Chapter 3: Misfortunes Never Come Singly

No longer caring about direction or the soreness in her legs and feet, Sha Yi broke into a desperate run.

That night, she was utterly exhausted—not only physically drained to the point of collapse, but her heart had also endured relentless torment, and her mental state teetered on the brink of breakdown.

Who could tell her just which remote, ancient forest this was? How could there be such bizarre beasts and such a massive glowing serpent?

Was this supposed to be the ninth wonder of the world?

Had she been cursed for eight lifetimes to be teleported into this godforsaken, monster-infested place to suffer?

Lost in thought, her foot suddenly slipped. Her body lurched, and before she could do more than let out a startled cry, she tumbled downward, rolling and bumping painfully along the uneven slope until her back slammed with a loud *thud* against something hard, finally bringing her to a stop.

Her head buzzed, and her chest felt as if a heavy stone were pressing down on it. Sha Yi nearly blacked out, lying motionless on the rough ground for a long moment before coughing and gasping for air. Slowly, she pushed herself up to sit.

Every part of her body ached terribly, and her right shoulder burned fiercely. Though the moonlight wasn’t bright enough for her to inspect her injuries, she was certain her exposed skin was scraped and bruised in many places. It felt like she’d been beaten to a pulp.

At least she hadn’t died from the fall. She was still breathing…

Glancing around, Sha Yi sucked in a sharp breath.

This was a slope—not too steep in angle, but exceptionally long and high. Her current position was only about a third of the way down. The only reason she’d stopped here was because she’d collided with a protruding boulder. Painful as it was, it had at least halted her descent. Below the boulder, the slope’s terrain changed drastically—no longer the smooth, rounded stones of the upper section, but jagged, pale rocks jutting out like teeth. The lower slope also had far less vegetation, meaning much less cushioning if she were to keep falling. If she’d continued, she’d likely have ended up either dead or crippled.

Sha Yi felt a flicker of relief.

Testing her legs and gripping the boulder for support, she assessed her surroundings again. The vegetation was dense here, and the boulder seemed stable. She was utterly exhausted. Maybe… maybe she could just hide here and sleep for the night. It seemed relatively safe.

One thing was certain—she was *never* climbing another tree again!

Yawning, Sha Yi felt her eyelids grow unbearably heavy. She closed her eyes and slumped down.

…

The next day.

The sun was already high in the sky—likely noon—and the forest was eerily quiet.

But Sha Yi woke in terror. Haunted by the memory of the giant serpent, she’d spent the entire night fleeing even in her dreams, only jolting awake when she was about to be swallowed whole.

This hadn’t been rest—it had been torture. Who spent both waking *and* sleeping hours running for their life?

Groggy and disoriented, she had no idea how long she’d slept, but the pain in her body had only deepened.

Her stomach growled loudly. She must have gone two days without eating. She was *starving*.

But… where could she find food? Venturing too far risked running into danger again. But if she didn’t go, would she just wait here to starve? Worse, without replenishing her energy, she might not even have the strength to leave this place…

After a long deliberation, Sha Yi decided she had to find something to eat—even if it was just wild berries.

Looking up at the slope, she used the vines beside the boulder to pull herself up. Thankfully, the dense foliage made the climb manageable.

After about fifteen minutes, she reached the spot where she’d slipped the night before. Coincidentally, not far from there stood a tree laden with green fruit. The yield wasn’t abundant, but seeing bite marks from animals on some of them, she guessed they were safe to eat.

Sha Yi rushed over, plucked two from the low-hanging branches, wiped them on her clothes, and took a bite.

The taste was a mix of sweet, sour, and slightly bitter—passable, but the fruit was mostly water.

It was better for quenching thirst than filling her stomach, but she quickly devoured the two in her hands. As she reached for more, her gaze caught a flicker of eerie amber light through the leaves. The half-chewed fruit in her mouth lodged in her throat.

When the source of that amber glow fully emerged from behind the tree, Sha Yi’s entire body locked in terror.

She swore she’d never seen a tiger this massive.

Not just in presence—if she compared it to the wolf-like beast from the night before, the difference in size was staggering. Its face was grotesquely ferocious, its golden eyes brimming with bloodlust, and its elongated fangs, extending past its jaw, sent chills down her spine. It looked exactly like the saber-toothed tigers she’d seen on nature documentaries… but weren’t those supposed to be extinct since prehistoric times? Even in the most remote forests, this shouldn’t exist. What *was* this thing?

A survivor? A mutation? A throwback?

But no amount of speculation could counter the two deliberate steps the saber-tooth took toward her. Sha Yi’s frozen body tensed even further.

This… this was just *peak* bad luck!

First the wolves, then the snake, and now, after barely surviving the night, a *tiger*? What kind of twisted fate was this?

She must have hit the climax of her lifetime’s tragic drama. At this rate, her life would soon reach its finale.

Seeming to sense she couldn’t escape, the saber-tooth didn’t pounce immediately. Instead, it circled her a few times, letting out low, rumbling growls—almost like it was toying with her.

Sha Yi froze in confusion. Was she imagining it, or did the enormous beast’s growls sound… *young*? Almost as if it hadn’t reached adulthood yet.

If that were true, how big would a *fully grown* saber-tooth be? Could it swallow half of her in one bite?

Her mind reeled—and in that instant, the beast lunged. Sha Yi’s heart stopped.

*This is it. I’m dead.*

With a silent lament, she squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the end. But instead of teeth, a large hand clamped around her waist, and a tremendous force launched her into the air—pain exploding through her midsection.

Sha Yi’s eyes flew open.

*It was the native!*

Now, he dangled midair, one arm gripping her waist and the other clutching a thick vine. Below, the enraged saber-tooth leaped repeatedly, jaws snapping, desperate to reach them.

The gap between their height and the tiger’s highest jump was dangerously small. One more effort, and it might snag her foot.

Just *looking* made Sha Yi’s scalp prickle. Instinctively, she clung tighter to the man’s muscular arm, trying to shift upward.

It was a purely survival-driven reflex—but to the native man, it seemed to carry a different meaning. He had been straining to climb one-handed, but feeling her press closer, he turned to stare at her, his gaze suddenly hazy. His grip on the vine slackened, freezing them in place.

Sha Yi’s stomach dropped. If they stayed like this, they’d be tiger food in no time. What was he *doing*, spacing out at a time like this?

Yet no matter how long she waited, he didn’t move. His stare only grew more intense.

Fed up, Sha Yi kicked him—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to jolt him. Whether he understood her or not, she snapped, “Are you *stupid*? What are you waiting for? If you’re going to save someone, *finish the job*! What’s the point of rescuing a corpse?”

The kick barely registered, but her furious tirade seemed to snap him out of it. He pulled her closer against him, his rough grip softening slightly as he shifted most of her weight to his arm. Then, with renewed focus, he resumed climbing one-handed.

Sha Yi was stunned.

Glancing at the vine and his strained movements, she hesitated before steeling herself and wrapping her arms around him properly.

The vine swung precariously, and with only one hand free, his progress was slow and exhausting. If this dragged on, the vine might give way—dooming them both. Better to hold on herself and free his other hand to climb faster.

But she hadn’t anticipated that this move would spark yet *another* complication.