Chapter 10

Chapter 10 The Maiden and the Monster

“Huff—”

The monster shook its massive head, and its heavy breath sprayed mist into the air.

It first sniffed around in the air, then seemed to confirm its direction, and walked heavily towards me.

Thud, thud, thud—

With each step the monster took, the ground trembled beneath its feet.

It’s coming this way! It has found me! What should I do? Is it too late to turn and run?

…No, with its size, I probably can’t outrun it.

Should I fight? If I use black smoke, there might be a chance… but who wants to fight this thing! Just looking at it is terrifying.

In the midst of my turmoil, suddenly everything went dark, and the monster was already in front of me, lowering its body to extend its huge head toward me. I was so scared I couldn’t move; it sniffed on me and suddenly extended its tongue to lick me.

!!!

“Gag—bleh bleh bleh!”

Its tongue licked from my feet to my face, leaving a sticky, foul-smelling saliva all over me, as if it had entered my mouth. I felt nauseous and vomited, retreating quickly while staring at it in horror. At the same time, I secretly gathered frost in my hands, five sharp ice spears hovering above my head.

What does it mean by licking me? Is it tasting to see if I’m good to eat!?

“You… don’t… come… closer… or I’ll…”

My already stammering speech became even more broken due to my trembling voice.

Seeing my reaction, the monster seemed startled and suddenly reared up.

“Roar—!!!”

A roar that could pierce through the clouds echoed, shaking the trees and bushes, causing countless birds to take flight. In the forest, the sound of animals fleeing filled the air.

I was so frightened that my little hands trembled, and the five ice spears immediately shot towards the monster, striking its chest one after another with a “crack crack crack,” turning into ice fragments.

Compared to the monster’s formidable exoskeleton, the hardness of the ice spears seemed insignificant and had no real effect.

I turned and ran immediately. But before I took two steps, I was grabbed by a giant claw.

I was so scared that my soul nearly escaped. The sharp claws of the monster could easily tear me apart. My heart was pounding wildly, and I held back a surge of black smoke.

However, the monster did not exert much force after grabbing me; instead, it gently placed me on its back.

Black smoke emerged for a moment but stopped. I hurriedly grabbed onto the thick, long fur on the monster. The fur had a strong animal odor, making me feel nauseous.

I was puzzled. What is it planning to do?

After placing me on its back, the monster stood up and turned to walk in the direction it came from.

It seems it doesn’t intend to harm me.

“Where… are you… taking me.” I climbed onto its shoulder in a few moves, holding onto one of its horns to stand up and looked at its huge head.

“Snarl-snarl-snarl—”

All I got was a low growl, and I wasn’t sure if it understood me.

“Quickly… let me… down.”

The monster was nearly twenty meters tall. If I jumped directly from this height… there shouldn’t be much problem? Although I haven’t tried, it didn’t seem like a big deal to me.

Should I jump down and run when it’s not paying attention?

Hmm… never mind, it doesn’t seem to view me as food. Otherwise, it would have torn me apart earlier. It seems to want to take me somewhere. Could it be an ancient ruin hiding treasures?

I was curious where it would take me. Anyway, I had already planned to leave here.

As the monster walked, the ground shook, making me lose balance. I simply sat down. The furry monster was quite comfortable, as long as I ignored the smell.

Looking at the bloody foam still oozing from below, I held up the rag I had been clutching.

…This will have to do for now. There’s nothing else to replace it.

I wrapped the bloody area again with the cloth, circling around my waist and tying a knot tightly.

“Pfft.”

It hurt a bit, but this should help a little.

Finally, I solved a very troublesome problem? That’s it, never mind.

The air at higher altitudes was relatively less humid and hot. A gentle breeze brushed past my face, messing up my hair and tickling my neck. I reached behind my head to smooth it out and leaned my body against the warm neck of the monster.

There was no red exoskeleton on its neck; instead, its rough skin had tiny bumps that were slightly uncomfortable.

The warm sunlight filtered through the tangled horns of the monster, giving a lazy feeling.

“Are you… living… here?”

“Snarl-snarl.”

“Are you… a dragon?”

“Huff—”

“Then what… kind of monster… are you?”

“I… am also… a monster.”

“…”

“I’ll call you… Big White.”

“Awooo.”

“Big White.”

”

“…”

“Big White.”

“Giggles.”

It barely counted as a conversation, but the figures of the monster and the beast were surprisingly harmonious.

…

Big White carried me through the forest continuously. When we were tired or hungry, we would stop to rest, picking some fruit to eat. But Big White seemed not to need food. I had heard before that the larger the wild beast, the more enduring its hunger; usually, one meal could last for many days. With a size like Big White’s, one full meal might sustain it for over ten days.

At night, I would use Big White’s back as a comfortable soft bed to sleep on.

Man and beast walked and rested intermittently until the morning of the fourth day.

Lying on Big White’s head, still in a dream, I was awakened by a slight sensation of weightlessness. I opened my eyes and saw Big White gently placing me on the ground.

What’s happening?

Still groggy from just waking up, I stood on the ground rubbing my eyes, unsure what Big White intended.

It lowered its body, using its head to gently push me forward.

I looked at it puzzled, and it pushed me again.

Only then did I understand its intention, turning around to look behind us.

A muddy, winding path stretched out in front of us, extending far away. At the end of the path, there were faintly visible rows of houses with smoke rising from them.

We had arrived at a human village.

Seeing that I hadn’t moved, Big White lowered its head and pushed me again.

“Big White… I… I’m a bit… scared. They… might… hurt… me.”

“Honk honk—”

“I… don’t… understand… what you’re… saying.”

Big White stared at me, and I looked back at it. We stared at each other for quite a while.

Alright, I understood.

I stepped forward and hugged Big White’s head. But its head was too big, so I could only hug the front of its mouth, my little face pressed against one of its large nostrils. Then, it tried to nuzzle me, but didn’t control its strength properly, pushing me into a sitting position.

This farewell scene was far from beautiful.

“Well… I… am… leaving. You… take… care.”

I turned and left, glancing back somewhat reluctantly after a few steps.

Big White was still standing there. Whether it was my imagination or not, I thought I saw a hint of gentleness in its gaze, something not typical of a beast.

I waved at it fiercely and then walked forward resolutely.

It must have thought of me as a lost human child in the forest, so it brought me to a human village.

After walking a considerable distance, I looked back again and found that the massive and terrifying figure had disappeared.

Ah, I forgot to thank it.

… I’ll say thanks next time when I go back to find it.

As the distance to the village grew closer, I pulled my hood over my head.

Taking a deep breath, I felt a bit nervous. Although I knew that I was no different from ordinary people now and shouldn’t be easily noticed, I was very aware that I wasn’t their kind.

To them, I was a frightening monster.

But… I had to move forward. I didn’t want to die alone as a monster.

Continuing forward, the path underfoot was no longer muddy, but instead a village road paved with large stones, with green moss growing between the gaps.

On both sides of the wide village road, scattered houses were built. Most of the houses were made of stone and wood, surrounded by wooden fences to create small courtyards where chickens, sheep, cattle, and pigs were raised.

In ancient Western villages on Earth, most places looked like this: stone houses, wooden houses, or even poorer mud huts. There was nothing special about them.

The village in the early morning looked rather desolate, with occasional groups of people passing by with buckets or hoes, giving me a curious glance before quickly moving on.

I wasn’t sure if there were any inns or places for travelers to stay, but even if there were, I had no money.

For a moment, I felt a bit lost.

“Oh, whose child is this?”

Just as I felt a bit lost, a frail voice came from beside me. I turned to see an old woman with a thin body and wrinkled face.

“Tsk tsk tsk, how did you get into this state?” The old woman walked up to me, patting the grass-covered cloak on my shoulders with a doting tone, “Child, where are you from? What’s your name?”

I shrank back nervously.

“Child, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.” The old woman forced a smile, pulling back my hood.

Her expression showed a moment of shock, which tightened my heart.

Could she tell something?

“My goodness, such a beautiful girl!” After the initial shock, the old lady’s eyes filled with affection, her aged hand caressing my cheek, “Come, tell grandma, how did you get into this state? Where are your parents?”

I shook my head slightly, about to speak, but my stomach betrayed me with a soft growl.

“Gurgle.”

The old lady paused for a moment, then took my hand.

“Come, let’s go home with grandma first. Eat something and take a bath. Look, you smell awful.”

Her hands were dry and rough, but they were warm.