You Don't Want to Die, So I Deserve to Die?

Meanwhile, four figures fled through the mountain forest in a panic. Of the six who had set out, only four remained. A man and a woman had already become food for the monster behind them.

"Damn it, why is there a monster here?" Brother Hui's face was grim.

Before coming, he had genuinely looked into Fire Forest Mountain. He knew there weren't any large animals here; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so thickheaded as to come all this way and deliver himself to the other party.

Who could have guessed a monster would show up? In an instant, the bespectacled man and another woman had been torn apart and become food in its belly.

Watching the monster chew on a leg as it drew closer, Brother Hui's face grew darker by the moment. The monster was clearly toying with them. It let them run, but the moment it attacked, they would be doomed.

"Brother Hui, what do we do?" the freckled girl asked, looking at him.

"Run. What else can we do?" Brother Hui said grimly.

Even though they knew the monster was toying with them, as long as there was even the slightest hope of survival, they didn't want to be torn apart and eaten alive.

"If only we'd listened to that man and left," the quiet girl said with a bitter smile. If she'd been a little more determined earlier, perhaps she could have left on her own and avoided danger.

Unfortunately, there was no cure for regret. Now all they could do was run and hope they survived.

"Who knows who that guy was? Maybe he just got lucky." Brother Hui looked disdainful. He was clearly still irritated with Lin Chen, believing the man had merely guessed right by chance.

At that, the other young man immediately chimed in. "Exactly. He went into the mountains alone. Maybe he's a fugitive or something. If you trust him, who knows when he might sell you out?"

"Enough. Save your strength, or none of us will get out of here." Seeing this, the quiet girl could only change the subject.

By now, she had already realized that everyone else revolved around Brother Hui. If they kept this up, it would just lead to pointless arguing and get them nowhere.

Just then, the monster behind them—about a zhang tall, pitch-black all over, with enormous tusks and the shape of a wild boar—swallowed the small leg in its mouth. Then it suddenly sprang forward, charging at the four of them.

"Look out! The monster's coming!"

Seeing it rush toward them, the four knew the monster had finished eating and was ready to hunt again.

"We're finished!"

The quiet girl and the others turned pale. Once the monster started hunting, someone was bound to get hurt.

"Ah!"

Just then, the freckled girl slipped and fell flat on the ground. The quiet girl hurried over to help her up, then called to Brother Hui and the other young man not far away. "Come help!"

"Okay!" The other young man started toward them, but Brother Hui grabbed him and stopped him. "Let's go. Ever heard the story about how you don't have to outrun a tiger, just the other people?"

The young man's expression changed. Then he quickly followed Brother Hui, fleeing deeper into the forest.

"You!"

The quiet girl and the freckled girl stared after them in disbelief. They had never imagined that Brother Hui and the other man would stand by and do nothing at a time like this.

Everyone knew Brother Hui liked the quiet girl. Now that the woman he liked had fallen behind, he was just going to leave her there?

Husband and wife were birds of the same forest, but when disaster struck, each flew off alone. And they weren't even married—not even boyfriend and girlfriend.

As the monster charged toward her, the quiet girl gave a despairing smile. She hadn't liked Brother Hui's way of doing things before, but he had treated her well, and she had felt some affection for him. Now, though, she finally saw him clearly.

Just as the quiet girl thought they were about to die in the monster's jaws, a tremendous force struck her, and she was sent hurtling straight toward it.

"Xiao Lian, you..." Looking at the freckled girl's hands, the quiet girl stared in disbelief. She had never imagined that the freckled girl she'd saved by giving up her chance to escape would shove her toward the monster at the crucial moment.

"Sorry, I don't want to die!" Without looking back, the freckled girl limped away into the depths of the forest.

"You don't want to die, so I deserve to die? Do I want to die?"

The quiet girl's face was etched with bitterness. In the end, her kindness had gone to the dogs. Thinking this, she closed her eyes, hoping the monster would bite quickly so she wouldn't suffer too much.

"Beast, die!"

Just as the quiet girl prepared to meet her end, a familiar shout rang out. She instinctively opened her eyes and saw a figure appear in front of her, punching the charging monster.

Thud!

With a muffled crash, the monster flew backward and slammed into the ground. It twitched twice, then went still.

"Are you all right?" Lin Chen asked, looking at the quiet girl.

At the same time, the quiet girl came to her senses and hurriedly shook her head. "I'm fine!"

If Lin Chen had arrived a moment later, she would have been done for. But he had come just in time, killing the monster with a single punch. A strange feeling stirred in her heart.

Seeing the monster killed, Brother Hui stopped fleeing and shouted at Lin Chen, "Damn it, why did you only get here now? Do you know two of our companions are dead? I'm going to file a complaint against you!"

"File a complaint against me?" Lin Chen was taken aback.

Brother Hui sneered. "That's right. What kind of mountain patrolman are you, showing up this late to rescue people?"

Mountain patrolman?

Lin Chen laughed. He'd been wondering where a free cultivator like him could be reported. Turns out they'd mistaken him for a mountain patrolman.

Smack!

Lin Chen moved in a flash and appeared in front of Brother Hui, slapping him across the face. With a sharp crack, Brother Hui's left cheek swelled up before their eyes.

"Tell me, out here in the middle of nowhere, if I killed you and said the monster did it, do you think anyone would believe otherwise?" Lin Chen said coldly.

Gulp.

Brother Hui's face changed dramatically. This man could kill a monster with one punch. If he attacked them, none of them would survive.

"Big brother, I was wrong!" Brother Hui hurriedly begged for mercy. Now he understood that he'd picked the wrong person to try to throw his weight around with.

This man could kill a monster with his bare hands. He was someone Brother Hui could never afford to provoke!

"Get lost!" Lin Chen barked.

Brother Hui didn't dare say a word. He shot the other man a look, and the man and the freckled girl hurried after him. The quiet girl, however, ignored them.

Seeing this, Brother Hui didn't dare say anything more. He hurriedly led the other two toward the edge of Fire Forest Mountain.

"You're not going with them?" Lin Chen asked the quiet girl beside him, frowning. "It's not safe in these mountains."

"If I go with them, who knows when they'll sell me out?" The quiet girl smiled bitterly, then continued, "Besides, I think I'll be safer with you."