...
"Thankfully, the bear hasn't returned yet." I wiped the sweat from my forehead, sitting down in the tree hollow to rest.
The sweat, a product of the intense shaking and running that had brought me closer to Su Yaxin, now felt worthwhile. Seeing the enormous tree again as I entered filled me with awe. At night, it seemed less menacing and more mystical, shrouded in darkness. Sitting within its hollow evoked a peculiar feeling within me, one I couldn't quite articulate.
"Staying out all night. Out carousing like *someone*?" Su Ya, whom I'd called in after ensuring it was safe, hadn't even sat down before she brought up the previous incident, her words laced with sarcasm.
"You should be grateful, Su Ya! If it wasn't out carousing, we wouldn't be alive!" I replied with a grin.
"H
