novelraw Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Under the boisterous encouragement of the Felyn Race, Luo En finally arrived at the place where he'd be staying.
He'd actually been pretty excited about what his new home might be like—maybe even a big house.
But once he realized the Felyn were leading him into an underground tunnel, a bad feeling started gnawing at him.
"Mr. Luo En, this is your spot!" Susu An marched up to a burrow with bold, unhesitating steps.
"You're having me live in a pit?" Luo En stared at the excavated hole in the dirt, utterly shocked.
"We live in pits too," Susu An explained. "This one's the biggest—second only to Old Dad's."
"What about the houses in Windbird Town?" Luo En pointed toward the nearby settlement.
Windbird Town had only been abandoned, after all; that didn't mean the buildings inside were ruined. A quick cleanup, and they'd be perfectly livable.
"Mr. Luo En, are you an idiot?" Susu An blurted out, hitting him right where it hurt. "There are tons of bandits up on the surface!"
"Those bandits know we're in Windbird Town," she added helplessly. "They're always watching, waiting for a chance. If we lived up there, we'd get caught and sold off in no time."
"But doesn't this place have soldiers patrolling or something?" Luo En pressed.
"Nope, nothing like that!" Susu An waved it off.
The Felyn had been living here for ages, and they'd never laid eyes on any so-called soldiers.
"Even if there were," she said, rubbing her face, "they wouldn't help us anyway."
That piqued Luo En's curiosity. "Why not?"
"Because Old Dad says humans won't ever recognize us as legal citizens," Susu An replied.
To wild beasts, the Felyn Race were just emergency food supplies. To humans, they were reserve slaves.
That's why, in most cases, the Felyn steered clear of human settlements—to avoid disaster.
But once a Felyn settlement grew large enough to catch attention, humans would notice. Plenty of them would try to lure the Felyn back to enslave them.
Since humans already assumed the Felyn were destined for slavery, they sure as hell weren't granting them citizenship.
"Humans are as disgusting as ever," Lilian remarked.
"Miss Lilian, you're here too?" Luo En glanced her way.
"I'm your maid, so of course I am," Lilian said, lifting the hem of her skirt. "I even brought Miss Moruna along."
"Though I hope we don't actually have to sleep in a burrow tonight." She eyed the pit in the ground with clear distaste.
The Dragon Race might not live in houses, but they'd at least choose a cave. Lying in a pit? That was uncharted territory.
Moruna said earnestly, "Wherever Lord Luo En goes, I'll follow."
"We don't want to live in a pit either," Susu An sighed. "But Old Dad says we have to be careful if we want to stay alive."
"Without him, we'd all have been sold off by now!" She threw her hands up, trying to convey just how dire things were to Luo En.
Hearing Susu An's words, Moruna's expression grew more serious. She couldn't help thinking the Felyn's situation sounded a lot like that of witches.
"I'll protect you all too," Moruna said solemnly, taking Susu An's hand.
"Thanks—we appreciate it," Susu An replied with a smile, though it was clear she didn't quite buy it. "Alright, we've gotta go catch some food! See you later!"
With that, she darted off like a streak of smoke.
Luoluo An, who'd been dozing nearby, perked up at the sound of her footsteps— the bubble on his nose popping instantly.
"Susu An! Wait, I'm coming with you! It's too dangerous alone!" He scrambled after her, desperate not to be left behind.
"How did things turn out like this?" Once they were gone, Luo En slumped to the ground, utterly dejected.
The lordly life he'd dreamed of was nothing like this. Forget living in luxury—he didn't even have a roof over his head.
Still, the Felyn had a point. Staying aboveground would make them easy targets for bandits.
Luo En didn't fancy getting murdered in his sleep, especially since he wasn't sure he could transmigrate a second time.
"We really have to live in this pit?" He gave the burrow a complicated look.
"Mr. Luo En, it looks like you'll have to make do," Lilian said faintly, her hands clasped in front of her. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
Luo En had the nagging feeling something was off about her words, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Of course, Lilian didn't leave him wondering long. "I'll go find a proper house for Miss Moruna and me."
As a dragon, Lilian refusing to fear bandits would be the unreasonable part.
"What about me?" Luo En pointed to himself.
"Once you pay my salary, I'll be at your service," she said, striking a poised, elegant pose.
Moruna clung to Luo En, clearly not wanting to go with Lilian. "Lord Luo En, I want to stay here."
"Miss Moruna," Lilian said faintly, "given Mr. Luo En's... tendencies, I think he'd prefer a cleaner version of you."
That made Moruna freeze, her eyes going wide: 0△0
"Well, she's not wrong," Luo En admitted honestly, voicing his selfish thoughts.
"But I figure you can be salvaged."
He'd barely finished when he realized Lilian and Moruna had vanished from sight.
Now it was just him—an empty-nest youngster all alone.
Luo En let out a sigh. "Can't keep living like this forever, right?"
[Detected the otherworlder's distress. Task system updated.]
[Quest Name: For the Territory]
[You are already the lord of this land. You don't want to see bandits running rampant in your domain. As a powerful figure, you've resolved to personally eliminate these obstacles.]
[Quest Content: Exterminate one bandit gang in the territory (0/1)]
[Completion Reward: Unlock the next stage of enhanced training]
Luo En stared at the reward for finishing the quest, falling silent for a long moment.
For the life of him, he couldn't tell if it was a reward... or a punishment.
Last time's enhanced training had already left him feeling half-dead.
This time, he might really end up buried alongside the other otherworlders.
“I can tell you folks don’t like living in the burrow,” Daddy Susuya said, his back hunched as he stood beside Luo En. “But there’s no helping it—this is the safest spot we’ve got.”
“The elders like us might not fear those bandits, but we still have to look out for the kids.”
Luo En badly wanted to ask what the difference was between Felyn adults and children—but with the mood so heavy right now, he held his tongue.
“Susuya, I’ve got a suggestion,” Luo En said, raising his hand.
In the next instant, Daddy Susuya whacked him on the head with his cane. “Call me Daddy Susuya!”
Luo En blocked the blow. “Easy there, Daddy.”
“What’s your suggestion?” Daddy Susuya asked, pulling back his cane with a puzzled look.
“If we deal with those bandits, we could live peacefully in town again, right?” Luo En said.
Daddy Susuya shot him a glance. “You think that’d actually work?”