No Beasts Or Monsters?

( Ughh…!We have been walking for hours, but haven't seen any monster or beast , just vegetation. I am tired and hungry.) Xia grumbled.

" You have been lying on my shoulder. I should be the one complaining, not you. What you want is food . "

(Brrrrrrr…..!!!)

Xia's stomach rumbled in agreement. Yunxi smiled slightly, after hearing the rumbling.

( Th….at's…you are also tired and hungry. ) Xia said with pouty lips.

Yes. She was not shy to admit it. Like seriously, they have been walking for hours, and it should be night by now. But, the atmosphere never changed. It was stagnant.

" Yeah. We might have been here for days. We need a break. "

( Days…..?) Xia sat down on Yunxi's shoulder , and crossed her forearms.

" This is a dungeon. There's a time difference between here and the outside world. This dungeon is like another dimension on its own. What we think is hours here might be days outside. " Yunxi explained. Xia was just born not long ago, and couldn't know about the world.

( Ohh…That's how it is. Then if it's a dungeon, then we can leave, can't we? We have only encountered a group of rabbits since we had been here. I don't think there's anything here again.)

Yunxi jumped onto a giant tree with a wide , thick, spacious branch. She sat down on it , and carried Xia from her shoulders and placed her on the branch.

" Yeah , we can. But dungeons differ from one another. If we go back, we might get lost. And you are wrong. There are more monsters and beasts than you think. This is the first floor of the dungeon. " Yunxi said as she brought out the fruits she had plucked.

( Are we eating…. fruits?) The smell of fruits invited Xia , that she forgot all about the conversation.

" Yes. " Yunxi gave a short and curt answer. She brought out a small knife, and a bottle of water which she used to rinse the fruits. She dissected the fruit that looked like a coconut but wasn't because its shell wasn't hard, and presented it to Xia.

All through the process of Yunxi dissecting the fruits, Xia had a dumbfounded look on her .

( What….? I am hungry! That is, I need energy giving food, like meat! ) Xia said angrily. She looked like a raging bull. The only thing missing was the horns and hoofs.

Yunxi sighed and picked one slice and placed it in her mouth. In between her pearly white teeth, she bit out a part. The exotic taste of the fruit as she chewed it made her moan in pleasure. Before a second, she had finished the first slice, and was going for another one.

( Are you ignoring me ?!!!) Xia couldn't take it anymore, and lunged at her .

Yunxi stopped her with the knife, she used to dissect the fruit. Xia stopped in midair, and the sight was funny, because Yunxi laughed.

" Hahahaha…! You are adorable! "

Yunxi caught her with her other hand in the last second, before she could fall. She placed the grumpy Xia on her lap .

" You aren't strong enough to take me on. Don't try that again, else I wouldn't know what the repercussions would be. "

Xia huffed, and turned her face away with her arms akimbo.

Although Yunxi knew that Xia wouldn't hurt her , she reacted in such a manner. Her body reacted before her brain could. Ever since that incident with the old hag, her body was more sensitive to danger.

" Okay. I am sorry. I shouldn't have ignored you. I was just teasing you, okay? Don't take it to heart. " Yunxi coaxed her , as she patted her head.

( Me..ow ~~~) Xia purred.

" Ah! It seems you aren't angry with me anymore. That's a relief. " Yunxi placed a slice of fruit on her front paw.

( Why are you still giving me fruit?) Xia raised up her head and asked with puffy cheeks.

" There are beasts and monsters around. If I bring out meat , it would attract them here. And you very well know we can't handle higher level beasts and monsters. It's better to be safe than sorry." Yunxi told her the reason, for not bringing out the meat.

( But when you dissected the rabbits, no monster or beast came out. Why is that ?) Xia asked as she bit into the slice of fruit, since she couldn't take it anymore.

" There weren't any high level beasts or monsters at that time. The others in the shadows were scared after seeing the way we took out the entire group….To them , we are opponents they can't beat, so they retreated. " Yunxi explained patiently to Xia, like a child.

( Okay. But this fruit can't be enough for us. Bring out more.)

Xia had already wolfed down half of the fruit. Yunxi smiled after seeing the way she looked at the remaining fruit with dazzling eyes.

She brought out two more fruits, and rinsed them. She dissected it in a plate, and kept the knife back. She and Xia ate to their heart's content, and drank water after.

Not long, Xia dozed off in Yunxi's arms. Seeing the cute little cat asleep, Yunxi sighed tiredly. She rested her back on the tree trunk, with Xia in her arms and drifted off to sleep.

**********

" Do you think there's something valuable on her ? "

" Yeah. Her parents didn't want her to embarrass them, that's why they told her to come here."

" Are you stupid or what ?! How would she have been able to survive without talent in a dangerous place like this if she didn't have something protecting her ?!"

" Do you think it's the cat …? "

" Cat ? ! That's it! There aren't any normal animals again. "

Three figures crouched behind shrubs or trees, talked in whispers among themselves. They were not too far from the tree Yunxi was sleeping on.

( *Ya~wn….) Xia woke up and stretched her body. She shook her fur, and stood up .

What she saw….The sight In Front of her was…. alluring. Yunxi's beautiful peaceful face was a marvelous sight. Waking up to this kind of view was luxurious, and Xia would cherish it. And also because it's free.

" What ? Haven't seen enough?" Yunxi asked, and opened her eyes. Xia was already close enough that their lips were almost touching.

( Yish! I just wanted to see you more clearly. ) Xia had her front paws on Yunxi's shoulder, and her hind paws on her lap. From afar it was like she was hugging Yunxi.

" Why ?"

( Because I wanted to memorize the structure of your face , so I wouldn't be tricked if someone decided to use your face.) Xia answered with a straight face.

" What …?" Yunxi was stunned, but the expression was soon wiped out of her face instantly. She stood up and adjusted the strap of her sword. She climbed down the tree carefully, leaving Xia on the branch.

( Where are you going? Are you leaving me here?) Xia followed her hurriedly, and climbed down the tree with the help of her claws.

( Wait up!!! I can't keep up with your speed.) Xia yelled behind Yunxi, who was running at top speed.

" That's the intention. You need to keep up with my speed, and turn invisible. There are people following us. " Yunxi replied and increased her speed. Only dust was left in her wake, and Xia used it as a cover to turn invisible.

The people following behind stopped. They were sweating and breathing heavily.

" What's up with the way she ran ?!"

" That's the fastest I have seen anyone run in my entire life ! "

" It might be a speed artifact. More of the reason why we should hunt her down before any other person gets the opportunity to . "

. ..

….

Meanwhile, Yunxi was standing in front of a waterfall, hidden deeply at the heart of the forest.

" So… this was the reason why you were running. " Xia said breathlessly, as she stared at the sparkling water .

" I needed to do my morning business. Hehehe…~ Because you performed well, I would carry you on my shoulder for a whole day. " Yunxi beamed a smile at Xia , before bending down and filling the empty bottles with water.

Afterwards, she brought out her toothbrush and paste.

( What are you doing?) Xia asked , confused. She could tell what Yunxi was holding, since she had seen her use it once.

" Here. Although we are in the wilderness, we shouldn't let any resources go to waste. " Yunxi gave Xia another toothbrush with a paste on it.

( How many of this,exactly did you bring along?)

" I don't know. My mum and sister packed it for me. But I think I saw about ten or fifteen. " Yunxi placed the brush on her teeth and started brushing.

Seeing Yunxi, Xia decided to follow what she was doing.