“Um… I have nowhere to go. Could I stay at your hiding place for a few days?”
Xing Lian didn’t want to say that. Having been saved by them, she felt ashamed to continue troubling them.
But reality didn’t allow her to save face, so she asked with a red face.
“Of course! You sure can!”
Heimao Lulu nodded eagerly.
“Big sister coming to our home is what we’ve been hoping for!”
The little yellow cat nodded excitedly, and the little white cat did the same.
The adults had told the little ones not to trust strangers and not to bring strangers back casually.
But Xing Lian was too beautiful, and the three little ones had poor self-control, completely bewitched by her looks.
With such a stunning appearance, she must be kind-hearted, so it was fine to bring her back.
And so, the three little cats led Xing Lian on their way.
Although they didn’t often live in the forest, the cat clan was agile, moving through the forest as if on flat ground.
Xing Lian, however, was not like that. She often had to make the three little ones wait, and she even despised herself a little.
‘So useless. I’m really too useless.’
Xing Lian muttered in her heart, feeling she had no face to show.
Fortunately, this situation didn’t last too long.
A little over an hour later.
The three little cat girls led Xing Lian into a gorge.
The gorge was a narrow slit in the terrain. After entering, they walked for about ten minutes, and then the view suddenly opened up.
The grass was lush, wildflowers bloomed everywhere, and a babbling brook was like a gem-studded ribbon adorned with silver light, shimmering in the sun as it gently wound forward.
Xing Lian’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t expected such a hidden paradise beyond the gorge.
“We’re back!”
Lulu, Shasha, and Xiaobai returned to their temporary dwelling, shouting loudly and waving enthusiastically to their companions.
“What have you three been up to? You were gone so long.”
Seeing the three little ones return, an adult cat girl came over and asked.
“We caught a really big prey, no less than what you guys catch! And we also saved a little fairy.”
Lulu’s small face was full of excitement as she recounted their adventure.
Xing Lian lowered her head, silently listening to the three little ones’ story, feeling very nervous.
Although she knew these people were civilians, not the black-clad cat girls who would kill casually.
But she was too beautiful, and she didn’t know their backgrounds; she always worried they might harm her.
She thought about tearing a piece off her skirt to cover her face, but upon second thought, it seemed inappropriate.
With the two countries at war and the tense situation, covering her face would be too suspicious and easily draw attention. If she were mistaken for a villain, that would be bad.
Xing Lian’s mind raced with random thoughts.
After listening to the three little ones’ story, the adult cat girl turned to look at Xing Lian.
A little fairy? There was no such thing as a fairy in this world. Could this person be a liar?
The adult cat girl didn’t think Xing Lian was a spy, because they were all ordinary people, not worth sending a spy to. She just thought Xing Lian was here to freeload.
After all, she had just heard that this person had eaten quite a bit of the little ones’ good food.
“I understand why you’re here, but sorry, our place…”
Before she could finish, Xing Lian interrupted.
“Please let me stay. I really have nowhere to go. I can do anything.”
Hearing that this person intended to drive her away, Xing Lian panicked. She stopped worrying and pulled out her trump card, looking up with tearful eyes at the adult cat.
Xing Lian was already breathtakingly beautiful; even with a blank expression, she could captivate anyone. Now, deliberately displaying her charm, the adult cat girl was instantly entranced.
‘A little fairy! She really saw a little fairy!’
The adult cat’s mouth fell open. She no longer intended to drive her away, and stammered as she invited Xing Lian in.
Seeing this, Xing Lian breathed a sigh of relief and entered the cat girls’ camp.
The cat girls were all civilians who had gathered here from nearby villages to take refuge. A quick glance showed quite a few, at least one to two hundred people.
With that many people together, tents and small wooden huts were everywhere, making the place look very lively.
“Lulu, you’re back! Did you encounter any danger? Did you catch anything?”
“Lulu, you’re still a child. Don’t go deep into the forest.”
“Lulu caught prey again! She’s really amazing.”
As they walked, Xing Lian overheard all these praises.
She hadn’t expected this little one behind her to be such a celebrity.
The three little ones led Xing Lian to the center of the camp, handed the prey to several adult cat girls, and then took her hand and walked toward a small wooden hut.
The hut was very small and looked brand new, probably built not long ago.
Xing Lian glanced at it, but quickly lost interest because an elderly cat woman came out and chatted with the three little ones.
From their conversation, Xing Lian gathered that the elderly cat woman seemed to be the village chief, who could decide whether she could stay.
The three little ones exchanged a few words with the elderly cat woman, then came over to Xing Lian.
“You want to stay here?”
“Yes, I have nowhere to go. I can do whatever work I’m capable of. I won’t freeload.”
Xing Lian’s dull green eyes were full of hope, and her small fists were clenched nervously.
When the elderly cat woman saw Xing Lian’s face, a flash of amazement passed through her eyes.
She felt that Xing Lian’s face would bring trouble, but she couldn’t bear to send her away.
“If you don’t mind this humble place, then stay here.”
“I don’t mind! I don’t mind at all!”
Xing Lian shook her head excitedly.
She was about to lose her life; how could she have the mind to mind such things?
The elderly cat woman nodded, then called over a cat girl. They exchanged a few words and pointed at Xing Lian.
The young cat girl looked at Xing Lian with burning eyes, then led her to a small wooden hut.
“You’ll live here from now on.”
“What? I get a wooden hut?”
Xing Lian was very surprised.
It wasn’t that she thought the hut was too shabby—quite the opposite, she thought it was too good.
By her usual standards, of course a wooden hut would be very crude, but this was the wilderness.
Everyone else was living in tents or huts. Compared to tents, a wooden hut was undoubtedly much better.
She, an outsider who had just arrived, could live in such a nice place?
“That’s right, it’s for you. We originally planned to assign you to a tent, but the village chief decided it wasn’t safe enough.”
Not safe enough? What did that mean?
Xing Lian scratched her head, then noticing the burning gaze of the cat girl in front of her, suddenly understood.
Tents had no doors. Anyone could enter as they pleased. She was so beautiful; what if someone sneaked in at night?
A wooden hut was different. At least it had a door.
Understanding the village chief’s intention, Xing Lian felt very grateful.
She thanked the cat girl a few times, and the cat girl reluctantly left.
After the cat girl left, Xing Lian plopped down onto the bed in the small wooden hut and let out a long sigh of relief.
‘Safe. For now, I’m safe.’
Having been saved after collapsing and finding a group, Xing Lian felt very happy.
She rested on the bed for a while, then looked around the room.
The small wooden hut wasn’t big, only a few square meters. Besides the small bed, there was only a low table and nothing else.
Six seven is missing.