Encounter in Another World

Zhou Min could never have imagined that his fate would be so wantonly tossed about by fear and the unknown in this barbaric land. He had just experienced a life - and - death battle between a big chicken and a giant python in the mysterious wilderness. After narrowly escaping death, he encountered all kinds of strange things during his exploration. At this moment, all the muscles in his body were tensed, adrenaline was surging wildly, and his brain was racing to come up with a countermeasure. But when he spun around suddenly, there was only a deathly - still void in front of him. His eyes were filled with panic and confusion as he subconsciously slowly looked up, his gaze fixed on the unknown expanse of the sky.

"So it's just a cloud." Zhou Min let out a long sigh of relief and fell straight backward like a puppet with its strings cut, sprawling on the ground in a "big" shape. He loosened his tight grip on the Big Yellow Blade and the snake fangs, closed his eyes slowly, and the taut nerves in his body relaxed instantly, leaving his mind blank.

"Rustle, rustle."

That familiar sound came again. Before he could recover from the fright, a strong tremor surged over him, and the world seemed to be shaken by an invisible giant hand. He opened his eyes in horror, only to be stabbed by the intense afternoon sunlight, leaving his vision a blank white, unable to see anything. He blinked desperately, but couldn't penetrate this dazzling light screen. The fear of the unknown and the feeling of losing control of the situation made him, who was used to being in control of everything, feel a huge sense of panic in his heart.

Zhou Min felt as if an invisible big hand had grabbed his chest, and his whole body was roughly lifted up and suspended in mid - air. His eyes gradually adjusted to the light, but tears welled up uncontrollably, blurring his vision. He wiped his eyes in a flurry, and finally, his vision became clear. Just as he was about to make out the situation, a sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of his head. His eyes went black, his consciousness dissipated, and he fainted.

"Wu la wa wu, wu la wa wu." "Kou mo ji yi nei." "Tai jiu bu, si kuo yi."

The noisy voices woke Zhou Min from his coma. He opened his eyes slowly and saw that he was lying on a thatched bed. There were figures moving around in the room. He quickly looked around, recalling the events before he fainted, and judged that he was in that mysterious thatched cottage. When he looked at the "people" around him, his eyes froze instantly.

"They look like people, but not exactly." Zhou Min looked at the strange species beside him, his heart filled with doubt and fear.

These creatures were about 2 meters tall, had all four limbs intact, and could walk upright. They had human - like faces and heads, but their ears were like those of felines, some pink and some golden. Their eyes were yellow or brown, with oval pupils. They were dressed in animal skins and coarse linen clothes. Their arms were no different from those of humans, but their hands were like sharp cat claws. They were bare - footed, or rather, bare - clawed. Their legs were barely human - shaped, and their feet were furry animal paws, with five sharp claws clearly arranged on them. Behind their buttocks, they also had a long tail.

It wasn't difficult to distinguish their gender. Zhou Min judged that the one with a prominent chest in front of him was female.

"Are these cat - people? Or cat demons? Let's just consider them as people for now." Zhou Min murmured in a low voice, his voice full of uncertainty.

"Yi a la wa wu." When the female cat - person saw that Zhou Min had woken up, she immediately uttered a series of strange sounds towards him.

"This is interesting. Is she trying to communicate with me? It seems that they have developed a rather high - level civilization and have their own unique language. I wonder if they have writing?" Seeing that the cat - person had no ill intentions, Zhou Min observed secretly while thinking.

Zhou Min shook his head at the female cat - person. First, he pointed to her mouth, then to his own ear, and waved his hand to indicate that he didn't understand.

The female cat - person stared at Zhou Min for a while, nodding, and walked over to the other two cat - people. She gestured animatedly, as if telling them something important.

At this time, a male cat - person walked towards Zhou Min. He was wearing a worn - out leather hat, leaning on a cane. His face was covered with wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy. He was clearly old. He walked up to Zhou Min, slowly stretched out his palm, and sharp claws popped out at the tips of his fingers, glinting with a strange black light. Zhou Min instinctively sensed danger, shrank back, and his eyes were full of vigilance.

Suddenly, the old cat - person's eyes burst out with a strong yellow light. Zhou Min felt as if his brain had been struck by an electric current, and it went blank in an instant. He stood there, dumbfounded. The old cat - person took the opportunity to touch the black - glinting claws to the center of Zhou Min's eyebrows.

"Ah, it hurts so much!" Zhou Min came to his senses, hugged his head with both hands, and cried out in pain. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead.

"Okay, we didn't do anything to you, meow." A clear voice came.

Zhou Min suddenly looked up and was shocked to find that he could understand what the cat - people were saying. First, he stared at the female cat - person's eyes in disbelief, and then looked at the old cat - person, his eyes full of doubt.

"Seeing that you couldn't understand, the old ancestor just transmitted the divine sense to you. Hurry up and thank the old ancestor, meow." The female cat - person said matter - of - factly.

Zhou Min stared at her blankly, at a loss for what to do.

"Why are you looking at me? Hurry up and thank the old ancestor, meow. If it weren't for the fact that you were lying at the door, poisoned by the arrow - poison 菟,we wouldn't have bothered with you, meow. The arrow - poison 菟's poison usually takes effect within a day. You're lucky. Within a hundred - li radius, only the old ancestor can cure this poison." The female cat - person continued.

"Oh, thank you, old ancestor. Thank you, old ancestor." In this strange and dangerous world, Zhou Min didn't dare to be negligent and quickly bowed his head to express his gratitude.

The old cat - person glanced at Zhou Min, nodding, and then ignored him.

"What's your name, meow? Where are you from, meow? How did you get here, meow? Where are you going, meow..." The female cat - person fired a series of questions at him like a machine - gun.

"Why aren't you talking? Can't you understand again, meow?" Seeing that Zhou Min didn't respond, she asked in confusion.

"Okay, Fei'er, let him rest first. You all come out with me." The old ancestor of the cat - people spoke up, took the lead in walking out of the thatched cottage, and the other two cat - people and the female cat - person named Fei'er followed.

Zhou Min lay back on the bed, his mind in a daze. The experiences of the past two days played like a revolving lantern in his mind.

"Where is this place? Where is the future? Where should I go from now on?" Zhou Min looked at the empty room, and a sense of despair welled up in his heart. A strong sense of homesickness overwhelmed him. He missed his hometown and parents extremely. The feeling of loneliness and helplessness made his eyes slightly moist.

"Gurgle, gurgle." Zhou Min's stomach growled in a timely manner. "It's time to eat again. Hey, let's just focus on staying alive for now. There's always a way out when you get to a mountain. Maybe I can go back. Let's set a small goal first - stay alive." He cheered himself up in his heart.

"Creak, creak." The old ancestor of the cat - people pushed the door open and closed it behind him. Zhou Min curiously stretched his head to look outside the door and then looked at the old cat - person in confusion.

"Outsider, I know you have questions. Some things aren't suitable for the younger generation to hear, so I came in first to have a chat with you." The old ancestor of the cat - people pulled over a chair, sat down by the bed, with his voice deep and hoarse, carrying an ancient sense of vicissitude.

"Sure. Coincidentally, I also have some questions for you. My name is Zhou Min. I'm from China. I don't know how I got here. I was unemployed before and am currently working part - time as a teacher in a cram school..." Zhou Min seemed to be saying a lot on the surface, but in fact, the key information was cleverly hidden.

"Outsider, my name is Miao Tianfang, the ancestor of the Black - Raccoon Clan. The place where you are now is the habitat of the Black - Raccoon Clan. The Black - Raccoon Clan's sphere of influence covers a radius of a hundred li..." When the ancestor of the Black - Raccoon Clan saw that Zhou Min had finished speaking, he also slowly revealed his own information.

Immediately, a deafening roar came, shaking the house slightly. The face of the old ancestor of the cat - people changed suddenly. He stood up abruptly and said urgently to Zhou Min, "Not good! It's the Shadow Demon Bear! For some reason, this beast has suddenly barged into our territory. Stay here and don't go out!" After that, he rushed out of the door in a hurry.

Zhou Min's heart instantly rose to his throat. He quietly walked to the window and looked out through the crack. A huge black demon bear was charging towards the village. Its eyes were glowing with a strange red light. Wherever it passed, the trees were knocked down in all directions. The cat - people of the Black - Raccoon Clan picked up their weapons one after another and rushed over from all directions, surrounding the demon bear. Fei'er was among them. Although her face was full of horror, her eyes showed a firm look.

The demon bear let out a furious roar and slammed its front paws hard on the ground. The powerful impact caused the ground to crack. The cat - people didn't flinch. They cooperated with each other. Some attacked from the side, trying to distract the demon bear's attention; some looked for opportunities to deliver a fatal blow. However, the demon bear was too powerful. It easily blocked the attacks of the cat - people and launched counter - attacks from time to time. Several cat - people were hit by it and fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

Zhou Min watched the chaotic scene, his heart extremely anxious. He knew that he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Suddenly, he remembered the snake - fang short - swords and the Big Yellow Blade he had made before. Although he didn't know if they would be effective against this demon bear, he still decided to go out and help. He picked up his weapons, took a deep breath, opened the door, and rushed out.

When he appeared on the battlefield, the cat - people all showed surprised expressions. Fei'er shouted loudly, "Zhou Min, go back quickly! It's too dangerous here!" Zhou Min firmly shook his head and said, "I can't just watch you all die. I want to fight with you!" After that, he brandished his weapons and charged towards the demon bear..