CH 6

TL: Moonlit

Looking in Lin Su’s direction, a hint of warmth shone in William’s eyes. The moonlight seeped through the gaps in the curtains, gently falling on the small, fair face of the female, like a thin veil of silver, pure and flawless.

Perhaps it was because there was another male in the house who also suffered from mental disorders, so Lin Su didn’t react with the same fear as others when he saw him.

Although he acted tough on the surface, he had a kind heart.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed by, and William instinctively dodged. When he realized that it was Lin Su who had fallen down, he abruptly stopped his movement and caught the small female that had fallen from the bed in his arms.

Lin Su furrowed his brows lightly, made a little sound of discontent, and grabbed onto William’s clothes, rubbing against him until he found a comfortable position and fell asleep.

There was no intention of waking up at all.

William, forced to become a “cushion,” held the small female in his arms, and his soft hair tickled his face, emanating a pleasant fragrance that he found irresistible.

Does this mean things are progressing too quickly?

Lin Su was exceptionally satisfied with his sleep. In his dream, he held a large, white, furry fox tail, rubbing and stroking it to his heart’s content. He was so satisfied that he accidentally woke up with a smile.

As he opened his eyes, he instinctively grabbed something next to him and felt something soft and fluffy in his hand. In his groggy state, he looked and saw the dream-like large, soft fox tail being pressed beneath him…

Suddenly fully awake, he looked at William, who was just a breath away with closed eyes, and Lin Su said, “…”

Something was off. He glanced at the empty bed behind him. How did he end up not sleeping on the bed and instead came down to compete for the floor with someone?

Just as Lin Su was planning to quietly get up and leave the “crime scene,” he turned his head and met a pair of golden beast eyes. “…”

William’s gaze swept over the small tuft of dumb hair standing up on Lin Su’s head. The just-awakened small female made him want to hold him and pat his head, saying good morning.

But Lin Su’s nervousness was too evident. William gently retreated, creating some space, and reducing the sense of oppression he unintentionally caused the small female.

Lin Su mechanically followed his movements with his eyes until William stood up and made room for him. It was only then that he realized William wasn’t going to question why he had come down to sleep under the bed.

He let out a sigh of relief and suddenly became aware that he was still holding the fox tail in his arms. He quickly pretended to act naturally and put it aside, even pretending to nonchalantly help William straighten out the ruffled fox fur. “Ahem, next time I come down from the bed, you can wake me up.”

After speaking, he quickly glanced at William and caught a glimpse of the smile in his eyes and the pair of fluffy dog ears on his head that trembled slightly.

“Cough, I’ll ask Ding Ding to come in and help you freshen up.” This is ridiculous. Was this guy just laughing?

Lin Su came out of the room, and Su Jin was already up. When he saw him, he paused and asked, “Why is your face so red? Is the room too hot?”

Lin Su instinctively touched his cheek, realizing what he was doing, and quickly put his hand down. He casually asked, “Maybe it’s because I just woke up. How is Male Father?”

Speaking of Kane, a smile appeared on Su Jin’s face. “After finishing that small bowl of tomatoes yesterday, he actually took a nap and looked pretty good this morning.”

Lin Su understood in his heart that the reason Kane was able to fall asleep wasn’t because of the small tomatoes but rather due to his wood elemental ability.

They had a simple breakfast of mashed potatoes. After bidding farewell to Su Jin, Lin Su left the house.

The No. 13 Farm where they lived was close to the Star Mist Forest, and there were many hunting spots open to the public near the forest.

These hunting spots mainly catered to the mercenaries who formed contracts with hunter-contract beasts.

Most of the captured contract beasts would be sent to contract beast specialty stores or auction houses.

After all, not everyone had the ability to capture contract beasts.

Furthermore, forming a contract with a contract beast was a very dangerous thing. Ordinary people would usually choose to purchase relatively docile contract beasts from specialty stores.

Those who desired high-level contract beasts could try their luck at the auction house. As long as they had enough money, they would eventually find a satisfactory contract beast.

The destination of Lin Su’s outing this time was the Star Mist Forest, but he wasn’t going there for contract beasts.

Forests like these were suitable not only for the living of contract beasts but also for ordinary animals.

After all, contract beasts were considered rare species.

The Star Mist Forest was divided into two areas by iron wire fences. Although it was still early, there were already many people standing in front of the fences.

Most of the people who came here were mercenaries from various guilds, and the majority of them were males.

As Lin Su looked at those muscular men, he instinctively averted his gaze and walked toward one of the open hunting spots.

The so-called hunting spot was a gap opened in the iron wire fence, with a number plate hanging on it to indicate which hunting spot it was. There was a person sitting at the entrance collecting tickets.

The ticket price was generally calculated per person, 20 beast coins per person, and this money would go directly into the financial account of the North Star.

Although the ticket wasn’t expensive, the taxes and fees paid if a contract beast was really captured were quite high.

Lin Su followed behind a team and walked inside.

When it was his turn, the young male sitting there collecting tickets looked up at him and paused. “Alone?”

Lin Su nodded. “Yes, alone.”

Lin Su’s calm attitude made the young male collecting tickets feel awkward for a moment. “It’s dangerous inside. I suggest you find a team that is willing to take you in before entering.”

“If the little female doesn’t have a team, how about joining ours? Just tell us what abilities you have, or even if you don’t have any, it’s fine as long as…”

A tall and muscular male behind Lin Su grinned menacingly.

These mercenaries live a life of bloodshed, and they have no reservations when it comes to their language.

Such vulgar words immediately caused laughter from the people behind.

Lin Su coldly glanced at the rough face of the person and then turned to the young male collecting tickets. “Thank you for the reminder, but it’s unnecessary.”

Leaving those words behind, Lin Su put on the hand card handed to him and entered the forest.

As a wood elemental ability user, the forest was his stronghold.

Soon, his figure disappeared deep into the forest.

Watching his back, the young male collecting tickets sighed lightly. It wasn’t that he looked down on females, but in the past, when females came alone to a place like this, most of them ended up in a miserable state.

The system of one ticket corresponding to one hand card was established early on for these reckless females.

After all, the danger in the forest often came not only from contract beasts and wild animals but also from some ill-intentioned humans.

With a hand card, one’s identity could be verified, preventing them from dying in the forest unnoticed.

After entering the forest, Lin Su quickly activated his wood elemental ability to sense nearby prey.

His goal was clear: to hunt some game and bring it back to nourish Kane’s body.

Therefore, he didn’t plan to venture too deep into the forest.

His wood elemental ability operated swiftly in this environment.

Lin Su jumped onto a large tree, placed his hand on the trunk, closed his eyes, and a faint green light emerged from his palm, entering the tree trunk. Soon, all the surroundings within a radius of 500 meters appeared in his mind.

Opening his eyes, Lin Su sighed. Indeed, the scouting range of a level 1 wood elemental ability was limited to this extent, but luckily, his luck was good.

Not far from him, there was a group of wild chickens pecking at the ground.

These animals probably didn’t have many natural predators in the forest, so they gathered in groups and fearlessly pecked at the grass seeds.

Lin Su planned to catch some and raise them in captivity. Once they were well-nurtured, they could lay eggs.

With this thought in mind, a smile appeared on Lin Su’s face.

Just as he was about to head in that direction, a loud roar suddenly echoed a howl from an unknown creature, with penetrating soundwaves that made Lin Su instinctively use his ability to protect his ears.

Judging from the power contained in the soundwaves, this contract beast’s level was definitely not lower than Grade A.

Was someone capturing a contract beast?

Thinking so, Lin Su subconsciously ran toward the source of the sound. However, when he pushed aside the obstructing grass, not far ahead, a black leopard-like beast, as tall as a small mountain, lay there. Its abdomen had been torn open, and the flowing blood gathered into a pool on the ground.

Beside it, there was a small leopard cub whimpering and rubbing against the larger leopard.

Lin Su looked in astonishment at the scene before him, completely unexpected that he would encounter such a sight.

Based on the power he sensed from the earlier roar, the contract beast before him was at least Grade S.

To be able to bring a Grade S or higher contract beast to such a state, was definitely not something simple.

Lin Su didn’t think that he was destined to be a spectator. As he turned to leave, he suddenly heard a low growl.

Looking down, he saw a leopard cub that had somehow run up to his feet and was using its paws to tug at his pants.

A pair of translucent sea-blue eyes were filled with heart-wrenching helplessness.

Lin Su crouched down and gently stroked the cub’s head. “I’m sorry, I can’t save you…”

He looked at the massive leopard beast in front of him but couldn’t determine whether it was the cub’s mother or father.

Just as he hesitated, a low, weak voice entered his ears. “Human, you possess a pleasing natural aura. Would you be willing to adopt my cub? As an adult, the Black Flame Panther can reach Grade S, and even as a cub, it possesses Grade A strength. When it grows up, you can form a contract with it…”

The so-called natural aura, Lin Su believed, referred to his wood elemental ability. He hadn’t expected that the contract beast could sense his ability. Lin Su was somewhat surprised.

However, he asked, “Why me? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll agree and then sell it later?”

“That would still be better than leaving it here to be eaten by other contract beasts.” The Black Flame Panther was clearly on its last legs, its aura weak. However, it couldn’t bear to part with its cub and stubbornly looked at Lin Su, hoping he would accept this request.

Lin Su’s softest spot in his heart was touched, reminding him once again of the wolf beast that had died for him.

“My abilities can only temporarily stop your bleeding. I can’t fully heal you all at once. Will you be able to survive like this?”

“Human, are you truly willing to help me?” The weakened panther’s blue pupils burst with light, and its voice involuntarily became louder.

Lin Su lifted the corner of his lips and casually glanced at the pitiful little cub whimpering on the ground. “I just don’t want to raise your cub. These little ones are the most troublesome. You should raise it yourself!”

He lightly kicked the cub lying there with a mischievous look. He gazed at its soft and tender belly and played with its four tiny legs.

Author’s note:

William: I’ll just wag my tail silently.