To earn money, she needed to work, and work required showing her face. She was so beautiful and had no means of self-protection. What if someone harassed her or forced her?
She could use a veil to cover her face, but wearing a veil while working would look strange no matter what.
Even if she was thick-skinned and didn’t care, what about people’s curiosity? What if they tore it off, or her appearance was exposed for some other reason?
The more Xing Lian thought about it, the more uneasy she became.
Her stunning beauty was like a time bomb, ready to blow her to pieces at any moment. If she didn’t have this face, if she were disfigured…
She spaced out, touching her smooth, soft cheek.
Her skin was delicate. Picking up a small stone would easily solve the problem.
But the moment her fingers touched the stone, she jerked back as if shocked, throwing it away.
No, no! How could she think like that? She couldn’t do that!
A beautiful appearance was a gift from heaven. Not cherishing it was one thing, but she even thought about destroying it.
Xing Lian felt she had gone crazy!
Although her stunning face brought many troubles, it also brought many benefits.
For example, when she first crossed over, she was attacked by a tentacle monster. If not for this face, why would Fei have saved her?
Without this face, she would likely have been done for!
The same went for Yue Li.
If she had been ordinary-looking, would Yue Li have treated her so well?
Besides, Xing Lian didn’t have the heart to do it either.
Having become a girl and seen her own reflection, she liked herself too much to go through with it.
There was another reason too.
Xing Lian had lacked love since childhood. After being so carefully cared for and doted on by Fei and Yue Li, she thoroughly enjoyed that feeling.
If she lost her looks, what if they no longer liked her?
She didn’t want to think of them as superficial, but the reality was that she wasn’t outstanding. The only thing she could really offer was this face.
Xing Lian didn’t want to gamble, and she dared not.
Though she was separated from them and might never see them again, what if? What if they met again?
And even if they didn’t, keeping this face was still very useful.
If she couldn’t find a job and had nothing to eat, she could still rely on her looks to get by.
Relying on her looks might mean getting bullied, but if she lost her life, why care about that?
Xing Lian didn’t want much. She just wanted a place to belong, someone to love her, a warm home. Even plain tea and simple food would be acceptable.
She daydreamed, and a smile couldn’t help but appear on her face.
She couldn’t ruin her face. That meant she had to cover it. When meeting people, she must wear a veil, or smear some dirt on it.
Although smearing dirt might roughen her skin, perhaps because of the blessing of crossing over, her skin had always been good, as if naturally beautiful.
Having made her decision, Xing Lian didn’t waste time. She found her direction and started traveling.
She didn’t choose the safe, dense forest but took the main road.
The forest terrain was rugged, and with her frail body, she couldn’t go far.
Though traveling along the main road was dangerous, it was faster and made it easier to find villages.
Her thinking was correct. After only a few hours of walking, she came across a village. But the village was billowing with thick smoke, houses burned down, and the villagers were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing this, Xing Lian’s heart sank.
The village was destroyed. This trip had been for nothing.
Feeling unwilling to give up, she wandered around the village a few times.
She found some unburned food and replenished her water, which lifted her spirits a little.
Afraid that those who destroyed the village might return, Xing Lian didn’t stay long in the abandoned village before hitting the road again.
That day, aside from restocking supplies, she found nothing else.
Time passed to the next day.
Xing Lian ate breakfast and continued on.
After walking for a few hours, she found another small village.
But the moment she saw it, her steps froze, and she quickly hid in the grass.
The small village was filled with black smoke and flickering shadows. Many black-clad beast-girls were wandering around.
Seeing these black-clad beast-girls, Xing Lian trembled with fear.
Her luck was bad. She had run into these guys again.
Before they noticed her, Xing Lian carefully backed away. After retreating a certain distance, she turned and ran, sprinting in the opposite direction.
She ran for about ten minutes before gradually stopping.
This experience made her heart even heavier.
Black-clad beast-girls were everywhere, corpses were everywhere. Where could she be safe?
Xing Lian sighed, kicked a small stone by the roadside, felt a little hungry, ate some dried meat, drank some water, and then continued on.
And so, she walked for two days on foot.
During those two days, she found many towns and villages, but her luck was simply terrible.
These places were either burned down or occupied by black-clad beast-girls.
Xing Lian didn’t dare to contact the black-clad beast-girls or enter these villages. She could only wander in the wild.
She had little food left and was almost out of supplies.
Besides running out of food, her body could barely hold up.
Xing Lian’s body was much weaker than an ordinary person’s. With two days of poor rest and not enough to eat, she grew worse and worse. Even the soles of her delicate feet had blistered.
She had never suffered like this. Soon she couldn’t bear it anymore, and her face was clouded with worry.
How much longer did she have to walk? Were all the nearby villages destroyed and occupied?
The more she thought, the more anxious she became.
That day, she couldn’t walk any further. She found a random tree by the roadside, sat down, and leaned against the trunk with her eyes closed to rest.
Xing Lian knew resting by the road wasn’t good. It was easy to be spotted, and if a passing beast-girl found her, she’d be in danger.
But she hadn’t encountered anyone in a few days, and she was too exhausted to move, unwilling to budge.
Just rest a little. A little while.
She decided to rest for ten minutes, then set off again.
But as soon as her eyes closed, they felt terribly heavy, and she didn’t want to open them.
Reason told Xing Lian she couldn’t fall asleep here, but her body’s instincts were irresistible.
So sleepy, so tired, wanting to rest…
Her eyelids were unbearably heavy, her mind grew hazy, and before she knew it, she lost consciousness.
When Xing Lian woke again, she didn’t know how long had passed. She didn’t bother thinking about it, just frowned softly.
What was that sound?
She opened her eyes groggily. Everything was pitch black, and she couldn’t see a thing. She wasn’t panicked at all, and reached out to grip the gemstone necklace.
The necklace was activated, and her chest grew warm.
The next moment.
Everything around her appeared in her mind, and Xing Lian’s body froze.
Not far from her, about ten meters away, two black-clad beast-girls had appeared out of nowhere, staring at her in surprise.