…
A prophecy fulfilled. Li Chanyi really got into trouble.
They didn’t get into trouble in the vast, sparsely populated Northern Frontier. They didn’t get into trouble on an isolated, snow-capped mountain. Li Chanyi’s fragile body wasn’t defeated by the harsh plateau environment. Instead, he got into trouble in a place no one could have predicted.
The Northern Frontier trip went smoothly. Li Chanyi found the herbs he was looking for and, with the help of Ye Yang (a yaoguai), dug them up with ease. They spent the rest of their time visiting many scenic spots. Relying on Ye Yang’s presence, Li Chanyi also did many things his family never allowed and that he himself had never dared to do before.
The two camped in the snow, staying at a campsite halfway up the mountain, watched the sunrise over the snowy peaks, and even ate some legal wild game. It was a very fulfilling trip.
Unfortunately, just as they were halfway through their planned itinerary, Ye Yang received an urgent recall.
The Dongzhou Operations Department had a major mission requiring them to go deep underground. They needed Ye Yang’s unique abilities to ensure the safety of the other team members.
This mission couldn’t proceed without Ye Yang. He had no choice but to first go to a nearby YCG branch in the Northern Frontier, enter the yaoguai realm from there, and quickly return to Dongzhou through the yaoguai realm.
Before leaving, he said to Li Chanyi, “You’ll have to go home by yourself. Be careful on the road.”
Li Chanyi replied, “Ah, don’t worry. I’ve traveled alone to so many places by myself. The mission is important—you go ahead.”
After seeing Ye Yang off at the Northern Frontier YCG branch, Li Chanyi stuck around for a meal and got familiar with the local medical department. He wasn’t in a hurry to get home either. There was still plenty of vacation time left, so he planned to take it slow and visit some other places along the way.
That was perfectly normal. In theory, there shouldn’t have been any problem. But Li Chanyi wasn’t an ordinary person anymore.
Passing through Qishan City and seeing the layers of towering mountains there, Li Chanyi’s urge to collect wild herbs resurfaced.
“These mountains are so majestic, covered in dense vegetation, uninhabited… there must be plenty of well-grown herbs here, right?”
“Let me check the local climate. This area is perfect for wild pseudo-ginseng to grow. There might even be linden tree shiitake mushrooms… Yeah, I have to go check it out.”
Deep in the mountains, Li Chanyi encountered a man with an injured leg.
He immediately used the medical supplies he carried to treat the wound. Only then did he take a moment to size the man up.
It was hard to tell the man’s age. He looked like he shouldn’t be young, but he was packed with rippling muscles, his hair was glossy black and neatly tied into a high ponytail. He didn’t look old either. Despite the hot weather, he wore a fur collar and didn’t seem bothered by the heat.
Stranger still, the man remained completely silent. He was wary of Li Chanyi but not afraid. After Li Chanyi bandaged him up, he didn’t even say thank you.
Even for someone as outgoing as Li Chanyi, this was awkward. He muttered to himself for a long time, but the man ignored him. Rubbing his nose, Li Chanyi sighed helplessly. “The signal here isn’t great, but 120 should still work. Should I call an ambulance for you?”
The man still didn’t speak, but a flicker of disdain crossed his expression.
Li Chanyi was a clever guy. Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. “Hey… you wouldn’t happen to not be human, would you?”
Before he even finished speaking, Li Chanyi became more and more convinced his guess was correct. The strange clothing. Having a mobile phone but not calling for emergency services. Not seeming too bothered by such a severe injury. The fresh wound, nearly down to the bone, had already stopped bleeding on its own…
The man narrowed his eyes. His ordinary human eyes suddenly shifted into the vertical pupils of a feline. Two pointed ears, with tufts of fur on top, also appeared on his head.
Suddenly, Li Chanyi felt the air around him grow heavy as a wave of killing intent surged and locked onto him.
He immediately realized—this man was not one of the “good yaoguai” he’d dealt with before. This was a “bad yaoguai”!
But by then, it was too late.
Even though he was now a member of the YCG, Li Chanyi was still essentially an ordinary person. His pass could have quickly teleported him to the nearest YCG branch, but either something was wrong with this place or this yaoguai was too powerful—in any case, his pass had stopped working!
“Uh, brother, I mean no harm. Look, I even bandaged your wound… I’m with the YCG. Killing me might cause some diplomatic issues…”
Under the lynx yaoguai’s increasingly contemptuous and mocking gaze, Li Chanyi’s voice trailed off.
Clearly, this lynx yaoguai wasn’t buying any of it.
Li Chanyi’s legs finally gave out. He collapsed onto the ground. The lynx yaoguai let out a low growl and instantly transformed into an unnaturally massive lynx. Its thick forepaw pressed down on Li Chanyi’s stomach.
The phone in Li Chanyi’s hand flew out of his grasp and disappeared into the grass.
That one stomp nearly made him cough up blood. Cold sweat broke out instantly.
The lynx finally spoke. “This is my territory. You, a human, trespassed. You laid hands on me. I tolerated all of that. But I didn’t expect you to recognize me. Now, you can only blame yourself.”
Li Chanyi froze. Recognize him? How? What a miscarriage of justice! He shouldn’t have opened his big mouth to ask that stupid question! Also, he finally understood why the yaoguai hadn’t said a word before—so this was what his voice sounded like…
Shut up, mouth. Whatever you do, don’t laugh. Laughing will definitely get you killed.
The giant lynx’s vertical pupils suddenly narrowed to slits. “Hm? Are you mocking me?” As it spoke, tremors traveled down the paw pressing on Li Chanyi’s stomach.
Li Chanyi shook his head frantically, nearly making himself throw up.
The giant lynx yaoguai snorted. “Not that it matters. You’re about to go into my stomach anyway.”
The paw on his stomach suddenly lifted. Then, that massive claw magnified right before Li Chanyi’s eyes—followed by a spinning, disorienting tumble.
Seriously?! This lynx yaoguai was treating him like a cat toy!
After what felt like an eternity of rolling, he finally stopped. Before he could even get to his feet, another paw swatted him flying again. Mid-air, another claw caught him.
This was exactly as miserable as a sparrow caught by a feral cat.
Slammed face-down into the dirt, Li Chanyi couldn’t even scream. All he could do was struggle like mad.
At this point, he half-hoped the lynx yaoguai would just eat him already. At least then he’d die cleanly, without the torture.
Those two swats alone had nearly killed this fragile college student. He suspected several of his bones were broken, and his internal organs might even be bleeding.
If this lynx yaoguai wanted to play a little longer, he’d be in worse misery than death itself.
The lynx yaoguai was utterly vicious. While toying with its prey, it kept threatening him. “I wonder if tenderizing the meat makes it taste better.”
“Such a shame. Too skinny. I like my prey fatty.”
“I wonder what human meat really tastes like. Today, I’ll finally get a proper taste.”
Li Chanyi grew more and more desperate. This was it. He was really going to die here.
Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. Sorry, Ye Ye. I promised I’d be careful… Sorry, future colleagues. I probably won’t get to treat patients alongside you after all.
In the last second before losing consciousness, Li Chanyi’s final thought was: If there’s a next life, I’m going to be a person of few words. I must, must, MUST never run my mouth again!
—
“What?!”
Suddenly receiving a call from Fu Ye, Ye Yang was completely dumbfounded. Where had his friend wandered off to? How did Li Chanyi end up in Qishan? What did he do to provoke a yaoguai—and what were the odds that Fu Ye happened to save him?
Fu Ye chuckled softly. “It wasn’t a coincidence. My subordinates have been monitoring the yaoguai clans in Qishan. That lynx yaoguai was on our wanted list. We’d been tracking it for a long time. I have your friend to thank—if it weren’t for him, we might not have caught the lynx.”
“Oh, right. Your friend asked me to tell you not to notify his parents. He said he’s waiting for you to come get him.”
In short, even though he still didn’t know exactly what had happened, Li Chanyi was safe for now. Ye Yang breathed a slight sigh of relief, thanked Fu Ye profusely, and hung up. With a head full of questions, he continued writing his mission report.
This mission had been long, so the report was more complicated too.
As soon as the report was approved, Ye Yang immediately took a teleportation array from the yaoguai realm to the outskirts of Siyang City, then traveled from Siyang City to the YCG branch in Qishan, and finally took a taxi to the Yangxie Group, where Li Chanyi was recovering in their hospital.
Yes, the Yangxie Group had its own hospital.
From a distance, Ye Yang could hear Li Chanyi’s voice mixed with the laughter of several young women drifting out of the room. When he opened the hospital room door, Li Chanyi greeted him cheerfully, “Hey! Ye Ye, you’re here!”
The girls gathered around the bed quickly dispersed. “Your friend’s here. We’ll get back to work. Catch up another time.”
Ye Yang set down a bag of fruit and sat by the bed. “Looks like you’re doing fine. What were you talking about that had you so happy?”
Li Chanyi said proudly, “Oh, just telling them about my epic battle with the lynx yaoguai.”
Ye Yang: “…I still underestimate your shamelessness. What exactly are you proud of? I heard all about your ‘heroic’ injury from start to finish.”
“Come on, I just added a tiny bit of artistic flair. Wow, Ye Ye, how did you know I wanted wax apples and cream guavas? Did you bring these all the way from Dongzhou?”
“Dongzhou doesn’t grow any of that. I bought them at the supermarket next to the hospital.” The supermarket near the hospital was so expensive. If Ye Yang hadn’t been in a rush and forgotten to buy some gifts of condolence, the frugal Ye Yang would never have set foot inside.
“Alright,” Ye Yang washed a wax apple and placed it in Li Chanyi’s hand. “How are you feeling? If you’re seriously injured, there’s no way I’m helping you hide this from Auntie and Uncle.”
“Don’t worry. This isn’t an ordinary hospital. I just had a rib fracture. I took a miracle pill and I’m fully healed now. Good thing feline paw pads are all soft.”
Ye Yang: “And they gave you a miracle pill? Honestly…”
“What do you mean? I paid for it! It nearly cleaned out my savings!”
Ye Yang: “Okay, okay. What matters is that you’re fine. I won’t tell Auntie and Uncle this time. But you can’t do this again! That was a fugitive yaoguai—ruthless and vicious. If you’d run into one that was even more decisive, you’d be dead for sure.”
“Fugitive?” Li Chanyi’s eyes widened, his face filled with anxiety. “Wait, that’s not right! Where is that big lynx now?”
Ye Yang was taken aback. “What do you mean? What’s not right?”
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