A Free Meal Delivered Right to His Door

"Y-you... who are you?"

"How did you get inside my body?!"

Ye Tian had only just regained consciousness when a timid little girl's voice rang out in his mind.

Ye Tian didn't answer right away. Instead, he first took a look around at where he was.

Mist shrouded everything around him, leaving only a dozen or so square meters beneath his feet visible.

Ye Tian tried reaching a hand into the mist behind him. His fingers seemed to hit a thick wall, unable to move even an inch farther.

It looked like he'd be stuck here for a while.

Only then did Ye Tian turn his gaze toward the edge of the mist, where a timid little girl watched him.

The girl looked about four or five years old. Her clothes were clean, but their age showed. Her tear-streaked little face was turned toward Ye Tian, and one small, wheat-colored hand nervously clutched the hem of her clothes.

"Don't be afraid, little one. I'm here to help you."

"This is your mental space. If you want to go outside, all you have to do is give yourself the command."

"Really?"

Seeing that Ye Tian hadn't come closer, the girl felt a little more trusting. Without thinking, she did as he said.

The next moment, the little girl vanished from this space in a flash.

"Oh! It really worked!"

The girl's delighted voice rang out from somewhere above the space.

Soon, she reappeared here, then quickly vanished again.

Ye Tian began reassuring the girl, and soon learned a great deal from her.

Just as he was about to use the girl's eyes to see the outside world, she bashfully covered her stomach.

"Brother Ye Tian, I'm hungry. I'll go find something to eat."

"Dong'er, do you know how to cook?" Ye Tian's question left the little girl named Dong'er standing there, stunned.

"I'll teach you."

Ye Tian's next words immediately brought a small smile to Dong'er's face.

"Thank you, Brother Ye Tian!"

Ye Tian taught Dong'er a few things, and soon he was able to see the outside world through her eyes.

Dong'er crawled out of an earthen burrow. The narrow opening was just big enough for her to squeeze through on her stomach.

Outside the burrow stood a long-abandoned wooden hut. Beneath a mostly intact eave was a hearth that had clearly seen use.

Dong'er reached into the dark hearth and felt around, pulling out several wild fruits that had already begun to rot.

As Dong'er stared at the food, saliva filled her mouth. She was just about to take a bite when she suddenly thought of Ye Tian.

"Brother Ye Tian, are you hungry? You can have these fruits first."

"No need. I don't need to eat in my current state."

Ye Tian could tell that Dong'er had clearly been wandering around for some time. Her clothes were filthy, and her face and hands were blotched with dirt. He taught her to cut away the rotten parts. Once she'd eaten her fill, he urged her to go outside and have a look around.

"Brother Ye Tian, it's almost dark, and there are wild beasts outside." Dong'er gazed out of the hut, fear in her eyes.

"Dong'er." Ye Tian was about to keep persuading her when his expression suddenly changed. "Get back in the burrow, now!"

"Huh?"

Dong'er sounded confused. Ye Tian shouted again, and only then did she react, running toward the burrow's entrance.

But that moment's hesitation had already cost them their chance.

At the hut's broken doorway, the head of an old wolf dripping with saliva poked inside. A glimmer of hunger shone in its feeble eyes.

"A wolf!"

"There's a wolf!"

Dong'er met the old wolf's gaze. Its murderous eyes froze her in place, and as she stumbled, her foot caught on a piece of wood and she fell to the ground.

The old wolf roared and lunged at Dong'er with its foul-smelling jaws wide open, hunger filling its eyes.

"Ah!"

At that critical moment, Ye Tian shouted in a low voice, "Dong'er, can you trust me just this once?"

"Let me take control of your body!"

Should Dong'er trust Ye Tian, whom she'd only just met, or trust that she could escape the jaws of an old wolf capable of swallowing her whole?

Dong'er made her decision quickly. "I trust you, Brother Ye Tian!"

As soon as she spoke, Ye Tian's figure vanished, and Dong'er fell into the spot where he'd been standing.

In the real world, the moment the old wolf lunged at Dong'er, she threw herself forward and rolled several times across the ground, grabbing a broken table leg as she went. The fear vanished from her lively eyes, replaced by the composure of an adult.

Dong'er's young body now held Ye Tian's soul.

His gaze swept over the old wolf, and he immediately saw its weaknesses.

It was low on stamina. That single lunge had already left it panting, and an old injury in its right hind leg made it unsteady on its feet.

It was probably a lone wolf that had been driven out of its pack not long ago.

The old wolf's first lunge failed. It arched its body, drove off its hind legs, and crossed the ten meters between itself and Ye Tian in a single bound. Its gleaming foreclaw slashed toward Ye Tian's neck.

"Brother Ye Tian, look out!" Dong'er cried as she watched, crouching instinctively as if that would let her dodge the terrifying claw.

Ye Tian didn't move. Only when the old wolf reached out with its claw did he make a strange sidestep, moving twice to the side as the gleaming claw swept past the tip of his nose.

Ye Tian tightened both hands around the thorny table leg and thrust it hard to the side.

A sharp rush of air rang out. The old wolf's abdomen suddenly appeared in the empty space in front of the wooden spike.

With a wet, squelching sound, the old wolf felt a sudden burst of pain in its belly. The strength drained from its raised paw.

Ye Tian still wasn't satisfied. He yanked the table leg free and swung it like a club at the old wolf, which could barely stand on the ground.

A few heavy blows later, the last glimmer in the old wolf's eyes went out. The next moment, pale-white sparks seeped from its body and gathered above it into a pale-white ring.

"What's that?" Dong'er asked curiously, looking at the ring through Ye Tian's eyes.

"A Soul Ring. This old wolf was a ten-year Soul Beast."

Ye Tian sat down and casually wiped his head. His forehead was drenched in sweat.

This body was still far too weak. Those few moves had nearly exhausted his stamina, and he could barely stand.

"Dong'er, I'll explain later. First, I'm going to deal with this free meal that came right to our door."

Dong'er looked at the old wolf and roughly guessed what Brother Ye Tian meant by "free meal." She nodded and immediately fell silent.

Ye Tian retrieved a rust-covered kitchen knife from the burrow. While it was still light, he slowly skinned the old wolf, the knife thumping against the carcass as he worked. Before long, a large pile of meat covered the ground.

Before it grew completely dark, Ye Tian circled the wooden hut and set up a few simple warning traps. Then he returned, lit a bonfire, rubbed the herbs he'd just picked onto the wolf meat, and roasted it over the fire.

Once he'd finished preparing all the meat, Ye Tian carried it back into the burrow and returned the body to Dong'er. She'd been full of energy before, but now exhaustion swept over her, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.