The group's voices continued.
The beastmen's tongues wagged spiritedly, filled with curiosity towards this strange backpack. However, it had be swapped for something and no one really wanted to.
It was both unattractive and impractical, what to do with it?
The backpack was being sold by a red fox and the asking price was two fish and three live chickens.
Seeing people were indifferent to this price, the red fox lowered the asking price to a fish and two live chickens.
Still, there were no beastman willing to exchange.
"This looks useless."
"Not as good as my own wicker basket. . ."
"What's inside? Is it a fire-making mirror?" A weasel beastman asked while pointing to the flashlight. The convex lens greatly resembled the mirror.
The beastman selling it could not say.
A brown bear had given the backpack in exchange for a jar of honey and ten potatoes.
He saw this new and unique backpack and inside there were three things, the itch in his chest made him agree.
He did not expect to lose goods.
Still no one was willing to exchange for it, and the red fox had to reduce the price down to a fish and a live chicken.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was unable to hold back and became restless.
If she had no fish or chicken in hand, she was not going to get her bag back.
"Sorry, please, let it go."
Eric squeezed in from behind, the huge antlers hitting the beastman next to him, and he hasted to apologize before turning to look at Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, "Ōu, what are you doing?"
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not have the time to explain and directly asked, "Eric, do you know where to get a fish and a chicken?"
Eric, although it was still hard to understand, still answered seriously, "Chickens are in the mountains behind Ferris village and there are fish in the river. I can go back and help you catch it if you need it." He glimpsed towards the backpack and his black, deer eyes went wide as he asked, "Hey? Ōu, is this not yours. . ."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu immediately lifted her finger to rest against her lip and said quietly, "Hush." She did not want to attract the attention of the surrounding beastmans.
If a fish and a live chicken could solve the problem, she would rather leave it alone.
The beast world was far more complicated than she thought it was, and she didn't want to get into any trouble.
By this time, the backpack's price had been reduced again from a fish and live chicken to just a live chicken.
A couple of the crowd began to move, some even heading to home to get a chicken to swap.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, afraid it was going to be snatched away, quickly raised her hand and said, "I, I want!"
The red fox beastman looked at her, saw her empty hands and child-like appearance, and curled his lip, "What do you have you to exchange for it?"
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu bit her lower lip. If this was the 21st century, she would not hesitate to buy it back.
But, this was a different world, there was no money in circulation and she could only exchange goods.
Actually, there was a lot of ice-sealed seafood and chicken in her space, but here there were beastmen on the street and she could not take things out in front of them.
They would certainly consider her a freak.
Eric standing in for Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, asked the red fox, "Can you save the bag for us while we get something to exchange for you?"
The fox beastman looked at him. Even though Ferris was a peaceful village, but the carnivorous species always despised the grass-eaters and regarded them as the weaker party. So he did not take Eric's words to heart and deliberately embarrassed them, "Well. When you come to get it, you bring five fish and give live chickens."
Eric stared blankly and said with a sullen face, "That is an unfair deal."
The red fox said with a smile, "This stuff is mine. It's my say. You have me wait for you, yet don't allow me to raise my price?"
Eric clenched his teeth, indignant, but unable to respond.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not want to let Eric be embarrassed, she set the little leopard on the ground, and she looked around, ready to hide in an empty corner and take out the frozen chicken and fish to exchange.
But, she hadn't moved yet when a hand stretched before her and easily lifted up the backpack and said to the red fox, "I'll take it."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was a little sluggish but she anxiously called out, "I wanted it first."
The other looked down at her, this little female who had not even grown hair yet, and his mouth tilted askew, taking her words as jest, "You wanted it first? Now it's mine."
Then, from behind his companion, he took a fish and live chicken in hand and passed them over to the fox beastman, nails hooked in the backpack.
The backpack's zipper was open, and when it tilted, the flashlight inside slipped out.
The new owner's other hand reached out to catch it and he turned it over in his hands with curiosity.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, mind pressing with anxiety, said without taking the time to think, "I can exchange something with you, can you give me this bag?"
While she spoke, she looked up and saw the other's appearance for the first time, stunned for a moment.
This was the first time Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu say a beastman so close to a human's appearance since crossing over.
He had the correct facial features and the corners of the mouth rose up, and beside the black mark between his eyebrows, the appearance was almost identical to a human.
If it wasn't for his mouth revealing two sharp teeth, she would have almost thought he was of the same race as her.
He groped along the flashlight for a long time then finally found the power switch.
His thumb pressed against the side lightly and it slid up.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu saw his movement and her heart swelled in her throat.
She was afraid the flashlight would turn on and a beam of light shin into the crowd.
But, after waiting for a while, the flashlight was unresponsive.
The beastman turned it up and down, looking at it carelessly.
Only Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu knew what was going on.
Since she came to this world, almost every night she had used the flashlight. Its battery life was limited and now it had run out of power, naturally it would not light up.
But, in her space, there were several sets of batteries.
The other seemed to have finally registered Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's words, and he tossed the flashlight into the bag, looking down at her.
He raised the corner of his mouth in an unruffled smile, calmly asked, "And what can you exchange for it?"
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu pursed her lips, "What do you want?"
He heard what she said and, after crossing over Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, looked at Eric with undisguised hunger in his eyes, "Oh, is anything alright? Just now, I used food to exchange for it, how about you send your companion with us?"
Eric's face immediately went white.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu: ". . ."
The other side had never intended to exchange for it, and had only said that to tease Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu.
The beastman and his colleagues finished appreciating their panicked expressions, laughing, and he carried away Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's backpack.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu stared in the direction of their departure, still wondering about their race. She saw the short, fluffy tail behind them and heard their unconscious cry, and it was finally confirmed.
"Woo——"
That first night she had come here, she heard the same sound——
A pack of wolves.
*
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu hadn't managed to get her bag back, so she felt a bit depressed.
She couldn't figure out what the wolf beastmen wanted with her backpack. They could not even use the flashlight, what use would it give them?
Eric was unable to help, his nature made him instinctively afraid of all meat-eating species, and now he felt a little guilty. So he hurried to comfort, "Ōu, do not worry. We will go back and discuss it with Ruth. I will find a way to help you get it back."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu knew he meant well, but the other party was a pack of wolves. She didn't want to let Eric take any risks, and she shook her head, gratefully responding, "Thank you, Eric, but I'll find something to do about it."
Eric asked how she lost the backpack and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu recalled the brown bear she met last night. She told Eric about spending the night in the tree cave with the beastman and said, "I suppose he took it. When I woke up this morning, he was gone with my bag."
Eric frowned for a while, then proposed, "Ōu, we are not good right now. How about we go back to Ruth's place first? We'll figure out what to do about your bag."
Since she had no other suggestions, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu forcefully lifted her spirits, found Ryan and picked him up to follow Eric.
Ryan leaned over Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's shoulder, his blue eyes still fixed on the direction the wolves had gone.
No one noticed his cold, shining eyes.
Ruth lived at the very far east side of the Ferris village.
Most of the houses here were made of clay mud, and the roofs were made from layers of naturally cast-off tree bark, one stacked upon the other.
Like Eric said, Ruth was a very gentle and friendly black bear.
His skin was black, he had the height and strength of any bear beastman, but he was charmingly naive.
He probably had very little contact with females, because when he say Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, his cheeks blushed bright red. Fortunately his skin was black, so the blush was not obvious.
Ruth had already prepared a room for Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, which had a bed.
Taking into account Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was female, he had also specially prepared a soft straw mattress. At the bedside, there a pile of firewood and the whole room was nice and warm.
The room was a little shabby, but for Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu who was still sleeping in the trees last night, this was excellent condition.
"Thank you, Ruth," Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu sincerely thanked.
Ruth touched his head shyly, "You're welcome."
It was still early morning, and it was not yet time for lunch.
Eric thought Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not sleep well last night in the cave, so did not say too much, and along with Ruth, left the room to let her rest for a while.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not sleep well last night, and her mind was slightly befuddled.
But, when she laid in bed, her thoughts were very clear and there was very little drowsiness.
Was there any chance of getting her backpack back?
What would the wolf race do with her bag?
If the found the compass inside, or the flashlight. Both were not things of this world, what would they do?
The room was very warm, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu thought the surroundings were very comfortable, and she soon fell asleep.
She slept extremely deeply and her sleeping posture was a little presumptuous. Body doubled over, she had the little leopard held in her arms.
She took it to be her small pillow at home, and she hugged him tight to her chest, even rubbing her chin against his head gently and emitting a few barely audible mumbles.
*
Ryan had originally wanted to only wait for her to fall asleep and did not expect for her body pressure to pin him under her.
The girl exuded a sweet fragrance and its overwhelming scent even took him by surprise and he was unprepared.
Ryan struggled twice and lifted his claws to Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's fingers and twisted his body around. With his paw between her fingers, he finally escaped her shackles.
He stood on all fours and remained beside her, watching the girl sleep.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu slept very heavily. As long as there was a bed, she was able to sleep very well.
Long thick lashes covered her face, dropping two rows of fan-shaped shadows upon her cheeks, and her exquisite little nose shifted slightly with the open and close of her lips, emitting a pure, harmless scent.
That was why the wolves did not take her seriously.
Thinking of the wolf race's proud complacency, Ryan's eyes cooled quickly.
Unlike the coming and going alone of the leopards, the wolf race were gregarious*.
*Sociable, living in groups
The wolves and the leopards could never agree, and a few days ago, the conflict between the two races intensified over the order to plunder a site.
The wolves proliferated rapidly and the villages in which they lived could not accommodate the speed of their multiplication, so their young patriarch, Holden, got the idea to occupy one of the leopard's valleys.
Every time the wolves invaded, Ryan would beat them into a sorry state himself.
The wolf race's fighting ability was inferior to the leopards, but because they always flocked in groups, they dared to contend with the leopard clan.
Several times, the wolves has not experienced a single advantage and even sacrificed a lot of clansmen.
However, Holden did not concede defeat even once and, taking advantage of Ryan's tendency to travel alone, designed a pitfall trap and besieged him with dozens of wolves.
Ryan stood off against all of them on his own, his ferocious claws tearing their chests to shreds, his sharp teeth biting necks in two. In the end, Holden mounted a sneak attack from the back and Ryan sustained the injury on his hing leg. That was also when he came to look like this.
Although Ryan guessed the change was unrelated to the wolves, he decided to go and look for himself just to be safe.
Remembering this, Ryan turned and jumped off the edge of the bed.
Blue eyes, deep and serene, once again looked back at the girl sleeping on the bed. The reindeer said they would take the boat tomorrow. That was to say, he only had to get back before tomorrow afternoon.
*
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu woke up from her nap and glanced at her watch, seeing it was five thirty in the afternoon.
Ruth and Eric were preparing dinner outside and it consisted of potatoes and carrot stew and fresh mushroom soup.
The scent of potatoes woke Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's appetite. She had gone a long time without eating a decent meal.
Although there were pots and a stove in the space, she did not dare to take them out.
Eric saw her come out and said, "Ōu, you woke up. Dinner is ready, come and eat."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu nodded, looking around, and did not see that familiar little figure, so she asked, "Where's my leopard?"
Eric scratched his head and answered with another question, "It's not in your room? I haven't seen it."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu shook her head and returned to the house, looking again, but she still did not find head or tail of Ryan.
"Did you see him go out?" Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu came back out and asked.
Ruth put down a wooden spoon and said with hesitance, "At noon, I think I saw it go out. . . I thought it would just go play but it didn't stop."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu rushed to ask, "Then did you see which direction he went?"
Ruth pointed to a direction, "Over there. . ." He still hadn't finished but Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu ran off.
It had been fifteen minutes since she woke up.
The sky was going to go dark soon, but she still had not found her little leopard.
The darkness here was not the same as her world. The moonlight was thin, turning everything invisible in its pitch-blackness.
Her little leopard ought to know that even better than she, and if something hadn't happened, why hadn't he come back yet?
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu followed the route Ruth had pointed out for her, searching all the way, but ten minutes passed and she still didn't see him.
Eric and Ruth followed her from behind. Eric would have liked to make a statement to persuade her against it, but seeing Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's eyes filled with worry, his words abruptly became: "I'll help you look for it."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu couldn't find her leopard, and her heart became more and more uneasy.
Here, the carnivorous species mingled freely about and powerful beastmen could be found everywhere. Her leopard was only a juvenile and if he encountered a strong enemy, wouldn't he suffer?
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not know from when she had feelings for it.
But it was the first creature she had met in this world, and it was a small life she had personally saved.
Even if he was dangerous, she still hoped he would be safe and sound.
5:57 P.M.
Directly ahead, a female sheep was coming towards them, and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu didn't hold out any hope but she casually asked, "Have you seen a little leopard passing through here?"
The other thought for a moment then pointed at a medium-sized ferry and said, "A little leopard with a flower pattern"? If I'm not mistaken, it seemed to follow a few wolves onto that ship."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was pleasantly surprised and quickly looked up towards the ferry.
She saw the sheep beastman at the head of the ship was just lifting up the sailcloth and turning the rudder, the evening breeze slowly pushing it out of port and away from the riverbank.