Page 3

What a strange dream, Jian Mo thought.

The newcomer stared at Jian Mo. "An outsider sub-beastman?"

Jian Mo's throat was terribly hoarse. "I..."

Several others caught up and stared at Jian Mo.

"What tribe is this sub-beastman from? Why is he so small?"

"He definitely isn't from any tribe around here. I've never seen him before."

"His animal skin is strange, too."

Jian Mo looked at the group of people with all sorts of animal ears and finally realized he wasn't dreaming!

Without answering, he turned and ran back the way he had come.

The first person to speak immediately shouted, "Ban Ming-"

Hearing the call, the big cat pounced straight at Jian Mo.

Jian Mo ducked awkwardly, trying to dodge the attack, but his foot slipped and he tumbled down the mountain. He rolled several meters before hitting a tree trunk with a thud.

The big cat froze and glanced back at the others, seemingly unsure whether to keep chasing him.

Jian Mo had no time to worry about the pain. He scrambled up and limped onward.

He had never run so fast in his life.

Something terrible had happened.

Jian Mo thought.

On his way here, the main path behind him had been easy enough to recognize.

Now, running back, he found that the dirt path had all but disappeared. Only gaps between the bushes were visible.

He soon reached an open area.

Through the gaps between the trees, he saw the landscape below the mountain.

There were no high-rises, no roads, and no familiar cityscape below, only a plain, with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The rain had stopped at some point, and the setting sun dyed the pristine snow on the mountaintops gold.

Jian Mo turned stiffly to look back.

The big cat had caught up with the kitten on its back, and the other strange people had caught up as well.

They closed in around Jian Mo, though their manner could hardly be called hostile.

Jian Mo took a small step back and raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I don't know what's going on either," he murmured.

The person with cat ears said to a companion, "Go find the chief."

His companion replied, "Ye Luo has already gone."

Everyone stood there in a silent standoff.

Jian Mo had no idea how long he stood there. It might have been a long time, or only a few dozen seconds.

While his mind was in turmoil, a huge silver figure burst out of the woods.

Only when the silver figure came to a stop did Jian Mo realize it was a white wolf taller than a house.

Under the gaze of those ice-blue eyes, Jian Mo couldn't breathe, let alone move.

Sweat poured down his back, and his heart felt a tremendous pressure.

What kind of animal is that?

Am I really going to die here today?

After staring at him for two seconds, the giant wolf lay down and rolled over, transforming into a tall, handsome man.

At some point, a silver-white animal skin had appeared in the man's hand. With a turn, he wrapped it around his lower body.

Jian Mo couldn't make out the process at all. By the time he could see clearly again, the man was already standing in front of him.

Everyone called out in greeting. "Chief!"

The man fixed his sharp gaze on Jian Mo, his towering figure exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure. "An outsider sub-beastman?"

Jian Mo already had a vague idea of what had happened, but emotionally, he still refused to believe it.

Under that gaze, he couldn't bring himself to lie, but he couldn't answer either. He could only stare dazedly at the man before him.

At that moment, a stabbing pain began in his head, and a jumble of memories appeared in his mind.

Everyone watched Jian Mo.

When he didn't answer, the man frowned slightly and moved a hand to his waist.

Jian Mo instinctively thought the man was going to attack. He took a step back and forced himself to respond.

His tongue moved stiffly as he switched to an unfamiliar language. "Beastman?"

The man stared at him. "What tribe are you from, sub-beastman?"

"I don't know," Jian Mo murmured.

With the man there, the group that had surrounded Jian Mo had calmed down considerably, and their manner was less hostile.

Their animal ears had retracted, and their eyes had become human eyes, with the irises and pupils taking up a more normal proportion.

Everyone looked at Jian Mo, curiosity in their eyes.

Wu Jiong asked, "How did you get here?"

Jian Mo turned, his face pale, and pointed toward the area that had completely turned into forest. "I walked over from that direction, and suddenly I was here."

The others looked behind him.

Someone muttered, "Isn't that forest back there?"

Even Jian Mo's lips had gone completely white. "There was a path when I came here."

The big cat said from the side, "Look at his footprints. He seems to have come from over there."

The man looked at Jian Mo. "My name is Wu Jiong. The place you're standing in is our tribe's territory. Are you going to leave, or come back to the tribe with us?"

Jian Mo said, "I... I want to go back the way I came and take a look first."

Wu Jiong stared at him for quite a while before agreeing. "All right. Lead the way."

Jian Mo felt his head begin to ache. He walked in front, leading the group around the forest.

At some point, the surrounding plants had all become unfamiliar. Their leaves were glossy and enormous, and brown roots wrapped around the tree trunks.

There were no archways or man-made steps nearby, much less the city Jian Mo knew. The distant snow-capped mountains, however, were even clearer.

After wandering back and forth, he not only failed to find his way home but became even more certain that this was no longer Earth.

His head hurt so badly that all color had drained from his face.

Jian Mo opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Wu Jiong walked over and said to the others, "Let's take him back to the tribe and question him there."

With that, he rolled over on the spot, transformed back into a giant wolf, and walked toward Jian Mo.

Without waiting for Jian Mo to respond, the giant wolf picked him up in his jaws and tossed him onto his back with a turn of his head.