Gentle Beast 68

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“You dare mention those words again, and I’ll let Winter slaughter the stupid deer and his tribe.”

“. . .”

After Ryan finished speaking, he led Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu forward.

But his pace was too big and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s was too small to keep up. She accidentally stepped on a rock that stuck out on the road and she tripped, reeling.

The rope tugged at her wrists and she sharply hissed.

The rugged rope was tightly wrapped around her wrists and it didn’t have even the slightest gap. After such a long time, her hands were sore.

Additionally, her skin was delicate and she couldn’t handle such rough treatment. Two red rings soon appeared on her wrists and were in sharp contrast with her soft flesh.

Ryan heard her voice and paused slightly.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu steadied herself and silently looked at his back.

She knew that he was angry with her so she didn’t utter a complaint.

Three years ago she should have left him.

Now that she thought about it, there was probably a better solution, but they had chosen the most extreme one.

These past three years, she had thought a lot. She had thoroughly thought through her feelings for Ryan.

——She liked him.

Liked his calm mouth that said, “No.”

Liked him frowning, so clumsily trying to make fish soup for her.

Liked him sticking out his tongue to lick her cheek.

Liked him kissing her.

Liked him holding her in his arms and saying, “This is my spouse.”

. . .

She liked him a lot, much more than her whole could hope to hide.

Since she had first returned to her world, she closed her eyes every night and he would there.

At the time, she thought it was guilt that slowly as time went on, his figure didn’t become unclear, rather even clearer and clearer.

Even though he had several shortcomings, he was brutal and savage, cruel and unreasonable, she still didn’t hesitate to like him.

So when she learned she might be able to freely pass between the two worlds, she had prepared for a reunion.

Knowing how unreasonable and crazy this world was, she was back here.

Because he was here.

But after she really came back, she was too afraid to see him again.

This feeling was probably nostalgic timidness.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu had thought of many scenes where they met again, but not one saw her tied with ropes and treated as “prey.”

. . .

She didn’t know where Ryan was taking her, but they walked for more than two hours and still did not stop.

Her legs were sore and her wrists were worn out by the rope. Gradually those grievances built up and she spoke quietly, “Ryan, I can’t walk. . .”

Ryan seemed to not hear her.

She raised her arms to her head and rubbed against her eyes, unconsciously saying with the tone of a spoiled brat, “Can you let me go?”

She said, “I won’t run this time. . .”

*

Ryan finally stopped below a cliff.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu looked around at the surroundings. Dense jungle surrounded her and the mountains folded beyond it. To the left was a stream, but it was nothing special. What did he bring her here for?

As soon as she was about to open her mouth, Ryan brought her to the entrance of a cave.

Many stones were piled up at the entrance of the cave and Ryan lifted his foot, kicking them aside to bring her inside.

The cave was very spacious and larger than average. The ground was flat and the walls were clean. It wasn’t natural, but deliberately built. Inside, there was a slightly smaller cave below. The light was faint but it was also tidy.

However, this wasn’t what had Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu so surprised.

The cave was furnished with neat furniture, tables, chairs, cabinets, a bed. . .

Even a stove was built in the corner.

But it hadn’t been used in a long time and there was a thick layer of spider web on the stovetop, on which laid a huge spider.

The spider heard movement and turned slightly.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu hid behind Ryan.

“Ryan. . . where is this?” Although she asked, her heart actually had an answer.

Inside the cave was a bed with the two quilts she had hand-stitched.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu couldn’t speak, but she choked, feeling like a fishbone was stuck in her throat. Being softened by vinegar, pain and sourness poured into her stomach.

Ryan didn’t answer her question and tied the end of the rope to the wall, then walked out.

A moment later, he came back with a goat.

He looked up and saw Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu standing there, her eyes staring at the huge spider.

Ryan had tied the rope so short that she couldn’t go far and watching the spider climb onto her head, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s eyes quickly reddened and she almost cried out.

Ryan threw the goat on the ground and walked up to her. He untied the rope from the wall.

After the spider touched Ryan, it obediently returned to the cobweb in the corner.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu raised her eyes and asked, “How long are you going to keep me tied up for, Ryan?”

Ryan’s voice was light, “Until you never run away again.”

“I won’t run away.”

“Then there’s no need to untie the rope,” he said.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu: “. . .”

Ryan seemed to iron his heart and wouldn’t untie her. After saying that, he went to the side to clean up the goat’s fur and guts.

There was dry firewood in the cave and after the goat was cleaned, Ryan started a fire and set the whole goat in the fire.

The flames crackled and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu thought for a while, walking over to sit across from Ryan.

Across from her, Ryan’s eyebrows wrinkled slightly.

When Ryan returned, he picked some plants for seasoning and berries. Squeezing the juice out of them with his claws, he spread it on the skin of the roast goat.

Soon, the scent of roasted goat filled the air.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu walked for the entire day and was already hungry. This fragrance was almost unbearable, but the thought that mammals could become humanoid, that the roast goat in front of her could be a talking beasman, she immediately dismissed the idea.

Ryan took a polished stone knife from his waist and cut a piece of it, beginning to eat.

The rich fragrance constantly tickled Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s nose and she stared at her hands, silently thinking that she wasn’t hungry, she wasn’t hungry at all.

. . .

But her stomach betrayed her.

A loud cry came from her belly and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s ears reddened. She glared at Ryan, slightly resentful and a bit pathetic. They seemed to complain that he was eating in front of her.

“Want to eat?” Ryan’s said, not lifting his eyes across the fire.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu nodded.

Ryan’s voice was low, “Come here.”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu had no choice but to stand up and sit beside Ryan. He raised his hands and said, “You have to untie the rope, I can’t eat anything. . .”

Her voice had just trailed off when Ryan lifted a piece of cooked meat from the goat’s leg and raised it to her mouth.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu: “. . .”

She hesitated for a long time, then opened her mouth and ate it.

She thought, since this world was ruled by the law of the jungle, then it wouldn’t change anything for her to eat it.

Just as she had accepted Ryan, she had to accept his lifestyle.

“More.” After this self-consolation, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu eliminated several obstacles. She licked the corners of her mouth and looked at Ryan.

Her pink tongue swept over full lips and Ryan stared. Then he collected his gaze and cut another piece.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was embarrassed as she ate, but when Ryan fed her, she opened her mouth and chewed with bulging cheeks, like a sulking kitten.

But the kitten’s appetite wasn’t large and soon she shook her head, “I’m full.”

Ryan glanced at the leg that hadn’t been eaten.

He didn’t say anything and took the rest, cleaning the cave again. This time, the day had turned to night outside.

The valley was already quiet and after nightfall, it was even more pronounced.

The night covered the valley like a ink-soaked scroll, dense and huge.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu saw that it was dark outside and Ryan still hadn’t untied her. She was a bit anxious. She had been tied up for four or five hours, she felt a little ruffled.

Or was it true that he intended to keep her tied up?

How could he?

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu thought about it quickly and when Ryan turned around, she picked up a clay pot on the table and fell to the ground.

With a bang, the pot cracked.

When Ryan turned, he saw Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu standing in the middle of the mes with her raised hands, “Ryan, my hands are numb. Can you loosen it?”

Ryan: “. . .”

“If they’re tied for too long, the blood vessels will get blocked and my hands will be destroyed,” she said.

Ryan subconsciously looked at her hands.

“I won’t be able to cook, or write, or make gunpowder. . . I won’t be able to hug you.”

. . .

*

Since they had been bound for too long, after they were released, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s wrists were rubbed red and raw.

The traces were deep and even tinged blue.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s skin was tender and so it looked even more shocking.

Ryan’s fingers gently touched the rings and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu jerked them away, shouting, “Hey, it hurts.”

Ryan squinted and there was no response, but the strength of his hand became lighter. He lifted his eyes and asked her, “What did you say you wanted to do?”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu thought about it and deliberately asked, “What do you mean?”

Ryan was silent, staring at her.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was afraid of his anger and saw him hide his anger. After she had enough of staring at him, she straightened up and lifted her hands to wrap around his neck, fingers folding behind it, and she rubbed her tender cheek against his chin gently, “I was lying to you just now.”

“. . .”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu said, “I won’t leave you again.” She meant the threat to “go home.”

“I’m sorry,” her whole body clung to him until there was almost no gap at all, and she said, “But you were not right, ah. You and Winter lied to me and I wasn’t sure what to think afterwards. I admit it was wrong, but you locked me in the house and wouldn’t let me out all day. My mother was sick and you didn’t let me go home, and. . .” she paused here because it wasn’t a very good memory, “. . . anyway, you were wrong.”

“Why did you come back?” Ryan was silent for a long time before uttering that remark.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu blinked and her eyelashes swept across her cheeks, “DId you say you would pursue me as your spouse?”

“. . .”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu loosened her hands around his neck and her dark eyes looked up at him as she clearly said, “I can promise you now.”

. . .

. . .

In the next moment, she was turned upside down and pressed under his entire body. Before she could react, he bent down and kissed her lips.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s hands were tightly held by his and the injured wrists were pressed against the bed, and she frowned.

However, her struggle was insignificant and she was soon swallowed by his kiss.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was frightened for a moment, then she slowly relaxed and closed her eyes, relaxing her jaw to allow him entrance.