Harris and his loyal followers, convinced by his reasoning, quietly found excuses and slipped out of the refuge cave.
As for Happy, nobody knew where he was, and Harlan searched everywhere but couldn't find a single trace.
"Strange, he shouldn't have gone far," Harlan muttered to himself. He had already searched the area thoroughly and could only retrace his steps, hoping to spot some sign of Happy.
In a patch of snow, a demon shrouded in black qi lay hidden, rising slowly only after Harlan left. "Strange, how did he know I was here?" he muttered.
This was none other than Black Mountain Imp. But thinking about Harlan's words, he felt something was off. "Did someone from their tribe come out?"
Black Mountain Imp considered for a moment. He’d already forced the tribe to hide in the cave, so they should be restless by now. Yet there was no movement, so he decided to wait nearby. Unexpectedly, he saw Harlan come out to the perimeter.
Curious, he took out a mirror. When activated, it showed the scene outside the bear demons’ cave as if he were there himself. With a wave of his hand, the images rewound, showing a group of bears coming out, and earlier, Harlan leaving.
Seeing Harlan hurry out, Black Mountain Imp rewound the scene further. After a while, he saw that Happy had secretly slipped out earlier.
"So the kid snuck out. Let’s see where you can hide," Black Mountain Imp snorted. He waved his hand, shrinking the image but expanding the visible area.
Black Mountain Imp watched as Happy walked but didn’t go far, instead heading to a large pile of stones and hiding among them.
Interesting. Since you delivered him, I won't be polite," Black Mountain Imp sneered. But remembering Harlan had just left and was searching for Happy, he held back and hid himself in the snow.
After leading his group out, Harris said, "Go check the places he usually visits. If you find anything, let me know." The bear demons nodded.
At that moment, Happy was hiding in a pile of stones, surrounded by boulders, tucked beneath an especially well-hidden one, muttering to himself.
Uncle probably can't find me here, right? Happy sighed.
At that moment, he just wanted to hide far away so Harlan and the others couldn't find him. But knowing his abilities were limited, he realized going too far would make him easier to spot, so he chose a nearby, well-hidden place.
This place was actually one of Happy's favorite spots. Harris often supervised Happy and knew about it, so he led the bear demons there and had everyone search.
Happy, bored and unwilling to go out, closed his eyes to cultivate and pass the time, completely unaware that a group of bear demons were searching for him among the scattered stones.
Eventually, a bear demon sensed someone cultivating nearby. Approaching, he discovered Happy and was overjoyed, rushing back to report. Harris, still frowning over not finding Happy, knew that if they didn't get him soon, they'd be in trouble when Harlan returned.
Time passed bit by bit until a bear demon came up to Harris, smiling, "Found him."
Oh? Where? Harris asked excitedly.