The Wushan Forest was incredibly large; it was the single largest forest within Seven Lotus Island. Specifically, the eastern part was the most dangerous, full of all kinds of beasts ranging from rank one to rank three, and even a rank four beast had once been slain by General Yulin. A rank four beast could easily decimate a village—it was no joke.
The territory Xuan was in now fell under the jurisdiction of General Yulin's greater dukedom. But the forest around the manor—the manor itself was built where she had slain that rank four beast. So, naturally, the forest around the manor was the most dangerous part of the greater eastern Wushan Forest itself.
Xuan sat at the back of the horse as Chen Mei rode the horse through the forest. "I did want to learn horse riding, except nobody apparently wanted to teach it to me back at the manor. I wonder why," Xuan said as he grabbed Chen Mei's slim meaty waist, enjoying the sensation of her plump, thick ass on his cock.
"Well, why would they? A slave has no need to learn to ride horses, do they—especially slaves like you, who are… ahem, you know," said Chen Mei as she acted embarrassed, teasing Xuan.
Xuan snorted as he pinched her in the ass. Chen Mei yelped. "Sorry, sorry." Chen Mei laughed loudly as they raced into the deeper forest.
Xuan had brought with him a sword and a few healing potions, a little food. They mainly planned to hunt until the sun set before returning to the manor.
Chen Mei soon stopped the horse, but before Chen Mei could climb down from the horse, Xuan jumped down as he grabbed Chen Mei by her thick thighs, carrying her down. "You're welcome, my lady," said Xuan, giving a slight bow. Chen Mei laughed in response.
"Today, we'll start here. You shouldn't get any deeper than this. There are horned rabbits around here. They're mostly rank one magical beasts—not too dangerous, but dangerous nonetheless. And there may be a few rank two horned rabbits; be careful of them," said Chen Mei as she pulled up a mask from her backpack. It was a brown-colored facemask with a golden sheen and black stripes. She appeared rather beautiful and mystical in it as it covered her eyes and nose, leaving only her lips and chin uncovered.
Xuan felt awed at her appearance. She really looked like a mystical wizard. "What's that mask for? Like, it amplifies your magic?" asked Xuan as he got close to her face, touching the black patterns of Chen Mei's mask.
"Not really. This basically gives me resistance to illusions and trickery," said Chen Mei as he observed her prepping some bottles beside a small pouch on her waist.
"Huh, but you said this area, although dangerous for me, is relatively safe for you. Why wear a mask like that? It's not like these rabbits and snakes would use illusions—or do they?" said Xuan, feeling kinda apprehensive. What if these rabbits could actually do illusions?
"Hehehe, you really might be an otherworlder, considering how commonplace the knowledge of Beastly Crests is. This mask is my own Beastly Crest—a part that represents my pure Beastly Self. Basically, in simple terms, it's an extension of my body, something that we magically form into existence after our birth."
Xuan nodded. "So it's a unique trait of the beastman race alone?" Xuan asked as he prepared for battle, unsheathing his sword.
Chen Mei smiled seeing Xuan's determined and focused expression as she replied, "Yeah, basically. And make sure to always keep an eye out around yourself when you're fighting. It's very easy to form tunnel vision when in the heat of battle."
Xuan nodded as Chen Mei walked forward, giving him a gentle kiss. "Good luck."
Xuan went deeper into the forest as Chen Mei stayed behind, her hand glowing with a faint green spark.
"Beastly Compass!" chanted Chen Mei as the green light on her hand exploded outwards, spreading far and wide. "Now I can hunt on my own while Xuan does his thing. I'll be immediately notified when he's in danger."
It was Xuan who had asked Chen Mei to just keep away and watch over him while he hunts. Because from the many manga and novels he had read, and knowing the reputation of this forest, he was certain he'd stumble into danger if he came here alone.
"I also don't want Chen Mei to hand-hold me; otherwise I won't develop battle sense and courage. I have lived most of my previous life under the safety of society and law. This is not such a world, and as a beastman, I gotta be more in tune with my nature." Even though Liu Hao was a conceited bastard, he and even another experienced guard who was a veteran beastman adventurer had told Xuan that, even though he was a beastman, his fighting style didn't have the same ferocious nature of one.
That his fighting style seemed more like that of a human than a beastman. Xuan wished to not only gain levels but also to refine and become more in tune with his beastman nature.
….
As Xuan slowly and quietly walked through the forest, he heard the sound of small footsteps. Xuan quietly walked behind a small bush, hiding.
Soon, a small two-horned rabbit ran below a large tree as it picked up a large hard-shelled fruit. The rabbit was much larger than any rabbit he had seen on Earth—easily triple their size, and more. The rabbit used its horns to pierce through the large fruit the size of a coconut. As its horns got stuck into the fruit's hard shell, the fruit split into two with a small sound of explosion.
Xuan felt amazed. "So that thing can just puncture you and then cause a small explosion on top of that?" said Xuan as he imagined his leg pierced by it before the explosion broke the bones and flesh of his leg, splitting it.
"Ah, maybe I'll look for something less dangerous. That thing's speed is too fa—" Before Xuan could finish, the system suddenly made an announcement.
[Quest Unlocked: Kill the rank 1 Horned Rabbit
Reward: E Class Rune Stone]
[Failing to complete the quest would result in severe headaches for five days as punishment]