The black snake was pushed to the ground.
Xing Lian didn’t dare stay there any longer and hurriedly crawled out of the tree hollow.
Seeing her leave, the black snake tried to follow, but Xing Lian didn’t want that.
If it weren’t a snake but some other cute little animal, then following was fine, but a snake was a no-go.
She was terrified of those things.
After leaving the tree hollow, Xing Lian had nowhere to go. She stumbled around aimlessly.
She didn’t know where this place was, didn’t know where to go. Xing Lian felt completely lost.
She treaded unsteadily through the forest, desperately hoping Yue Li would suddenly appear and take her away from this place.
But an hour passed, two hours…
Nothing. Yue Li didn’t appear. Xing Lian felt scared.
Though she could see now, her body was no better than an ordinary person’s. She had zero wilderness survival experience and couldn’t survive in the forest at all.
What should she do? What was she supposed to do now?
After walking for so long, Xing Lian felt exhausted. She had just slept, but now she wanted to sleep again.
The sky was getting dark. The sun sank in the west, and the forest gradually dimmed.
Xing Lian panicked.
There was no one else around. Spending a night alone in the forest was something she had never experienced before.
Knowing the forest was dangerous, Xing Lian wanted to start a fire, but she couldn’t.
She had no flint, and no strength to rub sticks together to make fire. She could only spend the night in darkness.
To avoid being attacked by wild animals while asleep, she had to struggle to climb up a tree trunk, hoping to safely spend the night there.
Xing Lian was lucky—no beasts came all night, but she was tormented by mosquitoes and bugs.
When she woke up the next day, her whole body ached and felt sore.
She was used to sleeping on a soft, large bed, or at least in Yue Li’s warm embrace. How could she endure this kind of misery?
Not sleeping well and feeling listless—that wasn’t even the worst part.
Yesterday, because of fleeing for her life, she hadn’t eaten all day. Now she was starving, her stomach constantly growling.
“So hungry.”
Since coming to this world, she had never been this hungry. Xing Lian’s mouth kept watering.
There were wild beasts in the forest, but she had no strength to hunt and no way to start a fire. Eating meat was impossible.
Xing Lian wanted to look around for wild fruit or something else.
But after wandering through the forest, she didn’t find any fruit—not even a piece of peel.
“So hungry. I want to eat something.”
Xing Lian sat on the ground listlessly. With no food for a long time, she had no energy. Luckily, the trip hadn’t been completely fruitless—she found a small stream.
With nothing to eat, she had to rely on drinking water to stave off hunger.
But water didn’t fill her stomach, and she felt terrible.
Sitting by the small stream, Xing Lian had no mood to play in the water. She frowned, lost in thought.
Separated from Yue Li, not knowing where she was, with her physical condition and survival experience, getting out was as hard as reaching the sky.
Surviving on her own was impossible. She could only hope Yue Li would find her in time.
If she couldn’t…
Xing Lian bit her lip, knowing what her fate would be.
“How did things end up like this?”
After mulling it over for a while, she couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.
Just a day ago, she had everything she needed—good food and drink. Now, a day later, she faced a life-or-death crisis. Truly, only by becoming strong herself could she obtain true stability.
Xing Lian lowered her eyes and sighed. The more she thought, the more upset she became, and her mind drifted.
Forest, stream, desperate situation…
All these things piled up, and Xing Lian suddenly remembered the time she had first transmigrated.
Back then, she was just like now—sitting by a stream, quietly waiting for fate to arrive.
But then, she had been willing. Now, she was extremely unwilling.
Being tenderly cared for by Fei and Xing Lian had made her understand the value of life. How could she be willing to die?
But…
Even if she was unwilling, what could she do? She had no way to survive on her own.
Similar circumstances—she wondered if a similar encounter would happen.
A sudden delusion rose in Xing Lian’s heart.
It had been so long since they separated. Had Fei given up looking for her? If she hadn’t, hopefully she would come take her away now.
Thinking this, she couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at herself.
Was she crazy? She was only thinking about impossible things.
Rather than hoping for Fei, who might be anywhere, she might as well hope for Yue Li, since the chance of her finding her was greater.
Xing Lian sat by the stream, staring blankly. Her bottom grew numb from sitting, and she couldn’t bear it anymore. She finally stood up to leave.
But as soon as she turned around, she froze in place. The grass rustled in the distance, and a small creature darted out of the thicket.
That was…
Fei?
No. She rubbed her eyes and found it was a little fox.
Ever since she got the gemstone necklace and could see the world, Xing Lian had learned various common knowledge under Yue Li’s guidance using books, so she recognized it at once.
The little fox was very cute, but it was just a fox, not Fei, not even a beast girl.
Still, it was quite a coincidence.
When she was in a desperate situation, she met a fox by a stream. Back then, a big fox had saved her. Now, a little fox…
No, no, that was absolutely impossible!
Xing Lian shook her head, thinking she was overthinking things.
But then…
Something incredible happened.
The little white fox didn’t run away upon seeing her. Instead, it walked over and circled around her feet.
After a few circles, it extended its cute little paw and tugged at her skirt.
Xing Lian didn’t understand.
Seeing that Xing Lian didn’t move, the little fox tugged again with its paw and made a “chirp chirp” sound.
At such a human-like display, Xing Lian tried talking to it.
“Little guy, what do you want?”
The little white fox tilted its head at her words, its eyes innocent and confused. After a moment of hesitation, it tugged at her skirt again.
The little one didn’t understand her. It seemed it wasn’t a beast girl or any magical monster. Xing Lian found it even stranger.
Seeing that Xing Lian still didn’t react, the little fox scratched its head with its paw, as if thinking of something. It bit her skirt hem, then let go and walked toward the grass, turning back to look at her as it went.
This was…
Xing Lian looked bewildered.
The little fox repeated this action several times, and Xing Lian finally understood.
“You want me to follow you?”
The little white fox, whether it understood or not, chirped twice and hopped around on the ground.
Xing Lian was amused.
Though she didn’t know what the little one wanted, staying there was useless. Might as well follow and see.
The little white fox led the way, and Xing Lian followed behind.
Though the white fox was small, it moved quickly, occasionally stopping to wait for her.
Xing Lian followed the little fox for about ten minutes until they reached a large tree.
The tree was lush and thick, several meters in diameter, with roots intertwined and gnarled.
The little white fox slipped into a hole beneath the roots and came out shortly, holding a jade-green branch in its mouth.
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