Longing Beast

Zhu Jiusi stayed in his burrow, his gaze fixed on the mist beyond the woods.

The Secret Realm Instance had ended, and Journey Survival had truly gotten underway. Monsters came out at night now.

It was already night, and the fifteenth was fast approaching. A full moon hung high in the sky.

Zhu Jiusi's eyes narrowed. The next moment, something suddenly smashed through the dense fog, and a colossal creature charged out.

Dense, bristly hairs. Delicate, restrained tusks. What a gorgeous sow, enough to make fish sink and geese fall, the moon hide and flowers blush!

The pig immediately rubbed against a nearby tree, grunting incessantly.

What a boar in heat!

Zhu Jiusi: "???"

Zhu Jiusi: "!!!"

Zhu Jiusi flew into a rage! This was a "Longing Beast"!

That was the name a Path Seeker from the previous round had given it.

The monster hid in the fog, read the desires in a Path Seeker's heart, then transformed into something alluring and attacked when the opportunity arose.

If you wanted a woman, it would transform into the perfect woman. If you wanted treasure, it would transform into an exquisite Gourd.

The Longing Beast's most distinctive feature was that its shadow turned pink under the moonlight!

Zhu Jiusi didn't care if monsters attacked him. He'd just meet force with force.

But!

What did it mean to transform into a sow? Was it because he'd thought of a close friend from his previous life?

I don't want to be friends with a sow!

Zhu Jiusi leaped out of his nest and ran toward the sow, grunting all the way, like a boar that couldn't hold back any longer.

The sow swayed her body in welcome, but the moment the boar drew near, he suddenly roared and flipped her onto the ground with a thrust of his snout.

The sow was stunned. Then, as if she'd thought of something, she rolled over and half rose, presenting her backside to Zhu Jiusi.

Zhu Jiusi: "!!!"

Zhu Jiusi charged a short distance, lowered his head, and thrust hard. His half-foot-long tusks pierced the sow's lower belly. He jerked upward, flipping her entirely over and tearing open her stomach.

Plop. A fox-shaped balloon creature dropped out, its eyes wide with humanlike astonishment. It turned to flee, but Zhu Jiusi caught up and crushed it beneath a hoof.

An irregular pink bead fell to the ground with a spin.

The Scroll unfurled:

[Monster discovered. You may name it.]

Zhu Jiusi was about to name it when the Scroll suddenly flashed, and the message disappeared.

[This beast has already been named by someone else.]

Someone in the chat filled the screen with exclamation marks.

White Beard's Fist: "!!! Heaven has eyes! I've finally found food in Journey Survival, and naming a monster comes with a reward!"

He posted a picture. It showed a fox's head that had been smashed to pieces.

[Longing Beast. Skilled in illusions.]

A simple, brief description.

White Beard's Fist: "This thing's got a brain, but not much of one. It turned into a huge steamed bun and actually tried to mate with me..."

The chat was immediately filled with ellipses.

White Beard's Fist: "Everyone, the newbie period is over. Monsters come out at night now. If you think you can beat one, give it a try. Win and you can name it—and get a reward!"

Zhu Jiusi shrugged. What a shame. Someone else had beaten him to it.

That was only to be expected. Not every good thing could fall into his lap.

And that name—could it have been White Beard's Fist who named it in the previous round?

Zhu Jiusi decided to be generous and posted a picture of the bead in the chat.

"Smash a Longing Beast and it drops a bead, but I don't know what it's for."

White Beard's Fist: "A big shot ran into one too?"

Master of Cloud Stack Cave: "My Scroll even popped up a message telling me to name it. Then you beat me to it. Thumbs-up."

White Beard's Fist sent a laughing-so-hard-he-was-rolling emoji. Getting ahead of a big shot felt great!

As they were chatting, someone suddenly flooded the chat.

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword: "Techniques must not be privately passed on!"

Seven or eight consecutive messages all said the same thing.

Immediately afterward, an announcement appeared.

[Myriad World Announcement: In Immortal Seeking Domain, District 66, Path Seeker "Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword" has deduced the Seventh Law. Path Seekers, keep going and keep striving!]

[Law Seven: Techniques that you did not create yourself must not be privately passed on.]

Sparrow: "Huh? It wasn't the Cave Master big shot—it was a young lady?"

Sword Seven had helped him catch an Owl Monster before, so the two of them knew each other.

Monkey Has Iron Rod: "Sister Seven is awesome! She's shattered the Cave Master big shot's myth!"

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "What the hell, how did you figure out this rule? What happens if you pass on a technique privately? I was planning to save up and buy a manual from the Cave Master!"

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword: "There'll be a Heavenly Tribulation."

Privately passing on a technique brought down a lightning tribulation from the heavens!

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "Damn, you even survived a Heavenly Tribulation?"

Was the gap between them really that huge? They'd met once in the Secret Realm. One had trained in traditional martial arts and swordsmanship, the other had been a special forces soldier. Even though they hadn't fought, they'd instinctively sized each other up.

This woman had a way to deal with a Heavenly Tribulation?

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword: "I didn't!"

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "? Then how are you still alive?"

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword: "I killed someone."

As long as she killed the person who bought the manual, then she hadn't sold one.

The chat fell silent. That had killed the conversation!

They'd only been in Journey Survival for half a month. How had everyone become so ruthless, so ready to kill?

Mom, this place isn't right for me. I want to go home...

No, Mom might be here too...

Zhu Jiusi offered her his congratulations. This Law was one of the basic laws of Journey Survival.

But he couldn't have deduced it himself—no one had ever bought a manual from him!

He said nothing more. Returning to his burrow, he shuffled farther inside.

A gust of wind blew past, and the tip of his nose felt a little cold.

He had to upgrade his burrow as soon as possible. Journey Survival followed the lunar calendar. It was already the thirteenth day of the eighth month, and autumn's chill was deepening.

In less than two months, snow would fall and winter would arrive.

Over the past two days, Zhu Jiusi had even noticed fine, dense hairs starting to grow on his body.

The wild boar's instincts were beginning to prepare him for winter.

His burrow and food supply both had to keep up.

He didn't know whether wild boars had a habit of bulking up in autumn, but either way, he'd needed more food these past two days.

He didn't know whether it was because he'd begun cultivating, or because of the wild boar's instincts.

He took out a bottle of Moon Essence Dew, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull out the stopper.

A wild boar had no hands. The bottle was barely as big as a peanut, and Zhu Jiusi couldn't get a grip on it no matter what he tried. The bottle was also incredibly sturdy; he couldn't even bite it open.

At last, after half an hour of struggling, he gave up. He opened the Scroll and selected someone.

"Um... could you do me a favor?"

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword: "Who do I kill?" She still owed Zhu Jiusi three chances to act on his behalf.

Zhu Jiusi: "...I'm not asking you to kill anyone. Just help me open a bottle."

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword: "?"

Zhu Jiusi: "I don't have hands..."

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword didn't reply for a long time. At last, she said, "Send it over."

Zhu Jiusi immediately made the trade and sent her the Moon Essence Dew.

Moon Essence Dew was far too precious. There were only a few people in all of Journey Survival who wouldn't covet it. Someone with Sword Seven's frosty temperament was all the more trustworthy.

A moment later, a trade came through. The Moon Essence Dew had been sent back with its stopper removed.

Along with it came a dirty clump of tissue. Judging by the smell, it had been used to wipe the spit off the bottle.

After all, Zhu Jiusi had spent ages biting it.

Zhu Jiusi sent a smiling face: "Thanks!"

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword didn't respond.

Zhu Jiusi didn't mind. He held the little bottle in his mouth, turned over so his face pointed upward, and poured all the Moon Essence Dew into his mouth.

Cool and silky.

The moment its contents entered his mouth, the liquid slid down his throat.

His entire lower belly felt cool. The coolness seeped from his belly into his blood and flowed all the way to his head.