Plans and food

While the cold night enveloped the Whispersea jungle, far away in a grand mansion situated in the trading city of Oros, Xue Prefecture, a 15-year-old girl was happily skipping her way through the lavish corridors of her home.

The girl was pretty and had a certain childish but also refined temperament—a result of the countless studies and nobility courses she had to go through ever since she was a little child. Her short brown hair bobbed with every small step, and her amber eyes betrayed the noble aura around her by displaying a certain mischievous glint. The freckles adorning her cheeks and nose only added to her easygoing and carefree attitude. She was not tall and only reached the petite height of 163 cm.

After traversing a couple of corridors and climbing a flight of stairs, she reached a magnificent dark oakwood door, signifying the importance of the room beyond it.

The girl halted her steps, and after slowly exhaling, she knocked on the door and then opened it without waiting for permission.

A big office with a large study accompanied by two side-walls full of bookshelves and artifacts greeted her. Behind the large desk, an imposing glass window that stretched across the whole wall overlooked the estate and the bustling streets below.

Nostalgia hit her every time she saw this view, as this was her favorite place to play when she was a little kid. But her reminiscing came to a stop when a gruff voice suddenly reached her ears.

"What can I do for you, darling?" said the voice in a rough but loving tone.

Turning her head, she spotted a large and tall man sitting in a reclined chair while reading an old, decrepit book. He was dressed in fine brown robes and had a similar pair of amber eyes with coarse brown hair. The man looked to be in his forties, but his squared jawline with a neatly trimmed beard and hollow cheeks displayed his mature and composed demeanor while also reminding her of the lost youthful charm he once possessed.

This man was Yi Chen—businessman and owner of multiple merchant escorts and expedition troupes. When he was younger, he always wanted to explore the world and find old relics and tomes, but luck was not on his side as his father wanted him to take over the escort business passed down in every generation since his great-great-grandfather. Only after spending 30 years developing and consolidating his old family business did he finally succeed in accomplishing his dream of discovering and selling ancient artifacts.

"Greetings, Dad. I wanted to ask you when the expedition to the Bai Prefecture was going to be announced!"

Hearing his daughter, the man softly sighed and closed the book.

"Hong'er, listen to me. I cannot and will not allow you to embark on the trip to the Mistveil Lands in the Bai Prefecture." Seeing the look his daughter was now giving him, the man persisted, "You are only in late-stage foundation establishment and will slow down everyone if you accompany us. Plus, no one can afford to look after you when even keeping their own lives is not guaranteed."

Her father's words reminded her of how weak she was, but she still gave him the stink eye while puffing her cheeks. "It's not fair! You promised you would take me on one of your adventures after reaching foundation establishment, but apparently you're a man who doesn't keep his word!"

Immediately after saying this, she turned her head and let out a loud snort.

In truth, she knew that her father always kept his word, but she really wanted to see the Mistveil Lands as everyone spoke of them during the latest cultivation gatherings the younger generation organized.

A soft sigh escaped Yi Chen's lips as he looked at his daughter, who reminded him of his late wife the more she grew up. The fact that she only inherited his eyes spoke volumes of her mother's beauty, but he did not complain as the problem of betrothing her later on to a noble would hopefully bring her happiness and also connections for his business.

"Okay, you win. I'll see if I can take some guards that are on standby for the merchant escorts."

Immediately after hearing this, Hong jumped in delight and lunged at her father to give him a hug.

"Thanks, Dad! You're the best!"

He faintly smiled hearing this and kissed the crown of her head while dismissing her after saying, "Make sure you are prepared as we are leaving in three months. Contact my secretary and tell her to give you some spirit root pills to help you break through to Peak-stage."

"Fine, I'll attempt my breakthrough next month since it's only been three months since my last one and I need some more time strengthening my foundation."

Saying this, she let go of her dad and hurried back to her room to inform her friends of the upcoming adventure.

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While Yi Hong was happily chatting with her friends, a few water drops fell on the snout of a certain black panther back in Whispersea Forest.

The sudden refreshing coldness of the drops stirred the beast from its sleep, prompting it to open its droopy eyes.

Trying to shake off his sleepy state, he did a long stretch on his front legs then proceeded to look around.

Thick Calabash, Coral, and Ficus trees with colorful vines and lianas were all around him, creating a calming and wild sight. A few fireflies illuminated the surroundings as sunlight barely permeated through the mist situated above the treetops.

Instead of making his way down to the ground, he decided to stick to jumping between large branches while also searching for some water and food.

As he carefully jumped from one branch to another, his stomach started grumbling loudly, making him stop and look around, hoping to find something edible.

He began his visual search with the hope of finding claw marks or fur stuck on the ancient tree trunks like the guys who posted bushcraft videos back on Earth, but he found nothing of the sort.

Undeterred, he continued his journey until a piercing pain assaulted his senses.

Looking back, he spotted a one-meter-long, furless grey-skinned hyena having its fangs planted in his hind leg.

'Where did this ugly thing come from and how come I didn't hear anything?! Not even my senses alerted me!'

After the initial shock, his blood started pumping faster and his predator senses started taking over.

With a forceful move, he yanked back his leg and freed himself from its bite.

He could feel the blood pouring out of his leg, but he didn't let the pain cloud his senses and instead focused on his opponent.

The hyena-looking beast retreated to the edge of the branch after finding itself thrown back and began hissing and baring its jagged teeth.

It knew that its opponent was bigger and stronger, but with the venom contained in its fangs, there was a chance of success.

Unfortunately, he was faster than it anticipated and had no time to inject any venom into the wound before it got flung back.

Eyeing his assailant, he issued a mental command and his strong, steely claws suddenly sprang out of his paws.

He waited for the hyena to make its move, and he did not have to wait for long as it lunged back at him with its mouth fully opened, showcasing two rows of bloody canines.

Before the hyena even had a chance to plant its teeth in his neck, he sidestepped at the last moment and swiped with his right arm at the airborne hyena, successfully creating four long gashes on its side.

The hyena died instantly and started falling as the power behind that slash was enough to push it beyond the edge of the branch.

After his adrenaline stopped pumping, he looked back at his leg and wondered what the best course of action was.

Letting his leg bleed continuously was not a smart decision, but it's not like he had any first aid kit on him, so he laid down and did the most sensible thing: licked the wound.

He hoped that his saliva was enough to make the blood stop flowing and maybe even detoxify the wound, then he slowly made his way down through the branches until he spotted the hyena's body.

He immediately got to work and picked it up by the collar with his teeth then dragged it back up.

Spotting a strong branch was easy and he headed for the nearest one.

After slowly climbing and making sure he didn't put too much weight on his injured leg, he sat down and let go of the hyena in front of him while his stomach grumbled even louder.

Realizing that his only immediate source of food was right in front of him left him perplexed.

He knew he was hungry, but eating raw flesh besides sushi was not on his food palette.

He stared at the hyena for a long time before he opened his mouth in reluctance, showing his sharp fangs, then he bit down.

The taste was not the best, and he certainly wasn't a fan of fresh blood flowing down his snout and chin, but he kept taking large bites while thinking of his future.

'Is this my life now? Am I supposed to just travel through this jungle and search for food and water until some bigger beast hunts me down?'

That thought made him clench his jaw hard and break a few bones of the now half-eaten hyena.

'Okay, my life as a human was over ever since I died on Earth, but I'm not content with my current circumstance either.'

Soon, he finished eating, leaving behind only a few bones, and checked his injury.

Shifting his position, he looked at his leg and found no sign of bleeding or teeth marks.

'Does my saliva have healing properties or something?' he thought.

Curious, he pulled out a single claw on his right arm and made a small cut on his left paw.

After letting the blood coagulate for a few minutes to see if it was his regular regeneration or his saliva, he licked the wound and saw how the cut started healing at a visible pace.

'So it really is my saliva!' Excited, he made the same cut once the old one closed up and immediately licked it before any blood started pouring out, and saw his flesh mend back together even faster than before.

'So, the fresher the injury, the quicker it heals.' He made a mental note of this information and went back to exploring the jungle.

While casually jumping from tree to tree, he returned to contemplating his situation.

'It would be in my best interest to stop viewing myself as human since it could prove to be detrimental in the long run for my sanity and mentality.'

Landing on a branch with a bunch of red exotic flowers, he stopped and looked at them for a few seconds, then shifted his gaze down to his furry chest and legs.

With a resounding sigh, he looked up as if contemplating something, then continued traveling without stopping.

He knew that abandoning his human mentality was impossible since he had lived all his life as a human, and changing one's personality, beliefs, and morals was not something one could pull off instantly, unlike most protagonists in fantasy novels. Abiding by that mentality while living as a predator was not in his best interest either, so he began thinking of ways to somehow balance everything so that he wouldn't go mad later on or become a full-fledged animal.

'I guess I'll just let nature take its course because I can't think of anything right now.'

After some time, he was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of running water.

Looking straight ahead, he spotted a small clearing through the large leaves and tree trunks, and he set out towards it.

He quickly made his way through the cramped branches and poked his head through the curtain of leaves, only to be left gasping.

The sight before him was something directly pulled out of a fairytale: a large crystal-clear river flanked by huge, white jungle trees adorned with wild red flowers traveled down a cliff and gave birth to small cascades that made their way down until they met a large pond filled with the same red flowers. From the back end of the small lake, another smaller stream continued journeying through the jungle while carrying the intoxicating flowery aroma along with it.

The view provided the much needed clarity he needed and thought, 'I am not the same as I was on Earth...guess I'll have to find a new name instead of keeping the one that was declared dead.'

'Hmm, I think I'll go with Fang, and as for my family name... only time will tell.'

He then let out a mighty roar that pierced through the jungle for kilometers as if celebrating the birth of his new identity.

After admiring the view for a few more minutes, he looked down and saw the lake full of red flowers, only to realize that the branch he was standing on was directly over the cliff.

He carefully stepped back and made his way down to the ground, then started pondering.

'If I want to keep going in this direction, I have to somehow climb down or make my way around this cliff because I'm not jumping down 50 meters into a weird lake.'

Lifting his head, he surveyed the forest beyond the lake and saw a rock formation in the distance that looked like a temple. He had no way of verifying if it was man-made or not, so he looked somewhere else. He should have been able to easily observe the forest for kilometers ahead if not for the lingering fog covering the sky and treetops.

That fact frustrated him, but he was glad he at least got the chance to see a point of interest in a 3-kilometer radius.

With a full belly and no pressing matters, he leisurely made his way along the cliff edges to the temple rock formation.

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