Chapter 91: Gentle Human x Fierce Wolf Beast  03

By the bonfire.

Jian Tong gazed contentedly at the perfectly roasted meat. Just as he reached out to tear off a rabbit leg, a gray wolf suddenly burst out from the bushes to his left.

He glanced at the roasted meat, then at the wolf, and immediately grabbed the meat and bolted.

[!!!] System 729 was stunned.

In this day and age, do wolves even compete with humans for food?

It was only a moment of hesitation before it looked outside the system space and saw its host being pinned down by the gray wolf in the soft grass.

[Damn it! I’ll open the system store right now and buy something to kill this wolf.]

Jian Tong stared into the wolf’s brown eyes, and a familiar feeling washed over him.

“Don’t kill it!” he said in his mind. “It won’t hurt me.”

System 729 stopped pawing through the system store and speculated in a subtle tone: [Could this big gray wolf be the demon god of this lifetime?!]

Jian Tong fell silent.

System 729 immediately confirmed it.

[Did it… did it suddenly jump out to catch you or to snatch the roasted meat from your hand?]

The host could be given away, but the roasted meat? Absolutely not.

It hadn’t even tasted the rabbit leg Jian Tong had roasted yet! There was no way it would let the gray wolf have it.

Jian Tong stared at the wolf that had pounced on him, his legs firmly pinned by its paws.

“What do you want?”

The wolf forcefully controlled the person beneath its paws, but the softness of Jian Tong’s body made it ease up slightly, as if afraid of breaking him.

It slowly took two steps back and, under Jian Tong’s gaze, transformed into the form of a grown man.

With sharp eyebrows, piercing eyes, and a fierce countenance, he exuded the powerful aura of a wolf king.

He stepped forward again and helped Jian Tong up, startling the young man so much that he jumped back.

“You… stay away from me!”

Jian Tong took a bite of the rabbit leg to calm himself, only to see the wolf beast’s gaze grow even darker and more menacing.

“My name is Li Xiao. Come with me.”

The male beastman, whose true form was a gray wolf, stared intently at Jian Tong, who was keeping a three-meter distance from him. His entire presence was as intimidating as a vengeful demon.

“This place isn’t suitable for you to live.”

Although he didn’t know why Jian Tong was staying here, this forest was no place for someone as delicate and soft-skinned as him.

Jian Tong was momentarily stunned, then exclaimed joyfully, “System, isn’t this the perfect guide delivered right to my doorstep?”

System 729: [First, give me the roasted meat, then follow Li Xiao and leave this place.]

It wasn’t interested in anything else—it just wanted a bite of the rabbit.

“Here, take it all.” Jian Tong tossed the roasted rabbit in his right hand backward, and most of it was accurately caught and stored in the system space. Soon, the system was quietly munching on the meat.

Jian Tong lowered his right hand and cautiously grabbed hold of Li Xiao’s sleeve. “I’m lost. Could you please take me out of here?”

Li Xiao’s eyes flickered slightly. His gaze fixed on the hand gripping the hem of his gray shirt—long, slender fingers as fair as jade.

He took hold of Jian Tong’s hand and instinctively began to caress the smooth, beautiful fingers.

They were well-defined yet extraordinarily soft.

These hands didn’t seem like they belonged to a beastman—they lacked any trace of strength or toughness.

“I can take you out, but shouldn’t you tell me who you are?”

Jian Tong looked at Li Xiao with guarded eyes, almost ready to throw the rabbit leg in his left hand at his face.

“My name is Jian Tong…”

Li Xiao very naturally called out, “Tong Tong, what’s your race?”

Jian Tong: “…”

If he didn’t answer this question, they could still talk, but asking it meant Li Xiao already had suspicions.

He hesitated, staring at Li Xiao, torn between knocking him out, running away, and waiting for another human guide, or tricking Li Xiao into taking him out first and explaining later. In the end, he chose the latter.

The reason was simple—he didn’t want to keep wandering aimlessly in this primeval forest.

“I’m probably not quite like you. How about we leave here first and talk about it later?”

He was a perfectly normal human—how could he possibly be the same as these beastmen!

Li Xiao tightly held Jian Tong’s hand. The fair-skinned young man appeared particularly quiet and delicate next to the tall, powerful wolf beastman.

“Fine, I’ll carry you out.”

He transformed back into a large gray wolf and lowered his proud head toward Jian Tong.

“…Alright then.” Jian Tong hesitated for a moment but finally gritted his teeth and climbed onto the wolf’s back. Carried by him, they left the primeval forest, and surprisingly, his task didn’t fail—it was marked as completed.

[Leave the Primeval Forest] Completed √

[Live Until Natural Death] In Progress…

‘This works? Then let’s go with it!’ Jian Tong stared at Li Xiao, who had transformed back into human form, and felt a subtle rise in his fondness for the guy.

Just as Li Xiao led him toward the city, a mechanical yet unmistakable system notification sounded in his mind.

[Hidden Quest: Beat Xi Jing once.]

Jian Tong ignored the wolf who was sneakily taking advantage of him and poked the system, which was engrossed in eating meat.

“Explain, what’s this hidden quest about?”

System 729, chewing on the meat, replied: [It’s a quest the original host issued using all of his own merit.]

[Mmm~] It mumbled with its mouth full: [He’s really angry about being dragged into this alternate timeline because of Xi Jing, so he used all his merit to ask a tasker to beat him up.]

‘If possible, please help me give Xi Jing, who caused me to cross into this alternate timeline, a good beating.’ These were the original words of the quest issuer, and he had been particularly furious when saying it.

Jian Tong clicked his tongue in his mind.

“I’ve only heard of ride-hailing services, but this is the first time I’m doing a beatdown service.”

System 729: [For you, it’s just a matter of convenience. Find a time to meet Xi Jing and give him a good thrashing.]

Jian Tong: ( _ )

Thinking about the original host’s crossing incident, it was really a case of misfortune piled on misfortune.

The original host had just finished a performance and was changing out of his costume in the backstage, preparing to go home, eat, drink, and sleep.

As he passed by Xi Jing’s dressing room, a hand reached out and pulled him inside. Bewildered, he was dragged away by Xi Jing.

Xi Jing, probably trying to avoid being sucked into a spatial rift, had desperately grabbed someone to save himself, and the original host just happened to be the unlucky one. He was dragged into the rift along with Xi Jing.

In the end, Xi Jing, with his protagonist halo, survived, but the original host died in the primeval forest, leaving behind not even a complete corpse.

Thinking about it, he could understand why the original host was so resentful and wanted to beat Xi Jing up.

Who could accept such an outcome?

The original host had money and a career in the 21st century, but because of Xi Jing’s random grab, he lost his life, and no one even knew where he died.

Like an insignificant blade of grass, he died without a trace, leaving no ripple in the world.

The world had forgotten this hardworking and talented young dancer.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely give Xi Jing a good beating to vent the original host’s anger.” Jian Tong mentally rolled up his sleeves, eager to get started, but in reality, he was being led forward by Li Xiao.