Shen Qi put away the medicinal powder and washed her hands. Seeing that her small face was no longer covered in black, she knew the Concealing Cream she had applied had worn off. Just as she took out the Concealing Cream she carried with her, another figure appeared in the reflection on the water’s surface.
Shen Qi abruptly looked up and saw Si Jingzhan’s extraordinarily handsome face. His deep purple eyes were no longer indifferent; his pupils contracted sharply as he stared at her fair, delicate face.
“You…” This was the first word Si Jingzhan uttered after seeing her appearance.
The same clothing, the same petite figure, but the face was entirely different—excessively stunning.
He had only come to discuss winter food storage with Bai Yuwei and had checked the commotion nearby, never expecting to stumble upon such an unexpectedly beautiful sight.
“Your face… why hide it?” Si Jingzhan hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of her appearance. He gazed intently at her fair face, unwilling to miss even the smallest detail.
Shen Qi frowned slightly, somewhat annoyed. “As you can see, I don’t want to be surrounded by so many Beastfolk because of my face.”
Si Jingzhan was taken aback by her answer. To possess such beauty yet choose to conceal it—could it be that she… didn’t like Male Beasts?
This question startled even him.
Si Jingzhan steadied his emotions, along with the ripples of inner turmoil.
“If that’s your reason… then I won’t tell the other Beastfolk.”
Shen Qi lowered her gaze, her rosy lips parting slightly. “Thank you.”
She had been about to ask him to keep it a secret, not wanting so many Beastfolk to find out. She was surprised that he had brought it up first.
After Shen Qi left, Si Jingzhan remained where he was.
Watching her figure gradually fade into the distance, he recalled her exposed face from earlier—so breathtakingly beautiful.
He didn’t know the real reason she hid her true appearance, but a sense of excitement stirred within him. Fortunately, he had visited the Tiger Tribe today; otherwise, he might never have discovered this little Female’s secret.
Seeing how she concealed her appearance did indeed spare her the trouble of many Male Beasts’ Courtship Pursuits. Perhaps she didn’t like Male Beasts? Or maybe she didn’t like weak ones?
Whatever the reason, being pestered was undoubtedly annoying, and he found it troublesome too.
Bai Yuwei must have seen her appearance long ago—no wonder he protected her so well.
Si Jingzhan lingered for a long time before finally leaving.
This was the first time he had ever pondered something for so long, all of it revolving around Shen Qi. So much so that he even forgot to discuss winter preparations with Bai Yuwei.
When the Eagle Tribe Beastfolk noticed his deep preoccupation and asked him about it, he answered casually.
Shen Qi returned calmly, relieved that only one Beastfolk had discovered her secret. The Eagle Tribe’s leader shouldn’t go back on his word, right…
She saw Bai Yuwei offering her roasted meat and took a bite, pleasantly surprised. “Bai Yuwei, I’ve noticed your roasting skills are getting better and better.”
Bai Yuwei lifted his head proudly. “I learned it all from Qiqi! Since Qiqi roasts so well, of course I do too!”
Shen Qi chuckled softly.
After cleaning up the food scraps, Bai Yuwei went out to hunt.
Shen Qi stretched her limbs and headed in another direction.
She moved swiftly, darting through the tranquil forest.
Her speed, stamina, and other abilities had improved significantly. This time, she could clearly feel the progress.
In the System Store, she noticed a new product: a Retractable Band with an external sharp blade. It could be wrapped around the palm, launched toward a target with a pull, and retracted with another pull.This is really useful! Shen Qi checked her Points—it required 30 Points. Hmm… that’s still acceptable.
After exchanging for it, she wrapped the Retractable Band around her palm once, looked up at the tree trunk, found a foothold, and pulled the band toward a nearby stationary object.
Instantly, she felt as if she were soaring into the air. She steadied herself and landed firmly on a branch.
Perhaps because this band was special, it wasn’t as difficult as she had imagined.
After descending steadily again, she asked the System in her mind, “Xiao Yu, are there any Points Missions?”
“Host, there are no assigned missions for now.”
Shen Qi clicked her tongue lightly. “Points are getting fewer and fewer.”
It seemed she had only completed one Points Mission so far.
“Host, there are many ways to obtain Points. You can exchange beast cores for them.”
“But magic beasts aren’t easy to find either. How many Points can a First-tier Beast Core be exchanged for?”
“10 Points.”
“Hmm… that’s a bit low.”
It wasn’t that she was greedy, but compared to completing a mission worth 100 Points, it was indeed very little, and magic beasts were hard to find.
“What about other ranks?”
At most, she could only exchange Second-tier Beast Cores for now. First-tier and Second-tier cores were too low-level to help her level up much, while Third-tier and above beast cores were needed for her own upgrades.
“Second-tier cores are worth 20 Points, Third-tier cores are worth 30 Points, and so on.”
Shen Qi understood and began searching for magic beasts nearby.
After running for so long, she hadn’t even seen a single strand of beast hair. Feeling slightly fatigued, Shen Qi leaned against a tree.
“Snort, snort~”
The snorting of a wild boar grew closer from a distance. Shen Qi’s sharp eyes snapped upward.
Hah, it didn’t show up when she was looking for it, but as soon as she lay down to rest, it appeared.
She rotated the handle of her knife and walked toward the source of the sound.
She saw a wild boar with demonic energy gleaming in its eyes, gnashing its teeth and charging at a nearby tree trunk. Leaves shook loose and fell to the ground one by one.
Shen Qi gripped her knife and flung it toward the boar’s head, hitting it squarely on the forehead, but it wasn’t completely dead.
Seeing the magic beast provoked, she quickly pulled the Retractable Band and moved to the tree trunk beside it.
Then, she pulled out the knife embedded in its forehead. As the boar charged toward her, she pushed off the tree trunk, using the momentum to flip in mid-air and evade its attack.
Next, she grabbed the hair on its head firmly and slashed the knife across its neck with a swift motion.
Hearing the sound of the magic beast’s entire body collapsing to the ground, Shen Qi coldly used her knife to cut open its chest. It was a Third-tier Beast Core.
She glanced at a cut on her arm, caused by a thorny vine near the tree trunk earlier.
Only when she used the Retractable Band to get closer did she notice the thorny vine.
The wound had worsened from the strain she had exerted earlier.
A drop of blood fell to the ground.
Shen Qi remained expressionless, cutting a piece of beast hide to press against the wound.
Just as she stood up, retrieved the beast core, and prepared to leave the area, a sound of a beast charging suddenly came from ahead.
Shen Qi retreated a few steps and saw a massive figure appear in front of her. She used the Retractable Band to land on a thick branch above.
Holding onto the tree trunk with one hand, she watched as the beast stopped at the spot where she had been earlier. She could faintly see demonic energy in its eyes.
It was another magic beast, and this time it had come directly to her.
Could it accurately locate her position? Could this be a High-tier Magic Beast? But at such a close distance, the beast hadn’t even looked up at her.
Shen Qi was puzzled, and then she saw it lick the ground—right where her drop of blood had fallen earlier.
Shen Qi’s pupils contracted slightly, her face thoughtful.After licking it clean, it sniffed at the dead magic beast nearby.
Seemingly not detecting the scent it desired, the magic beast was about to leave when she drew her pistol and shot it in the neck.
She was solely focused on retrieving the beast core, unaware that the demonic energy in the magic beast’s eyes had completely vanished…