Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 92: The Snow Leopard

The journey continued.

Trees became rocks, grass became snow. The air grew thinner, colder, sharper.

Xin Yi barely noticed.

Because she had fallen asleep.

Her head rested against Sha Chen’s fur, her grip on him loosened to something barely holding on. Soft snores escaped her lips.

Tiny. Adorable. Completely undignified.

[DING! (¬‿¬)]

[Host has been asleep for 2 hours now]

[Very brave of Host to trust a LITERAL MURDERER with her unconscious body!]

[Either very trusting or very stupid! ☆]

Sha Chen’s ears twitched at the snoring and even though he still felt guilt, hated himself, and knew she was afraid of him, he found it.... endearing .

She trusted him enough to sleep.

Or she was too exhausted to care.

Probably the latter.

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[Journey Progress: 87%]

[Temple visibility: CONFIRMED]

[Host’s drool production: EXCESSIVE]

[Seriously Host is drooling all over the murder wolf! ☆]

Through the trees ahead, the temple finally came into view. Ancient. Massive. Built into the side of the mountain itself.

White stone that seemed to glow faintly in the afternoon light. Carved pillars covered in symbols and markings that hurt to look at directly. Steps leading up, up, up to an entrance that looked like a gaping mouth.

It was beautiful.

And deeply unsettling.

Ài Yún let out a small whine beside him. Even in wolf form, her unease was obvious.

Sha Chen slowed his pace, approaching carefully.

That’s when he felt it.

A presence.

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[WARNING! HOSTILE ENTITY DETECTED!]

[Threat Level: VERY HIGH!]

[Host should wake up! ☆]

But before System could do anything—

Sha Chen FROZE, his instincts screaming.

He jumped hard to the left ust as a MASSIVE form came crashing down from the rocks above.

Snow leopard.

Huge. Easily as large as Sha Chen in wolf form. White and gray spotted fur. Ice-blue eyes. Fangs bared. Snarling.

The landing shook the ground.

And sent Xin Yi FLYING off Sha Chen’s back.

"EH?!" She jerked awake mid-air. "AHHHHH!"

She hit the ground hard, rolled and scrambled to her feet in a panic.

"What—where—WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"

[DING! (≧▽≦)]

[Welcome back Host!]

[You’re being attacked by a snow leopard!]

[Hope you slept well! ☆]

Ài Yún let out a terrified squeal. "I THOUGHT THE SNOW LEOPARDS HAD LEFT THIS TERRITORY! THEY MIGRATED SOUTH YEARS AGO!"

The snow leopard’s head swiveled toward Xin Yi.

Its eyes locked onto her.

And it CHARGED.

"AHHHH!" Xin Yi stumbled backward. "SYSTEM! HELP!"

[DING! (...)]

[New Quest: DON’T DIE!]

[Reward: Continued existence!]

[Good luck! ☆]

"THAT’S NOT HELPFUL!"

Sha Chen launched himself at the snow leopard, intercepting it mid-charge. The two predators collided with a sickening CRASH.

Fur. Claws. Fangs. Snarling.

They rolled across the ground in a blur of white and black.

Sha Chen was larger. Stronger. But the snow leopard was FAST. Agile. Vicious.

It twisted, and sank its fangs into Sha Chen’s shoulder.

DEEP.

Sha Chen let out a howl of pain. Blood sprayed. Dark red against white fur.

"SHA CHEN!" Xin Yi screamed.

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[Sha Chen is INJURED!]

[That bite looks BAD!]

[Host should probably RUN! ☆]

"RUN?! I CAN’T JUST—"

[YES YOU CAN!]

[VERY EASILY!]

[Just turn around and GO! ☆]

But Xin Yi wasn’t listening.

She was watching Sha Chen fight. Watching him defend her even though he was bleeding. Even though the snow leopard was tearing into him.

He was PROTECTING her.

Again.

Her eyes darted around. Looking for something. Anything.

A rock.

Large. Jagged. Heavy.

She grabbed it.

"HEY!" She screamed at the snow leopard. "OVER HERE, YOU OVERGROWN CAT!"

And threw the rock.

It hit the snow leopard directly in the head.

BONK.

[DING! (≧▽≦)]

[Direct hit!]

[Critical damage: 0]

[Annoyance level: MAXIMUM! ☆]

The snow leopard’s head turned.

Slowly.

Its ice-blue eyes locked onto Xin Yi.

And it GROWLED.

"Uh oh," Xin Yi whispered.

It shoved Sha Chen off with one massive paw. The wolf Alpha hit the ground hard, struggling to get up with his injured shoulder.

The snow leopard started walking toward Xin Yi.

"Um." Xin Yi’s voice came out as a squeak. "Good kitty? Nice kitty?"

[DING! (...)]

[That’s not going to work]

[Host is about to be EATEN! ☆]

Ài Yún tried to intercept, and threw herself at the snow leopard’s legs. It swatted her aside like she weighed nothing.

She hit a tree with a THUD and didn’t get up.

"AI YUN!" Xin Yi cried out.

The snow leopard was RIGHT in front of her now. She could see every tooth, every predatory instinct in its blue eyes.

Xin Yi closed her eyes preparing to go to the afterlife, if that even existed.

But the blow never came.

She cracked one eye open.

The snow leopard had frozen.

Its nose was.....sniffing?

At her ankle.

At the MARK.

The serpent coiled around the lotus was glowing faintly.

The snow leopard’s expression changed. From predatory to...confused?

It sniffed again. Deeper. More insistent.

"Hmm," it made a sound. Almost....thoughtful?

Sha Chen, who had finally managed to get back to his feet, was about to pounce. But the snow leopard raised one paw. "WAIT!"

The voice was unexpected. It sounded younger than what she had expected.

Everyone froze.

The snow leopard’s form began to shift.

Bones cracking. Fur receding. Shape changing.

Within moments, where the massive predator had been standing, there was now a MAN.

A very......peculiar man.

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[New Character Detected!]

[Analyzing...]

[Name: Zǐ Lán (紫岚 - Purple Mist)]

[Species: Snow Leopard Beastman]

[Rank: Temple Guardian]

[Threat Level: HIGH (but surprisingly friendly?)]

[Note: This one is......different! ☆]

He was tall. Lanky. Like a stretched-out version of Sha Chen but less intimidating.

White hair that fell to his shoulders. Pale skin. Those same ice-blue eyes but somehow softer. And he was DRESSED.

Somehow, when he shifted, he had CLOTHES. A long white fur coat. Leather pants. Boots. Jewelry everywhere, silver bracelets, earrings, a necklace with some kind of blue stone.

He looked like a very lost fashion model.

"Oh!" He said, his voice surprisingly high and flustered. "Oh no! I’m so sorry!"

He was scratching the back of his head. Sheepish. Embarrassed.

"I didn’t know you had been marked! If I had known, I would have NEVER attacked! I’m so sorry!"

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[He went from TERRIFYING to ADORABLE in 0.5 seconds]

[What is happening?! ☆]

Xin Yi stared.

Sha Chen stared.

Ài Yún, who had just regained consciousness, stared.

"Eh?" All three of them said simultaneously.