Chapter 16: The Sabertooth Tiger

Many of them just rotted in the soil—it was truly a pity. She picked some of the good ones, leaving those that were growing poorly or were small to continue growing.

In this way, she gathered two large baskets brimming full, nearly overflowing. Good things never fear abundance; even if they couldn’t be eaten immediately, they could be dried and stored for winter.

After transforming into an orc, her strength had increased considerably. She moved the basket full of mushrooms under the chestnut tree and placed it alongside the other baskets filled with supplies.

Counting them, she found a total of eight baskets, each packed to the brim with today’s harvest.

Though exhausted and drenched in sweat, her heart was full of joy.

Suddenly, her expression changed; she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and the urge to defecate.

From her memories, the previous owner hadn’t relieved herself for over a week.

Since crossing over, she hadn’t gone either.

Before, she hadn’t felt anything and thought she might have lost that function entirely.

Now, finally, the urge came, and she was naturally delighted.

Eating more fruit did have its benefits.

She hastily plucked a few large leaves, washed them by a nearby water source, and slipped into the bushes to relieve herself on the spot.

She didn’t remove her animal-skin skirt, merely lifted it and squatted.

Looking at the clean leaves in her hand, her lips twitched sharply.

In this beastly world, there was no paper—one had to use tree leaves or simply wash with water after.

Su Xiyue couldn’t run around bare-bottomed; she had to make do with leaves for now.

She thought urgently about making grass paper—she couldn’t keep wiping with leaves forever.

What was grass paper made from again?

Was it straw?

She recalled the process: first, cutting straw into pieces and steaming it to soften; then washing and pulping to disperse the fibers; finally, through paper-making and drying, the grass paper was formed.

But where to find straw was another problem—if there was straw, there must be rice.

The thought of glistening, fragrant white rice brought tears to her eyes, and she felt so pitiful.

She wondered where she could find rice here and planned to ask the orcs later.

As Su Xiyue squatted, enjoying the relief, she suddenly noticed rustling in the grass nearby, accompanied by a pungent, dangerous scent.

Instinctively, she looked back—and what she saw terrified her profoundly.

A gigantic saber-toothed tiger stood behind her, jaws wide open, glaring fiercely.

It clearly regarded her as prey.

Her face went pale with fright; she didn’t even have time to wipe and fled, holding up her animal-skin skirt.

Running, she cursed inwardly.

What terrible luck was this? Getting attacked by a saber-toothed tiger while trying to relieve herself?

The saber-toothed tiger let out a mighty roar and leapt after her with terrifying speed.

“Help! Someone save me!” she screamed, glancing back to see the relentless pursuit and that ferocious face. Her heart trembled in fear.

She knew she couldn’t outrun the beast, but she couldn’t stop and wait for death either.

Her abilities were only at level one—enough for simple detoxification or healing, but useless in combat.

All she could do was run desperately.

The tiger’s speed was incredible, closing in fast.

Terrified, she cried out mentally, “Tongtong, help me!”

The system’s voice came with a hint of sympathy but no urgency, “Host, hold on a bit longer. Male lead number two is nearby. He’s heard the commotion and is coming. You won’t die.”

“What? Mo Lin is coming? Where is he?” Su Xiyue’s heart lifted, scanning the surroundings while fleeing, hoping to spot him.

But no sign of Mo Lin was visible—no snakes, nothing.

Instead, the saber-toothed tiger lunged at her, jaws snapping.

“Help! Somebody save me!”

Terrified, she rolled into the grass to avoid being bitten, narrowly escaping death.

But fate was cruel—she tumbled down a steep hillside.

Before rolling down, the tiger had bitten the corner of her animal-skin skirt, tearing it off.

Still trembling with fear, she protected her head as she rolled.

The hillside was steep; the rolling seemed endless, as if she might tumble to the horizon.

Dizzy and aching all over, she eventually came to a stop.

The saber-toothed tiger seemed to have lost her trail.

Lying on the ground, gasping for breath, she felt as though her bones were about to shatter; pain and discomfort overwhelmed her.

After a while, she recovered somewhat.

Her body bore many scratches, some bleeding and painful.

She rubbed her sore arms and legs and touched her head.

Thankfully, her head was unharmed—otherwise, she might have been left a fool.

Ignoring her injuries, she sat up cautiously, eyes scanning to understand her surroundings.

Then, she noticed something was wrong.

Where was her animal-skin skirt?

Looking down, she realized she was completely naked.

Her skirt was gone!

Her face turned pale as she suddenly remembered the skirt had been torn off by the saber-toothed tiger before she rolled down.

She frowned. Without the skirt, would she have to return naked?

Being naked was unacceptable; she had no desire to run around bare.

Her gaze caught some nearby large leaves, and her eyes brightened.

She quickly gathered many large leaves and, with some vines, wove them simply into a makeshift grass skirt to wear.

Though crude, it covered her modesty; she wouldn’t have to run around naked.

Afterward, she used her abilities to treat her wounds.

Only when the bleeding stopped and the pain lessened did she stop.

Then, she began searching for a way back.

At that moment, sounds of fighting echoed from up the hillside—roars and the hissing of a snake flicking its tongue.

The noise was intense.

Su Xiyue’s heart stirred; she guessed that the saber-toothed tiger and Mo Lin had engaged in battle.

She carefully climbed the hillside to investigate.

Although steep, the climb was manageable.

Soon, she reached the top.

Hiding in the bushes, she saw from a distance a colossal black python tangled with the saber-toothed tiger.

The python’s body was as thick as a bucket, stretching over ten meters long.

A faint black mist swirled around it, mysterious and forbidding.

The mist seemed corrosive—whenever the tiger touched it, it let out piercing screams as patches of fur were eaten away.

Clearly, this was Mo Lin’s ability.

Su Xiyue watched the battle from the bushes, deeply shocked.

Though she knew the orcs here were powerful and that Mo Lin himself was formidable, this was her first time witnessing a fight between an orc and a fierce beast.

And the opponent was a savage saber-toothed tiger.

Her eyes fixed on the combat, noticing that although the tiger was fierce, it was no match for Mo Lin.

Soon, Mo Lin’s massive snake body coiled tightly around the tiger’s head, squeezing ever tighter until the tiger’s face began to distort.