“Gulu… Gulu-lu…”
The drum-like rumbling in her stomach ruthlessly dragged Lin Xi out of her brief sense of relief and back into reality.
Cold and hunger, like two venomous snakes, were frantically gnawing at her body and her will. Her soaked, thin clothes grew as cold as ice in the mountain wind; she felt as though her very blood was about to freeze solid.
Leaning against a tree trunk, she held Huzi (Tiger) tightly, trying to draw a sliver of warmth from his tiny body. Huzi was cold too; he huddled his entire frame into Lin Xi’s embrace. Two lives, equally weak and equally lonely, relied on each other for survival in this frozen wilderness.
Dawn was approaching.
A streak of pale white appeared in the eastern sky, dispelling some of the darkness, but it only made the silhouettes of the mountain forest appear more vivid and menacing. The towering trees stood like silent giants casting massive shadows. Faint sounds of unknown birds and the roars of beasts drifted from deep within the woods, casting a veil of danger over this land that had only just granted her freedom.
Lin Xi knew she couldn’t stay here for long. Once the sun was up, the Lin family would likely come searching. Although the chaos caused by the black tiger last night meant they might not know her exact flight path, a search of the mountain was inevitable. She didn’t even dare to imagine the consequences of being caught and taken back.
She had to keep moving into the mountains—deeper and further, to a place where they could never find her.
However, she couldn’t stand up.
A night of terror and flight had long since exhausted all the energy in her three-year-old body. The high fever seemed to have returned due to the chill of falling into the water; her head was swimming, and the scenery before her eyes was spinning.
“No… can’t sleep…” Lin Xi bit her tongue hard. The sharp pain instantly cleared her mind a little.
Grasping the rough bark of the tree, she used every ounce of strength she possessed just to barely pull herself off the ground. Her legs shook like sieves, and with every movement, the wounds on her knees sent a heart-wrenching jolt of pain through her.
“Move… must move…” she told herself, her voice raspy and broken from weakness.
But where should she go?
She knew nothing about this mountain. In her past life, she had only the memory of being sold to an even more remote mountain gully; she had no impression of this mountain behind her hometown.
She looked up at the direction where the sun was rising—that was East. She remembered her father’s letters mentioning that his frontier unit was in the far Northwest.
Northwest…
What a distant and blurry direction that was. Even for an adult, it would be a journey of a thousand mountains and rivers, let alone for a three-year-old child like her.
A massive sense of powerlessness and confusion shrouded her once again.
She had escaped, but what now?
No map, no compass, no money, and no food. She was like a rootless piece of duckweed tossed into a vast ocean by fate, not even knowing where the shore was.
In her past life, she had always wondered: if she hadn’t been sold back then, if she had managed to escape, would her life have been different?
Now, she had escaped. But the cruelty of reality was a hundred times more violent than she had imagined.
Was she truly destined to die here? To starve to death, freeze to death, or be eaten by the wild beasts in the mountains?
No!
Absolutely not!
She had fought so hard to live a second life, fought so hard to crawl out of that hell—she absolutely could not give up like this!
She wanted to live! She wanted to see her father! She wanted to make those beasts in the Lin family pay for what they had done!
A powerful will to survive, like a ball of fire, began to burn anew within her freezing body.
“Huzi, let’s go!” she said to the kitten in her arms, as if she were issuing a command to herself.
She oriented herself, identified the right direction, and took her first grueling step toward the depths of the mountain forest—away from the village.
Every step felt like treading on knife edges. The soles of her feet were stung by sharp pebbles and twigs, and the wounds on her knees rubbed against her coarse trousers, sending waves of piercing pain through her. The cold wind lunged into her sodden collar, making her shiver uncontrollably.
She didn’t know how long she had been walking; perhaps an hour, perhaps longer. The sun had risen, and golden light filtered through the canopy, yet it brought no warmth.
Her vision began to blur, and a buzzing sound filled her ears. The sensation of hunger had gone numb, replaced by a profound, bone-deep vertigo.
She felt as if she might collapse at any moment and never get back up.
Just as her consciousness began to fade, Huzi suddenly let out a “Meow” in her arms, wriggled free, and jumped to the ground.
He ran a few paces ahead, then turned back to look at Lin Xi and called out again, as if urging her forward.
“Huzi…?” Lin Xi looked at him, dazed.
Seeing her motionless, Huzi ran back to her feet, gently rubbed his head against her leg, and then trotted ahead again, walking decisively in one direction.
Is he… leading the way for me?
A realization flashed through Lin Xi’s mind.
She remembered her peculiar “Beast Taming” ability. She could sense the emotions of animals, and they seemed to understand her heart in return.
What did she need most right now?
Food, water, and the means to survive!
As a stray cat living in the wild, Huzi surely knew where to find these things!
This discovery was like a bolt of lightning, cutting through the fog of confusion and despair in Lin Xi’s heart.
She wasn’t fighting alone! She had an ally! The creatures in this entire mountain forest could potentially become her allies!
“Huzi, wait for me!”
A fresh surge of strength welled up from within, supporting her exhausted body. She staggered after Huzi, pushing through thicket after thicket.
Huzi’s pace was steady. From time to time, he stopped and looked back to ensure Lin Xi hadn’t lost her way. His small silhouette darted through the complex woodland like an experienced guide.
Finally, Huzi stopped before a steep slope covered in tangled vines. He let out an excited “Meow” directed at the base of the greenery.
Lin Xi leaned on her knees, panting heavily as she stepped forward. She brushed aside the hanging vines, and her eyes instantly lit up.
Beneath the vines grew a cluster of wild raspberries! The bright red fruits shimmered like rubies in the morning light, emitting an enticing, sweet fragrance.
Food!
Tears instantly welled in Lin Xi’s eyes. This was the first spark of hope she had seen since her escape.
With trembling hands, she plucked a raspberry and put it in her mouth.
The sweet and sour juice exploded in her mouth, sliding down her parched throat. The sensation was more wonderful than any delicacy she had ever tasted in her previous life!
She began to eat ravenously. Huzi sat by her feet, watching her quietly with a satisfied purr vibrating in his throat.
After eating some fruit, a bit of her strength returned. However, a new problem arose. These berries could only stave off hunger temporarily. She was soaked to the bone; if she didn’t find a place to get warm and dry her clothes soon, she would eventually succumb to illness in these mountains.
She looked out at the vast, seemingly endless forest. The flame of hope that had just been ignited flickered precariously in the cold wind.
She had escaped a human disaster, only to run headlong into the trials of nature.
This path to survival had only just begun, and already, it was this difficult.