They ran and ran until the wall and the guards were gone behind them, nothing but dots in the distance. And what was waiting ahead?
Of course, the forest showed up again, thick with trees like it had been waiting for him. Liu Yang almost wanted to laugh. "Run away from trouble in town, only to end up back in trouble here. Perfect."
Liu Yang stopped after a while inside the forest, bending over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
He lifted his head and glanced around carefully, eyes darting between the trees, making sure no one had followed them and that there wasn't a single soul around to see.
Only when he felt safe did he wipe the sweat off his forehead and mutter under his breath, "Damn these boobs… enough of this. Time to turn back."
The glow on his skin flickered, and in the next instant poof—his girl body melted away. His horns pricked out again, his white mid-length hair falling back into place, sharp jawline clear once more. His chest went flat, boobs gone, his real body finally back.
He looked down quick. His lips trembled. His eyes soft.
"I missed you… my little boy."
It came out like a whisper, but it held two meanings. His chest was gone, his "other" part was back. Both losses and gains at once.
He dragged a palm down his face. "God, I'm broken."
Liu Yang dropped right onto the dirt, his knees giving out as his back hit against a tree.
His chest was going up and down nonstop, breath coming out heavy like he had just carried ten sacks of rice on his back.
Sweat slid down his cheek, tickling as it fell, and his legs were shaking so weak they felt no different from boiled noodles ready to collapse again.
"Damn… damn it… if I have to run like this again, I'll just die from panting, not from enemies."His hand slapped his chest, his ribs still sore.
He tilted his head back, staring at the forest branches, his lips twisting. "Switching from demon to girl, running, hiding, running again… my stamina is trash. I can't even keep up with my own boobs bouncing."
Then he straightened, snapping his fingers in the air.
"System. Show me my status!"
He pulled the System screen out in front of him. Fifteen shiny points waiting. His mind started rolling.
His eyes lit up. For once, real excitement. He wanted to see numbers. He wanted to see proof all this running, sweating, boobs-bouncing humiliation wasn't for nothing.
[STATUS]
Name: Liu Yang
Race: Demon
Level: 10
HP: 280 / 280
MP: 900 / 1080
Strength: 30
Stamina: 25
Agility: 25
Defense: 20
Unused Stat Points: 15
[Innate Skill: Night Vision, Blood Sense]
[SKILLS]
Demonic Overdrive (Active)
Second Wind (Passive)
Harem Resonance (Passive)
Demon Grasp (Active)
Daydreaming (Active)
Charm Morph (Female) (Active)
Charm Morph (Male) (Active)
Eternal Silence Pact (Passive)
Abyssal Dread Resistance (Passive)
Shadow Bride (Active – Slots: 1)
"If I want to keep running and not collapse like a dead dog, I need stamina. Lots of it. And agility too, or else I'll trip on every damn rock in the road." He remembered his fall at the gate, his panty flashing in front of those guards. His jaw clenched. "Never again. Never."
So he dragged the numbers, pouring ten points into Stamina and five into Agility.
"Alright… no more panting like a cow. Next time, I'll run like the wind. Or at least not trip like an idiot."
Beside him, she was standing straight, not even moving her shoulders. No panting, no sweat, nothing. Just standing there with that sweet smile on her face like she had just taken a walk in the garden.
Liu Yang's eyes twitched, staring at that smile.
"Of course… level hundred. Don't sweat, don't pant, don't even breathe hard. Figures."
Liu Yang's fingers hovered over the System stat screen, eyes twitching like he was defusing a bomb.
"Stamina… agility… yeah, screw strength. Who cares about punching hard if I trip on rocks like a drunk donkey."
So he dumped the points into Stamina and Agility, and right away he felt it — a rush inside his bones. His chest opened, his breath cleared, the tiredness fell away like dust.
The System screen chimed.
[Stat Allocation Complete.]
[Congratulations, Host. You are now officially… slightly less of a panting cow.]
He stood up straight, slapped his own cheek, and grinned. "Oh wow. That's good. That's really good." He stomped his foot, testing the ground, his legs no longer jelly.
He puffed his chest, smirked at her, then pointed forward.
"Alright, enough standing around. Let's go do this damn quest."
"Yes, Master, let's go!" she said, her eyes glowing like a child who just found candy.
One hand shot up high in the air, finger stabbing the sky. Her legs spread wide like some hero on a stage, and her mouth curled into a proud, silly smile.
"Don't worry, Master. Whatever the quest is, you can rely on me!" Her chest puffed out, voice loud enough to scare a squirrel. "Just say the word and I'll stand in front of you!"
Liu Yang's mouth twitched, eyes half closed. His hand slid down his face.
"Oh great…"
Then his eyes shifted, and a little spark lit up inside them.
His lips curled up slow, not really a smile, more like that sneaky look you see on a kid when he just thought of a prank.
The kind of face that said, Heh, I got an idea, like a thief who just spotted the vault keys but was already giggling at how fun it would be to grab them.
He shoved the quest paper at her, his grin sneaky. "Here. Signal's given. Time for you to shine, Wall-chan."
He rubbed his fist against his palm, the eerie grin growing wider on his face. "I'm giving you a signal… you take the lead."
He pulled out the paper and held it in front of her face.
"Here. The quest."
The quest was simple.
[D-Rank Quest]
A village, one kilometre away from town. The village chief asked for help. Dire wolves had been tormenting the people, attacking the fields, killing the animals.
The quest—kill the wolves.
Her eyes landed on the quest description, and for a moment they lit up bright, her hand balling into a fist like she was ready to smash mountains with one punch.
"Dire wolves… leave it to me, Master!"
But that glow in her eyes started shaking right after, wobbling like a candle in the wind.
Her lips trembled, and the smile she forced out looked so stiff it was like someone painted it on her face and forgot to let it dry.
On the outside she looked like she was saying, Yeah, I got this! but inside it was more like, Crap, I'm dead. Totally dead. Someone get me new panty.
Her chin tilted up, all brave on the outside, but her voice came out small, squeaky.
"M-Master… dire wolves are… um… very… dangerous. Like, you know… party-of-four dangerous."
Her face tried to stay brave, her chin raised, but her eyes kept darting left and right like she wanted to run.
Inside, her chest pounded like drums, but outside she stood straight, trying to look like the strong wall she claimed to be.
Her hand twisted a lock of her hair so tight it looked like she was trying to strangle it. Her puffed cheeks betrayed her, trembling just enough to scream: please god no, not wolves.
When she finally spoke, her voice came out small and shaky, with a little nervous laugh stuck in the middle.
"M-Master… I… I thought you were gonna pick something easy…" Her cheeks puffed out as she kept twirling her hair like a child throwing a tantrum.
"I-I even saw you looking at that lost cat quest… you know… find the kitty, pet the kitty… super easy…"
On the outside she was trying to sound like she was joking, but her voice cracked just enough to show she really, really wished it had been the cat.