Chapter 156 – The Wolf King’s Naughty Little Wife – Two Adorable Sub-Beastmen (02)
Having finally returned to the Great Forest, and with the male and female leads not yet having appeared, Bai Tang decided to take a stroll through the forest. After all, the food reserves at home were running low.
Besides that, he was also curious to see how the forests in the beastman world differed from those in the modern world.
Sliding down the rope into the tree hole, Bai Tang realized that the tree in which the hole was located was actually five times taller than modern trees and much thicker. No wonder the original host had been able to live inside it.
After marveling at this, Bai Tang headed toward the forest. He had only taken two steps before he noticed how inconvenient it was to walk with a lame leg. Limping like this really slowed him down.
“Qiu’er, can I use healing magic to cure my disability?” Bai Tang asked.
“You can, but not today. Just yesterday, the original host went to the Winged Wolf Tribe to trade some fruit for a small piece of meat. If you suddenly show up healed and run into someone from the Winged Wolf Tribe, it’ll be hard to explain,” the system advised.
In this world, beastmen believe in the Beast God. If Bai Tang were to suddenly heal overnight, he’d likely have to explain it as a miracle from the Beast God. That would bring intense scrutiny and attention from the beastmen, just like the female lead Ran Xiayue, who used the excuse of being the Beast God’s messenger to bask in admiration and praise. Bai Tang didn’t like having his life overly scrutinized, so he decided to let it go for now.
“Tang Tang can wait a while to heal the leg. That way, you can say you found medicinal herbs in the forest to cure it, and no one will suspect anything,” the system suggested.
“Mm-hmm.” That was probably the best option.
Even though walking was difficult due to his leg, with the system’s help, there was nothing to worry about—he could just teleport straight into the forest.
Towering trees stretched up into the clouds, their swaying shadows occasionally accompanied by the chirping of birds. This was a truly untouched, industrial-pollution-free primeval forest. The air was fresh, and a gentle breeze carried the faint scent of flowers.
“Tang Tang, be careful. Wild animals often appear here,” the system warned as it looked at the red dot on the map, then suddenly said, “There’s something above us!”
Just as the system finished speaking, something suddenly fell from the tree above. Bai Tang swiftly dodged, and the object landed hard on the ground.
“Ow, that hurts~” A sub-beastman, who looked similar in appearance to Bai Tang, sat on the ground rubbing his butt and whining.
Fortunately, the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground had softened the fall, so it didn’t hurt too badly.
“Hello, do you need help?” Seeing that it was a sub-beastman, Bai Tang wasn’t afraid anymore.
The fox tribe sub-beastman looked up and was met with a cute, doll-like face, topped with two fluffy little ears.
“Hey, you’re just like me~” Bai Chuansu exclaimed in delight. He sniffed the air and then frowned. “Wait, something’s off. Your scent is different… You’re a squirrel spirit?!”
Since they were both from the demon race, it was easy to recognize each other’s species.
Bai Chuansu didn’t originally belong to this world. He was a little fox-cat spirit who had come here specifically to find someone.
“Tang Tang, he’s a fox spirit,” the system said with a strange expression. Why are there demon spirits in this world? That shouldn’t be possible. There was no indication of a world breach…
“A fox spirit~” Bai Tang said in amazement. He had never met a demon spirit before.
“Hmph, so what if I’m a fox spirit? You’re still a squirrel spirit,” Bai Chuansu snorted proudly. Only Demon Lord Sovereign was allowed to call him a fox spirit—no one else. That was what the Demon Sovereign had said.
Bai Chuansu turned his head away arrogantly, the small beauty mark just below the corner of his eye adding a hint of charm to his expression.
“You’re so pretty~” Bai Tang was dazzled. This was the most beautiful person he had ever seen—well, except for the male lead, who was the most handsome. That was different.
Hearing the little squirrel praise him, Bai Chuansu happily grabbed his hand. “You’re really cute too~”
The two of them held hands, as close as one person, sitting under the tree and chattering away non-stop.
“Do you want to eat pine nuts? I have some~” Of course, good things should be shared with new friends. Bai Tang took out pine nuts from his pouch—gathered from the great forest that had raised him—and offered them to Bai Chuansu.
“Sure, sure! I have chicken legs~” Bai Chuansu was just as generous, pulling out a chicken leg made for him by Demon Lord from his storage pouch.
Each of them placed the other’s gift into their own pouch or storage bag. When they looked back up, they were both smiling.
“Heehee~ Why did you come here?”
“I’m here to find someone.”
“What a coincidence, me too!”
In perfect unison, they asked, “Who are you looking for?”
And just as naturally, they both answered in sync: “My beloved!”
They both froze. It was rare to click with someone so well, and now they even had the same goal. It made them feel all the more fated to meet.
“What’s his name?” Bai Tang asked in a soft, childish voice.
“I’m looking for Demon Lord. He’s the villain of this world, and I must find him and help him escape his fate,” Bai Chuansu said firmly.
Bai Tang let out a gasp. “T-The villain?”
“That’s right,” the little cat-fox huffed indignantly. “It’s all those people’s fault. They couldn’t defeat Demon Lord in a fair fight, so they resorted to dirty tricks… It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when we have more time.”
If Bai Tang remembered correctly, the villain in this world was the snake tribe leader who was killed by Kyle Murphy for the sake of Ran Xiayue.
Suddenly, Bai Tang didn’t dare say a word. The little cat-fox’s beloved had been killed by his beloved. If he said that out loud, would Bai Chuansu kill him right here and now?
“It’s all the female lead’s fault. Don’t blame yourself, Tang Tang,” the system comforted him.
Bai Tang thought back to the original plot. It really was the female lead’s fault. If she hadn’t stolen the snake egg and then tried to return it—not out of guilt for killing a snake child, but simply because she got scared—none of the following tragedies would’ve happened.
He couldn’t tell if Ran Xiayue was truly that naive or just stunned by fear. It was normal to be afraid of snakes, sure, but beastman eggs, especially twin ones, had distinct markings to show whether they were beastman or not. How could she have lived in the beastman world for so long and still not know such basic knowledge?
The snake tribe leader was honestly a pitiful character. After thinking it over, Bai Tang decided to carefully reveal the villain’s fate to Bai Chuansu, while warning him to be cautious around females from other tribes.
He didn’t mention the female lead directly out of fear that Bai Chuansu might get angry and just eliminate her on the spot—which would, in turn, collapse the entire world.
There were many magical treasures in this world, and every demon race had its own cultivation methods. So it wasn’t strange that Bai Tang had an artifact that could see the future.
Bai Chuansu didn’t doubt his words—he could tell that the little squirrel was genuinely kind and naive, and he was very grateful.
“Thank you, Tang Tang. I’ll be careful. No one is going to hurt Demon Lord, ” Bai Chuansu said, clenching his fist with determination.
He stood up, patted the dust off his butt, and brushed away the leaves stuck to his tail.
“I’m going to find Demon Lord now. This is for you.” Bai Chuansu handed Bai Tang a small tuft of fox fur.
“Once I bring him back, I’ll come find you again.”
Back? Back to where? Bai Tang blinked, confused as he accepted the tuft of fur. Then it occurred to him—Bai Chuansu was a fox spirit, so he must be able to travel through space and time. Otherwise, how would he have even come here?
Bai Tang felt reluctant to part. “Okay… goodbye.”
Bai Chuansu gave him a hug. “Until we meet again.”
As the little cat-fox departed, the sun was already starting to set.
The evening breeze blew gently as the sky gradually darkened. Bai Tang squinted his eyes in comfort.
He hadn’t transformed in several worlds now, and since no one was around at the moment, it should be fine to shift forms, right? He felt like climbing a tree~
No sooner thought than done. With a soft poof, the young sub-beastman vanished, leaving behind a piece of beast hide on the ground. From within it, a fluffy little squirrel wriggled out effortlessly and scampered up the tree.
“Squeak squeak squeak—squeak—” Qiu’er, this is so fun! Let’s go to those trees over there!
In the nighttime forest, a tiny shadow darted swiftly among the trees.
The system screamed at the top of its voice: “Ahhh—it’s too high! Tang Tang, slow down! Ahhh—!”
You really couldn’t blame the system for being scared.
Other than sub-beastman females and the sub-beastmen themselves, nearly everything in this beastman world was several times larger than in the modern world—sometimes even more.
Right now, Bai Tang was leaping through the branches with the system in tow. It felt like doing parkour on the 10th or 20th floor of a building. The poor little system was nearly scared to death.
One hour later.
“Squeak squeak squeak—” Okay okay, I’ll stop running. Qiu’er, don’t be scared.
Bai Tang had played to his heart’s content and now sat on a branch, satisfied, comforting the tearful system.
“I was just scared, okay? And you bullied me, Tang Tang! Wuwuwu…” the system wailed, hiding its face and retreating into its little black room.
“You’re so mean, Tang Tang. I’m not talking to you for the rest of the night! And you’re still laughing! I’m revoking your transformation privileges!”
As the system finished speaking, the little squirrel suddenly transformed back into a sub-beastman boy—completely naked—sitting bare on the thick tree branch. The evening wind swept past, raising goosebumps all over his pale skin.
Bai Tang: !!!
“Qiu’er, I’m sorry! Let me transform back, I’m freezing~”
The system reluctantly pulled out a piece of beast hide. Worried that Bai Tang wouldn’t know how to wear it, it personally wrapped him up, then huffed, “The male lead is down there!” before stomping off into its black room, slamming the door with a loud bang.
Bai Tang rubbed his nose. It seemed he’d really made Qiu’er angry this time. With that kind of attitude, the system definitely wouldn’t be coming back out tonight.
He sighed, then leaned forward to peek below.
Nope—nothing. No one in sight. Where was he?
Because there was no deforestation in this world, the plants in the forest were especially lush. Despite Bai Tang trying his hardest to peer down, most of his view was blocked by the thick, overgrown foliage.
Unable to see anyone, and afraid he’d miss Kyle Murphy passing by, Bai Tang began breaking off nearby branches, hoping to widen his field of view.
In the beastman world, females were the most delicate, and sub-beastmen were only slightly stronger. He could break off the newly sprouted twigs, but the branches as thick as a wrist were impossible to snap.
Bai Tang tried for a while, but the branches didn’t budge at all—as if mocking how little strength a sub-beastman truly had.
Bai Tang, now thoroughly annoyed with the tree branch, stood up and gripped the branch in front of him with both hands, determined to break it.
Then his foot slipped.
His entire body was suddenly left dangling in midair, hanging by the very branch he had been trying to break.
Bai Tang looked down—it was a height equivalent to a dozen floors. He wasn’t in his squirrel form right now. If he fell from here, he wouldn’t just be hurt—he’d be crippled, or worse. He already had one injured leg. Was he going to break both?
He completely forgot that he had powers—he could have summoned vines to catch himself. But looking down from this height, he instinctively swallowed nervously. From above came a creaking sound.
That poor branch, which Bai Tang had been struggling with for a while, was now also supporting a weight it was never meant to bear. With a final, exhausted creak, it snapped.
Bai Tang plummeted.
“Ahhhh—!” he screamed, closing his eyes, the wind rushing past his ears.
But the painful impact he expected never came. Instead, it felt like something—or someone—had caught him.
Bai Tang opened his eyes to see a ruggedly handsome face.
Kyle Murphy had ended his coming-of-age training early. While passing through the area, he heard some commotion above him and instinctively caught whatever was falling. He hadn’t expected it to be an adorable sub-beastman.
The little sub-beastman’s cheeks were flushed red, and his fluffy ears were curled back in fear. His glistening eyes still shimmered with shock.
Kyle Murphy’s heart skipped a beat. Though it had been years, he recognized Bai Tang immediately. But for the first time, the sub-beastman in his arms felt overwhelmingly cute.
One of Bai Tang’s hands had landed on Kyle’s chest, and the two of them could hear each other’s quickening heartbeats—gradually syncing into the same rhythm.
Author’s Note:
Bai Chuansu is the fated partner (CP) of that poor villain who was ruined by the female lead. As for his true identity… well, you’ll find out in my new novel (Conan-style glasses push~).
And finally—your male lead has appeared!!!