A piercing stench of decay, a sticky, greasy sensation, flies, maggots…
“Ugh!”
The girl crawled out of the mass grave, utterly shaken by the dual visual and olfactory assault before her. Her stomach churned, and she dry-heaved, nearly vomiting up bile!
Where… is this?
Who… am I?!
The girl’s mind went blank for a moment. She vigorously shook her head, slowly piecing together her memories.
—After being swallowed by that unknown vortex black hole, she arrived at this forsaken place.
Sang Luo hurriedly looked at her arms, legs, and feet. Thankfully, nothing was missing.
The bloody stench in the air was too strong, making her uncomfortable. Sang Luo wanted to escape this place as soon as possible. She got up, but her line of sight was a bit strange, much lower, like a child’s perspective.
She looked down at her arms and legs again. She hadn't noticed before, but they were indeed shorter.
Sang Luo wiped her face, which was also sticky and greasy. She guessed her face was disfigured, as it felt sore to the touch.
In this nameless mass grave, she didn't know how many corpses were buried. Piles here and there, mostly severed limbs and broken arms, recently deceased, blood coagulating into small puddles.
Sang Luo glanced into the stinking ditch.
Who is this blood-soaked 'ghost' before me!?
Her heart pounding, she stepped on the corpses and stones under her feet, fleeing this pile of dead bodies.
The stench on her body lingered. Sang Luo wanted to cast a water-based cleansing spell, but it wouldn't work.
The nearby rivers were polluted with corpse blood. Sang Luo had to run barefoot for more than a dozen miles before finding a clean river. She couldn't wait to jump into the river.
After scrubbing herself vigorously, she heard a faint, painful whimper.
It sounded like some kind of small animal?
She swam to the opposite bank and saw a small, dark shadow lying in the grass not far away.
Driven by curiosity, Sang Luo climbed ashore and walked over.
Hearing the unfamiliar footsteps, the curled-up little black beast trembled, opening its mouth to issue a warning cry.
…Unfortunately, it had no deterrent effect.
As Sang Luo got closer, she realized it was a black canine beast, dirty all over, its fur messy and unkempt.
It collapsed on the ground, lowering its head to lick the wound on its hind leg. Blood had soaked its fur, and there was obvious bloodstains on the ground.
It's injured.
Beastman? Or wild beast?
Except during their cub stage, Sang Luo had rarely seen beastmen transform into full beast forms, especially such a weak and small one, unlike the mighty beast forms of beastmen.
Sang Luo greeted it, trying to communicate with it, but the little beast became even more alert, its hissing growing louder and louder, its fur standing on end!
Alright then.
Looks like it's just a wild beast without intelligence.
Appearing in the wilderness, it doesn't seem to be someone's pet. It must be a wild dog accidentally bitten by a hunter or predator.
During the time Sang Luo stayed in Qingqiu, she learned some real skills. She recognized many hemostatic and wound-healing herbs. She found some herbs nearby and applied them to her body to heal her injuries.
Speaking of which, since coming to this broken place, not only could she not use a simple cleansing spell, but she couldn't even use her healing abilities.
Could the black hole have also deprived her of her powers!?
It's like going back to before liberation.
The wound quickly scabbed over. Sang Luo got up and wanted to find a safe place to spend the night, and then carefully explore the current situation when she had time.
She was just about to leave.
A weak whimper came from behind her.
Sang Luo turned her head to look, and it was that little wild dog again.
It cast a pleading look at her.
Sang Luo was stunned, then smiled and said,
“You want me to help you heal your wound?”
The little wild dog couldn't speak. It stared at her with its pitiful eyes. Sang Luo finally gave in. She still had some herbs left, so she walked over to it, “Let's make this clear first. I'll help you treat your wound, but you have to be obedient and not bite me.”
She couldn't even use self-healing now, and she didn't know if the wild beast had any germs or rabies. She didn't want to cause herself any more trouble, but she really couldn't stand the pitiful gaze of this little wild beast.
The little wild beast was still a little wary, but it no longer resisted, quietly趴lying on the ground.
Sang Luo rubbed her hands, not daring to hug it rashly, so she found a banana leaf nearby, ran to the river to scoop some clear water, and helped it clean the wound on its hind leg.
The wound was more serious than she thought. It was bleeding and festering, and the shape of the hind leg was a little unnaturally bent, probably a fracture.
She had no other choice but to take the most primitive approach, grinding the herbs in her hand into juice and applying them to its hind leg along with the crushed residue.
Wild animals have tenacious vitality. If the fracture isn't too serious, it should be able to heal on its own. That's all she could do.
The little beast whimpered softly in pain, its pointed ears folding back, its body trembling even more violently.
Sang Luo tentatively reached out and touched its head. Its body stopped shaking, and it arched its pointed mouth under her hand.
Sang Luo's eyebrows curved into a smile, and her palm stroked more gently, “Yeah, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, it'll be fine soon.”
The little beast seemed to nod slightly, relaxing its tense body, resting its head on the ground, and no longer making a sound.
After treating the little beast's leg, Sang Luo got up and planned to leave. She turned around and walked a few steps, but saw the little wild beast staggering behind her.
She stopped, and it stopped too, tilting its head to look at her.
Its clear black pupils showed some trepidation.
Roars of beasts came from the jungle not far away.
Sang Luo thought of that mass grave. Tonight, many wild beasts would probably be foraging for food.
If this poor little beast was unprotected, it would probably become the dinner of other wild beasts.
“If you want to follow me, then follow me, but I'm not sure how long I'll stay here.”
She had to go back quickly.
She just didn't know how to go back.
Sang Luo looked up at the dark night sky, sighed, and walked forward aimlessly.
The little beast followed closely behind her.
After an unknown amount of time, the roars of the beasts gradually disappeared, and chaotic footsteps came from afar.
In the dim moonlight, clusters of torches appeared not far away, at least several hundred people, rushing towards this side.
Finally, there are living people!
Sang Luo was pleasantly surprised and wanted to take the little wild beast she picked up to seek help from these people.
Turning her head, she saw the little beast running away.
“Hey, where are you going?”
Sang Luo shouted anxiously.
The little beast stopped, turned its head to look at her, and then staggered away, disappearing into the night.
Sang Luo noticed its fluffy big tail, and was stunned for a moment. It didn't look like a wild dog… a wild wolf? Or a fox?
She didn't care about this little episode and trotted towards those people.
Suddenly, everything went dark, and she fell to the ground.
Before passing out, she saw a male beastman holding a torch running over quickly, anxiously shouting, “Come quickly, we've found His Highness…”
