Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 58: No Eating, No Nakedness!
One warrior was still trying to pull his tail free and just ended up yanking three other snakes down with him.
"I SAID STOP!"
Now everyone froze.
Thirty snake beastmen, tangled in approximately two hundred meters of rope, staring at her like guilty children.
"Okay," Xin Yi said, very calmly. Very VERY calmly. "Who wants to explain how this happened?"
Silence.
Then Xiao Long burst into tears. "I’M SORRY! I was just so HAPPY and I jumped and my tail—my tail hit the stick and—and—" He hiccupped. "I ruined EVERYTHING!"
[DING! (╥﹏╥)]
[Baby is crying!]
[Host’s Maternal Instinct: ACTIVATED]
[Anger levels: Dropping rapidly]
"Oh no, baby, don’t cry!" Xin Yi rushed over and scooped him up. "You didn’t ruin anything!"
"But the markers—"
"Can be PUT BACK!" She wiped his tears. "It’s okay! Accidents happen!"
"Really?" His voice was tiny.
"Really." She kissed his forehead. "You worked SO hard today! This is just a little setback!"
Qing Lin cleared his throat. "Xin Yi? The sun is setting."
She looked up. The sky was turning orange. Then she looked at the tangled mess of warriors. Then at the scattered boundary markers.
Then back at the sky.
"...How long do we have?"
"Maybe an hour of good light left."
[DING! (ಠ_ಠ)]
[NEW QUEST: FIX THIS MESS BEFORE DARK!]
[Time Limit: 1 HOUR]
[Difficulty: VERY HIGH]
[Penalty for Failure: Starting tomorrow with no boundary markers and having to redo ALL the measurements!]
[Good luck! You’re gonna need it! ☆]
Xin Yi took a deep breath.
Then another.
Then: "OKAY! EVERYONE LISTEN UP!"
The tangled warriors all looked at her.
"We have ONE HOUR to fix this! So here’s what we’re gonna do!" She pointed at the warriors on the left side. "You five! Start from THAT end and carefully—CAREFULLY—untangle yourselves! Work SLOWLY!"
"But—"
"SLOWLY! I don’t care if it takes the full hour! Just do it RIGHT!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
She pointed at the right side. "You five! Same thing! Start from YOUR end!"
"What about us in the middle?!" Kuan Tie called out. He was somehow tangled with four other snakes in what looked like a knot.
"You... just... don’t move. We’ll get to you."
"For how long?!"
"UNTIL WE GET TO YOU!"
Qing Lin was trying very hard not to laugh. She could see his shoulders shaking.
"You think this is FUNNY?!" she snapped.
"No." But his lips were twitching. "It’s just......I think my female is very adorable when she is being bossy."
"I’M NOT BOSSY, I’M—" She stopped. Took another breath. "You know what? Fine. YOU’RE in charge of collecting the scattered sticks! All of them! I need them back in position!"
"All of them?"
"ALL. OF. THEM."
He held up his hands in surrender, still smiling. "Yes, goddess."
Xin Yi turned to Xiao Long, who was still sniffling in her arms. "And YOU are going to help me supervise! Can you do that?"
He nodded, wiping his nose.
"Good! Now let’s FIX THIS MESS!"
[DING! ψ(`∇´)ψ]
[Host has entered DRILL SERGEANT MODE!]
[Efficiency: +50%]
[Intimidation Factor: +75%]
[Snake Warriors’ Respect: INCREASING]
~
Forty-five minutes later, they were still untangling.
"My tail is asleep," someone whined.
"I don’t CARE if your tail is asleep! Keep working!"
"But—"
"NO BUTS!"
The sun was getting lower. The sky was turning pink and purple.
Xiao Long was sitting on her shoulders now, calling out directions. "Pink Skin! That warrior on the left is going the WRONG WAY!"
"YOU ON THE LEFT! OTHER LEFT!"
"Oh! Sorry!"
Qing Lin had collected most of the sticks and was putting them back in position. He kept catching her eye and smirking.
She was going to KILL him later.
Finally—FINALLY—the last knot came undone.
"WE’RE FREE!" Kuan Tie announced, stretching his tail dramatically.
"Great! Now everyone grab a stick—NO, DON’T GRAB IT LIKE THAT—" Xin Yi pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know what? Xiao Long, baby, can you show them how you tied the ropes before?"
"Before I knocked them all down?" His voice was small.
"Before the ACCIDENT," she corrected firmly. "Show them your technique!"
He perked up immediately. "Okay! So you take the rope like THIS..."
The little boy started demonstrating, and the warriors actually paid attention.
Smart kid.
By the time the sun touched the horizon, all the markers were back in place. The ropes were retied. The boundaries were clearly marked again.
Xin Yi stood in the middle of the cleared land, covered in dirt and sweat, her hair a mess, absolutely exhausted.
"We did it," she breathed.
"We did it!" Xiao Long cheered from her shoulders.
[DING! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧]
[QUEST COMPLETE!]**
[Reward: 100 System Points!]
[Bonus Reward: "Disaster Management" skill unlocked!]
Before she could even process that, Qing Lin was suddenly RIGHT there.
He grabbed her waist, pulled her against him, and....licked her neck.
"Qing Lin—!" Her voice came out strangled.
"Hmmmm." The sound rumbled from his chest, low and pleased. His tongue traced up to her ear. "I like the way you work very hard. You smell like sweat. And determination. And—" Another lick. "—mine."
Xin Yi’s brain short-circuited. "S-stop! We’re in public! There are people—"
"Hmmm, I don’t care, Xin Yi." He nuzzled into her neck, inhaling deeply. "My female worked so hard today. So strong. So capable. So—"
"BACK OFF!"
Xiao Long’s voice rang out, filled with panic.
The little boy had jumped off Xin Yi’s shoulders and was now standing between them, arms spread wide, glaring up at Qing Lin.
"Don’t eat Pink Skin!" he yelled. "Or—or get naked! No eating! No nakedness!"
Dead silence.
Every single snake warrior stopped what they were doing to stare.
Xin Yi’s face went BRIGHT red. "XIAO LONG!"
"What?!" The boy looked confused. " I saw you two naked before...and—and....you’re going to eat her! Don’t—"
"XIAO LONG!" Qing Lin covered his face in mortification, but not before he grinned.
[DING! (≧▽≦)]
[Xiao Long’s innocence: Still intact but barely! ☆]
"I am not going to EAT her," Qing Lin said, still grinning. He reached down and ruffled Xiao Long’s hair. "I’m just......appreciating her."
"By LICKING?!"
"It is a snake thing."
"That is very strange, Uncle Qing!"
"Xiao Long," Xin Yi said weakly. "It’s... it’s fine. He’s not eating me."
"Are you SURE?" The boy looked suspicious. "Because he looks hungry."
Several warriors were snickering now.
Kuan Tie was outright laughing. "The child has a point! King Qing Lin looks VERY hungry!"
"I’m going to KILL you," Qing Lin muttered.
Xin Yi covered her face with her hands. This was mortifying. MORTIFYING. Then she peeked through her fingers. "Can we PLEASE move on from this?"
Qing Lin stood, his hand finding hers. "What does my female want?"
She blinked. "What?"
"As a reward. For working so hard today." He squeezed her hand. "I should......what was it that the tiger and the panther tried to do? Ah yes. ’Court’ you properly."
Her face went red again. "You don’t have to—"
"I want to." His thumb traced circles on her palm. "So. What do you want?"
Xin Yi’s brain scrambled. What DID she want?
Food? No, she had just eaten.
Rest? Maybe later.
Actually....
"Fruit?" she said slowly. "Like.....sweet fruit?"
His smile widened. "Fruit. My female wants fruit, and I will get her fruit!"
He grabbed her hand properly now, interlacing their fingers.
"Follow me."
"Wait, what about—"
"Kuan Tie!" Qing Lin called over his shoulder. "Take care of Xiao Long!"
"I WANT TO COME TOO!" Xiao Long’s voice was immediately indignant. "Pink Skin! Don’t leave me!"
Qing Lin stopped. Turned. Gave the little boy a look that was somehow both fond and threatening.
"Xiao Long."
"Yes?"
"You worked very hard today. You deserve REST." His eyes flashed green. "Which means you will go with Kuan Tie. Eat dinner. And SLEEP."
"But—"
"And if you follow us—" The smile turned evil. "—I will tell Mo Yan that you need extra combat training. Every. Single. Day. For a MONTH."
Xiao Long’s face went pale. "You wouldn’t."
"Try me."
[DING! (⊙_⊙)]
[Snake King has entered INTIMIDATION MODE!]
[Target: Small Child]
[Effectiveness: 100%]
[Xiao Long’s Rebellion: CRUSHED]
The little boy’s shoulders slumped. "Fine. But you better not eat her!"
"I won’t EAT her."
"Or get naked!"
"That’s—" Qing Lin’s eye twitched. "—not a promise I can make."
"UNCLE QING!"
"JOKING! I’m joking!" He was already pulling Xin Yi away. "Kuan Tie, PLEASE take the child!"
Kuan Tie scooped up the protesting Xiao Long. "Come on, little prince. Let’s get you some dinner."
"But Pink Skin—!"
"Will be FINE! Now come on, I think there’s some of that berry stew left—"
"...Berry stew?"
"Yep!"
"...Okay fine." Xiao Long went limp in Kuan Tie’s arms, defeated by the promise of food.
Xin Yi was still being dragged along by Qing Lin, who was moving fast now, pulling her into the forest.
"Where are we going?!"
"Fruit," he said simply. "The best fruit in Azure Scale territory. Trust me."
She did.
Which was maybe stupid.
But she did.
[DING! (¬‿¬)]
[Romantic scene incoming!]
[Host’s Heart Rate: INCREASING]
[Qing Lin’s Intentions: VERY UNCLEAR BUT PROBABLY INVOLVE KISSING]
[Good luck! ☆]
