A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 604 Chased by a Ghost (Bonus Chapter for Donations)
Once inside, a warm fire was lit in the stove. Shen Tang took off the thick cloak and coat she was wearing, rubbed her hands together, and breathed out a breath that revealed a faint white mist.

Lin Xi said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have troubled Your Majesty. There's been another cold wave in the empire recently. I'll personally take you there tomorrow when the weather is better."

Shen Tang smiled and said, "Thank you very much."

Lin Xi was flattered and waved her hands repeatedly, "I dare not accept such praise~ Actually, when my father sent me here, I was not very willing. I never expected to meet Your Majesty. It is truly a stroke of luck from heaven!"

As he spoke, he looked at her, his delicate face slightly flushed, and his clear, gentle doe-like eyes brimming with tender affection, as if they could melt anyone's heart. "It is also fate that brought us together. I have missed you dearly since we parted last time, and I have been hoping to see you again. My wish has finally come true..."

Xiao Jin's face darkened, and he stepped in front of Shen Tang, his tone icy, "Alright! No need for formalities. It's getting late. Could you prepare a few more rooms so we can squeeze in?"

Shen Tang quickly nudged him with her elbow. He was, after all, a prince from a neighboring country. Couldn't this leopard be a little more polite?

Xiao Jin snorted coldly. Considering that this deer was still flirting with Tangtang on the personal terminal, blatantly trying to steal her away, he was already being very restrained by not taking action!

Xue Yinzhou also looked coldly at Lin Xi. Although he didn't say anything, the oppressive feeling made the young man's face turn pale. He swallowed and took two steps back, then chuckled dryly, "Don't worry about the room. I've already had someone tidy it up. I'll take you to see it in a bit."

Shen Tang casually asked, "What about the people in the city? We haven't seen a single person since we entered the city."

“It’s too cold, everyone’s staying at home. I was afraid they’d wander off, so I imposed a curfew and had the army patrolling the city.” Lin Xi sighed. “There were already few people in the city, and with this cold wave, many more orcs have died.”

"There have been quite a few casualties recently. Many people from small towns and tribes have moved to larger cities, where it is safer. There are not many orcs left in the cities either, so you should also be careful not to wander out of the city."

"I see." Shen Tang nodded in understanding.

The room was tidied up in no time, and it got completely dark. Shen Tang first arranged for the accompanying beastmen to stay.

“Your Majesty, the rooms here are dark and damp, it’s too uncomfortable for a female to live here. Why don’t you come to my place? I have a spare room.” Lin Xi leaned over and suggested, seizing the opportunity.

Xiao Jin's fist hardened; what should he do if he really wanted to punch someone?
Shen Tang smiled helplessly, "It's okay, I can live with the beastmen."

She also came from a hard life, so she's not that delicate; having a place to sleep is enough for her.

Lin Xi said "Okay" with a bit of disappointment, and seeing that there was nothing for her to do, she had no choice but to leave.

As night fell, the cold snap outside intensified, and the wind howled in through the narrow windows. The room was dimly lit; there was no electricity, let alone lights.

A ball of light floated in Lu Xiao's palm, suspended in mid-air, emitting a bright and soft light.

Shen Tang exclaimed "Wow!" He thought that his light-type skill was really useful, and it was simply an essential beast husband for home and travel!

Seeing her happy expression, Lu Xiao smiled indulgently.

Shen Tang took out the dried meat and dry food she had prepared in advance from her space. After the family had filled their stomachs, it was time to rest, as they still had to travel tomorrow.

The blankets were damp and smelled musty. Lu Xiao took out clean, soft bedding from his spatial storage and changed them all.

He had just finished making the bed when a leopard unceremoniously crawled into the covers, instantly creating a small mound on the bed. After warming the covers, Xiao Jin let out a low growl at the female, "Awoo!"

Come and sleep here!

Shen Tang couldn't help but laugh. Without even taking off her clothes, she crawled into bed.

Xiao Jin turned and pulled her into his arms, contentedly encircling her with his four paws. Shen Tang was immediately enveloped in fluffy fur, sighed comfortably, closed her eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

The large communal sleeping area could easily accommodate four or five people, but the leopard had taken up more than half of it. Lu Xiao, being good-natured, didn't say anything, and since there was still an empty spot to the left of the female, he made do and lay down.

Xue Yinzhou glanced at him but didn't try to squeeze in. He transformed back into his original form, quietly curled up in the corner, and closed his eyes.

The fire crackled in the fireplace, casting menacing shadows on the wall that seemed to come alive, slowly approaching the female's bedside.

Xue Yinzhou seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes, his cold purple eyes shrinking into needle-like vertical pupils.

But when he looked over, there was nothing there, only the fire burning quietly in the stove.

He frowned, flicked his tongue, but couldn't detect the scent of the strange orc.

He raised his snake body and looked down at the bed, noticing that the female seemed to be having a nightmare, her brow furrowed, uttering soft murmurs, "Don't come any closer..."

"Tangtang." Xue Yinzhou immediately transformed back into human form and nervously grasped her hand.

The icy touch jolted Shen Tang awake. She cried out, opened her eyes, and was met with the beautiful yet worried face of the silver-haired man.

Xiao Jin and Lu Xiao also woke up. Seeing her pale face, they quickly came over and gently comforted her, "What's wrong? Did Tangtang have a nightmare?"

"You stinky snake, did you take advantage of Tangtang while we were sleeping?"

Xue Yinzhou had no time to argue with Xiao Jin. His purple eyes were fixed on Shen Tang with concern, and his cool, slender hand gently stroked her face. "What did you dream about?"

Shen Tang looked at the beastmen, her emotions gradually calming down. She patted her chest, still shaken, "I just had a dream. It was so dark in the dream, and so many people were chasing me, like vengeful ghosts... But they didn't seem to want to kill me. They kept shouting 'Save me...'"

It's really baffling.

Shen Tang often had nightmares about being chased by ghosts when she was a child, but she rarely had them as she grew up. This was the first time she had such a dream since she came to the Beast World!

The system notified: "Host, don't forget you possess S-level mental strength. This might not be a dream, but rather something you've 'seen.'"

Shen Tang was even more surprised, "Saw?" [That's right, while you were asleep, I detected your mental energy uncontrollably projecting outwards. This mental energy likely 'saw' things that ordinary people can't see.]

Shen Tang felt a chill run down her spine and goosebumps all over her body.

She'd always been an atheist, but now even she couldn't help but wonder if this place was really haunted!

She cautiously released her spiritual energy again, and this time she didn't see the "ghost" again, but discovered something even more shocking—

This city is a ghost town!

Yes, a ghost town with almost no signs of life.

Apart from them and the stationed army, there were no other orcs. Every room was empty, without a single person in sight.

It's impossible to evacuate the entire city so completely.

Xiao Jin and the others were also surprised after hearing this. "Didn't Lin Xi say that there were still quite a few orcs left in the city? That's why we sent troops to guard it to prevent them from running away. How could there be no one here?"

Lu Xiao said in a deep voice, "Unless he's lying to us."

"But why would he lie to us?" Even if he did lie, it didn't seem to do him any good.

Shen Tang frowned even more, sensing that there was some secret hidden here, and her originally relaxed mood became heavy.

She closed her eyes and once again spread her mental energy like a spider web. Soon, she found where Lin Xi lived.

Lin Xi was still awake. She seemed to have just finished talking with the general in charge and was heading towards the bathroom.

The sound of dripping water fell, but there was not a trace of heat; the air was filled with a damp and chilly atmosphere.

Lin Xi was a deer-beastman, but a spirit deer of the icy plains, unafraid of the bitter cold. He slowly took off his outer garment, his long, snow-white hair hanging down his back, revealing a section of his slender, snow-white shoulder.

Just as he was about to continue undressing, he suddenly sensed something, instantly put on his clothes, and shot a sharp gaze in a certain direction, "Who?"

boom--!
The mental connection was abruptly severed, and Shen Tang felt a metallic taste rise in her throat as she looked in that direction in disbelief.

She is now a beastman at the Yuan Beast level, yet her spiritual power was detected and she suffered a backlash.
Is it a coincidence? Or...

Moreover, Lin Xi's eyes were so cold and wary just now, completely unlike her usual gentle and innocent demeanor.

Wasn't he only at the eighth rank? How could he be so strong?

Shen Tang's face turned pale, not just from confusion, but more from shock.

"You just used your mental power? What did you see?" Xiao Jin felt a pang of heartache when he saw her pale face, knowing that she must have discovered something.

Shen Tang solemnly told the beastmen about this discovery.

The expressions on their faces changed repeatedly.

Xiao Jin slammed his fist against the wall, sending several pieces of plaster falling down. His face darkened. "I knew this guy was up to no good! You can't just believe these foreign males anymore."

Shen Tang was speechless for a moment, then forced a reply, "You can't say that. What if he has some kind of difficulty? But we do need to keep an eye on him and see what he's up to."

The next day, just as dawn broke, Lin Xi brought people over to call them for dinner.

The table was almost entirely filled with roasted meat and broth, with not a single green vegetable in sight, but it was considered quite a feast on the ice plains.

During the meal, Lin Xi would occasionally strike up a conversation with them, still maintaining her gentle demeanor, but after what happened last night, Shen Tang couldn't help but feel that something was off.

Shen Tang asked casually, "What about the remaining people in the city? Should we take them back to the capital, or leave them here?"

Lin Xi replied, "We don't know when this cold wave will end. Some orcs are unwilling to leave the place where they have lived for so long. We can't leave no one in the city, can we? Those who don't want to leave can continue to live here. The imperial city will send people to deliver supplies to support us."

"That's good!" Shen Tang replied, secretly taking out a feather from her spatial storage.

Then she discovered that the feather had malfunctioned again.

Exactly the same as last time.

Shen Tang's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that Lin Xi was indeed hiding something from them, and it was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface!
A thought flashed through her mind like a thunderbolt: she suddenly wanted to know if Lin Xi had any special marks on her body.

Unfortunately, I was too late last night and didn't see anything.

She suppressed her thoughts and said nothing. After finishing the meal, the group set off for the capital.

The journey was relatively smooth, without encountering any major cold waves.

Three days later, they arrived at the capital, where a welcoming ceremony had already been prepared.

This is a make-up to last night's update, combining three chapters into two—consider it an extra chapter for a donation.

Today's update will be tonight!