Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 44: The Cooling Remedy

"Ah... ah... AH—" She tried to reach behind herself, her fingers scrabbling uselessly. She couldn’t reach it! "No no no NO—"

"Xin Yi?" Qing Lin’s voice was suddenly alert. "What’s wrong?"

"SOMETHING IS ON MY BACK!" She was hopping now, splashing frantically. "I CAN’T REACH IT! IT’S CRAWLING! IT HAS LEGS! SO MANY LEGS!"

She heard the splash before she saw him.

Qing Lin appeared beside her in the water, and his hand was already on her shoulder, turning her around.

"Hold still," he commanded, his eyes already looking for what was attacking his precious female.

"STILL?! There’s a—a—LEG DEMON on my—EEP!"

His cool fingers traced down her spine, and she felt the moment he found the creature.

"It’s just a water beetle," he said calmly. "They’re harmless."

"GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF—"

He plucked it off her back in one smooth motion, holding it up so she could see. Xin Yi squinted her eyes and then made a face out of disgust. It was indeed just a beetle, a big one, but just a beetle.

"See? It can do you no harm, Xin Yi. Nothing can harm you while I am here."

He tossed it back into the river, where it paddled away indignantly. Sigh. Thank goodness. Xin Yi, whose heart was still racing, tried to calm herself.

The immediate danger was gone, she could continue her bath.

But....

Wait...

The realization came like a jolt of water. He was in the water.

Looking at her.

His eyes were currently locked on her face, but she could see the effort it was taking him to keep them there.

"Get out!!! I—you—you PROMISED no peeking, Qing Lin! Bad noodle! Bad noodle!" she squeaked.

"You screamed for help," he said. His arms were crossed across his chest in a somewhat adorable manner. He even pouted. "And I helped. I pride myself in being able to help you, Xin Yi."

"By JUMPING IN THE RIVER WITH ME?!"

"Should I have let the ’leg demon’ eat you? You were so terrified and sure it would gobble you right up!" Qing Lin tried to sound serious, but he couldn’t help it. His lips twitched from his effort to not snicker.

Xin Yi’s eyes widened. He was getting more playful. "It was a BEETLE, Qing Lin! You said so yourself!"

"A very aggressive beetle."

"QING LIN!"

He was still staring at her face, but she could see his jaw clenching. His pupils had contracted to thin slits, and his chest was rising and falling faster than normal.

"You should finish bathing," he said quietly. "I’ll... I’ll steady you. So you don’t fall."

His hands moved to her waist, holding her upright in the water.

Xin Yi’s brain was short-circuiting. She was very aware of every point of contact. His fingers were cool against her sun-warmed skin. His thumbs were resting just below her ribs.

Her face went red. Why didn’t these beastmen understand the concept of personal space. "I... I can stand on my own, Qing Lin. Go away...."

"I know." But he didn’t let go. His eyes finally—finally—dropped from her face.

Down to her neck.

To the mark.

Hei Yan’s mark.

His expression darkened. "Hmm, forgive me Xin Yi....but I want..." He leaned closer, his nose nearly touching her collarbone. He inhaled slowly. "I will..."

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[WARNING! SNAKE KING IS ENTERING "POSSESSIVE ALPHA" MODE!]

[Current Danger Level: ROMANTIC!]

[Suggested Action: RUN! OR DON’T! SYSTEM IS NEUTRAL ON THIS ONE!(THAT’S A LIE. DON’T RUN!!]

"...respect your wish and give you space," Qing Lin finished, though it clearly pained him to say it. Eh? Xin Yi couldn’t believe her ears.

Badump.

[Oh? What is this? Is Host falling for the snake king?]

Shut up!!

She turned her face away, suddenly staring at the now interesting looking water. "Thank you, Qing Lin." He released her waist with a nod of acknowledgement and stepped back, water rippling around him.

Then he turned and waded out of the river without another word.

Xin Yi stood there in the water, her heart pounding, her skin tingling where he had touched her.

"...Oh," she whispered. He hadn’t tried to force her to do anything....Qing Lin was reminding her more and more of modern life, and she liked it.

He wasn’t like.....

[DING! (≧▽≦)]

[OH INDEED, HOST!]

[HE JUST SHOWED RESTRAINT! SELF-CONTROL! RESPECT FOR YOUR BOUNDARIES!]

[I LIKE QING LIN! I REALLY LIKE HIM!]

[Certainly better than a certain jealous panther who would have just licked you and called it marriage! ☆]

[That was practically what he did anyway! Take you, and mate with you after trying to win your affections. Dump the panther. I want Qing Lin~]

"System... shut up..." But her voice was weak. This time she agreed with the system. She wanted Qing Lin now...and it wasn’t from a purely lustful standpoint...

Hmmm...

She finished bathing in a daze, her mind replaying the way Qing Lin had looked at her. The hunger in his eyes. The restraint in his actions.

He wants me. He REALLY wants me. But he... he’s giving me space?

No Alpha she had met so far had done that.

Hei Yan had marked her in a heat-fueled rush.

Feng Huang had teased and tempted but always pushed boundaries.

But Qing Lin...

Qing Lin was patient.

What would Xin Yi do?

She didn’t have time to finish the thought.

The humid swamp air suddenly thickened, turning into a visible mist that smelled of ozone and hot mud. The colorful birds that usually chattered in the canopy went deathly silent.

[DING! (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞]

[SYSTEM EMERGENCY ALERT!]

[GEOTHERMAL SURGE DETECTED! HOST, THE TEMPERATURE IS RISING BY 2 DEGREES PER MINUTE!]

"What? System, what’s happening?" Xin Yi scrambled out of the water, grabbing her makeshift tunic.

[IT’S NOT JUST THE WEATHER, HOST! LOOK AT THE WATER!]

Xin Yi looked. The river was starting to bubble. Small fish were leaping onto the banks, preferring the hot air to the scalding water. In the distance, she heard a sound that made her blood run cold, a chorus of low, guttural hisses, vibrating through the ground like an earthquake.

[OH NO... NO NO NO!]

[THE SUDDEN HEAT SPIKE HAS TRIGGERED A PREMATURE BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE!]’[REMEMBER WHAT THE LITTLE SNAKE-BOY SAID ABOUT THE CYCLES?]

Xin Yi’s heart raced. "The molting...?"

[DING! (⊙_X)]

[CORRECT! BUT IT’S NOT A NORMAL MOLT! THIS IS THE ’FRENZIED SHED’!]

[THE ENTIRE BLACK WATER TRIBE IS ABOUT TO ENTER A STATE OF AGGRESSIVE VULNERABILITY!]

Xin Yi looked toward the village. She saw Mo Yan standing on a high ridge, his massive chest heaving, his skin looking strangely tight and dull under the sun. But her eyes searched for only one person.

"Qing Lin!" she shouted, running toward the path where he had just disappeared.

[HOST, WAIT! (╥﹏╥)]

[A MOLTING SNAKE IS A HUNGRY, ANGRY, AND VERY POSSESSIVE SNAKE!]

[IF YOU GO TO HIM NOW, HE WON’T HAVE THE RESTRAINT YOU LIKED SO MUCH TWO MINUTES AGO!]

[NEW QUEST TRIGGERED: THE COOLING REMEDY!]

[OBJECTIVE: SAVE THE SNAKE KING FROM OVERHEATING BEFORE HE LOSES HIS MIND.....OR EATS YOU!]

[DANGER LEVEL: MAXIMUM!]

[GOOD LUCK, HOST! YOU’RE GONNA NEED IT! ☆]