Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 82: The Clear Moon Waterfall
They walked through the forest in an odd little procession.
Xin Yi in front, walking with Ài Yún, Sha Chen exactly ten paces behind them. As promised.
It was......strange.
"This is very awkward," Xin Yi muttered to Ài Yún.
"Very," Ài Yún agreed, trying not to laugh. "But also hilarious. The Alpha following behind like a.....like a..."
"Like a cub?"
"I was going to say ’bodyguard’ but yes. Like a very elegant, very powerful cub."
[DING! (¬‿¬)] 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
[Hmmmm. Host is using System less frequently!]
[Host no longer requires my help with certain tasks?]
[Where is the energy?! ☆]
Xin Yi blinked. Oh. Right. System.
She had been so......disconnected lately. So focused on just surviving day to day that she had forgotten about quests and points and—
"System," she thought. "I have been distracted."
[DING! (◕‿◕)]
[Yes, Host has!]
[Host still has QUEST OBJECTIVES!]
[Remember? Find out how transmigrators come to this world!]
[Discover who Mán Shū is!]
[These are important! ☆]
"Oh. Right."
She had completely forgotten about that in the chaos of the past few days.
Mán Shū. The goddess. The supposed origin of......everything?
Maybe she could ask Sha Chen about it. Later. When he was not being weirdly charming and showing her waterfalls.
"You keep making strange faces," Ài Yún observed.
"Sorry. Just.....thinking."
"About your mate?"
Xin Yi’s chest tightened. "Always."
Ài Yún squeezed her hand.
They walked in comfortable silence for a while. The path was getting steeper. Rockier. The trees were thicker here. Older.
"The Alpha has never brought anyone here before," Ài Yún said suddenly. Her voice was quiet, and conspiratorial.
Xin Yi looked at her. "What?"
"The Clear Moon Waterfall. It was the Great Mother’s favorite place. After she died, the Alpha claimed it as......as sacred ground, I suppose." She glanced back at Sha Chen, who was still maintaining his ten-pace distance. "He goes there alone. Often. To think. To remember her."
"And he chases people away?"
"Always. Anyone who gets too close, he sends them away immediately." Ài Yún’s eyes were warm. "The fact that he is bringing YOU here.....it means something."
Xin Yi did not know how to respond to that. It didn’t change the fact that Sha Chen had cruelly separated her from Qing Lin, and it didn’t change the fact that she still sort of hated him.
So she said nothing.
[DING! (⊙_⊙)]
[Plot significance detected!]
[Sha Chen is showing Host something PERSONAL!]
[This is relationship development! ☆]
They walked for some more time. The sound of rushing water grew louder. Closer. Then they emerged from the trees.
And Xin Yi stopped breathing.
"Woooowwww," she whispered.
The waterfall was BEAUTIFUL.
Crystal-clear water cascaded down from a cliff face at least fifty feet high. It fell into a pool below, deep, blue, pristine. The water was so clear she could see the smooth stones at the bottom.
Mist rose from where the water hit the pool, creating tiny rainbows in the afternoon sunlight. Lush green plants grew around the edges. Flowers she had never seen before, white and delicate, bloomed along the rocks.
[DING! (╥﹏╥)]
[This is GORGEOUS!]
[Host’s eyes are sparkling!]
[System is also impressed!]
[10/10 waterfall! ☆]
"It is beautiful, is it not?" Sha Chen’s voice came from behind them.
Xin Yi turned. He had finally closed the distance, and was standing just a few feet away, his eyes on her.
"It is..." She searched for words. "It is the most beautiful thing I have seen since coming to this world."
His expression softened. "Mama used to say the same thing."
Ài Yún was already walking toward the water’s edge. "Can we go in?"
"Of course," Sha Chen said. "That is why I brought you here."
Xin Yi followed Ài Yún slowly. Her eyes taking in every detail. The way the light filtered through the trees. The sound of the water. The cool mist on her skin. She wanted to say thank you to Sha Chen for bringing her here, but no! He was still a cruel person to her.
She and Ài Yún sat at the water’s edge, took off their shoes, and dipped their feet in.
The water was COLD. Refreshingly cold.
Xin Yi laughed. "Oh! That is freezing!"
"Mountain water!" Ài Yún giggled. "It’s always cold! But so nice!"
Sha Chen sat on a rock a short distance away, watching them with a smile on his face.
[DING! (¬‿¬)]
[He is ENJOYING this]
[Watching Host be happy]
[Very soft Alpha behavior! ☆]
"Shut up," She snapped. "He’s holding me here hostage. He’s not a soft alpha."
[My bad, Host]
Ài Yún was chattering about something, about Zhao Li, about the textile workshop, about some gossip from the settlement.
Xin Yi was only half-listening.
She leaned back on her hands. Let the sun warm her face. Let the mist cool her skin.
For just a moment, she let herself forget. Forget that she was a prisoner. Forget that Qing Lin was days away. Forget that she was trapped in a situation she did not choose.
Then she decided to wade in a bit deeper. The water was so clear. So inviting.
She stood, walked into the pool. The water rose to her knees, and then her thighs.
Cold. So cold. But wonderful.
She leaned down, cupped water in her hands and splashed it on her face.
Ài Yún laughed. "Careful! Do not go too deep! There are rocks!"
"I will be careful!"
She took another step.
Then—
Something grabbed her leg.
TIGHT.
She looked down.
There was a shape in the water. Dark. Fast. Wrapping around her ankle.
"AHHHH!" She screamed. "SOMETHING GRABBED ME!"
[DING! (╯°□°)╯]
[HOST IN DANGER!]
[UNKNOWN CREATURE DETECTED!]
[ALERT! ALERT! ☆]
Ài Yún screamed too. "XIN YI!"
Sha Chen was already moving, and shifting. His body rippled into his full wolf form, massive, white and black, terrifying.
He hit the water with a SPLASH.
But whatever had grabbed Xin Yi was pulling. HARD.
She lost her balance, and fell backward into the water. Without even letting her catch her breath, the thing around her ankle YANKED, and pulled her under.
Down.
DOWN.
Into the depths of the pool.
[DING! (⊙_⊙)]
[HOST IS DROWNING!]
[DANGER LEVEL: CRITICAL!]
[SHA CHEN DIVE DIVE DIVE! ☆]
