A dense chill crawled up her spine, and Wen Shu stopped her actions, her gaze falling on a nearby branch.
She held her breath, all her focus on the presence behind her, and heard a stifled gasp close at hand, right behind her!
Wen Shu suddenly rolled to the right, gripping a sharp branch tightly, and looked back warily!
She saw a Wolf Beast, its fur matted, as large as two brown bears, standing by the riverbank. Its nostrils flared, breathing heavily, blood-red eyes gazing at her with excitement and greed.
As if it would tear her apart and swallow her whole in the next second!
Cold sweat dripped from Wen Shu's nose. She maintained calm and retreated a few steps, calling for help immediately, "Wu Xuan! Help!"
But there was no response from the bushes, only the roar of the Wolf Beast echoed back.
"Roar——!"
Seeing the Wolf Beast lunge with its gaping maw, Wen Shu turned pale. She abandoned the fish and sprinted towards the direction of the tribe.
Before she could run far, a massive shadow loomed overhead. Barely able to dodge, she was pressed face down into the ground by the Wolf Beast's hard paw pad, and its enormous body soon pressed down on her.
The Wolf Beast clamped its jaws on her neck, inhaling deeply her scent. Its pupils dilated with excitement, and its sharp fangs ground slowly and suggestively a couple of times.
The intense scent of blood shot up her nostrils. Feeling a sharp pain in her neck, Wen Shu's blood ran cold as she thought she'd be bitten alive. She tightened her grip on her weapon, preparing to counterattack.
"Fem... Female..." a deep, rumbling voice emerged from the Wolf Beast's mouth.
Suddenly prodded by a hard stick on her rear, Wen Shu turned back confused and saw the Wolf Beast's wild demeanor. She widened her eyes—this was a rogue beast driven mad!
These Beastmen lost their sanity after a long time without female companionship, their Spiritual Sea in chaos, leaving only hunting and breeding instincts.
The females they captured were invariably treated as tools for venting and continuous childbearing...
She would not allow such a thing to happen to her!
"My... Female!" The Wolf Beast's highly aggressive eyes locked onto her, its claws ripping her beast skin, as it bent down to lick her face.
Wen Shu's heart pounded like a drum. Resisting the Wolf Beast's actions, she unwaveringly stabbed the branch into its eye when it was close enough!
Spraying blood splattered her face instantly.
"Roar——!"
Taking the opportunity, Wen Shu broke free, ignoring the blood blur, and jumped into the river, praying that the Wolf Beast would lose her scent and leave.
As time slowly passed, Wen Shu felt the air thinning, her chest hurting fiercely from lack of air, her vision turning white, yet the furious snarls of the Wolf Beast drew closer!
Was this it... Was today really her end here?
Just then, Wen Shu saw ripples on the water's surface above her.
Dark clouds that had loomed for some time were split apart by a bolt of lightning, followed by rain pelting down heavily, washing away any remaining scents completely.
Reluctantly, the Wolf Beast sniffed the air hard again but found nothing. Angrily shaking off the rainwater from its body, it finally gave up searching and ran back into the dense forest.
Underwater, Wen Shu was close to passing out, choking on water as she struggled ashore, her surroundings growing increasingly faint.
Just before she lost consciousness completely, she vaguely saw a familiar figure in the distance, with a cold expression, stopping briefly before walking slowly towards the tribe.
————
After being jolted in the darkness for a long while, the downpour of rain battering her body, Wen Shu shivered from the cold, feeling a burning stone pressing against her stomach, both painful and nauseating.
Uncomfortably, she opened her eyes, seeing only a pitch-black, wet rain curtain, with dense plants and trees retreating rapidly on both sides.
Her gaze dropped to a male's broad back, drenched, with a lean and powerful waist. Below that, a pair of long, muscular legs moved adeptly through the mud.
She was being carried upside down on someone's shoulder as they ran.
No wonder she felt so awful!
Wen Shu tried to speak, but her throat stung from her injuries, forcing her to cover her neck. Only then did she realize both hands were bound by thick vines,
"Cough——" She endured the pain, struggling with her legs, only to find them tightly bound too, unable to move at all!
Wen Shu calmed herself. Unbinding the ropes wouldn't be too difficult, but right now, she not only couldn't fight this unknown male, she was also utterly powerless.
She needed to figure out the situation first, then plan an escape...
With a stiff neck, she swallowed two mouthfuls of rain blown by the wind and weakly asked, dragging her voice, "Cough, cough, was it you who saved me?"
However, the figure carrying her didn't pause, not even offering her a acknowledging sound.
Wen Shu narrowed her eyes coldly and struggled again slightly with a slightly softer tone, "Benefactor, it was you who saved me, right? Once we return to the tribe, I must thank you properly—"
"Smack!"
Before she could finish, her rear was suddenly slapped, and a fiery pain spread.
A cold, lazy voice sounded above, warning impatiently, "Don't move around."
Wen Shu froze entirely, her gaze vacant for two seconds, unable to believe she'd been hit!
Angrily, she glared at the male's back, secretly resenting him, yet wisely chose obedience, enduring the nauseating jostle.
Fortunately, the male didn't go too far and stopped at a dark tree hollow, gripping the female's waist with a large hand and roughly threw her into a damp grass nest.
Landing solidly on her back, Wen Shu turned pale, feeling as if her hips would shatter from the impact!
After casually discarding her, the male focused solely on starting a fire, not sparing her a glance from start to finish.
Lowering her eyelids, Wen Shu hid the rage in her eyes, formulating a plan within.
Slowly, she sat up, quietly surveying the cramped tree hollow, lifting her bound limbs as she innocently asked, "Benefactor, why did you tie me up?"
Upon hearing her soft inquiry, the male finally showed a response.
Pausing his firewood stacking, at the same time, a strange deep blue flame erupted in his broad palm.
At the moment the flame burst forth, Wen Shu felt a chill on her back, a sense of foreboding rising.
In the dim firelight, the male's crimson eyes appeared ignited too.
Slowly, he turned his head, revealing severe features gradually illuminated by the flames, with deep, narrow eyes, a high nose bridge, and lips as red as if stained with blood.
This was an excessively stunning face, yet the male's naturally imposing aura made him particularly arrogant and dangerous!
"Benefactor?" The male cast a sidelong glance at her, leaning forward to ignite the firewood, and a trace of mockery flowed from his long, narrow eyes, "Are you referring to me?"
Upon seeing his face, Wen Shu's heart sank to the bottom.
Black hair, red eyes, superpower is a blue flame—besides one of the protagonists' lifelong rival, Luo Fei, she couldn't think of anyone else.
This guy was a bona fide dangerous character, having built the Blood Alliance from scratch, later competing with the protagonist for the Winged Dragon clan's throne, nearly overthrowing him.
Crucially, the Blood Alliance was this world's marauder gang, committing all manner of heinous acts. Falling into their hands was hardly different from being captured by rogue beasts!
Wen Shu was paralyzed.
From the wolf's mouth to the tiger's den—what rotten luck!