Sylvie paused for a moment, processing what Shen Yibin had said. She shrugged. "Beavers are a bit timid. It’s perfectly normal for it to run away after seeing so many of us. So, are we going to try and catch it now?"
"Excuse me." The older Royal Guard, a local, spoke up again. "Beaver lodge entrances are usually underwater. Even if we find it, we won’t be able to get it out. Besides, it’s getting late. Why don’t we head back for now and come back tomorrow? We can wait for it to come out and catch it then."
"Bin, what do you think?" Sylvie turned to look at Shen Yibin. She was inclined to follow the expert’s advice, but she wasn’t sure how much of a hurry Shen Yibin was in.
"Let’s head back for now, then. Coming back tomorrow will be fine." It was only a one-day delay, which Shen Yibin could afford. So, they packed up their things, re-entered the forest, and followed Xiaoliu toward the helicopter. About an hour later, they boarded the helicopter and took to the sky.
"There’s a castle nearby that I own privately," Sylvie said casually. "We can rest and resupply there. That way, we can get an earlier start tomorrow."
’A private castle? You nobles sure know how to live.’ Shen Yibin didn’t say anything. He just closed his eyes, leaned back in his seat, and thought about how he was going to medicate the beaver tomorrow.
About half an hour later, the helicopter landed in front of an ancient castle. The staff there had already been notified and welcomed Sylvie’s group inside, serving them a delicious meal. A dedicated team went to maintain and refuel the helicopter. It seemed helicopters were frequent visitors here.
Everyone was a bit tired after walking in the forest for so long, so they all went to their rooms to rest after dinner. Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, they flew back to yesterday’s location.
Once they reached the designated spot, Shen Yibin and the others disembarked from the helicopter and followed the same path as yesterday toward the river bend. When they were about five hundred meters from their destination, they slowed their pace. This time, they didn’t want to scare the beaver again, so they decided to sneak up on it.
As they neared the edge of the forest, Shen Yibin crouched down, lying flat on the ground. He gently pushed aside the branches in front of him and peeked out. He spotted an otter lazing on the same tree the beaver had felled yesterday, sunbathing. Below, the Sokovia River flowed slowly by.
’Heh, this little guy sure knows how to enjoy life. That’s a prime waterfront viewing deck!’ Shen Yibin shook his head with a smile and continued searching for the beaver. Before he could look for long, he heard that familiar CREAKING GNAWING sound again. He instinctively ducked his head back, afraid of being hit by a falling tree.
But this time he was hidden in the forest; the tree couldn’t fall on him here. Once he realized this, he poked his head out again, just in time to see a large tree slowly toppling toward the otter. The unlucky creature didn’t have time to dodge and was knocked into the Sokovia River by the treetop.
’If we hadn’t reacted so quickly yesterday, we probably would have ended up just like that poor thing, right?’ Shen Yibin couldn’t help but feel sorry for the otter. A moment later, the otter’s head popped back up from the Sokovia River. It chittered unhappily in the direction of the fallen tree before swimming downstream.
’Good, it’s okay. It would have been a real shame if it had been crushed to death by the tree.’ Seeing the little guy was unharmed, Shen Yibin relaxed. He continued to look toward where the tree had fallen, but even after watching for a while, he saw no sign of the beaver. ’Where on earth did it go? Logically, shouldn’t it start processing the wood after felling the tree?’
After another ten minutes of searching, there was still no sign of the beaver. But then Xiaoliu, who was in a tree, started CHIRPING excitedly, as if warning Shen Yibin. Shen Yibin quickly looked in the direction it was pointing and saw a cute little brown bear ambling their way. ’Could the beaver have run off to hide from it?’
"Your Highness, please step back." A brown bear was a dangerous animal. The two Royal Guards immediately tensed up, drawing their pistols. This instantly displeased Hah’Er, who felt a sort of kinship with the brown bear and naturally didn’t want anyone to attack it. Of course, the two Royal Guards were just being cautious. They wouldn’t act rashly unless the brown bear attacked them first.
The little brown bear ambled around for a bit, but it didn’t seem to find any prey. It then started climbing a tree with a HUFF and a PUFF, as if it wanted to get a better vantage point to search. Despite its clumsy appearance, it was a fast climber, reaching the top in no time. Watching it, Hah’Er also started to get antsy, as if it wanted to challenge the bear to a tree-climbing contest.
The brown bear hugged the trunk, craning its neck to look around, peering this way and that. Shen Yibin quickly pushed Hah’Er’s head down. ’We’re here to catch the beaver, let’s not complicate things. If this brown bear spots us, it’ll cause another scene.’ Shen Yibin wasn’t worried about getting hurt himself, but if it scared away the beaver, today would be another wasted trip, which just wasn’t worth it.
’Huh? Why is this tree leaning? Is the brown bear too heavy, bending it?’ Shen Yibin watched as the large tree slowly began to topple toward the Sokovia River. The terrified brown bear clung tightly to the trunk, but it was no use. Following in the otter’s footsteps, the brown bear also fell into the river.
’It couldn’t be that beaver again, could it?’ Shen Yibin subconsciously glanced at the base of the tree. There, the chubby beaver was perched on the gnawed stump, gazing into the distance. It, too, seemed a bit confused as to why a bear had just fallen into the river. Apparently, it hadn’t noticed the brown bear up in the tree while it was busy logging.
Shen Yibin couldn’t help but facepalm. ’Sigh, just look at the mess you’ve made. Yesterday you nearly took us out. Today, in just a short time, you’ve already sent an otter and a brown bear into the river. If those two couldn’t swim, they probably would have drowned.’
And another thing—he hadn’t noticed it yesterday, but today, as Shen Yibin looked more closely, he saw tree stumps gnawed by the beaver everywhere. As far as the eye could see, the count was already in the double digits.
’This little guy doesn’t just bully other animals, it’s also a reckless logger. A true forest destroyer! If I let you stay here, you’ll probably clear-cut this entire forest in no time. For the sake of Sokovia’s ecological balance, I guess I’ll just have to take you to my shop!’
Seeing the little creature now completely engrossed in tackling another tree, Shen Yibin made a hand signal and began to sneak quietly toward the beaver. Xiaoliu also hobbled along behind him.