Chapter 73: Being Followed

The boy nodded frantically.

’What is going on?!’

Li Jiu didn’t notice that Chi Heng was injured. He simply relayed his message to Wen Qian.

"Oh, is that so... Well, don’t move. I’ll go get something to dry you off." With that, Wen Qian turned and grabbed a bath towel and a hairdryer.

Once everything was ready, Chi Heng obediently settled down in front of Wen Qian, his chin slightly raised, letting her dry his fur.

When he was mostly dry from the towel, Wen Qian plugged in the hairdryer...

In his beast form, Chi Heng was very docile. He’d lost that ferocious edge and looked very much like a gentle, large dog. Wen Qian loved fluffy little animals, especially gentle creatures like cats and dogs... which was why her attitude toward Chi Heng had changed so much in the past few days.

When his fur was about half-dry, Wen Qian wearily flexed her wrist. ’A hairdryer really is too small for a large dog...’ she thought. After blow-drying for half an hour, the fur on Chi Heng’s belly was still damp.

"Let’s go out and get some sun," Wen Qian said to Chi Heng, tilting her head after a glance at the clock on the wall. Then, she turned her gaze to Li Jiu. "Want to go for a walk together?"

After looking at the cartoon on TV, then back at the orange-yellow sun outside, Li Jiu wrestled with the decision for a long moment. "Okay... Can I turn into a little bird?"

He was the biggest homebody of all the Beastmen in the house. Other than eating fruit and sleeping, he just curled up on the sofa and watched TV.

If Wen Qian hadn’t asked, he would have never gone out on his own.

"Of course you can." Wen Qian was wearing loungewear she had just changed into. Thinking about going out, she immediately went back to her bedroom to change into some casual clothes.

Before heading downstairs, she knocked on the door of the room across the hall. There was no answer, so she finally led Chi Heng downstairs.

After flying out of the apartment building in his little bird form, Li Jiu naturally landed on Wen Qian’s head. He comfortably spread his tiny wings, letting the sunlight caress his feathers.

The "kittens" that had been sunbathing on the lawn immediately scattered when they saw Wen Qian, only peeking out from the bushes again after she had walked a good distance away.

With Chi Heng by her side, Wen Qian attracted a lot of attention along the way.

Most of the comments from people in the neighborhood were friendly.

Some bold people even wanted to come up and pet his head.

Wen Qian, of course, stopped them. She had seen Chi Heng angry before and was afraid he might get agitated and bite someone.

"Why don’t you go run around for a bit? Running... will help your fur dry faster," Wen Qian said softly, giving his head a pat.

His fur was just too thick. If they just waited for it to air-dry, there was no telling how long it would take.

Chi Heng obligingly puffed out his chest. The next second, he vigorously shook his fur, sending water droplets flying everywhere. Wen Qian hastily took two steps back.

Looking down at her water-splattered pant cuffs, she narrowed her eyes, trying to keep her cool.

"You..."

But before she could get the words out, the wolf that had been standing beside her shot off like an arrow released from a bow, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Wen Qian fell silent. ’If I had known he had so much energy, I would have just let him out for a run in the first place.’

Blow-drying him for half an hour wasn’t nearly as effective as a single shake.

She sat down in a small gazebo next to a flowerbed to enjoy the sun.

The residential community where Wen Qian lived was one of the best in the area. The landscaping was excellent, and it even had small gazebos and exercise equipment.

Although the equipment was a bit old, it was still packed with people every evening.

"Li Jiu, do you feel anything strange...?" For some reason, Wen Qian felt like she was being watched. The feeling had started right after Chi Heng left, and it was growing stronger.

She looked all around, but she was clearly the only one sitting in the gazebo at the moment.

The little bird perched on Wen Qian’s head hopped up and down, letting out a series of chirps. Wen Qian couldn’t understand him, so she had to reach up and pluck him from her hair.

She opened her palm, and there was Li Jiu, standing on it and tilting his head to look at her.

"Go see if someone’s following us," she said, deliberately lowering her voice.

The little fluffy head nodded, and the small bird flapped its wings and flew away.

Seeing this, Wen Qian breathed a small sigh of relief.

’When the other party’s intentions are unclear, splitting up is the best option. It would be best if Li Jiu can find the person, but even if he can’t, it increases our chances of escape...’

The little yellow bird circled once in the sky, its gaze finally locking onto a man wearing a face mask and a baseball cap.

He was hiding furtively behind a thick tree trunk, revealing only a pair of narrow eyes.

Li Jiu’s heart leaped with joy. Just as he was about to fly back and tell Wen Qian, he saw Chi Heng burst out from the bushes and, a second later, tackle the man to the ground...

"AHH... What are you doing?!" the man shrieked, his voice cracking.

His face was a mask of terror as he disgustedly tried to shove the vicious wolf off of him.

’Dammit, how is he back again...’

’He and Chi Heng are natural enemies. When I saw him earlier, I deliberately took a detour and waited until he was gone before coming out.’

’But now...’

’So that’s why that bastard suddenly left. He was planning a sneak attack.’

Wen Qian heard the commotion as well. She spun around and was startled by the scene before her.

Although she knew Chi Heng wouldn’t attack someone for no reason, she ran over just to be safe.

Even the little bird flying in the sky latched onto the fur on the back of Chi Heng’s neck, pulling backward with all his might. The two of them, one person and one bird, tugged and hauled until they finally managed to get Chi Heng off the man...

"Calm down, we’re in a residential area..." Wen Qian whispered, vigorously stroking his fur.

After finally managing to calm Chi Heng down, Wen Qian looked at the still-shaken man on the ground.

As their eyes met, the man nervously tightened his grip on his face mask, then picked up the cap from the ground and jammed it on his head.

"I’m so sorry, are you okay...?" Wen Qian said, speaking first.

She held out a hand to him, intending to pull him up from the ground.

The man’s expression faltered for a second before he coldly turned his head away. His tone was unfriendly. "I don’t need your help."

"GRRRR—"

Chi Heng let out another low, warning growl.

The man was startled and instinctively leaned back, his eyes full of vigilance.

His narrow eyes narrowed further. He really, truly hated the Wolf Clan.

"Are... you sure?" Wen Qian asked, glancing from Chi Heng to the wary man.

"Hmph." The man snorted, then scrambled clumsily to his feet under Wen Qian’s gaze.

As he did, he kept stealing glances at Chi Heng by her side, clearly afraid that the wolf would get agitated again and pounce like before.

"The Wolf Clan is so crude," the man said, his tone laced with provocation as he lightly brushed the dust off his clothes. Then, the instant Chi Heng bared his teeth, he quickly took a step back.

’He knows about the Wolf Clan...’

Wen Qian’s brow furrowed. It seemed this person wasn’t so simple.

"Why were you following me?" Lifting her gaze, Wen Qian stepped forward, shielding Chi Heng behind her. She was clearly worried that this man in front of her meant to harm the Beastman.