The orcs that had been hovering overhead left, much to the relief of the unsuspecting mountain tribesmen.
After regaining some strength, Songshan chased after them out of the cave. In the blink of an eye, they had vanished without a trace.
In fact, Shen Nong and the others did not disappear. They were simply shrunk by Shen Nong's magic, and because it was dark and they could not see clearly, it looked as if they had vanished into thin air.
Songshan looked at the dark grassland with his brows furrowed deeply.
It's strange, even though the Wood Tribe injured him and kidnapped the priest, when he recalled the Wood Tribe priest's eyes and his words "I won't lie," he couldn't help but want to believe him.
The Wood Tribe might truly be able to help them find another path to survival.
——
The group returned to the Wood Tribe. Shen Nong entrusted the Mountain Tribe priest to Hu Xiao's care and thanked the Feather Tribe beastmen, saying that thanks to their help today, things had become much simpler.
Shen Nong expressed her gratitude by giving each of them two sets of fish skin clothing to wear alternately.
They also asked Tu Dong to make them some meat soup. The orcs from the Feather Tribe ate several meals of meat, and instead of getting tired of it, they were even more hungry.
After all, once we go back, we won't be able to eat every meal like we do now, so we'll definitely try to eat as many meals as possible now.
Shen Nong knew what they were thinking; anyway, his Mu tribe wasn't short of meat.
After finishing her work, Shen Nong returned to her cave, where Tuanzi was sitting on the edge of the bed, waving its paws and chirping excitedly.
Shen Nong smiled when she saw the chubby, furry creature. "Tuanzi, did you miss me?"
Tuanzi tapped its round, chubby head and chirped, "Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!"
Tuanzi misses the priest so much! Priest, come and sleep with Tuanzi!
Shen Nong didn't hold back at all, pounced on her and started rubbing her. The soft, furry touch softened Shen Nong's eyes. "Tuanzi, have you taken a bath? Your fur feels so soft."
"Chirp!"
Wash it! The priestess loves cleanliness, Tuanzi remembers!
Shen Nong pounced on Tuanzi's soft belly. He had just rolled over when he heard the door being pushed open.
By the dim light of the fire, Shen Nong saw a tall figure.
"select?"
Ze had spent the entire day looking for an opportunity to have the priest examine him and find out what was wrong with his health. However, the priest had been busy all day and was only now asleep when he had a moment to spare.
Ze had always slept in beast form with the priest, and thought it was okay to ask before going to sleep.
Before he could speak, the priest said, "Don't sleep here for the next few days. Go back to your own room."
Shen Nong still remembered what the system said: although the time was uncertain, it was certain that it would reappear.
He didn't want to suffer anymore.
Although he might suffer from insomnia if he had no other choice, he would rather suffer from insomnia than endure the pain.
Ze didn't know why the priest suddenly wouldn't let him continue sleeping in the cave, and thought he had done something to upset the priest.
He asked, somewhat sadly, "Why?"
Shen Nong was speechless for a moment. How was he supposed to respond?
Shen Nong remained silent.
At this moment, Ze couldn't think about his own health; he only wanted the priest to allow him to stay by her side. He walked to Shen Nong's side, squatted down, looked at her, and whispered, "Priest, don't send me away."
Shen Nong felt a burning sensation from Ze's pleading and sad gaze. He turned his head away and took a deep breath.
He thought to himself, "The beast form I chose is so small, I could flatten it with one slap."
If it's in beast form, it should be fine, right?
Thinking of this, he relented and softened his stance.
Shen Nong gave Ze a psychological suggestion, her tone quite cold and hard, "You are only allowed to take on beast form, not human form, otherwise you will never be allowed to sleep in my cave again, do you hear me?"
Ze nodded solemnly, "I will."
Shen Nong was somewhat relieved. Since Ze had promised him, he would definitely not go back on his word.
The question is, how much of his memory will he retain when he is not fully conscious?
However, as long as you are careful, you can tie him up before he transforms into his human form.
Shen Nong was confident in her keen senses and believed she would wake up before she could take human form.
"Transform into human form."
As soon as he finished speaking, a set of animal skin clothing appeared where they were waiting, and the tall and handsome man had transformed into a small black panther.
He was a tiny, fluffy ball; without the faint light of the fire, Shen Nong wouldn't have been able to see him at all.
The little black panther's eyes are golden, with large, round pupils that seem to hold a shimmering watery light, making it look incredibly cute.
Shen Nong couldn't resist lifting the little black leopard by the soft flesh of its nape, taking it from the ground to his pillow, and then lay down beside it, saying, "Go to sleep."
Tuanzi was still a little scared of Ze. Seeing that Shen Nong was asleep, it quickly closed its eyes and soon fell asleep on its back.
In the darkness, Ze, who had transformed into a little black panther, lay awake, his restless body preventing him from sleeping.
...
Shen Nong was awakened by her own cursing.
He was sleeping soundly when he had a dream.
In his dream, a giant beast coiled around him with its long, thin tail, making his waist ache. Then it licked his face with its tongue, which was covered in barbs.
The licking caused a fine, stinging pain on his skin; he tried to dodge but couldn't.
Moreover, the giant beast seemed to be pressing down on him, making it impossible for him to breathe fresh air, and his chest was so heavy that he could hardly breathe.
"Stop fucking licking!"
Shen Nong was already having trouble breathing, and the licking made her even more uncomfortable, so she couldn't help but cry out.
It was this sound that woke Shen Nong up.
The beast's heavy breathing hit Shen Nong's face, and ancient patterns on the beast's body shimmered with tiny golden light.
Those golden eyes were mysterious and wild, staring straight at him.
The pain in his waist and the wetness mixed with a slight ache on his cheeks told Shen Nong that he wasn't dreaming.
It's true.
The black panther was huge, so big that it covered his entire body.
Shen Nong regained a sliver of consciousness from her daze, "Choose?"
Shen Nong's response was that her cheek was licked again by a barbed tongue.
Is this really a choice?
Shen Nong truly couldn't believe it. The beast form he had chosen before going to sleep was only slightly larger than his palm, so how could it have become so powerful that it was even bigger than him?!
Shen Nong's voice trembled slightly, "Ze, are you... are you still conscious?"
A hot breath hit his face, and the beast that had been pinning him down was now panting, "Priest..."
The sound seemed to be squeezed out of the throat; it wasn't loud, but it was very rough.
Looking at Ze, whose beast form had grown several times larger, Shen Nong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He listened to me and didn't take human form.
But as it is now, it would be better to transform into human form.
He was genuinely afraid of the barbs on the tip of the tongue, the breath of the beast, and the tail tightly wrapped around his waist.
"Ze, when you take human form, your beastly nature is too overwhelming, making it hard for me to breathe."
Ze, who had been mostly silent, finally spoke a complete sentence: "The priest said before going to sleep that I was not allowed to take human form, otherwise he wouldn't let me sleep in the cave."
Shen Nong inwardly resented himself for letting the thing into the cave out of a moment of weakness, but he had no choice but to reassure it, "I give permission now."
The large black panther on its back had golden eyes that gleamed. "The priest never lies. So, I can stay in the priest's cave and sleep with the priest forever, right?"
Shen Nong didn't speak. He couldn't understand why Ze had suddenly become so clever. Perhaps because he couldn't get an answer, Shen Nong felt the tail around his waist tighten even more.
He couldn't resist reaching out to touch the tail that was wrapped around his waist. It would have been better if he hadn't touched it, because this only made the stupid leopard more excited.
It licked and bit Shen Nong's face and neck, gradually moving downwards.
Although he knew that Ze would not hurt him, the impact of a wild beast making these moves was enormous for Shen Nong, a young man whose combined age in both lives was only twenty.
While turning her head to avoid the black panther's licks and bites, Shen Nong said, "Quickly transform into human form, and I'll agree to anything you say!"
After saying that, Shen Nong silently added in her mind, "Just kidding."
Shen Nong doesn't lie, but there's a prerequisite for that: he personally promises that he's not lying.
She's too naive; she believes everything she's told.
Upon hearing this, the black panther paused for a moment, its eyes lowered, and the golden patterns on its fur dimmed somewhat. It quite liked the feeling of its beast form encircling the priest.
However, the priest didn't like it.
"Yes, priest."
As soon as the voice fell, the oppressive feeling emanating from the beastly body disappeared, but what followed made Shen Nong's face turn bright red.
At this moment, she was completely naked, and Shen Nong felt something strange near her legs.
It was obvious what it was. Before, in its beast form, it was too large for Shen Nong to touch. Now that it was in human form, even though it was much larger than him, he could still touch it.
Shen Nong's face turned bright red, and she felt like she was on fire.
After transforming into human form, he still retained his rationality and could clearly perceive the changes in his body.
"Priest, I have a health problem, could you please take a look at me?"
Shen Nong refused, "No, I don't want to see!"
"Get up first!"
"Priest, I feel unwell, I'm in pain."
Ze's voice grew increasingly hoarse, carrying a dangerous undertone. Shen Nong dared not make a move and could only follow his words, asking, "Where does it hurt?"