Gentle Beast 24

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Laurence raised Ryan to meet his line of sight, yellow pupils calm and unruffled in the face of chaos as they gazed leisurely down at the cub.

When Ryan had taken up the position of patriarch to the leopards, his blue eyes were considered special.

In the entire race, only his eyes were this color.

Now, this cub had that same color of eyes. And his entire demeanor was exactly like Ryan’s.

Calm, lazy, dismissive.

But, the normal Ryan was strong and had the perfect physique. His claws had pierced an unknown number of people’s throats.

Arrogant, reckless, and with a disdain for capital.

Now he was a reduced to this ridiculous kitten-like body, so young it hadn’t been weaned yet.

Weak, powerless, and of no threat.

Laurence slowly grinned, uttering a sneering laugh.

He lifted his other hand to unceremoniously pressing against the cub’s jaw, prying it open and sticking his thumb and forefinger into his mouth, full of provocation, “Let me see. Have you got any teeth?”

He then took hold of the little leopard’s teeth with his fingers, trying to rip them from his gums.

Ryan’s eyes were cold and dark, flashing with light.

Before Laurence could react, Ryan kicked out with his hind legs and with a twist of his waist, dragged his claws down Laurence’s face, the pointed skin drawing lines in his skin.

Laurence quickly pulled him back by the neck and clenched a hand around his throat.

“You can go to hell, Ryan. . .”

Before the panther had finished, Ryan clutched his arms with his forepaws and opened his small mouth, biting down with vengeance.

Although his body was weak, his teeth were still very sharp and long, and they pierced Laurence’s flesh easily. Ryan did not relent, however, and increased the strength of his bite, as if he wanted to bite off the thumb as a whole.

Laurence hissed under his breath and his expression chilled over, the hand holding Ryan’s throat tightening.

The harder he held, though, the more ruthless Ryan’s fangs were.

Finally, Laurence waved his long arm and threw Ryan heavily into the trunk of a tree.

“Bang——”

Ryan’s tiny body crashed into the trunk of a silver fur, and the whole tree shook.

The snow on its branches fell and dropped right on his head, burying him in the blink of an eye in a small white hill.

Laurence held his hand to his face and looked at the bloody spot Ryan had bit in his flesh. It was half bitten off.

He bared his teeth and his expression cooled even further.

Then he raised his gaze and his entire body seemed to be encased in biting frost.

After Ryan had disappeared, there was no one to rule the race and chaos ensued.

His abilities were no less than Ryan’s. But even when all the men obeyed him and elected him to be the new leader, the elders insisted that Ryan had yet to die and they could not elect someone new.

A cold smile pulled at Laurence’s mouth.

Yes, Ryan had not died, he had just become a useless cub.

How would the elders react if they could see this?

Laurence thought he wouldn’t mind bringing him back to the race.

But before that, he would play with him well.

Laurence lifted his foot and stepped over to the snow pile, leaning over to bring Ryan out again, pinching his throat and pinning him against the trunk.

As he reached out his other hand, claws exposed and aimed toward Ryan’s chest. . .

“——Don’t!”

Cried a panicked voice.

*

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu had stayed to the side, staring on foolishly, for a long time, but still hadn’t made an escape.

This black panther had come up to her leopard with malice. First pulling his teeth, then pinching his throat, and now he wanted to empty his abdomen——Who was he? And what was his problem with Táo Táo?

This morning, he had come to the cabin looking for something, and while his attitude wasn’t polite, he wasn’t all that bad either.

And they hadn’t provoked him..

Was it too difficult for him to go back to the cabin and didn’t want them to stay there? So this was how he warned them?

There was too little time to think, and when Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu saw Laurence’s claws extended to Táo Táo’s chest, she screamed.

However, Laurence did not stop.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not know where she got the courage from, but she took her tasers from her space and charged them to maximum, then rushed forward and pressed them down mercilessly into Laurence’s arm——

“Zzz——Zz——”

The strong current was audible and the blue light flashed between the ends of the tasers.

Laurence could only feel his arm go numb from the instantaneous force, but it was too late to react and Ryan fell out of his hand.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s sharp gaze saw Ryan falling and she ran forward in a panic.

Ryan hit the trunk hard enough to break a little skin.

The trauma didn’t seem too heavy but his eyes were closed and the corners of his mouth oozed blood, his internal injuries far more severe.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was distressed. She was already having some feelings for the cub she was raising. Rubbing his ears, she looked at his blue eyes and whispered, “Do not be afraid. I will protect you.”

The girl gazed at him serenely, holding him in her slightly trembling arms, but her eyes were firm.

Like a timid but guarded lamb.

Her white teeth bit at her pink lips and she made a decision.

In the next moment, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s arms were empty.

The quietly lying leopard had disappeared.

——Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu hid him in her space.

Although she knew the space may have some ill effects on his body, this time, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu couldn’t think of another foolproof way to save him.

Having settled Táo Táo, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu pursed her lips and hesitated to turn around, to face that ice-cold beast behind her.

She firmly gripped the tasers in her hand, but knew her speed could not outrun a leopard, so she did not unnecessarily struggle and took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound slightly more calm, “. . . If it’s because we’re living in your friend’s house, I can apologize and move out immediately.”

Laurence stared warily at Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s hands, eyes submerged in thought, his attention clearly not on her words at all.

“Female, where did you hide him?” Laurence asked darkly.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu held her breath and held the taser even tighter, slowly shaking her head, “I cannot tell you.”

In the next moment, Laurence was in front of her and she hadn’t even seen him move.

He raised his claws to her neck and bent, pressing his sinister face close to hers as he growled, “I advise you be honest now. I’m not a patient person, female.”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu clenched her jaw, “If you can find him, I’ll give him to you. . .”

The beastmen here generally used their physical strength to speak for them, and their intelligence weren’t too high. She hoped she could stall some time.

Unexpectedly, Laurence misunderstood her meaning and chose the simpler, cruder route.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was wearing a trench coat and the wind blew, causing it to swing wide as if there was something hidden inside.

Laurence frowned and tore he clothes away with his claws, but still found no sign of Ryan.

Laurence’s patience was exhausted. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the ground, grinding out each word with indifference: “Tell me.”

Air suddenly strangled out, with the panther’s strength Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s face soon burned red.

She clawed at Laurence’s arm and tried to inhale oxygen but her neck was still in his hands, fragile.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu clenched her teeth, remaining silent.

Laurence’s eyes dulled, and he increased his strength.

The girl’s slender neck was in his hand, like the stem of a delicate flower, just a twist would break it off.

“Tell me,” Laurence repeated.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu opened her mouth, not knowing where the air came from, to stutter, “No. . . I won’t say. . .”

Laurence was completely out of patience and, just as he had done to Ryan, he threw her to the ground.

He raised his claws and stared down at her cruelly, stabbing towards her chest——

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu closed her eyes, a bit self-deprecatingly, as she thought. If she was really killed, would she return to her world?

. . . It would be nice if she could go back.

She never wanted to visit the Mori forest.

And she never wanted to eat venison again. She would eat beef and treat herbivorous animals well.

. . .

She didn’t know, in her moment of death, that it would be so very painful, ah. . .

In the vast snow, the girl’s thin clothes lay alone on the grass.

Lying on her back, her exquisite face and long lashes, she looked like a lifeless rag doll.

Laurence thrust his claws sharply through the girl’s body.

. . .

. . .

Laurence stood in place, his claws stopped in midair, and he frowned at the ground.

The place the girl had lain was empty, leaving only the slight concave shape in the snow.

——The female had disappeared into thin air.