The Game Heroine's Cannon Fodder Leopard Cub - Chapter 22

The distant mountains gradually turned a pearly white as the morning sun began to rise. The golden veil of dawn slowly spread across Morong’s frozen highlands, dispelling the howling winds that had raged throughout the night.

Thick clouds drifted away on the breeze, finally revealing the sky’s true azure clarity.

It was a beautiful day.

Yet all this seemed to exist beyond the reach of one person.

The early morning sunlight bathed her, but it couldn’t thaw the blizzard raging in her heart. Her face was frozen pale, her lips cracked and white.

Ever since Little Leopard vanished before her eyes, she seemed to have lost her soul. She remained kneeling in the same spot, utterly motionless.

Her head hung low, strands of hair tangled across her forehead. Her hands lay limply at her sides, the bl00d on her palms long dried into mottled brown scabs.

She wasn’t thinking about Little Leopard, nor about herself. Or, more accurately, her mind was a blank slate, its gears ground to a halt.

If her heart hadn’t been stubbornly beating in her chest, she would have felt as though her soul had already plunged into the darkness with Little Leopard.

From a distance, she resembled a statue, utterly out of place in the morning light.

Human joys and sorrows often remain incomprehensible to small animals.

They were thoroughly enjoying Morong’s rare good weather, frolicking with abandon.

Perhaps accustomed to their freedom, several fluffy pikas boldly approached the human statue, sniffing around her.

One particularly reckless pika even jumped into her lap, rolling back and forth between her arms, its tiny body pressing against her, causing her to tremble slightly.

The other pikas scattered with chirps, but this one seemed triumphant, stretching out lazily and settling down comfortably.

The commotion finally “awakened” the human statue.

Nora lowered her gaze and met the uninvited guest’s eyes. Her fingers were so stiff she could barely bend them. After a long moment, she slowly moved her hand and gently touched the pika’s fluffy ear.

The little creature seemed to sense her touch, tilting its head curiously and staring up at her.

A familiar yet foreign warmth spread from her fingertips. Nora’s eyes trembled slightly as her parched lips struggled to open and close, her voice barely audible. “Little one… are you waiting for someone too?”

The pika, of course, didn’t understand human language. It simply rolled over twice out of curiosity, then darted away as if nothing had happened.

The warmth had appeared briefly, then vanished just as quickly.

Nora stared blankly in the direction the pika had fled, the pent-up snowstorm of her emotions finally collapsing in an instant.

Scalding tears surged forth like a breached dam, streaming down her cheeks and splattering onto the icy snow, where they melted into tiny puddles before vanishing without a trace.

Her hands began to tremble violently. Her frozen knees suddenly regained sensation, and pain surged through her limbs and bones.

The statue shattered in an instant.

She covered her face, curling into a fetal position, and began to sob uncontrollably.

At that moment, she finally became the wounded little creature she had long suppressed, releasing her long-frozen grief into the desolate wilderness.

In the distance, the sunlight continued to fall silently on the snow-covered ground.

Yi’an paced back and forth, the voice echoing in her ears, always just out of reach.

She followed the sound deeper into the cavern, only to find herself in a chamber riddled with branching paths.

She turned down one path after another, but always ended up back where she started.

Her tail drooped, swaying weakly. Yi’an collapsed onto the cold ground with a sigh.

I hope Nora isn’t foolishly waiting for me, she thought, her only concern now.

She closed her eyes and buried her head in her furry paws.

Yi’an felt a pang of regret. If she had known she would be trapped here, she wouldn’t have wasted that night agonizing over things. She should have confessed her true identity to Nora directly. Now, all she felt was loneliness and regret.

She lay there, half-conscious, for an unknown amount of time before suddenly hearing voices.

“This is unnecessary,” a white-haired woman said, standing nearby with her arms crossed, a hint of exasperation in her expression.

Yi’an blinked, gazing at the familiar figure before her, confusion flooding her mind.

Am I dreaming again?

The Goddess of Life regarded the Beast God calmly, her voice gentle. “Don’t you want to give Yi’an an extra layer of protection?”

Yi’an? Did I hear that right? How do they know my name? Can dreams be customized?

The Beast God unfolded her arms, a faint smile playing on her lips, though her expression remained displeased. “She’s not so weak that she needs us to empower her with our Divine Sparks.”

“Besides,” she raised an eyebrow, “Baal is hardly a threat, though…”

“Though we’re only suppressing him, no one in this world has ever broken our seals, right?” the Goddess of Life interrupted with a smile.

“Just because we’re powerful now doesn’t mean we’ll always be. I’m sure Baal isn’t the only one with ambition, so…” She took the Beast God’s hand, her smile widening. “You need to think carefully about how to store our Divine Sparks.”

The Beast God shrugged, a helpless smile on her face. “You always get your way.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she transformed into a Snow Leopard, deftly tossing Yi’an onto her back and sprinting toward the ground.

Her speed was breathtaking. Yi’an felt the wind roaring past her ears, her hair nearly blown into a wild pompadour.

When she finally caught her breath, the sight before her left her stunned.

“What do you think? Impressed by Mommy’s power?” the Beast God’s voice was light and smug.

No, Yi’an was simply astonished by how closely this place resembled the chamber where she had gotten lost.

“Most people would just wander around in circles here, but you can do it.”

Me? Yi’an asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“Hahaha!” The Beast God laughed heartily, casually ruffling Yi’an’s hair with his paw. “Come, child. Close your eyes, prick up your ears, and listen carefully to the wind from every direction.”

Yi’an closed her eyes skeptically, focusing her attention and straining her ears to sense the surrounding wind.

Before long, she seemed to detect a subtle difference. The wind from her left rear sounded slightly clearer.

She leaped up excitedly and strode toward that direction, only to find herself facing a thick wall. She froze, wondering if she had misheard.

“This is it,” the Beast God said, as if anticipating her reaction, his eyes gleaming with pride. “As expected of my child, you found it right away.”

“There’s actually no wall here. I merely concealed the path. No matter how much ordinary people touch or knock, they’ll never discover it. Only with our beast ears can you truly pinpoint the direction.”

She looked down at Yi’an’s small figure, her gaze softening as she gently stroked the girl’s head. “Your mother was right,” she said. “We can’t predict the future’s changes. The only thing we can do is leave you with as much as possible.”

The Beast God’s claws were rough yet gentle. Yi’an couldn’t help but nuzzle her head against them, savoring this unprecedented warmth.

But warmth was fleeting. Having experienced this before, she already sensed that it was time to part ways.

The edges of the dream began to blur, and the Beast God’s smile faded, gradually merging into the empty space.

The warm aura slowly dissipated, and the lingering warmth on her head vanished.

She gently opened her eyes, finding herself once again in the deserted chamber, surrounded by a maze of branching paths.

The familiar sense of loneliness washed over her.

Shaking her head to suppress her inner confusion, she followed the Beast God’s guidance from the dream. Standing still, she focused her attention and pricked up her ears, listening for the slightest rustle of wind.

Sure enough, a clear, resonant sound echoed from a smooth rock wall.

So, perhaps the dream had been the Beast God’s gentle guidance after all?