Chapter 159: The Freaking Power of a Bear

As one of the more prosperous factions among magical beasts, the Bear Clan naturally possessed a territory rich in mountains and streams. Ruby's new home was built near a water source—a two-story wooden villa. Leveraging his architectural expertise alongside Della, completing this new dwelling was an absolute breeze. He built two stories precisely because uninvited guests would occasionally drop by to stay.

By the lakeside grill, blocks of unidentified magical beast meat were being roasted to a golden, glistening perfection. Judging that the heat was just right, Ruby used a brush to evenly coat them with fresh honey, making the rising aroma even more enticing. Following their instincts, the members of the Bear Clan gathered around, though constrained by the chieftain's majesty, they could only pace nervously at a distance.

"C-Can I eat it now?"

Xiong Zhuangzhuang's saliva had already soaked the ground beneath her feet. Before meeting Ruby, she had never imagined that her two favorite foods could be combined. After all, beasts ate their meat raw and dripping with blood; the notion of combining honey with raw flesh sounded absurd. Yet Ruby had used fire to merge these two impossible components. For the bear girl, this wasn't just a simple double dose of joy, but a multiplication of happiness manifold.

"Wait a little longer. Actually, given your condition, you shouldn't be eating meat yet. Porridge is the best choice. Have you forgotten how you fell sick? It was precisely because you were careless about hygiene while eating raw meat..."

Ruby took on the airs of a veteran traditional physician advising his patient, but the patient refused to listen. That concoction called porridge was quite simply the most boring food Xiong Zhuangzhuang had ever tasted; drinking plain water was more interesting. Moreover, if Ruby insisted on withholding the meat, she would resort to her long-lost secret technique—the "Giant Bear Landing"—clinging to his thigh and refusing to let go under any circumstances.

"Such a simple-minded creature."

Moyona nibbled delicately on her vegetable salad. Her demand for meat wasn't particularly strong, and she didn't possess a constitution that allowed her to eat limitlessly without gaining weight. Along the way, she felt nothing but contempt for this completely dignity-free holy beast, whose shame had been cast to the winds.

"Please, just a little bit, give me some."

On the other side, Xiong Zhuangzhuang once again abandoned beastly dignity, rubbing against Ruby like a domesticated pet. Of course, they weren't intimate to that extent; magical beasts simply expressed their emotions this way, a habit they hadn't shaken off even after transforming into human forms.

"Not only do you want meat, but you also want to binge on alcohol. Do you still want to get better or not?"

The fuzzy sensation of the bear girl's furry ears brushing against him made Ruby's skin tingle slightly. He pushed her bear-like head away and asked, completely unable to understand why the magical beasts here only partially transformed, stubbornly retaining a few animalistic features to become natural-born beast-eared maidens.

"I'm already better! If you don't believe me, I'll swallow you whole so you can check."

Xiong Zhuangzhuang opened her mouth wide, revealing a row of neat, white teeth, though in this regard, she hadn't inherited the typical sharp fangs of a magical beast.

"Spare me, I have no desire to end up in a bear's belly a second time."

"Whooh! This is simply amazing!"

Xiong Zhuangzhuang took a large bite of the roasted meat, chewed twice, and swallowed it whole. She then lifted a jar of liquor and gulped down a massive mouthful, her greasy face flushing red from the alcoholic sting. Judging by her look of supreme satisfaction, she probably wouldn't mind dropping dead right this second.

Ultimately, Ruby couldn't hold out against Xiong Zhuangzhuang and handed over his liquor. Strangely enough, alcohol actually existed within the Forest of Magical Beasts; its creators were reportedly a species of monkey with virtually no combat capability. Naturally, it wasn't as delicious as the wine Ruby brewed himself, otherwise the bear girl wouldn't be so obsessed.

"Wuhah! You're eating without calling me, bad guy!"

From the natural lake within the Bear Clan's territory, a certain mermaid leaped out, landing right behind Ruby and wrapping her arms around his neck with a grievance-laden expression.

"Didn't you come out on your own?"

Ruby patted her arm to make her let go. Once they found a permanent settlement, Aqua had naturally followed along. Upon discovering the nature of this place, she had even puffed out her chest, proudly claiming to be the very first person from the entire Sea Clan to enter the Forest of Magical Beasts, as if she had achieved some bizarre milestone.

"There's alcohol!"

Aqua's attention locked instantly onto the liquor jar. With a flick of her fingers, the clear wine flowed backward out of the jar, trickling drop by drop straight into her mouth, leaving the bear girl nearby completely dumbfounded.

"Mm, mm, tastes good... Ah, why is that bear looking at me like she wants to eat me..."

Aqua drank every last drop of the wine with her mouth wide open. Noticing the jar was empty, she licked her lips with lingering satisfaction, only to suddenly feel an instinctive wave of murderous intent. The bear girl was already sharpening her claws.

"Probably because you snatched food right out of a bear's mouth."

Ruby offered her a look that said she was on her own. With a startled shriek, Aqua dove back into the lake. She hadn't forgotten how many bears had given her looks reserved for prey on her very first day here—after all, to the Bear Clan, humans and fish alike were merely items on the menu. Seeing this, Xiong Zhuangzhuang immediately plunged into the water in hot pursuit; catching fish was, after all, another specialty of the Bear Clan!

*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*

Just as Ruby and Moyona sat together enjoying this real-life version of *Battle Royale*, an uninvited guest slowly approached. An upright-walking member of the Bear Clan drew near, the sound coming from the walking cane gripped tightly in its paw. This cane had been specially modified so that even without human fingers, it remained firmly wedged within the palm.

Naturally, ordinary members of the Bear Clan wouldn't catch Ruby's eye, and at barely two meters tall, this bipedal bear wasn't particularly large by the clan's standards. However, its appearance was exceedingly peculiar: it was neither a brown bear nor a black bear, but a rare black-and-white variety. Its round head was mostly white, with black fur only around its ears and eye sockets, and its body shared the same striking black-and-white pattern. The very first time he saw this bear, Ruby had recognized its species, never expecting that a panda would somehow have infiltrated the Bear Clan of the Forest of Magical Beasts.

"Xiong Zhuangzhuang, where the hell have you been idling away?!"

On Earth, pandas were generally perceived as gentle, adorable creatures that survived by selling their cuteness, but the temper of the panda here was nothing short of explosive. It let out a roar toward the surface of the lake, sending a fine spray of saliva flying through the air as it bellowed.

"Elder, I'm right here!"

Xiong Zhuangzhuang, who had already clamped her hands around Aqua's neck and was moments away from sending her to meet the Water Goddess, immediately halted upon hearing the call. She swam swiftly back to the shore and stood respectfully before the panda.

"Shake yourself clean."

"Oh."

The bear girl obediently nodded, bent down with her hands pressed against the ground, and began violently shaking her entire body. The sight left Ruby utterly speechless, forcing him to fetch a towel to wipe off the excess water.

"When are you going to have cubs?"

The elder panda's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint as it posed the question in an extremely perilous tone.