QT: Against My Will-Chapter 654 - 13.19 - How High? -Pawprints of Passion
One side wanted to capture the female.
The other side wanted to protect the female.
Dai An wanted to act out a bit too, putting up a performance that could go in either direction...
"I knew it!" said one of the wolf beastmen, "Look how desperate he is to hide his mate from our sight! His beast aura smells so weak, what a waste of a female," he whistled, glancing hungrily at Dai An’s delicate form.
"Hand her over, loser!" Another beastman declared boldly.
They slowly circled Ru Quan and Dai An, closing in on them, cornering them further.
Ru Quan didn’t move, continuing to shield Dai An with his own body.
And then, a leap!
Several huge males lunged forward with their claws bared, intending to rip him to pieces. When they landed though... nothing happened.
"What the–?!" One of the wolf beastmen exclaimed as there was nothing beneath him anymore. No bunny man, no soft woman.
They all looked up simultaneously only to witness a pair of feet. HOW DID HE EVEN JUMP THAT HIGH?!
Before any of them could react further, a pair of feet landed directly atop a wolf man’s skulls and crushed his brains instantly.
Blood splattered across the forest floor in spectacular arcs as the man fell limply, twitching erratically as his body succumbed to death quickly.
It was only a matter of seconds before he expired.
That brief moment lasted forever for those who witnessed it. Their bodies frozen stiff in disbelief.
How was this possible? Rabbit beastmen went extinct because they were weak and timid and...
Splash!
More guts fell out, hitting the ground with wet plops.
...Ru Quan took out another male by crushing him with his feet alone. Without mercy. Without remorse. Even without breaking a sweat.
Wasn’t this supposed to be some sort of romantic rescue fantasy where he came in to save the princess after she was kidnapped by the dragon?
He looked more like a dragon himself, ready to roast the village for touching his treasure... 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Dai An blinked dumbly as he kicked another dead beastman aside, "Are you not keeping any followers?"
"Followers?" Ru Quan paused in confusion. Then it clicked. He looked at the remaining bunch, eyeing each of them as if choosing dinner ingredients, "For?"
Dai An realized they didn’t really need any of them to do chores for them. There were no factions to build in this world nor political games to play with, "Pets..." she said after a short pause, "We can try to domesticate some of them as pets."
"Pets..." Ru Quan repeated, nodding slightly at Dai An’s explanation.
These were abandoned males, whose minds and bodies had become corrupted due to the loss of their mates. Perhaps with proper care and nurture, they could become docile once more.
The remaining male beastmen didn’t tremble in fear since they lost that emotion along with their mate, but they did fall silent at the thought of becoming pets.
No one wanted to be tamed and kept on a leash!
Ru Quan’s eyes met each beastman one by one, looking at them dispassionately.
"Follow," he commanded sharply, motioning for the others to fall behind him in an orderly fashion.
The Beastmen snarled, unwilling to listen to this newcomer. But they weren’t dumb enough to not see what type of power he held. So, reluctantly, they trudged forward in an unorganized mass behind him.
"Let’s collect some more," Dai An suggested, and Ru Quan agreed, leading their party onward into the deeper part of the forest.
When it was time to take a break, Ru Quan would snap his fingers at the abandoned beastmen, "Fetch us water and chopped wood for a campfire."
Ha! As if they would follow his orders. The beastmen complied on the outside while fleeing at night, disappearing into the forest. Leaving him to scavenge for supplies himself.
Ru Quan was thinking of some fun activities to entertain Dai An, and a hunt sounded like a great idea. Pets needed training before becoming well-mannered house animals.
"Do you want to participate?" Ru Quan asked Dai An, helping her stand up.
The body’s operation system was finally optimized and her movements were much smoother now.
"It’s an opportunity to train your physical coordination and make full use of this body," he added.
"I’ll just watch from here," Dai An said and pointed at his shoulder with her index finger.
Ru Quan smiled slightly and lifted her up, placing her on his broad shoulder. She was still the same soul and her liking for high places to observe things from remained the same.
"Where to?" he asked.
Dai An fisted his rabbit ears in her palms, steering him to look in the direction she wanted to see. "Over there," she said.
Her gaze on the footprints in the dirt made Ru Quan aware of her intentions, and he smirked. There were many ways to track their runaways. Not only with magic or cultivation skills but with regular survival knowledge.
"Do you want to lead the hunt?" he asked.
"Yes," Dai An answered immediately, "No," she changed her mind right away. She was a princess now and should be pampered and spoiled, "Lead it for me," she commanded imperiously, "And teach me as you do."
Her legs hit his chest softly with every step he took, creating a pleasant rhythm to his walk. He found himself enjoying every minute of it as they continued their journey.
He loved listening to her soft voice commanding him around as if he was her servant instead of husband. Something about her tone struck him as oddly fitting for who he was inside─a servant of his love.
"Can I command you to jump?" Dai An asked.
"..." Ru Quan blinked at her question and looked up, seeing her curious eyes staring down at him. "How high?" he asked after a short pause.
Dai An wiggled her feet excitedly, pointing his ear at one of their runaway pets hiding behind a bush nearby, "All the way to there."
Midway through Ru Quan’s landing, she summoned her energy whip, and slapped the poor guy right across his backside.
Dai An laughed heartily from on top of her mighty throne (Ru Quan) and lost balance from all the shaking.
"Be careful," Ru Quan cautioned, holding her steady. Her happiness was infectious though, and he couldn’t help but crack a little smile as well.
That spider beastman covered his head as he looked up and upon seeing Ru Quan’s evil eyes, he whimpered and scampered away before being caught in any more trouble.
Ru Quan tripped him and stomped on his head before he managed to escape and get far away.
It reminded Dai An of someone playing whack a mole, which brought even greater amusement.
It also reminded her of the time in prison, where she built a circus with dead bodies and acted as the ringmaster. Her cellmate’s heads were used as juggle balls and so many things more...
Time passed slowly so she got quite creative with entertainment during her stay.
|"Are you two coming back for dinner?"| Bing Shi contacted them telepathically.
|"No,"| Dai An shook her head as if she knew her other half would see it, |"We are hunting now. Don’t wait for us."|
|"Roger that. Be safe and have fun you two! And don’t forget to have dinner,"| Bing Shi emphasized, just to be sure. These two were workaholic machines, after all.
