"Shan Zaizai, my goodness! Hurry, why would you go to the base of the Stinky Fruit Tree? Get back quickly!"
Ge Ye and his two companions traced Ji Nuan’s scent and found her beneath the Stinky Fruit Tree, eating Stinky Fruits. They blanched with fright.
Upon hearing their voices, Ji Nuan turned around and cheerfully waved her fruit at Ge Ye.
But to her surprise, Ge Ye was pointing behind her with a horrified expression, screaming at her to run.
Reflexively, Ji Nuan looked back and met a pair of ominous blood-colored eyes. A beastly ape, taller and sturdier than her, was charging at her with flailing limbs.
Even more of these apes were crowding the tree behind her, their red eyes glaring menacingly and their screams echoing in the air.
Their rough, black fur rippled as they sprinted, and saliva dripped onto the undergrowth below from the corners of their mouths. Their shining white sharp teeth glinted coldly in the sporadic slays of sunlight.
Ji Nuan could even smell the nauseous stench emanating from them.
"Don’t worry about me, just run! Get out of here!" Ji Nuan yelled at Ge Ye and the others.
Then she hurled the fruit in her hand at the charging ape and attempted to flee.
But it seemed like all her good luck had been used up on finding the fruit. Her left leg went numb and got tangled with her right. She immediately tripped and fell into the undergrowth.
She struggled to stand, but her arms and legs were numb with pain and lacked any strength.
The heavy footsteps of the ape drew nearer. In denial, Ji Nuan closed her eyes.
She thought her life was a harsh one. She had thought that her rebirth in Orc Continent, with her sturdy new body and acquired knowledge, would mean better days. But a fleeting few days later, she already seemed on the brink of death.
Oh, the misery!
The world seemed to quieten as she awaited death. All she could hear was the screeching of the ape and the sound of approaching heavy footsteps
Warm liquid splattered onto her neck and face, alongside the ape’s screeching. She felt a wave of relief. However uncomfortable, at least being killed by an ape was better than dying from a heart attack. It didn’t hurt at all.
"Di Feng, Song Yu, come quickly, Shan Zaizai seems to be hurt."
The ape was killed, but Ji Nuan lay motionless on the ground. Ge Ye urgently called his companions over to help.
Just as Ji Nuan thought she was dead, she heard Ge Ye’s voice again. Her mind became clear and she gathered her strength to lift her head. She saw the ape, with its bloody eyes wide open, lying dead on the blood-stained grass.
She...
...didn’t die?
Was she... saved?
"Shan Zaizai, are you alright? You scared me to death! Why would you try to snatch the Stinky Fruit from the Sharp-Toothed Beasts?
Those Sharp Toothed Beasts are fierce! If it wasn’t for Brother Xiu Yan, the Sharp-Toothed Beasts would have killed you, sob sob sob~"
Seeing her playmate in such a state, the little girl started to whimper.
Ji Nuan rubbed her cheek against her playmate’s: "It’s alright, I’m okay, stop crying."
Not far from them, beneath the Stinky Fruit Tree, stood a agile and muscular Silver Wolf. Amid the circle of ape-like creatures, it moved swiftly, each twist and turn produced a spray of blood mixed with the shrill cries of the apes.
The number of dead Sharp-Toothed Beasts grew, and their cries increasingly sharp and shrill, painfully piercing the eardrums.
"Quickly, take them away. These Sharp-Toothed Beasts are calling for help."
Xiu Yan’s cold voice emanated from within the crowd of Sharp-Toothed Beasts, hinting at a serious urgency.
Two robust tigers, with his help, emerged from the encircling Sharp-Toothed Beasts and rushed towards Ji Nuan and Ge Ye, crouching down once they got there.
Ge Ye quickly climbed onto the back of one of the tigers. Bending down, he clung to its back, tightly grasping its thick fur.