Gentle Beast 25

<<< Previous | Project | Next >>>

The snow stretched as far as the eye could see.

White snow covered the edges and corners of all the rolling mountains, diluting the dangers that lurked on their peaks under a blanket of pure white.

In the snow, two small ferrets worked their way to the surface, looking around for food.

The snow was inhospitable and there were only a few sparrows pecking at stones.

The ferrets locked onto the sparrows as their target and bowed low, silently creeping towards them.

Only a meter away from the sparrows, an unknown object suddenly appeared out of thin air.

First the legs, the waist, then the arms and neck and face. . . until her space had completely “spat” her out.

Without the space’s cushion, she fell heavily to the ground and a pillow of snow billowed out around her.

The sparrows opposite her were disturbed and they rushed to fly off.

The ferrets also retreated, hiding behind the rocks again and only showing the tips of two white heads watching curiously.

. . .

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu laid on the ground and slowly opened her eyes, staring at the blue sky and white clouds above for a very long time.

Her brain was twisting itself into bends.

After half the day had passed, she touched her chest and lifted her hand to find it clear of any blood.

She. . . wasn’t killed by that panther?

When Laurence’s attack was about to hit, she unexpectedly felt something indescribable force pulling at her.

She had suddenly appeared in a completely blank area where she could find sleeping bags, backpacks, and compasses. . .

And her little leopard with the black stripes.

She did not have long to feel anything at all when a sudden exhaustion overtook her, and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes, she was deposited here.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu slowly came to understand. She just. . . went into her space?

Had her space upgraded to the point where even she could go in now?

She did not know how long she stayed there and thought, but slowly sat up and looked around at her surroundings.

There was boundless white everywhere she turned and not far away, she could see a collapsed cave. Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu propped up her body and saw the leopard was quietly lying inside. He had apparently been “tossed” out of her space as well, but he was still sleeping.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu held up his forelimbs and carefully picked him up from the ground.

Fortunately, except for lethargy, there did not seem to be any other serious injuries.

His flesh was intact and his breathing was normal.

Though, his temperature was a little low.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu held her to her chest and tried to give him some of her warmth.

However, her coat was shredded by Laurence and she only had the cashmere sweater inside it, which was unable to withstand the cold winds at the top of the mountain, and she was almost frozen into a Popsicle.

To not freeze to death, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu walked along the snow against the wind and into the cave under the cliff.

It was narrow enough to only fit one or two people.

Fortunately, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was of a petite stature and Ryan’s body couldn’t occupy much space so the two were able to fit into the space.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu then turned to finding clothes in her space.

She did not have many thick clothes, and her only windbreaker was torn, which she felt regret for.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu found two sets of wool sweaters and another knitted one, but she no longer wanted to only be temporarily warm.

She was wearing a baseball jacket already so she pulled the zipper high.

Changing into the new clothes, she saw the leopard hadn’t woken up yet and went out to gather firewood.

Most of the branches were covered with snow and were wet, so they could not be used, and it took her a long time to find dry firewood.

She returned to the cave and quickly started a fire, the warmth rising quickly.

When Ryan woke up, the air was thick with smoke.

He stood up and subconsciously raised his guard.

Seeing the girl behind the smoke, he calmed down quickly again.

The wood was too damp to burn and was emitting a thick smoke now, so thick she couldn’t open her eyes and it made her uncomfortable.

She turned her face and coughed, fanning the fire with her hand.

A cold wind blew into the cave and the smoke was blown into Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s eyes, drawing a red circle around them.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu bowed her head and rubbed her eyes.

But her hands were not clean and were covered in dust, so tears continued to flow out of her eyes. She could not wipe them away, and even more began to fall.

Finally, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu gave up and held her knees in the corner, concentrating on crying.

She thought she would be able to return to her world by dying. But she opened her eyes and it was still this strange, strange land.

She didn’t even know where this was.

Where could she go? Would that panther kill them?

How was she going to survive on this continent?

This whole mix of emotions stewed inside her, and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s mood plummeted, crying more and more fiercely.

But no matter how much she cried, she made little sound, barely like a newborn kitten’s cry.

Ryan fixedly looked at the girl in the corner and suddenly faced the fire.

He lifted his paws and pulled a few of the firewood apart to loosen them up, making a pit under it with his paws to make it more breathable. A moment later, the surface of the wood went up in flames, burning easily.

Ryan walked around the cave in a circle and was disgusted with the size of it.

However, according to her ability, it was not easy to find a place like this.

Finally, Ryan stopped beside Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu and laid on the ground next to her.

He bowed his head for a split second, and there was an ominous glint in his eye, flowing at their perilous situation.