and fearless assurance!

Du Yu felt enlightened today.

Looking at the little one's naive and adorable sleeping face, he seemed to read four big words on it: Who dares to harm me!?

Great Xia?

Ha, Great Xia is without a blade to cut me down!

...

Requesting some votes~