Chapter 43: Wolfdog
Seeing the bear coming straight over, Beisitian knew it looked like a life-or-death struggle was unavoidable.
Actually, there was another way: wait until the wolf in the cave died and throw its body out. Maybe the bear would leave then, but thinking about the she-wolf already having cubs, Beisitian felt it would be too cruel to do that.
A healer’s compassion, this was what her master taught her when she became an apprentice.
To humans and to animals alike.
This compassion is not foolish; in situations like this, if it truly came down to it, she could only choose this to save herself. She couldn’t risk her life for a wolf.
But for now, it hadn’t reached that point. Considering the cubs inside the she-wolf, Beisitian decided to wait and see for the time being.
A wolf in front and a bear behind, the current situation wasn’t good. Beisitian had experienced more perilous situations before, so she wasn’t panicked, remaining calm and composed.
The current plan was to wait out the bear and see who outlasted whom.
The bear approached near the cave, circled around a couple of times, seemingly realizing it couldn’t get inside, and let out a few low growls, appearing somewhat agitated.
Beisitian retreated to a safe distance, even if the bear extended its paw in, it couldn’t reach her.
Soon after, the bear did indeed stretch its paw inside, clawing the ground and leaving deep marks.
For safety’s sake, Beisitian always held the talisman powder in her hand. Sprinkling this on an animal would cause it intense burning pain, and its fur would suffer large-scale burns. It’s highly lethal to both humans and animals, one of the talisman powders she frequently used in the mountains.