Chapter 22: The Exploding Dumpling

As they made their way toward White Bear Mountain, the group faced a fierce blizzard. Su He, already weakened from waking up recently and having exhausted himself healing Tuan Zi along the journey, was reaching his physical limit.

Seeing Su He pale and on the verge of collapse, Briar hauled him onto his back. "Little He, let me carry you up the mountain."

"Thank you so much, Su He. Even with such heavy injuries, you insisted on accompanying Tuan Zi and me up the mountain. And we must thank you too, Tiki and Babu."

Tiki scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh, the hard work is really all on Briar and Su He. Babu and I are just tagging along."

"No need to thank me, Bramble. We’re friends, after all, and protecting Tuan Zi is my responsibility."

Briar, while carrying Su He, asked with curiosity, "Little He, what exactly happened to you before? Why do you possess such mysterious powers? And how do you know so much about Tuan Zi?"

Su He spoke softly, recounting the events. "During the New Year’s party, I fell into a mysterious cave where I met a white snake born of spiritual energy."

"Due to excessive logging by humans over the years, the spiritual energy here has become increasingly thin, and the snake was fading away. He asked me to help Tuan Zi, as Tuan Zi was his benefactor long ago. Before he vanished, he passed all his abilities on to me."

Su He turned to look at Tuan Zi. "Tuan Zi, I don’t know if you recognize him, but I want you to remember him. He spent so many years wanting to repay you, but never had the chance."

"No, it’s not that he didn't have the chance; he simply transferred that opportunity to me, letting me fulfill his wish. But now, I’m not just fulfilling his wish; I’m doing it to help my own friends."

Tuan Zi listened, deep in thought. Suddenly, a lively, adorable little white spirit snake emerged from the horns on its head—the white snake as it appeared when it was young.

Su He smiled, thinking to himself, "Do you see, Master White Snake? Tuan Zi has always remembered you."

"So you discovered all these amazing things, Su He? Why didn't you tell us back then?"

"Oh, Tiki, would you have believed it? You were the one mocking Bramble for hallucinating about a big white bear, remember? Hahaha!"

Bramble added with a touch of pride, "Exactly! None of you believed me back then. And you, Briar, you even scolded me!"

"Uh, sorry about that, Bramble. I was just too anxious at the time."

Before long, the group continued their journey, chatting and laughing while supporting Tuan Zi.

Meanwhile, down at the mountain base, Vick was dismantling parts inside a train. "I’m telling you, such a big train, how is it that there isn't a single useful part?"

Suddenly, he heard the sound of vehicles approaching, followed by the voice of the southern profiteer.

"Everyone, grab your weapons! We’re heading up the mountain!"

"Up the mountain? This is White Bear Mountain!"

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If we don't capture them now, it will be a constant headache in the future." Hearing this, the group armed themselves and began the ascent.

Inside the train, Vick peered through a gap and saw the group heading up. He grew frantic. "Oh no, Briar, Bramble, and Su He are in danger! What should I do?"

"Hey, the car can't go any further, just park it here."

Hearing this, Vick’s eyes lit up. "I’ve got an idea!" Taking advantage of the group’s departure, he snuck over to the vehicle and began dismantling its parts.

Up on the mountain, the group finally reached the summit.

"Briar, Bramble, look!" Su He pointed at the breathtaking scenery. "This is the White Bear Holy Pool."

Tiki and Babu slid down the slope, and Tuan Zi slowly followed.

"Hey, Tuan Zi, wait for me!"

Briar gently set Su He down. "Careful now, Little He."

"Don't worry, Briar, I'm fine." The two of them followed as well.

Once they reached the bottom, Bramble looked at the massive stones and their patterns. "These patterns are exactly like the ones in my dreams."

The group gathered in the center. Suddenly, the stone in Bramble’s backpack began to glow. Like a switch being flipped, ice-blue fish emerged from the ground, swirling past the bears and converging on Tuan Zi and Su He.

"Is this the spiritual energy of White Bear Mountain? It’s so powerful! I can feel my body recovering rapidly," Su He marveled at the speed of the restoration.

"Su He, are they healing you?"

"Yes, exactly. I feel fully recovered, and I’m absorbing even more energy."

But the peace was short-lived. A gunshot startled the fish, and Tuan Zi, not yet fully recovered, collapsed to the ground.

"Catch them! Don't let them escape!"

A group of people on skis descended from the summit, surrounding Tuan Zi and casting ropes over it.

Seeing this, Su He immediately used his powers to drive them back.

The southern profiteer, prepared for this, ordered his men to fire thermal shells at Su He.

"White Scale Shield! Ice Storm!"

Su He condensed a white scale barrier to block the impact and unleashed an ice storm to scatter the shells.

"Ice Arrows!" With a flick of his hands, dozens of arrows manifested and shot toward the attackers.

The cunning profiteer grabbed Tiki and held him up as a human shield.

Seeing Tiki, Su He had to clench his fists, causing the arrows to dissipate mid-air. In that split second, the two henchmen fired their stun guns, hitting Su He in the neck and pressing the triggers.

"Aaaah!"

"Su He! You scoundrels, I’ll fight you to the death!" Tiki scratched at the profiteer, only to be met with a harsh slap.

"Stay still!" The profiteer took out a stun gun and aimed it at Tuan Zi. Bramble, who had been pinned down by the henchmen, broke free and charged over.

"No, Tuan Zi!" Bramble shielded Tuan Zi, taking the full force of the electric shock, and collapsed in pain.

Watching Su He and Bramble get hurt repeatedly to protect it, memories of their time together flashed through Tuan Zi's mind. Overcome with fury, Tuan Zi stopped suppressing its anger and let it erupt. It would make these people pay for hurting its friends.

Briar ran over to help Bramble up. As he looked at Tuan Zi, who was growing larger and larger, he could only watch in awe.