Take Away My Sickly Beauty [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 30

Sana, huddled on the stone bed, was jolted awake by the cold. She was too thin and frail; the early stages of the White Rain Season, which were merely an inconvenience to other beastmen, were life-threatening to her.

Cold, dampness, and hunger could claim her life at any moment.

Sana tightened her grip on the wooden spike in her hand.

If that cub didn’t return today, she would go out to hunt and find food tomorrow. After all, if the cub hadn’t returned after a full day, she had likely left for good.

Sana exhaled a breath to warm her stiff fingertips, struggling to raise her body temperature.

“Crash!” Suddenly, a massive sound erupted from the distance.

Listening closely, it sounded like tree branches slamming against rocks.

The noise rapidly surged toward the wooden hut. Startled, Sana scrambled off the bed, clutching her wooden spike, and hid behind the door.

She cautiously concealed her body, peeking outside with wary eyes.

Through the gaps in the wooden door, she saw a small figure breaking through the curtain of rain was she dragging a whole tree behind her?

Sana’s eyes widened in bewilderment. She hurriedly pushed open the door, staring blankly at the cub rushing back.

The cub said she was going hunting, yet she dragged back a tree and a mass of vines?

No… there seemed to be prey.

Sana’s nostrils twitched; it wasn’t until Keno was close that she smelled a hint of blood in the rain.

The sweet, metallic scent indicated that the prey’s meat was likely of good quality.

The area near the wooden hut was filled with large, jagged rocks. The hut’s foundation consisted of thick wooden piles wedged into these rocks to prevent it from being blown away by high winds.

While this kept the piles from rotting quickly, it made traveling in and out difficult for the inhabitants.

Similarly, the tree Keno was dragging got snagged on the rocks more than once. Initially, Keno had the patience to lift the tree higher to avoid the stones.

But the moment Sana opened the door and stood there, Keno became desperate to get over and show her the catch.

When the damn branches kept catching on the rocks, Keno’s patience snapped. Using her monstrous strength, she yanked the oil-wood tree and charged forward.

Behind her, rocks were upturned and crashed back down with a continuous “thud-thud,” and the poor oil-wood tree was nearly stripped bare of its branches.

For some reason, seeing this scene made Sana want to laugh.

What a reckless little cub.

Once Keno finally made it inside the hut, she first handed a climbing lizard to Sana. Her golden beast-pupils were filled with a look of seeking credit that she herself didn’t even realize: “Here. The climbing lizard’s meat is very tender; eat it quickly.”

As she spoke, Keno pulled out a salt stone and handed it over as well: “This is salt stone. Smash the outer shell and boil it in water. When the water boils dry, you can take out the white salt. Salt makes food taste good, though it tastes terrible on its own.”

Keno wrinkled her nose, remembering that salty, bitter flavor.

Sana looked at the salt stone in her arms, her lips parted in shock.

She knew about salt.

Le Li had been revered as a Saintess by the tribesmen precisely because she discovered salt and how to extract it. Yet now, a cub had just casually revealed such an important secret?

However, what surprised Sana even more was yet to come.

She watched as Keno’s fingernails suddenly grew long and sharp. Like stone knives, those nails easily peeled away the oil-wood bark. Then, with a single punch, Keno shattered the trunk, breaking it into pieces suitable for firewood.

Keno then went back outside and hauled in a stone slab from near the hut. She propped the slab up on smaller stones and placed oil-wood branches underneath. With a spark from a fire-starter, the wood roared into flame.

She spread large, “fluffy leaves” across the stone slab. She needed to dry them so they could be used for bedding.

After finishing this, she cracked open oil-fruits, taking out large clumps of white fluff and spreading them near the stone bed to keep the area as dry as possible.

In truth, the best solution was for them to build a new wooden hut.

This one was too dilapidated; the roof was leaking constantly.

Thinking this, Keno turned and asked the stunned Sana: “Let’s move in a few days.”

“Move?” Sana couldn’t quite process it, asking instinctively, “Move where?”

“To a place that is safer and has more prey, of course.” Keno was dissatisfied with the rocky hollows near the hut.

Places with many rock crevices were prone to insects and snakes. If Sana were bitten by something venomous, she would surely die.

So, this place wasn’t safe at all!

Sana snapped out of her daze when she saw Keno’s furrowed brow. She sighed, attempting to dissuade the cub from this unrealistic idea.

“It’s very hard to build a new hut during the heavy storms of the White Rain Season. Especially for a cub if you get soaked in the rain, you’ll be cursed.”

“I won’t be,” Keno shook her head, helping Sana light the fire under the stone pot to process the climbing lizard.

“I have experience. A hut made from the trunks of Hetong trees can prevent insects and snakes from entering.”

“Of course, if possible, I’d still like to find a cave. Building a small nest in a high-altitude cave is much safer than being on the ground.”

After all, at high altitudes, they only had to worry about flying beasts. And the beastmen of the Gryphon Tribe were the natural overlords of the sky.

Even though Keno couldn’t transform into her beast form, it didn’t stop her from having a powerful deterrent effect on flying predators.

Those beasts would instinctively avoid her nest.

Naturally, if no suitable cave could be found, a hut made of Hetong wood was a good alternative.

Its woody fragrance could drive away pests; Keno’s old nest had featured a bed made of Hetong wood.

As for why Sana hadn’t found any insects or snakes in the hut yet, it was simply because she was too poor. Aside from a tiny bit of dry wood she’d prepared, her hut contained nothing but a stone pot and stone tools.

Sana only had two animal-skin skirts one she wore and one spread on the stone bed.

With so few items in the house, there was nowhere for pests to hide. That was the only reason Sana had survived in peace until now.

Unable to talk the cub out of it, Sana could only remain silent and let her do as she pleased. She turned her attention to preparing the climbing lizard meat, intending to give the busy cub a good meal.

But Keno overthought it; she assumed Sana was unhappy about leaving. She asked tentatively: “Sana, do you… not want to leave the tribe?”

But the people of the Tabu Tribe had already kicked her out. It was better for them to stay far away.

Otherwise, whenever something bad happened in the tribe, they would blame it on them, saying they brought misfortune.

Keno had far too much experience with this. One year, the Gryphon Tribe was hit by a massive beast tide, and many warriors died. The tribespeople claimed she had cursed her mother and then cursed the warriors.

They called her an ill-omened demon. Many tribesmen even formed a group to hunt and kill her, and her father did nothing to stop them.

Fortunately, she was half-grown by then and fast. Being more familiar with the terrain than they were, she managed to avoid capture.

Until this White Rain Season, when every beastman was supposed to return to the tribal lands to receive the Beast God’s blessing and transform.

She had returned, but she did not transform. The Great Priest declared her a demon, and the tribespeople began to hunt her down. But they were too weak.

She had survived and escaped once again.

Keno instinctively pressed her hand against her ribs. The flesh there had once been torn open by beast claws, nearly shredding her.

And the beastman who had attacked her was her own father.

Keno’s eyes grew dark and unreadable, her mood sinking.

Seeing this, Sana thought her silence had caused a misunderstanding, so she explained: “No, I’m just worried about you being cursed. The White Rain Season is not kind to cubs.”

“I am NOT a cub.” Keno felt physically drained by the statement. She covered her face in exasperation.

Groaning lowly, she pointed at the pile of oil-wood in the corner, then at the salt stone and the fluffy leaves: “How could a cub have my strength and such extensive experience?!”

Maybe because you’re a cub from a Great Tribe, Sana thought.

Sana pursed her lips, but she didn’t dare say it out loud.

Seeing the danger practically overflowing from Keno’s golden eyes, Sana chose to keep her mouth shut.

If she provoked Keno, with how powerful this cub was, she wouldn’t be able to stop her no matter what she did.

It must be said that Sana’s survival instinct had saved her life once again.

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