Beast World: A Fragile Beauty Blessed with Many Children-Chapter 27 - 26: Father Said to Go, Don’t Look Back

Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Father Said to Go, Don’t Look Back

In her haste to find a hiding spot, she had been focused on listening to the commotion outside while quickly growing a woven cage to hide in. She hadn’t noticed at all that a Beastman was already hiding here!

No doubt, he was the Level 3 Beastman that group outside was searching for.

This Beastman had porcelain-white skin, refined and deep-set features, and fluffy, flaxen hair. His pair of brown eyes were pure and cold, and he looked at her without any expression, as if she were a wall. He showed none of the stunned admiration others displayed when they saw her.

Si Shuo blinked. ’How strange... I’m looking right at him, yet my other senses can’t perceive his presence.’

However, she didn’t sense any malice from him, allowing her to relax slightly.

As they squatted there together, she would occasionally glance sideways at the man beside her.

’How does he manage to be right next to me, yet I can barely sense him?’

Si Shuo pondered this, then tried to adjust her own breathing and began to hypnotize herself. ’I am a blade of grass. I am a flower. I am an inconspicuous little sapling!’

After a long wait, Si Shuo’s legs had gone numb and she was about to fall asleep when the group of Beastmen finally turned back, cursing and grumbling as they left.

She let out a long, deep sigh of relief and lifted off the escape basket.

The male’s gaze paused for a moment on the freshly bloomed flowers on her head before he stood up.

Si Shuo scrambled to her feet as well, glancing at the three orange Beast Patterns on his neck, which gave her a surprising sense of security.

’A low Level is good. My chances of escaping if things go wrong are higher,’ she thought. ’For now, I can follow this relatively harmless Beastman to learn more about the situation and avoid some danger along the way.’

The male shouldered his Beast Skin Bag and walked onward with his head down. When he came to a small river more than three meters wide, he leaped across it with ease.

Si Shuo took off her shoes and, with a sharp hiss of breath, stepped into the icy water, hopping from stone to stone as she ran to catch up.

He wasn’t walking particularly fast, but his legs were long; one of his strides was equal to three of hers. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

After more than ten minutes, Si Shuo was panting from exhaustion. "Hey, buddy, where are you headed? What kind of Beastman are you?"

’I don’t dare ask why he hasn’t transformed,’ she thought. ’Wouldn’t his Beast Form be more convenient for traveling through the forest?’

’I can’t even keep up with him in his human form. If he transformed, it’s not like I could just foolishly pull out Crystal Stones and hire him to carry me, could I?’

’I’m not about to get myself murdered and robbed.’

The male stopped and turned. His voice, much like his demeanor, was as clear and cool as a mountain stream. "Nowhere. Father said not to say."

Si Shuo tilted her head. After a moment’s thought, she realized his two short phrases were answers to her two questions.

’What does "nowhere" mean? And his father won’t let him tell people his Beast Form?’

With these thoughts in mind, she decided to ask him directly.

"I have no destination. I’m afraid of attracting trouble," he said, standing at a distance and looking at her earnestly.

Si Shuo walked closer, planting her hands on her hips as she gasped for breath. When she saw her own disheveled reflection clearly mirrored in his crystalline eyes, she had to stifle a scream.

Her Beast Skins were scratched up by branches, with a tear here and a tuft of fur missing there. Her hair was as messy as a madwoman’s, tangled with stray weeds, dead leaves, and a few flowers. To top it off, her face was smudged with several dirty handprints...

In her entire life, Si Shuo had never been so slovenly.

Using his eyes as a mirror, Si Shuo picked the weeds and dead leaves from her hair. Then, she pulled a water flask and a cotton cloth from her own neatly organized Beast Skin satchel.

She wet the cloth and wiped the grime from her face and hands. Finally, she smoothed down her hair, starting to look a little more presentable.

The male suddenly raised his hand, reached toward the top of her head, and plucked off one of the flowers, tossing it aside.

Si Shuo froze for a second. When she came to her senses, she realized he was still standing there patiently...

"And you?" the male asked, tilting his head slightly. His eyes, however, still reflected no emotion, as if he were a robot performing a routine task.

Si Shuo pressed her lips together. "I’m a female from a nearby tribe. I got lost while I was out gathering. Could you take me back?"

The male’s gaze fell on her reddening ears. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and he said flatly, "You’re lying."

Si Shuo managed a small smile. "I really am heading to a nearby tribe. It’s just that the reason I’m out here... isn’t something I can easily explain to you."

The male looked at her for a moment, then turned and started walking without a word. This time, however, he didn’t continue forward but changed direction, heading toward the very tribe Si Shuo had spotted from the air.

She followed him, a small smile playing on her lips. ’People on the Beast World Continent are actually quite easy to read. Most of them wear their emotions and intentions on their sleeves,’ she thought, ’with the exception of two-faced people like Ji Liang, the head of the traders.’

"My name is Si Shuo. What’s yours? And could you walk a little slower? I can’t keep up..." After she said this, a blush crept across her face. ’I’ve learned some bad habits from Ji Liang. I’m getting good at pushing my luck!’

Having been on edge for so long, the sudden chance to relax made her uncharacteristically talkative.

"Xu Chi," he replied, slowing his pace to match hers. He fell into the same rhythm, even matching her stride length, maintaining a constant distance between them.

"You don’t have a destination?"

"Mm, no."

"Why not?" Si Shuo was very curious. ’Even if you’re just wandering, you should still have some faraway place you want to reach.’

A fleeting look of confusion crossed Xu Chi’s eyes. "Father said to go and not look back."

’That doesn’t sound good at all,’ Si Shuo thought. ’Either he was kicked out, or something terrible happened at home that forced him to flee.’

"And you can’t tell me where you’re from, either?"

"Mm."

"Then what *can* you tell me? Are you especially good at hiding?"

"Mm. The Concealment Technique is a secret technique of my clan," Xu Chi nodded.

’Since it’s a Concealment Technique, of course it wouldn’t be taught to outsiders.’ Si Shuo sighed quietly. ’Still, at least he gives me an example of what I could strive for.’

For instance, even as he was walking right in front of her, his presence was so faint that if she didn’t consciously think about him, she could easily forget he was there at all.

It was like the flowers, grass, and trees around her—she knew they were there, but she didn’t spare them a single shred of her attention.

’If I could just learn a fraction of that from him and pair it with my escape basket, I could probably lie low and survive until the end of my days. That would be absolutely perfect!’

’After all, in this world, the males could transform. The sheer gap in power and Level wasn’t something she could overcome through hard work alone.’

After walking for over an hour, Si Shuo reached the end of her stamina. "Xu Chi, I can’t go on. Can we stop and rest for a bit?"

Xu Chi nodded, walked over to the river, and sat on a stone. He washed his hands, then cupped a few handfuls of water to drink.

Si Shuo washed her hands and face as well. It was already afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set, but the intense spring heat still made her face feel flushed and warm.

She massaged her aching arms and legs. For as long as she could remember, she had never walked so much in a single day.

Xu Chi’s gaze rested absently on the river’s surface. Suddenly, he stood up, tossed out a quick, "I’m going hunting," and vanished into the woods with a few swift leaps.

Si Shuo, still sitting on the stone, raised an eyebrow. She then redeemed a pack of kraft paper and an eyebrow pencil from her supermarket, spread them out on the stone, and began to draw.