Chapter 240
Chapter 240
Mateo was terrified. He pinched his arm–there was pain. This isn’t a dream. Could there really be such things as human–like bears in this world?
As more and more of them surrounded him, Mateo felt his courage shatter. He ran for his life, sprinting nonstop for two full hours–only to find himself right back where he’d started.
Among the group, an elderly bear let out a sigh and waved a paw at him, speaking human words, “Don’t be afraid, chill!”
Mateo collapsed to the ground and fainted.
When he came to, a few bear–creatures were looking down at him with concern. One of them brought over a ladle filled with spring water and said, “Drink, drink.”
Mateo took a few sips, thinking to himself. These bear–people don’t seem to want to hurt me. I should find out where this place is.
He tried communicating with them. Though the bear–people couldn’t speak fluently, they could get out a few simple words at a time.
It took an entire day before Mateo finally understood, these bears imitated humans in every way. The place was called the Bear Garden.
It spanned several dozen miles and was far removed from the mortal world–completely isolated. The person who had built it was long gone, but the bears remembered him fondly and honored his kindness by mimicking human behavior every day.
Mateo was quietly amazed. No wonder “The Hundredfold Maul” felt so lifelike. The artist must have visited this place.
As the only human in the Bear Garden, Mateo was treated like royalty. The bear–people adored him and honored him as their most esteemed guest.
Outwardly, Mateo acted kind and respectful, but deep down, he was scheming every moment. If I could bring one of these bear–people back to the mortal world and sell them to some noble, they’d fetch a fortune. These creatures are intelligent, they mimic human behavior and even speak. They’re rare beyond compare.
The bear–people had no idea what Mateo was thinking. Every day, they brought hun fruit and melons they had picked themselves, offering them up with utmost reverence, treating him like an honored guest./
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A full year passed.
By then, Mateo had figured out how to leave the Bear Garden. Beyond its borders lay the Cloudmist Mountains. If he leapt from the edge, he would return to the human world. Because the bear–people were so large, Mateo set his sights on two young cubs–just weaned, barely larger than human babies. By chance, one was male and the other female.
Lately, he had been telling them stories about the mortal world, painting it as a paradise full of delight. The cubs seemed to understand some of it; they spent every day and night at his side–eating, drinking, and sleeping together. Mateo waited for the right moment.
Late one night, he saw his chance. He scooped up one cub in each arm and ran nonstop to the edge of the Bear Garden. Below him, clouds rolled like waves. The little cubs were full of excitement, even chirping, “Go down, go down!”
Mateo let out a breathy laugh, tears of joy streaming down his face. After a whole year of putting up with those beasts, living like a prisoner, he was finally returning to the human world. Holding the cubs tightly, he leapt.
Wind howled past his ears. After an unknowable length of time, his feet touched solid ground.
He opened his eyes and saw he was back in his bedroom, facing away from “The Hundredfold Maul“. It all felt like a hazy dream.
In his arms, the two cubs slept soundly. Outside, dawn was breaking. His wife was still asleep beside him, and the view beyond the window was a peaceful scene after rain.
In that moment, he realized the truth–he had entered “The Hundredfold Maul” during that thunderstorm and spent a year in the Bear Garden, yet only one night had passed in the real world. He counted the bears in the painting again–two were missing.
“I’m going to be rich!” Mateo couldn’t contain his excitement as he looked down at the male and female cubs in his arms. They’ll breed… and each cub will sell for hundreds of silver taels. If that doesn’t happen, I’ll eat my hat!
From that day on, he kept the cubs locked in a cage.
At first, his wife and child were fascinated by them, spending all day hovering around the cage. But after a few days, the novelty wore off. They began to complain the hs were dull and dim–witted.
“They’re just a nagging wife and a clueless brat. What would they know!” Mateo snapped. “These things can talk like humans!” He tried to coax the cubs into speaking–but they just
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stared at him blankly, making guttural sounds. They didn’t even eat the food in their bowls, only sniffed at it.
Mateo slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “Of course! In the Bear Garden, they only ate fresh fruit and mountain spring water–they’ve never touched the coarse grains and greasy food of the human world. No wonder they’re not adjusting
He couldn’t afford to be careless. To him, these cubs were walking fortunes.
So he went to the market and bought fresh fruits to feed them.
His fr
had never been wealthy, and their savings were limited. As the cubs grew, their appetites became monstrous. It wasn’t long before Mateo was scraping the bottom of the barrel. His wife cried and yelled every day, accusing him of losing his mind and treating those beasts better than his own father. Mateo called her ignorant and insisted the cubs could talk.
No one in the neighborhood believed him.
Six months dragged by. The cubs grew as large as pigs. Mateo talked to them daily, but strangely enough, ever since returning to the mortal world, they hadn’t said a single word.
One day, frustrated beyond measure, Mateo whipped the cubs and cursed, “You useless dumb brutes–cating and sleeping all day and not saying a word! What use are you?”
In that moment of carelessness, one of the cubs bit down on his hand–so deep, the bone was visible. He applied medicine, but the wound didn’t heal. Soon, his entire arm turned dark purple and black, the infection had poisoned his blood.
