Lin Feng followed Yuna through the dense bushes.
Suddenly, like a monkey, he clambered up a tree in two or three moves, standing on the branches to observe the surroundings.
Then he nimbly jumped to another tree, continuing to observe.
Once in the forest, he was as excited as if he had returned home, eagerly climbing walls and jumping from eaves...
"Slow down, I'm really worried you'll bash your head on a tree." Lin Feng pushed aside the grass, and the green sprites hiding in the grass scattered like fireflies.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," said Yuna excitedly.
"It doesn't hurt to be more careful. Getting injured here would be troublesome," said Lin Feng, casually picking up a stick to poke around in the grass ahead, trying to drive away the bugs. "And there's so much grass here, I'm afraid of stepping on a snake if we move too fast."
Although he said this, snakes couldn't actually hurt him at all.
Yuna was taken aback for a moment, then nimbly jumped down from the tree and obediently started leading the way.
But she had only taken a few steps when she stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Yuna reached out to Lin Feng with a confused look, speaking in a small voice, "Hold my hand."
Lin Feng was puzzled for a moment, not understanding Yuna's meaning.
But when a beast-eared girl actively reached out to him, how could he not take her hand?
"Master, don't scratch my palm! I hate that."
The two walked in the forest like this for a whole morning.
Along the way, Yuna also killed quite a few slimes.
Of course, Lin Feng stuffed these worthless cores into Yuna's pocket.
"Speaking of which, where do you guys live in the forest?"
Yuna looked back in confusion. "Are you talking to me?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"My sister and I usually live in caves or tree hollows. We don't stay in one place for long, changing locations every so often." In the pause as Yuna spoke, a green slime pounced at her, only to be sliced into a pile of jelly.
Changing locations frequently was troublesome, but it was safer.
They didn't stay with their companions, probably afraid of being targeted if they stayed in one place for too long.
There was a small stream up ahead. Lin Feng was wondering how to get across when Yuna, walking alone in front, suddenly stopped.
"Sniff sniff..."
She caught a whiff of a familiar scent in the air.
"Master, other beastmen have noticed you."
No sooner had she finished speaking than two arrows shot straight at Lin Feng's head from the shadows.
Yuna blocked them precisely with a clang, sparks flying, holding her greatsword horizontally.
She scanned her surroundings vigilantly, her gaze finally settling on a tree to her left.
Following Yuna's line of sight, Lin Feng saw one large and one small rabbit-eared beastmen hidden in the treetops. Although their white fur did not blend in with the trees, they were hard to notice if you didn't look closely.
"Appraisal."
【White Feather Rabbit Tribe Scout x2】
These two must be responsible for patrolling the area.
"This is White Feather Rabbit Tribe territory. Leave now if you don't want trouble!" the big rabbit yelled, ending with two hops.
They really were like rabbits.
"What do you plan to do?" Lin Feng looked at Yuna with interest.
Yuna whispered in Lin Feng's ear, "Let's trick them."
She then cleared her throat and shouted, "We have urgent business to attend to and need to pass through here. Could you let us through?"
"You can, but the human next to you cannot. He must stay here."
Lin Feng felt very wronged. He hadn't done anything but almost got shot twice, and was told he couldn't go through.
Yuna sized Lin Feng up, then had an idea.
"He's my slave. Can he still not come with me?"
"No." The two rabbit-eared beastmen rejected firmly.
Yuna sighed.
It was clear she was out of ideas.
"How much farther is it?" Lin Feng whispered to her. Yuna's sensitive ears twitched and she scratched them.
His breath was tickling the fur in her ears when he spoke to her like that.
"Just up ahead, but they won't let us through. Going around will add three more hours."
Three hours?
That was too much time wasted.
Moreover, looking at the two rabbit-eared beastmen in the treetops, Lin Feng suddenly had a new plan.
"Then why don't you go on ahead yourself and I'll wait here for you?"
Yuna was taken aback, rejecting the proposal without a second thought: "No, they'll definitely kill you."
"They particularly hate humans. They'd love to hack any human they come across to pieces. Just now they wanted to kill you too," Yuna shook her head.
She knew clearly that if Lin Feng died, she would also die from the contract.
Her sister was still waiting for her. She didn't want to die.
"To be safe, I should take you around. I'll protect you well," she said resolutely.
Yuna did look very dependable saying this.
But Lin Feng just sat down on a tree stump, showing no intention of moving.
He planned to do something about those nasty beastmen.
"Listen to me. Go and come back quickly. Don't worry about me," Lin Feng waved his hand.
"But..."
"You won't listen to me?" Lin Feng hardened his tone slightly.
Yuna was conflicted.
She was afraid if she kept arguing Lin Feng would really get angry.
So she could only silently pray nothing happened to him before she got back...
"Go. Find it and come back quickly. I'll be waiting for you here."
Yuna nodded and dashed away.
But she hadn't gotten far when she started worrying again, looking back at Lin Feng from time to time to make sure he was safe before continuing on until he disappeared from her view completely.
Yuna sprinted wildly between the tall trees, taking many dangerous routes to save time.
After more than ten minutes, she finally arrived at the tree hollow they had lived in, overcoming all difficulties.
She would soon be reunited with her sister...
After being apart for so long, she had countless things to tell her sister.
"Sniff sniff..."
She instinctively sniffed.
Yuna's heart sank.
There was no scent of her sister around...
Could something really have happened?
Impossible! There should still be enough food. She had repeatedly reminded her sister not to leave the tree hollow no matter how many days she was gone.
But the result was like this.
Yuna's heart shattered.
She adeptly climbed the tree and stealthily moved aside the branches blocking the cave entrance, peeking inside.
What she feared most had happened.
The tree hollow the two used as a hideout was empty.
The spare clothes were still piled in the corner, covered in a thick layer of dust.
Opening the hidden cellar in the ground, the potatoes and pumpkins stored inside were barely touched.
There was still so much food left.
Before going out to hunt, she had repeatedly, emphatically reminded her sister that no matter how many days she was gone, she was not allowed to take a single step outside the tree hollow.
Yet this was the result.
After finally making it back here, there was no trace of her sister...
Yuna's heart broke into pieces.
She climbed onto the treetops and shouted loudly several times, "Yuli!"
After waiting for a long time without any response, Yuna searched the vicinity for a while longer but still found nothing.
Disheartened, she could only head back the way she came to find Lin Feng...