In the cave, Meng Yuqing sat by the fire, watching the dark sky, his brows furrowed. Xuan hadn't returned yet, and he couldn't help but worry about whether Xuan's hunt had gone well, whether he had gotten hurt, and whether he could come back tonight...
Before leaving, Xuan cleaned up the surroundings again and left his marks around to ensure that there were no wild beasts nearby that could threaten Meng Yuqing. When it was getting dark, he used up the number of explorations for the day and confirmed again. The system told him that there were no wild beasts around that could threaten him.
He stood up and stretched his legs which were a little sore from sitting for a long time. He estimated the time and found that it was already midnight. Recalling Xuan's tone when he talked about hunting shadow beasts, which was very different from usual, Meng Yuqing didn't feel sleepy at all.
Just as he stretched his neck to look at the cave entrance for who knows how many times, he heard the sound of heavy objects dragging on the ground and heavy footsteps outside the cave, and Meng Yuqing became alert instantly.
"System, explore!" As he said that, he immediately extinguished the fire, held his breath, and leaned against the mountain wall. The system's exploration range was not large, with himself as the center and a radius of 50 meters.
"System, can it find it?" Meng Yuqing asked the system in her mind, while countless thoughts flashed through her mind. Could it be Xuan outside the cave? Xuan's footsteps were not so heavy. Was he injured? Or, if it wasn't Xuan, would it discover him?
"Exploring - The creature the host wants to explore has not yet entered the exploration range. The exploration is ongoing for 20 minutes. Please wait."
"!!!" Meng Yuqing didn't know what expression to use to express his feelings at the moment.
"Based on the analysis of the available information, this creature possesses the power to threaten the host's life. The system will use energy to cover the host and conceal its presence. This energy is an advance from the system to the host. After the host overcomes this difficulty, please work hard to complete the mission and develop the tribe to obtain energy repayment."
A cold voice sounded, and then Meng Yuqing felt himself being wrapped by an invisible force. He also felt that he could not move freely, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Host, please do not try to move, as this will consume more energy." The system's voice sounded again. Hearing the system say this, Meng Yuqing stopped adjusting his body slightly due to discomfort.
Keeping the original posture, Meng Yuqing listened attentively to the movements outside the cave. The system continued to explore, and the sound was getting closer and closer.
"The target has entered the exploration range. Confirm the target - Xuan. Host, do you want to cancel the hiding?"
"Really? Cancel, cancel!" Meng Yuqing's eyes lit up, he immediately stood up and walked towards the cave entrance.
Outside the cave, Xuan's huge body was hidden in the darkness, his steps were heavy, and he was holding something in his mouth. It was very big and dragged on the black ground, so it was hard to see what it was. He walked very slowly. When he saw Meng Yuqing running out, he paused, quickened his pace, and soon stopped 5 meters away from Meng Yuqing. He opened his mouth, his huge body swayed, he adjusted his steps to stand firm, and slowly sat down.
The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground was muffled, and dust was splashed up. Meng Yuqing reached out and waved away the dust.
"Xuan! You're back! I left some roasted animal meat for you to try my cooking."
Pushing aside the chest-high grass in front of him, Meng Yuqing strode quickly toward Xuan. When he reached him, his eyes widened, his face filled with surprise. His body was covered in wounds of varying sizes, especially two large, bloody holes on his shoulders, which continued to bleed. His once silky fur was now pitted and matted with blood. His chest rose and fell more than usual, and he breathed heavily, occasionally letting out a low moan.
When Xuan saw him coming, he moved his front legs and slowly lay down. Meng Yuqing looked at Xuan with heartache and stretched out his hand, wanting to touch him. Xuan lowered his head obediently.
I covered Xuan's forehead and felt a warmth in my touch. The black fur was softer than I had imagined. There was blood on his face, and a lot of the hair was tangled together, but there were no wounds. It might have been splashed on me.
"Are you still awake at this time? Or did I wake you up?" Xuan said with his head resting on his forelimbs and his eyes closed.
"I can't sleep," Meng Yuqing pursed her lips and continued, "I haven't seen you come back, and I'm worried."
"Now that I'm back, you should go to sleep. I still have to deal with the corpse of the Shadow Beast tomorrow, and I have to bring it back intact."
"Don't you want to rest for a few days? What about your injury?"
"It's okay, it's just a minor injury, I'll be fine after a night's rest."
"Who are you kidding? You come back so breathless that you can't even stand steadily." Meng Yuqing heard him say that, gently patted his forehead and said dissatisfiedly.
"It was almost dark when I killed it. I dragged it back in a hurry without dealing with it, which took some effort." Xuan moved his ears and did not avoid Meng Yuqing's pat.
"Why don't you take care of it and take a rest at the same time? Why are you in such a hurry to come back?" Meng Yuqing frowned and rubbed Xuan's short hair randomly.
"I'm worried about you, a sub-beast, spending the night in the wild. Although the surrounding area has been cleaned, I'm still afraid of accidents." Xuan opened his eyes and looked at the ground. His tail moved unconsciously, with a hint of imperceptible guilt.
Hearing him say this, Meng Yuqing was stunned. He and Xuan Cong had only known each other for three days, so they couldn't be said to have a deep friendship. His purpose of following the other party from the beginning was very simple. In order to save his life, he had been under the other party's protection. Until now, he had never explicitly said that he wanted to join the other party's tribe. It was just one of the options to complete the task.
However, faced with Xuan's sincere and straightforward concern, he didn't know what to say for a moment. He wanted to say, I'm not worthy of you doing this, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
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