Peekaboo

Su Hao vigilantly observed his surroundings, not letting any movement escape his eyes—or rather, the scan from Xiao Guang.

However, Su Hao's concern seemed unnecessary. After walking for a long time, nothing happened. It was as if he was the only person in this small town.

Using the remaining faint light, Su Hao walked slowly along the wall. The thick calluses on his feet couldn't block the chill from the ground.

He looked up at the night sky, seeing only a few stars but no moon. Perhaps this world had no moon at all, making the nights pitch dark.

"Speed up, or when it gets completely dark, you won't see anything, not even a steamed bun in front of you!"

After some distance, Su Hao arrived at a house with a small courtyard. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound from inside the house. He stopped to listen carefully, but the sound disappeared, leaving the place silent.

"Could there be someone inside?" Su Hao hesitated and began to cautiously circle the courtyard, looking for a way to sneak in and find some food.

But the wall was too high for him.

As he walked around, he discovered a dog hole.

The hole was small, suitable only for children and small animals like cats and dogs. An ordinary adult wouldn't be able to squeeze through it.

Su Hao lay down to try it, and it worked!

He slowly pushed his head through, wriggling inside like a worm.

"No one here?" Su Hao got up carefully and began to observe the small courtyard.

Some unknown dried grasses were hanging out to dry, and a large dog tied to a wall hook kept retreating until it was cornered.

"A big dog?" Su Hao was startled. His small frame couldn't possibly contend with the dog.

He instinctively wanted to run but noticed that the dog seemed even more scared than he was! What was it afraid of?

"Could it be a useless dog?" After watching for a while and confirming it was indeed a useless dog, Su Hao tiptoed around the courtyard.

He quickly found the kitchen. Quietly opening the door and confirming no one was inside, he sneaked in and closed the door behind him.

In the kitchen, Su Hao found some leftovers, which he devoured hastily, washing them down with a big gulp of water. He finally felt a bit of relief.

"It looks like I won't starve to death for now!" The feeling of a full stomach brought a great sense of security to Su Hao.

He was convinced that something was off about this quiet little town. Now that he was fed and hydrated, he decided not to venture outside and take unnecessary risks.

After a quick tour of the kitchen, he found stacks of firewood piled against a wall—an excellent hiding spot.

Carefully, Su Hao pushed some firewood aside, creating an opening, and crawled in.

Inside, there was a small space next to the wall, just enough for him to hide.

Once inside, he turned around with difficulty and used all his strength to seal the opening.

He lay quietly in the enclosed space, a strong sense of security washing over him.

And warmth! Now that he was full, Su Hao's strength slowly returned, and he could feel his body gradually recovering.

"For now, I'll stay here until my body is fully adjusted, then make further plans."

Soon, sleep overcame him, and Su Hao fell into a deep slumber.

At dawn, the city came to life, as if the quiet of the night had been an illusion.

When Su Hao woke up, he continued to lie quietly behind the firewood, waiting for the owner of the courtyard to leave.

As for the owner's surprise at finding the food gone, Su Hao didn't see it. Once the courtyard was silent, Su Hao, desperate to relieve himself, pushed the firewood aside and crawled out. After another quick tour of the kitchen for more food, he left.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The courtyard's owner was gone, but the useless dog barked furiously when it saw Su Hao coming out of the kitchen.

Ignoring it, Su Hao noticed something alarming as he relieved himself.

"What's going on?" Su Hao instinctively raised his hand to inspect it.

It looked almost human, but the skin tone was darker, and his nails were sharp like a cat's.

After finishing, he quickly crawled out through the dog hole.

Standing up, he saw people on the street with similarly dark skin, all of them towering over 2.3 meters tall, with well-proportioned and athletic builds.

They differed from normal humans in that their ears were slightly pointed like elves', with a tuft of white fur at the tips. Their eyes were brownish-green, similar to those of cats.

The women on the street were tall and graceful, with exquisite and beautiful faces, clear eyes, and a tuft of white fur on their ears—truly stunning. And not just one or two, but most of them were like this.

"A land of beautiful women!" Su Hao sighed inwardly.

Overall, they looked like a mix of trolls and elves, with the trolls' height and the elves' beauty, combined with slightly darker skin. It was a harmonious blend of strength and beauty.

Su Hao touched his own ears—they were pointed, but no fur yet.

"Is this normal? It should be, just a little different, but more agile and beautiful..."

With the dim light last night, he hadn't noticed his appearance. Now he found himself transformed into a legendary elven-like being, feeling quite novel.

Before he could study his new body further, a cart slowly passed by.

The cart carried a large wooden barrel, with two blood-stained hands and a foot sticking out. The hands and foot were bare bones, gnawed clean by some creature.

These limbs were clearly from the people of this world.

Yet many passersby seemed indifferent, as if it were a common sight.

Su Hao watched the cart disappear around a corner, frowning.

The bones looked fresh, indicating something had happened last night.

But it was too extreme. Killing someone was one thing, but stripping the bones clean like slaughtering livestock?

And judging by the barrel's size, it contained quite a few skeletons.

What was happening in this world's nights? What had occurred last night?

Could it be that wandering the town at night meant being gnawed to bones by some terrifying creature the next day?

Su Hao shook his head, deciding that hiding might not be enough. If there were nocturnal hunters, survival depended on who could hide better.

"Maybe it's like a game of hide-and-seek! The whole town playing hide-and-seek at night, how thrilling." Su Hao thought for a while and stopped worrying.

As long as he hid well at night and didn't wander outside, he should be safe. His meat was too sparse to be of interest to predators.

Watching the busy streets, with people smiling contentedly, Su Hao figured there was no danger during the day. He could explore and understand this world, and find food for the day.

Determined, Su Hao decided to blend in—active by day, hidden by night.

Even if he had to take risks, it would be after he became a grandmaster martial artist, capable of using runes freely and protecting himself.

"Currently lacking startup capital, I need to earn my first pot of gold—either by stealing or begging... Truly forced by circumstances!" Su Hao minimized his presence, slowly wandering through the chaotic town.

Not yet understanding the language of this world, Su Hao had no idea how a three-year-old vagabond like him could survive.

Even begging might not work!

How had Su Hao fallen so low? Even in death, he had died with more dignity before...