Volume One: Otherworld Chapter Twenty: Simply Wanting to Go Out for a Walk

As Li Yu followed the soldiers out of the forest, he squinted up at the sun.

“It’s good to be alive,” he sighed, then turned to glance at Mu Yinhua. Her arrow wound had been treated simply, and after much pleading from Li Yu, although Qing Anqi had been quite reluctant, she still handed over a medicinal pill.

After swallowing the pill, color returned to Mu Yinhua’s pale face, which allowed Li Yu to breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed she was no longer in any danger.

“Are you really of the Thunder Vein bloodline?” Qing Anqi asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

She was riding a furry beast that resembled a larger version of a leopard, but with much longer fur, and two massive fangs protruding from its jaws.

“I already told you, if I’m lying, I’m a puppy.” Li Yu looked up at Qing Anqi’s exquisitely carved features, slightly exasperated. “Besides, lying to you wouldn’t end well for me, would it?”

“Of course it wouldn’t,” Qing Anqi replied, shaking her delicate face and patting the head of the beast beneath her. She narrowed her eyes. “I’d have Little Blossom eat you.”

Though the name she’d chosen was rather plain, the beast itself was anything but. It resembled a bear, but its fur was a riot of colors, and when it moved on all fours, it stood nearly two meters tall.

“So you see, I wouldn’t dare lie to you.” Li Yu watched as the beast turned its head and bared its teeth at him. Judging from the size of its gaping maw, it could easily snap his head off.

“By the way, where are we?” Li Yu asked, curiosity piqued.

“You barged into the Green Mountain Hunting Grounds and don’t even know where you are?” Qing Anqi looked at him skeptically, but seemed in a good mood and went on to explain. “The county is holding a hunting competition right now. The area you entered happens to be my territory.”

A county?

Li Yu nodded inwardly. As he’d suspected, there was a proper administrative structure outside Stone Village.

Especially impressive were the groups of soldiers emerging from the forest, their bright armor gleaming under the sun. Li Yu found himself awed by their grandeur.

In Chinese films, there was no shortage of grand productions attempting to recreate the ancient armies that united the land, but all of that paled in comparison to witnessing such a spectacle with his own eyes.

Even more astonishing were the iron cages, each holding a different captured beast—living trophies that filled the heart with exhilaration.

“If only I weren’t in a cage myself,” Li Yu thought with another sigh. Still, he wasn’t particularly worried. He could always wait for a chance to escape. And if not, he could return to Blue Planet, wait a decade or two, and come back—by then, no one would even remember him.

“To become my prey is an honor. Why the sighs?” Qing Anqi’s lovely brows knit together in mild displeasure.

“If I’m already prey, can’t I at least sigh about it?” Li Yu waved his hand, adopting a resigned air.

Qing Anqi caught sight of the mark on Li Yu’s hand—her own—and broke into a smile, her little canine teeth showing.

“Why are you so happy, little sister? Did you make a big catch?”

A gentle male voice drifted over.

Li Yu looked over curiously and met the newcomer’s gaze.

“What a handsome man!” Li Yu marveled inwardly. The man was tall and well-built, with bold features. He looked scholarly, but the armor he wore and the scar on his left cheek lent him an air of commanding authority.

But the man’s expression darkened, and he spoke coldly, “How many times must I tell you, everyone in Green Mountain County is a citizen. What you’re doing brings shame to the Qing family!”

“Release those two at once!” Qing Yangde barked at the soldiers beside him.

He had noticed a wagon for transporting beasts near his sister and thought she’d captured some strange or adorable creature, only to find two people locked inside. Fury burned within him.

The soldiers hesitated, especially when Qing Anqi’s lips quivered and her eyes filled with unshed tears. They looked helplessly between the siblings.

Qing Yangde’s brows drew together, but a voice called out from inside the cage.

“There’s no need for that, brother. I volunteered to be Qing Anqi’s prey to repay a life-saving favor.” Seeing that Qing Anqi was on the verge of tears, Li Yu quickly spoke up.

“Brother?”

Qing Yangde’s gaze sharpened as he studied the youth inside the cage.

Though his clothes were torn and dirty, the fine material was unmistakable. His delicate features suggested he was no ordinary family’s child, and the casual use of “brother” spoke to his calm demeanor.

This one is no commoner!

Qing Yangde made a swift judgment, then clasped his hands in greeting. “Qing Yangde. And you are…?”

“Li Yu,” he replied. Li Yu had no idea how many thoughts had flashed through Qing Yangde’s mind. China had been open and egalitarian for so long—it wasn’t like the feudal days.

He just didn’t want to see such a cute girl cry, especially since one punch would have her sobbing for ages.

“Brother, why do you care so much? He’s fine being inside—he said so himself!” Qing Anqi hadn’t expected Li Yu to defend her rather than seize the chance to get out, and immediately felt she had the upper hand, ready to scold her brother.

“Hmm?” Qing Yangde shot her a look, and she immediately fell silent.

Li Yu glanced at Qing Anqi out of the corner of his eye, tempted to rub his forehead. Wasn’t this the perfect moment to go along with things and get out? Why was she still thinking of retaliation?

Seeing her aggrieved expression, Li Yu hurriedly changed the subject and chatted idly with Qing Yangde. Soon, the latter remembered other duties and rode off on his beast.

Through the bars of the cage, Li Yu saw a large, makeshift plaza ahead. People emerged from the woods and gathered there, while rows upon rows of iron cages echoed with the roars of captured beasts.

“Thank you. Even if you lied, I wouldn’t feed you to Little Blossom,” Qing Anqi said. “Can you go wait with the other beasts for now?”

“It’s fine. Just let me go when this is over,” Li Yu replied nonchalantly. He actually found the cage rather comfortable—it was clean, didn’t smell, and he didn’t have to walk himself. “By the way, she’s only a sixth-grade bloodline. Just take her out first; she’s not much use.”

“Wait, you’re not planning to set us loose, are you?” Li Yu suddenly realized. “I’d be a snack in no time.”

“No, you’ll just be kept in the same area for a while. After the family verifies everything, I can let you go.”

“Oh, that’s fine then,” Li Yu relaxed. He didn’t know what the verification process entailed, but it probably wouldn’t be long.

Soon he was separated from Qing Anqi and the others—and before long, he regretted it.

When the soldiers dragged him over to where the beasts were kept, Li Yu finally understood the meaning of “hoisted by one’s own petard.”

The iron cages were arranged in neat rows, and he was neither in the front nor the back, nor on either side, but rather in the middle—surrounded on all sides by eight different and menacing beasts.

“Awoo!”

A gorilla-like beast roared at Li Yu from across the bars.

Li Yu wiped a glob of saliva from his cheek and moved as far away as he could, only to draw the attention of yet another beast—a massive serpent, whose flickering tongue came within a hair’s breadth of his face.

He maintained a calm expression, but his legs were trembling as he edged toward the center of the cage.

“When does the verification start?” Li Yu muttered to himself. “It’s not that I’m afraid, I just think it’s a bit stuffy in here and I’d like to stretch my legs!”