Chapter 79
Xiao Jin felt Shen Tang’s movements, his body tensed suddenly, almost bristling.
He threatened viciously, “Stop! If you dare touch me again, I’ll throw you out to feed the wild wolves p>
The familiar phrasing made Shen Tang recall that embarrassing scene when she first traveled here, when that dog man really wanted to kill her!
She quickly withdrew her hand, pouting and complaining, “Stingy, Shen Li’s fur is much better to touch than yours, and he isn’t as fierce as you p>
“What?” Xiao Jin didn’t hear her muttering, but he figured it wasn’t anything good.
“Ahem, I just wanted to ask, where did we fall p>
Shen Tang surveyed the surroundings; thanks to this body having Cat Clan’s traits, she could see clearly even at night.
A lush primeval forest, dense and towering, the ground covered in dry branches and leaves, though the trees showed signs of being cut, and the dirt road beneath their feet seemed man-made, suggesting a Beastman settlement nearby.
The air was fresh, pleasing to breathe, with no trace of the eerie gray fog.
The airship met an accident midway, but the outcome was good, as they seemed to have left the polluted area and were now within the Empire’s borders.
Xiao Jin’s words confirmed her guess, “An unnamed primeval forest on the Empire’s border, this place is so remote, it doesn’t even have a region number, but it seems there are Beastmen living nearby, let’s find a place to stay over there p>
“Hmm, are Shen Li and the others alright p>
“The most useless person on the whole spaceship was you. Instead of worrying, why not watch your own little life?” Xiao Jin sneered coldly.
Shen Tang was so angry she wanted to yank a handful of leopard fur, but hearing him say that, she knew Shen Li and the others were fine.
She just didn’t know where they ended up falling.
Xiao Jin spoke casually, “I sent them the location update, they should be able to catch up soon p>
Shen Tang nodded, not saying anything more.
After this terrifying ordeal, she was exhausted, lying on the leopard’s back to rest.
Xiao Jin felt that lump of fat pressing on him, especially the two masses in front squeezing his back, his body grew even more rigid, nearly walking in a clumsy gait.
In the past, Xiao Jin would have thrown this fat girl off, but this time, he resisted the urge to fling her away, slowing down his pace once again.
Shen Tang was unaware of Xiao Jin’s inner turmoil, she closed her eyes to relax, feeling the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Though she was a convict and an Empire Princess, even the skinniest camel was bigger than a horse, and she shouldn’t have been assigned such an old and broken spaceship, with conditions worse than ordinary Beastmen.
Coincidentally, this outdated spaceship lacked upgraded defense and emergency functions.
Incidentally, they suffered an attack midway.
And it happened to be at night!
Usually, at this time, she’d sleep like the dead, not even an earthquake could wake her—but that day, she happened to have a fight with Xiao Jin, couldn’t sleep from the anger.
Shen Tang dared not imagine, if this had been a few days earlier, there might be nothing left of her.
Suddenly, Shen Tang opened her eyes, her voice cold, “I have a feeling someone is targeting us from the shadows! The attack on the spaceship feels like someone’s manipulating it from behind the scenes p>
Xiao Jin let out a short, cold laugh from his throat, “Heh, at least you’re not hopelessly stupid p>
Teeth grinding in frustration, Shen Tang wondered if that annoying leopard couldn’t feel comfortable unless he was taunting her?
However, she quickly caught the deeper meaning in his words, furrowing her brows, “Do you know who’s scheming against us p>
“It’s against you, not us p>
Xiao Jin’s deep golden eyes flashed with a cold, harsh glint, he curled his lips into a cold smile, unfazed, “It wasn’t just this time, a year ago on our exile journey, we faced no less than ten life-and-death ambushes. Those stray beasts and mutant species weren’t mere coincidences, someone planned the ambush in advance, and their goal is singular—to take your life, to make sure you die on the journey p>
Shen Tang’s body suddenly stiffened; someone wanted to kill her?
Xiao Jin noticed her body’s reaction, knowing this cowardly chick was frightened, he snorted heavily, “Did you forget? If it weren’t for our escort along the way, you’d already be dead p>
This chubby woman didn’t show any gratitude; instead, she became more disgusting to them, even Xiao Jin once felt regret, wishing she had died halfway back then… yet, now, he didn’t think that way anymore.
Should this fat girl truly meet an accident and die someday, the thought left him surprisingly stuffy in the chest.
This peculiar emotion puzzled even Xiao Jin himself.
Tch, it must be because this fat girl can cook drool-worthy food; if she died, he’d never eat it again.
Therefore, he couldn’t let her die, he had to protect her little life.
With this in mind, Xiao Jin found a reasonable justification for his actions.
Shaking his head to rid the thoughts, Xiao Jin continued, “In all these years in the Imperial City, you’ve offended many people, it’s probably those people scheming behind the scenes p>
After sorting through the original owner’s memories, Shen Tang’s mouth twitched fiercely; the original owner really did court death!
As the Empire Princess, she led a notorious life of misdeeds, reputedly infamous.
From noble royalty to common folk, all wished to see her punished, she could drown in a sea of gossip and spit from the street rumors.
A perfect backdrop for the idealized, kind-hearted protagonist Shen Qingli.
With such “jewels ahead,” once Qingli rose to prominence, she won the loyalty of the entire Empire’s populace.
Shen Tang felt anxious, “When returning to the Empire, the days would likely be more tumultuous than they were in the shelter p>
Plenty of enemies wouldn’t want her to return.
Thus, such an assassination made logical sense.
Though, who exactly orchestrated it was unknown.
Determination flashed through Shen Tang’s eyes.
She wasn’t one to be easily manipulated like a dumpling; for the original owner’s sins, she would atone, yet those who sought her death, she certainly wouldn’t spare lightly!
They weren’t sure how long they walked, but as the sky turned light, the dawn broke through the clouds, and the system’s notification chimed in her mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the side quest: Spend a night with each Beast Husband, Reward: Map Detection, Automatically delivered to the system backpack, Please check yourself p>
A blessing in disguise, benefiting from the misfortune.
Joyful, Shen Tang quickly retrieved the rewarded Map Detection from the system backpack; it appeared like an unremarkable leather scroll.
The scroll unfurled.
To others, it looked just like an ordinary map.
But in Shen Tang’s view, a three-dimensional map updated in real-time emerged.
The golden circle at the center represented her, the map expanded up to thirty kilometers outwards, with icons marking rare material mines and resources, and in the distance, some red dots moved slowly, indicating dangers, possibly ferocious beasts or mutants.
Shen Tang noticed a light gray city icon about a dozen kilometers ahead.
Excitement bubbled as she patted the leopard’s head, “Look at the forked path to the left, there seem to be Beastman footprints, let’s head this way p>
Xiao Jin’s temples throbbed, but following her direction, there indeed were faint Beastman tracks.
This fat girl had sharp eyes!
Following her lead, Xiao Jin advanced towards the left fork.
After several kilometers, they saw the city boundary from afar.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for Xiao Jin’s affinity +10 p>
Before Shen Tang could revel in her success, the system’s voice resounded again,
[Ding! A new side quest is now issued to the host: Please kiss any Beast Husband within 24 hours, Reward: Basic Healing Ability p>