Chapter 29
Qin Jiulin was slightly stunned, staring at the black fur in his hand. Did he shed fur in his beastmen form? He couldn’t recall shedding fur in his previous life, right? Did it happen in this life?
Liu Zhongyuan, hearing what Qi Yu said, quickly approached and examined the black fur. After a moment, he blinked in surprise. “Wow, it does look like black fur. Is it yours?”
Qin Jiulin didn’t know for sure. Was shedding fur a characteristic of his beastmen form? But he carried the backpack in human form. How could it get his fur?
Liu Zhongyuan chuckled at Qin Jiulin’s puzzled expression. “Probably not. You forgot you were in human form when you carried the backpack. You only transformed to bring it back. How could your fur stick to it?”
“Moreover,” Liu Zhongyuan continued, “if you look closely, these hairs are indeed black, but the length is not right. They’re too short. Do you forget how big your beastmen form is? The black fur on that form should be much longer.”
Qin Jiulin sighed in relief, “You’re right, you’re right…”
Liu Zhongyuan laughed heartily, “So, did you really think you shed fur in beastmen form? You’re too cute, hahaha…”
Qin Jiulin’s expression turned icy. Realizing he had teased Qin Jiulin too much, Liu Zhongyuan sat on the sofa with a gloomy face, watching Qin Jiulin, who was sitting on the farthest sofa.
“Still angry? I was just joking. Did you really get upset over this?”
Qin Jiulin’s demeanor was calm and indifferent, “No anger, don’t overthink it; there’s nothing worth getting angry about.”
He had no intention of getting angry; why bother when he had already settled the score? Observing Qin Jiulin closely, Liu Zhongyuan approached with a smirk, “Still mad?”
Qin Jiulin replied, “No.”
There was no reason for him to be angry; he had already avenged himself. Satisfied that Qin Jiulin had indeed calmed down, Liu Zhongyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Jiulin didn’t shed any fur, indicating that the revenge had been successfully executed without any lingering evidence.
Taking advantage of the moment, Liu Zhongyuan engaged in a conversation about the mysterious black fur, “What do you think left these behind?”
As Qin Jiulin was in human form, his sense of smell wasn’t as keen, but considering the eerily silent surroundings, the black fur was likely from…
“Probably rats,” Qin Jiulin said.
Liu Zhongyuan raised an eyebrow, “Rats? Then…”
Qin Jiulin nodded, “The whole street is so quiet, no signs of life left. It might be a large group of rats.”
“Wow, rats are on the snake’s menu?” Liu Zhongyuan asked.
Qin Jiulin teased, “Feel free to eat them. With your current size, you could probably gulp down ten at once.”
Liu Zhongyuan hesitated, “But wouldn’t I end up with a mouthful of fur?”
“In your menu, would you even care?” Qin Jiulin responded.
Liu Zhongyuan pondered, “I don’t mind, especially in beast form; I’m not afraid of any viruses they might carry.”
“Would you really eat them?” Qin Jiulin inquired.
“I… I… I thought about it but decided against it. Rats are quite dirty; I won’t touch them unless there’s nothing else to eat,” Liu Zhongyuan admitted.
Qin Jiulin relaxed, “Good. If you dared to eat rats, you’d be sleeping on the villa’s lawn from now on, considering your thick… no, scaled skin.”
Liu Zhongyuan finally understood; Qin Jiulin found it dirty, so he forbade him. Fair enough, there were plenty of other edible options.
As the conversation shifted, they discussed the rat swarm’s potential size and behavior after their departure from the area. Qin Jiulin, drawing from experience, deduced that the rats likely moved on to a new territory with abundant food, reassuring Liu Zhongyuan that there was no need to worry about them following their scent into the wilderness.
Liu Zhongyuan said, “This feeling is nice, saves us trouble.”
Later, Liu Zhongyuan suddenly remembered something, “Hey! Didn’t we gain some neighbors? Can you guess what attacked one of their members?”
“The entire villa area should have our scent. Anything hunting in the villa area with our scent is definitely not simple. Interested in looking for it? We’re just bored anyway,” he continued.
Qin Jiulin replied, “No need to look. If they want to continue hunting in the villa area, they can only come here or next door. We just need to wait for them to come to us.”
Liu Zhongyuan remarked, “It won’t be coming to our door but to the neighbor’s. If they go next door, they’re only food, right?”
Qin Jiulin questioned, “Do you want to save people?”
Liu Zhongyuan nonchalantly replied, “If we find them alive when we notice, then sure, help them. If there are no survivors when we notice, then apologies.”
Qin Jiulin didn’t find anything wrong with what he said and accepted the statement.
—
In the following days, not much happened. Even the neighbors didn’t approach them. Occasionally, they fetched water or went hunting. However, at specific times, someone did come out—Qin Jiulin recognized him as Duan Qiufeng, always walking near the inhabited villas at noon.
During these walks, they couldn’t discern his intentions, but it was certainly not benign. Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan didn’t bother monitoring him.
Checking the surroundings every few days revealed something unusual. One evening, as they intended to go out, they smelled faint blood nearby. Following the scent, they found bloodied tissues near the gate—apparently, used by a woman during her monthly cycle.
Qin Jiulin, repulsed, said, “Clean this up?”
Liu Zhongyuan immediately thought of another person, “Find him.”
After a brief confusion, Qi Yu, who had just finished cleaning the kitchen, was brought out. Seeing the bloodied tissues, he looked despondent.
“Do I… clean this up?” he hesitated.
Liu Zhongyuan said, “Of course, it’s you. Not us… right?”
Qi Yu blinked, realizing he was just a tool. Overcoming some psychological barriers, he muttered, “Who would throw these here? Intentionally with blood. Is it aimed at us? The people next door?”
Liu Zhongyuan explained, “Only one person from next door comes out alone when everyone is resting. Don’t know if it’s his idea or their collective plan.”
Qi Yu asked instinctively, “Who?”
Liu Zhongyuan answered, “Your ex-boyfriend.”
Qi Yu stuttered, “Duan Qiufeng?”
Liu Zhongyuan confirmed, “Exactly, him. We’ve only seen him wandering around these two villas during this time. Others either go out hunting or fetching water. Probably scared after the previous attack.”
Qi Yu, with a twitched corner of his mouth, said, “It’s definitely his doing. He was furious after Qin-ge scolded him when we first met. Held a grudge ever since.”
Liu Zhongyuan concluded, “Disgusting. If I catch him, he’s done for!”
