Chapter 387: Bear and Crane Kings
Translator: Novel Saga Editor: Novel Saga
This was undoubtedly a signal. In fact, it was an explosive signal! There was no room for a mistake since he had sent his signal forth. Big Bear and Long Crane would surely come to meet him as long as they were in the Tian Fa forest.
The Crane King and the Bear King were sitting in the very depths of the forest, and were drinking wine.
Long Crane’s mind was cautious as usual. But, Big Bear was enjoying and living in the moment. He was having a typical ‘the monkey takes over when there’s no tiger in the forest’ moment. [I’m the boss since the Eldest isn’t present here!]
Therefore, he had dragged Long Crane for some drinks, and this had been continuing for two full days by now. He didn’t even care about what had happened in Tian Fa over the past few days… or what they would have to face in the future. This simple-minded temperament was entirely different from that of Jun Mo Xie’s, but it somehow managed to yield the same results.
The two Beast Kings weren’t drinking in their human forms at that moment. Rather, they were drinking that sea of alcohol in their original forms. On one side was a huge bear covered in golden fur. In fact, it almost resembled a mountain. The Crane King’s original form was one of a red-crowned crane. His body was even bigger, and was covered in white feathers. And, his eyes resembled two flaming torches. There was a gigantic natural platform in front of these two Beast Kings. They seemed to be using it as table. Wine cups carved out of red sandalwood trees had been placed on this table of theirs’. And, each of these cups was as big as a large barrel of wine.
And, the wine that these two Beast Kings were drinking gave off an exceptionally nostril-assailing fragrance. In fact, it was the monkey-folk of the Tian Fa Forest which had brewed that ‘Monkey Wine.’ And, these two Beast Kings had used their position to procure this wine. The massive mouth of a bear opened along with the giant beak of a crane, and the rapidly drained the wine down their throats.
"Third, I’ve noticed that you’re becoming increasingly cautious. In fact, your caution has crossed every boundary. And, you’re particularly worried about that matter regarding our Sacred Fruit! I think that it’s useless for you to get so worried!" Big Bear’s eyes had gone out of focus due to the intoxication. He patted his golden-fur-covered chest, and vomited out the words, "I don’t get it. You’ve been worrying the entire day. How are you not tired?"
It was obvious that Long Crane was very worried about the entire matter surrounding the Tian Fa’s Sacred Fruit. However, Big Bear didn’t care about it. He was very confident when it came to that Mysterious Master. His intuition was telling him that a person with such a high cultivation level wouldn’t see any need to cheat them. Therefore, he couldn’t understand Long Crane’s anxiousness. In fact, he even despised it somewhat.
"Your brain is full of muscle, Big Bear! What would you know?" Long Crane turned and raised his eyelid to look at Big Bear with his huge ruby-like eyes. "We need to worry since there’s a chance that everything may go wrong! How would you and I bail ourselves out if we don’t see that man’s shadow again? That bear-brain of yours is too small and muddled. Anyone can cheat it with ease! The second Brother was negligent and gambled foolishly. Now, he has to serve others. You’re also behaving like that! And, you won’t get a chance to run either!"
Big Bear remained silent for a moment. He then said in a low voice, "Third Brother, I believe in that Mysterious Master. Moreover, I feel that the risk of using the Sacred Fruit is too great for us! There’s always the danger that our body might explode. In fact, the success rate hasn’t even reached thirty-percent in the past. And, it seems like that skilled and mysterious person possesses a method which doesn’t involve any risks. So, it’s worth the wait and the risk…"
Long Crane stared blankly after he heard Big Bear’s words. He had never expected that his fourth brother — that ignorant Big Bear — could put forth an argument that would seem so reasonable, "I had never considered that you could make such arguments, Fourth Brother. This is a genuine case of ‘even a fool gives wise counsel once in a while’. I genuinely respect you for those words!"
Big Bear felt very happy when he heard those words. But, he then finished three or four glasses in one breath and said, "What, ‘a fool gives wise counsel once in a while’…? This Beast King has always been intelligent! I never open my mouth without giving things a thought!"
Long Crane couldn’t help but smile after he heard Big Bear’s boast. In fact, he was going to raise a toast when he suddenly recalled something, "How did you have the courage to address me like that? Who did you call ‘Third Brother’ a moment ago? I’m your ‘Third Elder Brother!’ Is there no basic sense of respect left between seniors and juniors anymore? I had barely spoken those words of praise, and you forgot the basic courtesy? Anyway, you may have made a reasonable argument, but this matter it is still too risky! After all, the Sacred Fruit not being in our hands… is still not a good thing!"
Big Bear snorted and replied, "What risks? Isn’t it risky to have the Sacred Fruit by ourselves? And, no one has ever been able to steal our Sacred Fruit. It has never happened since ancient times! And, it won’t happen now either. Do you want to make a bet?"
Long Crane rolled his red eyes. He didn’t seem to be in a good mood, "When will you drop this bad habit of making bets? Don’t forget that Second Brother is someone else’s mount because he had made a bet! And, I see a similar trend with you! Besides, what can the two of us bet on? Both of us will be slitting our throats if we don’t find that man. You want to bet on that? Bet… my a*s!"
Big Bear’s anger flared, and he shouted as he got up, "I really love betting, right?! So, I will make a bet with you that… that person isn’t the bad guy you say he is!"
Long Crane snorted, and replied in a salty and strong manner, "Not that kind of a man? Are you sure? He should’ve honored his commitment and kept his promise since that Xue Hun Manor has been turned to dust! Humph! Let’s not talk about whether he can keep his promise about giving us the pills in exchange for our Tia Fa’s Sacred Fruit… He should’ve at least helped us break through the level ten Xuan Beast barrier as he had promised! So, why did he disappear even though we had come to an agreement?"
"Perhaps he has been delayed by another matter? Such a skilled person wouldn’t be so shameless, right?" Big Bear’s tone had sounded very confident a moment ago. However, it had suddenly collapsed. In fact, he seemed to have lost some of his confidence by now…
"Are you sure that a very skilled person won’t be shameless?" Long Crane sighed and said, "There are many in the human race who are treacherous. How many of them would care about a single promise? You are still very naïve, Big Bear. Does great intelligence appear stupidity to you? You have fooled yourself!"
Big Bear snorted and vigorously grabbed a cup of wine. He then tilted his head, and gulped its contents down with an askance look on his face. It was evident that he couldn’t bear with Long Crane’s caution.
He was about to refute when he suddenly felt an earth-shattering power push forth through Tian Fa. Big Bear suddenly trembled. Even his hand started to tremble as he threw that big cup of wine with a "Bang". He then jumped up, and spoke-up in an exceptionally excited manner, "It’s him! He’s looking for us! He’s here to help us breakthrough! What do you have to say about that, Third Crane?"
Long Crane’s face also lit-up with delight. In fact, he had even forgotten to notice the "Third Crane" remark. The Beast King flew up with an explosive sound. His wings glittered as he shouted, "You have won the bet, Fourth! He has arrived!"
The two Beast Kings looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with rapt ecstasy.
Big Bear was evidently unwillingly to wait for even a single moment. He shouted and jumped onto Long Crane’s back. After that, he shouted loudly as he pointed his finger forward, "Hurry up and take off!" His tone was decisive. In fact, it was like an order. But, Long Crane wasn’t prepared for his thousands of kilograms of weight, and was pushed down as a result. He obviously wasn’t able to take off. In fact, he fell to the ground. He then rebuked in an indignant tone, "Shameless! Don’t ever jump onto me in this bear form of yours! Don’t you know that you weigh one-and-a-half ton?!"
However, he didn’t feel any change by the time he finished speaking. So, he added more words, "Hurry up and get down! I’m your Third Brother — not your saddled mount! Run on your own!"
Big Bear grabbed two of Long Crane’s feathers, and didn’t let go. Then, he quickly transformed to his human form, but he shamelessly refused to come down. Long Crane felt helpless. And, he also feared to delay at such a crucial moment. So, he flapped his wings and took-off. Then, he rushed forward like lightning.
He quickly charged towards the direction this enormous pressure was originating from.
Jun Mo Xie was standing in midair. He could feel the Xuan Beasts cower under his extremely formidable power. None of them had dared to make a move. [I’m sure that there aren’t many Xuan Beasts who can withstand this.]
Strong winds and thunder arose in the distance. This was accompanied by a huge silhouette which was flying over.
It was Big Bear riding atop Long Crane! The scene looked as awe-inspiring as the ones from the mythical legends of the dragon knights.
Jun Mo Xie remained in the air until Long Crane transformed into his human form and both the Beast Kings landed on the ground. Then, Young Master Jun also floated down with a feather-like swiftness.
"Senior… you... you came!" Long Crane felt somewhat embarrassed. He had called him ‘Elder Brother Feng’ that time in the Tian Xiang City. But, he was already calling him "Senior" now. In fact, the two Beast Kings felt somewhat depressed since they had previously dared to consider him of their rank and generation…
Moreover, they had doubted this person only moments ago. Therefore, Long Crane felt a bit embarrassed since this person had appeared in front of him at this time…
"Ahem… I was about to leave the Southern Heaven City. But, I suddenly recalled that I still owed you a promise. A man is nothing without his credibility. So, how could I leave before repaying you for the past favors?" Jun Mo Xie gave a detailed account. He sounded magnificent by contrast.
"Ka ka ka! Senior is genuinely a trustworthy person! Third Crane was worried that you won’t come. He felt that you were likely to run away like a thief! But, I strongly reprimanded him. You have learned of your mistake, isn’t that right Third Crane? Ha ha ha!" Big Bear felt very proud of himself. And, he had drawn back the corners of his big mouth since he felt happy about winning the bet.
How could he not feel proud of himself? This man had shown up and had displayed his importance to his commitment. [How could he steal the Sacred Fruit and leave? That matter with those pills can’t be a trick either, right?]
Consequently, Big Bear had laid down everything that had been weighing on his mind.
"You… you… you… you damned bear! What rubbish are you talking? I… How can I not have faith in the Senior?" Long Crane became very angry. His fingers started to tremble. He wanted to strangle Big Bear. He had never expected that Big Bear would betray him in order to win a favor with the person in front of them…
"No harm done. That was only natural," Jun Mo Xie chuckled and smiled. He didn’t know why, but he felt very cheerful whenever he’d face those two Beast Kings. This wasn’t a pleasure he derived from acting like a pretentious jerk in front of them. Rather, this was derived from the comfort he felt since he didn’t need to analyze any schemes when he dealt with them…
Those Xuan Beast Kings of the Tian Fa Forest were simple and pure when compared to humans. And, this atmosphere made Jun Mo Xie feel relaxed. He felt at ease since he was far away from that endless deception, and scheming…
"Ahem… I’ve come here to keep my promise. First, I need you two to prepare yourselves. I want you to calm your aura, and bring your conditions to the very optimum. What’s most important is that you two bring your mental state to its most peaceful. And, I will first have a look at the borders for your breakthrough."
Jun Mo Xie smiled. He hadn’t realized that he was being very amiable. In fact, he would rarely be seen like this… except for when he was with Grandpa Jun, his Third Uncle, and a very few other people.
Long Crane and Big Bear perceived that faintly amiable aura around him very clearly. So, they also started to trust him completely.