gentle beast

12

“Ōu——”

Eric’s yelling drifted further and further away.

The sailboat departed the crossing and speedily drove to the other side of the river.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s hand firmly grasped the ladder, and she listened carefully to the sounds aboard ship, confirming there was no one before jumping on deck.

Her wet sneakers trampled the deck, leaving a large watermark.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not have the time to wipe the droplets from her face when the world suddenly turned black, the entire ship becoming dark.

Here, the beastmen’s schedules were based entirely on the color of the sky.

Rise at dawn and rest at dusk.

By this time, most of the beastmen had already returned to their rooms to rest and there was no one to find Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu for the time being.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu had not thought about the time at all and jumped into the river before anyone could react.

When she was young, her father taught her how to swim. A distance like this was not a problem.

But she had forgotten it was not winter and yesterday they had a snowstorm. The river was biting cold!

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu stood on the deck, the cold wind making her fiercely shiver.

What the hell was she thinking? . . .

Why did she hear that the leopard was on board and immediately came over?

What to do next?

The deck was deserted and she was all on her own, no one else was there.

Only a bright spark at the bow of the ship was lit

In the faint light, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could see a wolf in animal skin clothes standing at the helm.

Unlike the other wolf beastmen she saw today, this one retained most of the wolfish features, certical ears, a long wide mouth and green eyes that faintly glowed in the dark.

The wolf steering the ship seemed to hear the movement on deck and flashing green eyes turned to the side Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was standing.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s chest tightened and she quickly hid behind the mast to avoid the beastman’s gaze.

The mast was thick and blocked her body from sight.

After a long time, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu her no sound but still did not dare to come out.

She stood there until her entire body was stiff and her hands and feet cold. Her nose itched a little, almost wanting to sneeze, and she quickly lifted a hand to cover her nose, suppressing it best she could.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu quietly peeked from behind the mast and carefully looked towards the bow of the ship.

The wolf at the helm seemed to not detect any abnormalities and had long withdrawn his gaze.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu sighed in relief and began to observe the surroundings.

This boat was not small and a little more advanced than a sailing yacht, and it relied entirely on wind and the rudder for navigation.

There were barrels disorderly cast around the deck and by smell, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu determined it ought to be wine. She hadn’t expected the beastmen here to actually brew, so  Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was curious and she looked on either side of her.

There was a wooden door towards the back of the deck. It was closed and looked a bit old.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was all wet, clothes sticking to her body, cold and uncomfortable. The top priority was to find a place to change clothes.