Darwinian Anthem: Symphony of the Fittest

Liu Zhenhan conducted preliminary reconnaissance of the valley floor. The serene environment resonated with oriole-like birdsong from bamboo thickets. His attention fixated on a shadow-draped cavern amidst multiple cave openings - its jagged maw exuding predatory menace, airflow whispering through serrated limestone teeth. Combat-honed instincts recognized superior defensive positioning - elevated entrance permitting tactical advantage.

Precognitive unease electrified his spine.

From her aerial vantage, Helen witnessed her beloved contort into serpentine stealth, undulating across terrain with unnerving fluidity. The cavern's threshold radiated bestial musk - scattered feces resembling obsidian pagodas of oversized herbal pellets. Liu dissected fresher excrement with arrowhead, noting absence of vegetative matter. Enhanced olfactory receptors confirmed carnivorous spoor through nauseating inhalation.

Methodically, he smeared fecal matter across forehead, limbs, and torso - Guo Guo receiving equivalent camouflage. Stench-laden disguise completed, he hurled pebbles into the abyssal throat, pressing against stalagmite cover.

Clack... clatter...

Stone echoes died unanswered. Bow discarded, Liu's hyperacute hearing detected nasal exhalations synchronizing with Guo Guo's arrested breath.

Helen's panicked perspective shift above mirrored escalating tension.

Liu's blurring form vanished into darkness. Reemergence moments later brandishing three azure-furred cubs provoked Helen's gasp. The litter's exploratory sniffing had met surgical precision - knife-hand strike severing cervical vertebrae, twin cubs dispatched via spinal torsion.

Den inspection revealed hay-lined nest bearing indentation and cobalt guard hairs. Discarding carcasses, Liu frenetically wove thorned bramble armor amidst Helen's transformed anthem - no longer Spiritual Hymn's cadence but militant paean sharpening senses to preternatural clarity.

Air currents caressed nerve endings like braille. Bamboo foliage unveiled microscopic venation.

"Natural Ascension?" Liu marveled, recalling Helen's sermons about battlefield epiphanies unlocking advanced hymns.

Predatory howl shredded tranquility - metallic timbre vibrating coin-pure across the caldera. Combat frenzy surged through Liu's veins, "Blessing Hymn" transmuting caution into bloodlust.

Phantom bugle calls of forgotten charges propelled his charge through emerald corridors, until rationality reasserted at confrontation's edge.

Crouching behind berry shrubs, Liu's serpentine advance revealed battleground arena - concentric bamboo formation encircling nursing she-wolf confronting gargantuan chelonian.

Dual astonishments froze his breath.