Chapter 67: Taking in the Wolf Beastman

Wen Qian thought of Chi Heng, who had left in the afternoon, and her heart sank. ’Don’t tell me that guy never actually left!’

She immediately pulled the door open. Two familiar faces greeted her.

"Hey, Qianqian..."

It was the tenants who lived upstairs.

"That... um, where did you see it?" Wen Qian asked tentatively.

"You mean the wolf?" the other girl chimed in.

Wen Qian immediately denied it. "No, not a wolf... My, my dog just ran off. He looks a lot like a wolf... What you saw must have been him."

"Oh, I see..." The girl came to a sudden realization. Then she nudged the girl beside her. "What did I tell you? How could there be a wolf in the complex?"

The other girl pouted. "But it really looked like one..."

Rolling her eyes at her, the first girl spoke again. "It’s right by the flowerbeds. I’ll take you..."

"No, no, that’s okay! He’s very fierce, so I’ll go by myself... Thank you!" Wen Qian refused with a smile and rushed downstairs before they could react.

Her steps were hurried. As she got closer to the flowerbeds, she called out softly, "Chi Heng?"

A grayish-white figure stirred in the bushes next to the flowerbeds.

Wen Qian let out a long sigh of relief and continued to approach.

Chi Heng’s body was mostly hidden by the plants, with only a fluffy, grayish-white tail showing.

Wen Qian recognized him at a glance. She quickly looked around, and seeing no one, she immediately leaned in. "Didn’t you go home?"

Just as he opened his mouth to make a sound, Wen Qian clamped her hand over his muzzle.

"Don’t make a sound..." His body was mostly hidden in the bushes. Although he looked a lot like a dog, his bark was completely different.

She deliberately lowered her voice. "Where are your clothes?"

His pointed ears twitched. Chi Heng stood up from the bushes and gestured for Wen Qian to follow.

His clothes were just tossed on the ground... Luckily, it was nighttime, so the black shirt and pants weren’t very conspicuous.

"I mean, seriously... did you have to turn into a wolf?" Wen Qian was speechless.

The grayish-white wolf lowered his head, his ears drooping along with it.

’He didn’t want to, either. But his previous injuries hadn’t fully healed... He just couldn’t control it.’

"Ah, forget it. Just come home with me for now." She couldn’t resist patting him, and was surprised to find his fur was quite soft.

His body trembled suddenly. The next second, Chi Heng nudged her calf with his head like a puppy.

He obediently followed Wen Qian back to her apartment, still carrying his own jacket in his mouth.

Thinking that Yin Zhi probably wouldn’t be back for a while, Wen Qian took out a set of his clothes from the closet.

Seeing this, the grayish-white wolf shook his head like a rattle.

For a moment, Wen Qian didn’t understand what he meant.

"Sis, he can’t change form right now." Thankfully, Li Jiu could understand what Chi Heng was trying to say.

As the boy leaned closer, the tuft of hair on top of his head wobbled.

"Huh?" Wen Qian looked completely lost.

So the wolf lay on the floor and let out a low WHINE.

"His injuries haven’t healed yet. The beast form is a protective mechanism for Beastmen," Li Jiu continued to explain.

"In the Beast World, everyone usually stays in their Beastman form unless they’re with someone they’re close to or have no other choice."

Wen Qian paused for a moment. "Oh, so that’s how it is."

’No wonder his clothes were just scattered on the ground. He probably didn’t expect to suddenly shift into his beast form.’

’But he’s injured?’

’Could it be because...’

Just as her gaze fell on his paws, she saw Chi Heng pull them back slightly.

"No, Sis, it’s an old injury..." One of the survival skills of the Hundred Bird Clan in the Beast World was information transmission, so they naturally understood the languages of all the other Beastman clans.

In addition, they also had healing abilities. Not only did they recover quickly themselves, but they could also immediately sense how severely a Beastman was injured.

Wen Qian suddenly recalled their meeting at the bar earlier. He did indeed have many bloody scratches on his body back then.

’And the form he transformed into at that time... it seemed to consume a lot of energy, too.’

"In that case, you can stay here for now. Leave after your injuries have healed," Wen Qian said after some thought.

’There were fragments of the Critical Stone at home, which were the best nourishment for a Beastman, but Wen Qian didn’t tell Chi Heng about this...’

Chi Heng’s resting spot was arranged on the balcony. His fur was very thick, so the indoor temperature was too high for him. Plus, given his large size, this was the most suitable place for him.

Wen Qian dug two soft blankets out of a cabinet. She had originally prepared them for Yin Zhi, but he had transformed before she had a chance to give them to him.

She spread the blankets on the floor. Chi Heng slowly walked over, and the moment he lay down, his two ears twitched happily.

「The next day」, Wen Qian still hadn’t seen Yin Zhi.

Instead, while she was out buying breakfast, she "happened to run into" Ling Xuan by the flowerbeds.

She had wanted to ask Ling Xuan about Yin Zhi’s whereabouts, but the other woman ran away the moment she saw her, giving her no chance to ask.

"Are you still worried about the Young Master, Sis?" Li Jiu asked, leaning over curiously while chewing on a grape.

Wen Qian nodded. She had no idea how long that guy was going to keep sulking.

’He should at least give me a chance to argue—oh, no, to explain...’

"Actually, I saw the Young Master this morning..." Li Jiu lowered his voice. Then he added, "But he left again as soon as he arrived."

’He didn’t understand why the Young Master was acting like this, either. When he was on the balcony looking down, he thought the Young Master’s eyes were red.’

"When did you see him?" Wen Qian asked, stunned.

"Right when you went out, Sis... around ten o’clock, maybe?" Li Jiu thought for a moment.

At ten o’clock, Wen Qian had been at the market; that was also when she’d bought Li Jiu’s grapes.

’The little guy needed a treat for his meals every now and then,’ she had thought, so she’d picked out a bunch of very sweet Shine Muscat grapes.

Wen Qian pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. Her gaze inadvertently fell on Chi Heng. He was currently lying on the balcony, basking in the sun. The warm sunlight coated his back in a dazzling layer of gold.

’She thought she knew why Yin Zhi had left again...’

Wen Qian tapped her fingers on her knee twice and narrowed her eyes.

She crouched down and patted Chi Heng. Seeing a slight tremor in his eyes, she immediately asked, "Want to go for a walk?"

At her words, Chi Heng’s eyes lit up. He was about to open his mouth when the girl’s soft hand clamped over his muzzle.

"Just nod next time..." Wen Qian broke out in a cold sweat.

There weren’t many people in the complex on a weekday afternoon, so Wen Qian deliberately walked Chi Heng around the flowerbeds.

In the complex, Chi Heng would definitely attract attention if he were alone, but it was a different story with Wen Qian leading him...

"Don’t stray too far from me... I don’t have a leash," Wen Qian had instructed before they left.

He was too big, and Wen Qian was worried he might scare the children.

Chi Heng nodded. On this point, Wen Qian was worrying for nothing.

Not only would he not run off, but he would also stick close to her.