The black-clad beast-girls were a patrol dispatched by a nearby village, tasked with searching for the remnants of the Empire of Saint Meow’s defeated soldiers.
However, they didn’t find any stragglers, but instead discovered an unparalleled treasure.
It was noon, the sun shining brightly. A stunningly beautiful young girl leaned against a tree, her skin so radiant it seemed to glow.
Her face was like a poem, her eyelashes like little fans, her pink lips slightly parted, inviting a fierce kiss that would leave her breathless.
So beautiful! She was incredibly beautiful! In their entire lives, they had never seen such a gorgeous girl!
The two black-clad beast-girls’ eyes were filled with astonishment; they were practically drooling.
Xing Lian saw the beast-girls’ stunned admiration clearly, and she felt terrified.
‘They saw me! I’ve been discovered!’
Xing Lian stood up nervously, her hands clenched into fists. She felt like hitting herself.
Was she stupid?
Even if she was exhausted, she shouldn’t have fallen asleep right on the roadside. It was so easy to be found here. She was going to die of her own stupidity!
Xing Lian was full of regret, but it was too late now.
Having encountered the black-clad beast-girls and having her face exposed, she couldn’t stay here. She had to run away immediately.
Xing Lian didn’t even bother with the small bundle at her feet. She turned and dashed into the dense forest by the roadside.
The beast-girls were stunned for a moment, then quickly gave chase.
Such a breathtaking beauty—they didn’t want to let her go. Whether they bullied her or offered her up as tribute, it would be a tremendous gain.
Seeing the beast-girls chasing her, Xing Lian grew even more panicked. She tapped into her physical potential and sprinted wildly through the woods.
“Don’t run! Stop right there!”
The black-clad beast-girls shouted behind her as she fled.
Xing Lian completely ignored them.
Only a fool would stop. She wasn’t about to give up.
The three of them continued the chase, but Xing Lian couldn’t hold out much longer.
She was physically weak—how could she possibly outrun two beast-girls? The distance between them was shrinking fast, and Xing Lian was terrified.
‘What do I do? What should I do now? They’re about to catch me!’
Xing Lian panicked, and that panic was disastrous.
Her focus wavered. She didn’t see the path ahead clearly. In front of her was a steep slope. Her foot caught on a tree root, and she stumbled, tumbling down the incline.
“Ahhh!”
Spinning head over heels, Xing Lian screamed in fear.
‘It’s over! It’s over!’
The slope was steep. She had no idea how badly she’d be hurt. Even if she didn’t die, she’d be crippled and easily caught.
Thinking of what would happen once they caught her, Xing Lian was overwhelmed with terror.
But soon, she no longer had the energy to be afraid.
She rolled dozens of times, dizzy and nauseous, unable to vomit.
She hadn’t eaten or drunk well in days, and her body was severely malnourished. The rolling actually made her pass out.
Once Xing Lian lost consciousness, she had no strength to resist. She rolled all the way to the bottom of the slope and crashed into a small ditch.
The ditch was filled with dry fallen leaves. Xing Lian’s body landed among them, and the leaves cushioned her fall.
Not only that, the leaves covered her body, making her invisible unless someone came close and looked carefully.
This all happened quickly. By the time the two black-clad beast-girls reached the steep slope, Xing Lian’s figure had already vanished.
“Where did she go?”
One beast-girl asked the other.
The other shook her head in confusion. They both walked down the slope.
If Xing Lian were an ordinary person, they wouldn’t bother searching. But she was too beautiful, and they didn’t want to give up.
The two beast-girls descended the slope, glanced around, and saw no one. They assumed that with her short legs, she couldn’t have run far and must be nearby.
Each beast-girl took one side. They passed right by Xing Lian several times, but they simply didn’t notice her.
After searching a few more times, they left in frustration, chasing deeper into the forest.
Xing Lian was completely unaware of all this.
She was still unconscious and wouldn’t wake for some time.
Time slowly passed, and soon it was night.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the small ditch. A hand emerged from the pile of dry leaves, and a pretty girl climbed out.
“Ugh, my head is spinning, my body hurts. Where am I?”
Xing Lian stood up unsteadily and rubbed her forehead.
A flood of memories rushed back. She remembered.
She had been too tired, fallen asleep by the road, encountered the black-clad beast-girls, stumbled while fleeing, and then…
‘And then I fell down here!’
Thinking this, Xing Lian immediately grasped her gemstone necklace.
A black-and-white perspective appeared. She saw no one around. She hadn’t been locked in a dark little room. This was actually a forest.
What happened?
She had clearly been knocked unconscious. They hadn’t captured her?
Xing Lian was baffled, but soon she understood.
She looked at the spot where she had been lying. It was a ditch filled with fallen leaves.
She had accidentally fallen into this spot, and her body was covered by the leaves, so they must not have taken her away.
Her luck was strange.
Sometimes good, sometimes bad. It was really tormenting.
Xin Lian sighed.
Although she felt annoyed, at least she hadn’t been caught. But…
‘What do I do now?’
Xing Lian looked around. She had run too hastily and didn’t know where she had ended up. It was already dark. Was she supposed to spend the night here?
After a few days in the wilderness, spending the night here wasn’t impossible. A campfire would make things much more comfortable and keep wild animals away.
But her bundle was gone. She couldn’t start a fire. She had no food either. What was she going to do when she got hungry?
Xing Lian was frantic.
But it was already late at night, and no matter how anxious she was, it wouldn’t help. To avoid being attacked by wild animals, she had to climb a tree and rough it for the night.
“Hup, hup.”
Xing Lian struggled up the tree, hugging the trunk miserably as she spent the night.
That night was a nightmare for Xing Lian.
She had been knocked out during the day, and now she wasn’t tired at all. She couldn’t fall asleep, so she just sat in the tree, bored, staring at the ground.
Cold winds swept through the forest, making her body shiver. It was unbearable in the tree, and she suffered quite a bit.
She barely managed to stay awake until the dead of night, finally feeling drowsy, and fell asleep with difficulty.
When morning came, Xing Lian couldn’t wait to get down from the tree. The moment she landed, her legs went weak, and she almost fell.
“Hiss, my legs are so weak and sore.”
Tears welled in Xing Lian’s eyes. She had suffered like this before, and now she was going through it again. It was all those two’s fault from yesterday!
Thinking of the black-clad beast-girls, Xing Lian gritted her teeth in hatred.
Ever since coming to this world, all the misfortune she had endured seemed to have something to do with these creatures. They were just too despicable.
After cursing them in her mind, Xing Lian rubbed her eyes and started considering what to do next.
Her original plan remained unchanged, but it would definitely be delayed. She had to think about survival first.
Xin Lian wanted to go back and find her small bundle—that had all the necessities for her survival.