The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

The winter sun slanted through the treetops, and a long beam of light squeezed in through the gaps in the tent, falling on Lorraine's face and waking him from his sleep.

I have to say, this expensive tent is really comfortable.

The thick canvas, supported by the frame, provided excellent insulation, and he slept very comfortably.

"Come on...come on...come on, come on..."

Lorraine crawled out of the tent and saw the short man squatting in front of a pile of branches, his tinderbox almost breaking in his hand, but the pile of firewood was still just smoking and not catching fire.

He yawned sleepily, cracked his neck, walked over and lit the slightly damp firewood with his burning hands, then said:

"Let's pack our things first, then we'll go check out Silverleaf Grass. Maybe you've actually found the place."

Lorraine had wanted to tell Piper last night that silverleaf grass isn't cold-resistant; it's a plant. The fact that it can grow there means there must be a heat source underground.

However, the forest was too dangerous at night, so he suppressed his curiosity and only told Piper about it now.

The two of them soaked two hard biscuits in hot water, then rolled up the tent again and tied it to Lorraine's backpack.

"This thing is such a hassle to put away," Piper muttered.

After tidying up, Lorraine went to the crevice in the ground from yesterday and carefully observed the ground under the morning sunlight.

He brushed aside the withered leaves and looked in the direction of the crack in the ground.

The crevice extended from the roots of the tree, winding its way through a patch of moss and heading north.

"Could the fireweed grow down here? Mr. Tom said it likes warm places, so it must be warm enough down here." Piper tapped the gap.

"Do you think we can squeeze through this crack?"

"Uh... I don't think so?"

Lorraine gripped the surrounding soil hard. Unlike the frozen, rock-like ground they had come from, the ground here allowed them to scrape off some mud fragments with force.

"Let's look in this direction. Geothermal heat could cause the frozen ground to deform, and there might be even bigger cracks or holes," he said.

"Oh." Piper clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

They continued along the direction of the crack, walking for about half an hour.

The crack in the ground began to widen slowly, and in some places, a fist could already fit inside.

"Hmm... isn't this that kind of grass?"

Piper suddenly stopped, squatted down next to a clump of grass, and smelled it.

Lorraine walked over and found clumps of low-lying weeds growing along the edge of the crevice. They were grayish-green and blended in with the surrounding withered leaves, making them almost invisible unless you looked closely.

He picked a leaf, rubbed it between his fingers, and a bitter scent filled the air.

"The hemostatic herb has been picked."

Lorraine drew herb-gathering knife from his waist, carefully cut it off, and stuffed it into his oilcloth bag.

His movements were much more efficient now; after cutting, he also gathered up the surrounding soil to cover the exposed roots.

"Nine plants... 5 copper coins per plant... 45 copper coins... equals 3 silver and 9 copper coins..." The short man on the side counted on his fingers.

"Stop calculating, let's go, there's probably more ahead."

The thought of finding more money made Lorraine feel refreshed and invigorated.

After walking a while longer, the cracks on the ground appeared intermittently, sometimes as a narrow ditch, and sometimes as nothing at all.

The two could only keep their heads down and walk in the direction indicated, occasionally kicking the ground with their feet to check the hardness of the soil and make sure they weren't going astray.

"It smells good!" Piper exclaimed excitedly.

Lorraine sniffed; there was indeed a faint smell in the air, like lamp oil mixed with pine resin.

"Over here."

After walking a short distance, the terrain gradually opened up.

Clumps of low shrubs and weeds appeared around, some still showing signs of green, standing out conspicuously in the predominantly gray and white forest.

Lorraine walked around a stone buried in the ground, and the crack ended ahead, where the ground collapsed into a shallow pit.

Around the pit were several bare stem stubbles with uneven cuts.

Piper ran over quickly, sniffed the air, and exclaimed in great disappointment, "It smells like fireweed, but someone picked it first. We're so unlucky!"

"It might not have been picked; the edges are too rough, it looks like it's been gnawed on by something."

Lorraine frowned, bent down and pinched the grass root, finding sap seeping from the broken end.

He then looked at the ground beside the pit, where there were several wide indentations in the soil that extended into the bushes behind.

He then slowly pulled out the rusty throat, took a few steps back as silently as possible, and whispered, "Be careful! They probably haven't gone far. Let's back up slowly."

"What kind of thing would eat this stuff? It has such a strong taste."

The short man muttered something as he took the warhammer off his back and looked around.

The two had only taken a few steps back when a heavy breathing sound came from behind the bushes, followed by a huge head slowly rising from it.

It was a grayish-brown bear, unusually large, with some flame-like markings on its body, making it look quite menacing.

"roar--"

The bear let out a low growl, twitched its nostrils twice, and exhaled a puff of white vapor in their direction.

It quickly spotted the two uninvited guests, its two amber eyes locking onto them. Then, it slowly pushed aside the bushes and stepped out.

"Knock knock knock..."

Lorraine heard his own heartbeat; he felt as if he were locked onto by something, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

He had never seen such a colossal creature before, whether in his past or present life; it was completely different from the feeling evoked by inanimate objects.

But given the winter temperatures in the North, shouldn't bears be hibernating? Could it be that magical beasts are different from regular wild animals?

"Shall we...run?" the short man asked hesitantly.

"Don't rush."

Lorraine's mind raced.

Brown bears can run at speeds up to 50 km/h, but compared to the bear in front of you, it looks like a little bear cub.

Neither I, with my agility only 2 points higher than the average human, nor Piper, with his short legs, could possibly outrun the bear in front of me.

Playing dead is even less effective.

In her previous life, Lorraine had seen videos online of people encountering bears in the wild who thought they could escape by playing dead, only to be eaten alive.

He would rather fight to the death than sit and wait to die, and he believed the short man would feel the same way.

If the opponent is only large in size, they might not necessarily be no match for each other in a life-or-death battle.

Moreover, a bear, being an intelligent wild animal, might not necessarily fight to the death with two people who could pose a threat to it.

"Don't be scared. Stand up straight and slowly back away. If it attacks, we'll fight it to the death."

Lorraine made up her mind.