For a fleeting moment, Ji Qian even considered throwing Xu Qi out of the cave and leaving him to fend for himself.

In the end, it was the bond of friendship built over many years and Ji Qian's remaining conscience that saved Xu Qi.

After eliminating countless waves of monsters, Ji Qian collapsed to the ground. Before she could even catch her breath, she heard Mi Yesi's voice behind her:

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Mi Yesi was unaware of the fierce battle that had just taken place, but seeing Ji Qian's unusually haggard appearance, she realized something was wrong.

Mi Yesi helped Ji Qian to a soft cushion nearby. Just as she was about to ask something, she heard a strange creaking sound coming from outside the cave.

Having grown up in the village since childhood, Mi Yesi reacted almost instantly; the sound was clearly that of a large beast devouring its prey!

Mi Yesi gripped Ji Qian's arm tightly, whispering in her ear about her discovery.

Ji Qian was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and suddenly remembered that after she dismembered the bear, in order to save trouble, she threw the parts that were not suitable for eating down the cliff not far from the cave entrance.

Thinking of the mysterious ecosystem in the forest, Ji Qian cursed inwardly. She only had time to whisper a few words to Mi Yesi before getting up and running towards the cave entrance on her own.

Outside the cave, the rain continued to lash the mountain walls relentlessly, showing no sign of stopping.

Ji Qian looked up through the rain towards the direction where the remains had been discarded, and sure enough, she saw a dark figure lying on the ground, writhing as if it were gnawing on something.

Because of the great distance, Ji Qian could not see the shape of the shadowy figure clearly, but could only roughly make out that it was a four-limbed creature that was not much larger than a large dog.

Unable to determine the species of the other party, Ji Qian did not intend to make a rash move. She sat down by the cave and prepared to observe the other party's next move.

The unknown creature's teeth didn't seem to be very good; the teeth-grinding chewing sound continued for quite a while until the rain gradually subsided.

As the chewing sounds gradually slowed down, Ji Qian, who was already drowsy, quickly sat up and looked toward the location of the unknown creature.

You wouldn't know unless you looked closely. Just one glance was enough to make Ji Qian, who was originally full of confidence, want to back down and wish she could turn around and flee back to the cave immediately.

That wasn't some large, ferocious beast with bad teeth at all, but a naked, long-haired man who could only crawl on all fours!

Although he was called a man, perhaps due to years of living in the wild, his appearance, limbs, and even muscle structure were very close to those of a wild animal, making him look extremely frightening.

But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that after the man had completely devoured the bones, he was sprinting towards the cave at top speed.

Watching the man's almost deformed crawling movements, Ji Qian suddenly felt her stomach churning... Sure enough, the bear meat she ate that night wasn't cooked properly!

Perhaps because the stomach pain was so excruciating, Ji Qian, who was originally somewhat timid, suddenly became emboldened!

She strode out of the cave, ready to finish off her partner quickly before she succumbed to her physical needs.

As the distance between them closed, Ji Qian finally saw the man's facial features clearly, and at the same time gained a deeper understanding of the beauty that distance makes.

Ji Qian initially thought the man was a savage living in this forest. But only after seeing that deformed human face that perfectly blended elements of wild beasts did Ji Qian realize that she had misjudged him.

The creature in front of me is clearly a wild 'orc'!

Ji Qian first learned about the term 'orc' when she was reading a novel, and she never expected it would be applied to real life one day.

Just as Ji Qian was distracted and lost in thought, the 'orc' pounced towards her.

Gazing at the 'orc's' sharp claws, as sharp as a feline's, in mid-air, Ji Qian finally snapped out of her daze and raised her scythe to meet it.

Although the orcs' attacks were haphazard, their strength was immense. During their entanglement, Ji Qian nearly suffered several losses, but fortunately, the scythe provided by Mi Yesi was sharp enough.

After having his neck slashed three times by the scythe, the 'orc' seemed to finally realize that a direct confrontation would not be advantageous.

So he turned around and scurried up to the top of a nearby tree, hiding himself among the leaves.

Although the 'orc' tried its best to make a sound as it left, Ji Qian could still sense that the other party was watching her intently from a tree.

Looking at the sky above, which was already beginning to brighten, Ji Qian felt a little anxious. She turned to the side and subtly pulled a round object out of her clothes, then slammed it to the ground.

In an instant, a blinding white light illuminated the entire forest.

The orc had never seen such a sight before. It felt a stinging pain in its eyes and, in its haste, accidentally made a noise.

Having prepared in advance and closed her eyes, Ji Qian rushed towards the direction from which the sound came, swinging her sickle with a whooshing sound.

The orc felt his feet sway and then he fell from the tree to the ground.

When he came to his senses and looked up, he found that the tree he had just hidden in had been cut in half by the woman in front of him.

The neat, sharp cuts revealed the extraordinary strength of the woman before him.

The 'orc' couldn't understand why this person in front of him, who looked no different from those 'weaklings,' possessed such great power, but he was familiar with the rules of beasts.

So when Ji Qian walked over with her scythe, ready to deliver the final blow to this 'orc,' she saw the other man lying face down on the ground, looking docile and ready to be dealt with.

Ji Qian was taken aback by this sudden turn of events. Before she could react, she heard the sound of fallen leaves being crushed coming from the direction of the cave.

Before Ji Qian could even look up, she saw the 'orc' bracing himself on the ground and charging toward that direction.

"stop!"

Ji Qian was still some distance from the cave and the 'orcs', and seeing that she wouldn't be able to get there in time, she could only subconsciously call out to stop them.

Ji Qian hadn't held out much hope, but to her surprise, the 'orc' actually stopped in its tracks and turned back to look at her with a puzzled expression.

Looking at that complex face with such an innocent, even somewhat aggrieved expression, a strange guess suddenly came to Ji Qian's mind.

She tried waving her hand, then pointed to the bushes nearby, and immediately saw the 'orc' walk towards the bushes.

Taking advantage of the orc's back being turned, Ji Qian quickly looked up, expecting it to be Mi Yesi, who couldn't wait to go out and check, but instead saw a familiar denim jacket:

"Sister Meng?!"