Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 227 - 167: Battered and Abandoned Black-Haired Youth

The jungles of the Primordial Beast World radiated a wild, chaotic energy.

Her straw-sandaled feet squelched in the muddy soil as she climbed over thick tree trunks that had collapsed onto the wetlands, their roots rotted away. An Jin, who had been searching for plant seeds, had her gaze fall upon a few stark white feathers mixed in with the dead leaves not far away.

’This is...’

The palm-sized white feathers shimmered with a faint purple light.

’Why are feathers from the King Beast, Ze Sheng, here?’

An Jin straightened up and looked around. She had been so absorbed in gathering seeds that she hadn’t realized she’d wandered onto this mountain.

She saw that the ground was littered with white feathers, and the nearby branches and leaves were stained with dried, blackened blood.

A thought struck An Jin. She subtly released her spiritual power to scan the area, but she found no trace or aura of the King Beast. Moreover, the sense of dread she usually felt around him wasn’t there...

’But something must have happened.’

Like a little hamster lured by a trail of food, she took a few steps forward for every few large white feathers she bent down to pick up.

By the time she was cradling a bundle of feathers large enough to make a quality duster, a hidden cave, like the den of a wild animal, appeared before her.

A thick curtain of vines hung limply over the mouth of the cave, obscuring the view inside.

The reek of blood in the air was overwhelming.

She had already scanned the area with her spiritual power; there were no Demon Beasts around.

’And she could handle ordinary beasts.’

So, she stepped brazenly into the cave. DRIP. DRIP. Damp water from cracks in the rock splashed onto the ground. Several more drops, chilling as a viper’s venom, landed on her head, and goosebumps instantly broke out across her skin!

"Sss, it’s cold. What kind of creepy place is this..." An Jin subconsciously touched the red snake marking on her arm.

The mark tightened slightly, its searing heat giving her all the security she needed.

Ores on the cave walls emitted a faint glow. The weak gasps of a human reached her ears. An Jin rounded a corner into the deepest part of the cave, but before her foot could touch the packed earth...

"Get out, intruder!"

An Jin looked up and was met with a pair of cold, dark eyes. A dark, oppressive aura surged from him, a silent warning to the intruder who dared to disturb him.

"..." She froze.

’She’d thought Ze Sheng was the one who was injured. She never expected to find a half-grown Beastman boy hiding in a cave, licking his wounds alone!’

’He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, though he could be older. After all, food was scarce in the Beast World, and most children were underdeveloped.’

He seemed to be gravely injured. His back was slumped against a corner, and blood pooled on the ground around him, spreading outward.

The boy’s chest rose and fell weakly. Half his body and half his face were covered in pitch-black scales. He had a tail and two horns, but she couldn’t guess what race he belonged to just yet.

The first thing she noticed was his incredibly dark eyes—cold and gloomy. A closer look revealed a wave of negative emotions like disgust and loathing, a twisted, world-weary bitterness unimaginable for a boy his age. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Qi Yuan stared intently at the strange female who had suddenly barged into his refuge, his gaze fixed on the bundle of white feathers in her hands. His beast-like pupils constricted.

The fingers of the hand at his side dug into the earth. His entire body radiated danger, like an enraged beast trying to drive her away.

’Damn it. That bastard Ze Sheng is ruthless. All I did was say a few words about his partner, who’s been dead for gods know how long, and he flew into a rage.’

’Hmph. Damn him. The moment I come of age, he’ll be the first one I kill!’

’In his current, gravely injured state, anyone could kill him. The sight of even this strange female made him tense up.’

"...I just wandered here by accident. I’m lost. I’m sorry for intruding on your territory. I’ll leave right now."

Seeing how gravely injured the Beastman boy was, An Jin initially wanted to help. But the murderous "take one more step and I’ll kill you" look on his face made her turn to leave without a second thought.

She had barely taken a step to leave when a heavy thud echoed from behind her.

An Jin, "..."

After a moment’s hesitation, she walked back over.

Crouching beside the unconscious boy, she saw that his eyes were shut tight, as if he were asleep. While one side of his face was covered in terrifying black scales, the other was surprisingly delicate and handsome.

She tapped him gently, but there was no response. ’He must have passed out from blood loss and exhaustion.’