Adventurer guilds have a longstanding tradition of assisting survivors in recovering the belongings of fallen comrades. Yarrow diligently gathered the remains and personal effects of the deceased members, then made his way out of the ruined settlement.
Though he had only been with the group for two days, they were still his colleagues. He found a secluded spot that was decent, dug a grave, and buried them, ensuring that their bodies were at rest. As for their belongings, he would take them to the Adventurer's Guild.
The expedition had almost wiped out the entire team. In the end, their reward amounted to little more than a small pouch of ancient gold coins. But at least he wouldn't have to share it with anyone.
With a heavy pack on his back, Yarrow made his way back to the makeshift base they'd used the night before, only to notice something was amiss.
"Where's my horse?" he muttered under his breath.
The two-horse carriage, their only means of transportation, had been abandoned. The reins had been chewed through, and only the carriage frame remained—both horses were gone.
With a grunt of frustration, Yarrow dropped his gear, the clinking of metal echoing in the quiet woods. From his location in the Gleaming Mountains to the nearest town was a four-day journey by carriage. On foot, it would take at least ten. And, with only enough dry rations for three days, his situation was growing dire.
Life, it seemed, was nothing but a series of twists and turns.
Five days later.
Exhausted, Yarrow tossed aside the makeshift walking stick he'd been using and collapsed onto the dirt path. With a groan, he dug into his bag and pulled out the last of his dry rations: half a stale piece of bread.
"Damn it, five days, and not a single carriage has passed," he muttered bitterly, taking a small bite.
Once he finished the bread, he'd have no choice but to forage for wild vegetables to stave off hunger. Luckily, he had packed a small pot.
As he was about to swallow the last morsel, movement caught his eye—a rabbit hopped from the bushes, and their gazes locked.
Without hesitation, Yarrow tossed the bread aside and lunged at the rabbit. He missed, crashing headfirst into the bushes. The rabbit, undeterred, bounded into the thicket, vanishing from sight.
"Damn it!" Yarrow spat, brushing leaves from his mouth. He pounded the ground in frustration.
Then, a thought struck him. If he couldn't rely on dry rations, he could still hunt.
After two and a half years surviving in this world, his wilderness skills were honed to perfection. Catching a rabbit was child's play. With renewed determination, he set to work, gathering branches and weaving a small cage. He dug a pit with his tools, and, looking at the remaining half of his bread, gritted his teeth before placing it inside the trap.
"You can't catch fish without losing the bait," he muttered to himself. "You've got to know when to give and take."
Once the trap was set, he crouched behind a bush and waited. About half an hour passed before something rustled in the bushes.
It wasn't the rabbit he expected, though. Instead, a golden-yellow bird waddled into view—its feathers as round as a ball and shimmering in the sunlight.
Yarrow's eyes widened in disbelief. The creature wasn't just any bird—it was a Golden-Feathered Red-Crested Chicken, ranked third on the kingdom's list of top 100 delicacies, personally recommended by the famed chef Sadia!
The chicken was plump, its size rivaling two basketballs, with golden feathers and two crimson plumes sprouting from its head. It looked juicy, tender, and probably large enough to feed him for an entire week.
For a moment, Yarrow couldn't believe his luck. The pot he'd brought along now seemed like the wisest decision he'd ever made.
The chicken, drawn to the bread, waddled closer to the trap. Its head dipped inside.
"Now!"
Snap!
The cage slammed shut, sending a puff of leaves into the air. Yarrow sprang to his feet, eager to claim his prize.
But just as his hands closed around the plump bird, a flash of light blinded him, and a pop-up window appeared before his eyes:
[That innocent girl over there is in trouble! Go help her!]
Yarrow, too hungry and excited to notice, kept his focus on the chicken. He dove for it, but instead of the plump, golden bird, his hands landed on something entirely different—something soft.
Startled, Yarrow looked down, his eyes widening. Beneath him lay a young woman with long golden curls, her cheeks flushed, her eyes wide with surprise. She looked at where his hands were placed, then quickly glanced away, her voice soft and shy:
"Am I going to be eaten by a perverted human...?"
Yarrow blinked, confusion setting in as the system's message flashed again:
[Female Lead Ji Xiaofei, successfully bound.]
[Name: Ji Xiaofei]
[Affection: 10]
[She already has a good impression of you. Continue to press your advantage!]
Suddenly, a series of flirtatious options appeared before him:
Heartbeat Options:
"Do you prefer to be poached chicken or spicy chicken?"
"Your chicken breasts are so small, how could I eat them?"
"Delicious little chicken, do you think you can escape my grasp?"
"Try my meat-and-egg scallion chicken!"
Tears sprang to Yarrow's eyes as he groaned.
"Damn you, system!" he muttered, exasperated. "My chicken—how am I supposed to eat that?"
Later that evening, as the sun set in a blaze of orange and pink, Yarrow sat by the fire, stirring a half-pot of wild vegetable soup. It wasn't what he had planned, but it was food—barely enough to keep him going.
His stomach growled, but now, he had a far more pressing matter to deal with.
Yarrow hadn't caught any prey since his encounter with the Golden-Feathered Red-Crested Chicken—now a girl—so all he could do was make do with some wild vegetable soup.
The girl, Ji Xiaofei, sat beside him by the fire, her face gently illuminated by the flickering light. After transforming into a human, the two crimson feathers on her head had turned into two odd little tufts of hair that swayed as she moved. On her lower back, small golden wings—once feathers—now rested, though they looked more like delicate adornments than functional wings.
She wore a pale yellow puff-sleeved dress, and Yarrow couldn't help but note how considerate the system had been, even providing her with clothes.
Ji Xiaofei hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them as she stared at Yarrow.
"Are you really not going to eat me?" she asked, her voice soft and curious.
Yarrow gritted his teeth, trying not to look at her too closely. "No. Shut up."
In the beginning, the idea had crossed his mind. This was the wilderness, after all. She had been a bird. Even though she'd transformed into a human, she was still just an animal. And he was starving. But no matter how hungry he was, he couldn't bring himself to do it. No matter how she had changed, as a person, he knew better than to act on those thoughts.
"Humans always eat us when they catch us," Ji Xiaofei said quietly, a faint hint of sadness in her voice. "You're so gentle."
Yarrow glanced at her, catching a pop-up notification from the system:
+5 Affection She has a good impression of you. Keep it up!
He couldn't help but roll his eyes.
The wild vegetable soup was nearly done. Ji Xiaofei leaned forward, sniffing the steam rising from the pot. "It smells so good..."
Yarrow's eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about it! I gave you my last rations!" he snapped.
"Umm, just a little bit... Can't I?" she asked, batting her long lashes at him.
"No!"
"Really, really not even a little bit?" she asked again, her voice dropping as she lowered her head, lips pouting in a way that was almost too cute to ignore.
Yarrow's resolve wavered. His mouth twitched, but finally, he sighed. "Fine, fine. I'm going to get some more firewood. Watch the pot for me, and when I get back, I'll give you half a bowl."
"Okay~!" she chirped cheerfully.
As Yarrow left to gather firewood, Ji Xiaofei couldn't wait. She reached out and dipped her finger into the soup, tasting it. "It doesn't taste like anything..." she muttered, a little disappointed.
When Yarrow returned, his eyes went wide in shock. Ji Xiaofei had shed her clothes and was sitting in the pot, splashing around and clearly enjoying herself.
"What... are you doing?" Yarrow stammered, frozen in place.
Ji Xiaofei looked up at him, blinking innocently. "Making chicken soup," she said seriously, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Yarrow's firewood dropped to the ground with a loud thud. "Making... chicken soup?"
"Umm, taking a bath is so comfortable," she added, stretching and smoothing her clothes back on, her cheeks flushed from the warm water. She gave him a relaxed smile, clearly unbothered.
Yarrow stared at the soup in his bowl—now more of a murky mixture that was, quite frankly, questionable. This was supposed to be soup... but now it's bathwater.
"Aren't you going to drink it?" Ji Xiaofei asked, watching him curiously. "Chicken soup is very nutritious."
Yarrow clenched his teeth. The hunger in his stomach, though, gnawed at him relentlessly. He could barely look at the bowl anymore, but he knew he had to eat. Finally, he picked up the spoon and took a gulp.
As soon as the soup hit his tongue, tears sprang to his eyes.
"How's my taste?" Ji Xiaofei asked, tilting her head with a smile.
Yarrow choked out a curse. "Damn it, I don't want to admit it, but... it tastes amazing."
"Right?" Ji Xiaofei said with a proud smile. "I'm very confident in my deliciousness. After all, I even made it onto the top three of that delicious meat list in the kingdom, didn't I?"
Yarrow's mind reeled at that statement, but he couldn't bring himself to argue. He had to admit, the taste was undeniable.
He forced another spoonful down, but Ji Xiaofei wasn't done. She handed him an oval object.
"This is..." Yarrow began, eyeing it cautiously.
"It's a chicken egg," Ji Xiaofei explained, her expression innocent. "I just laid it. For you to eat."
Yarrow blinked, completely caught off guard.
"A chicken egg..." he repeated, trying to make sense of the absurdity of the situation.
"Yup!" she said with a smile, proud of her 'gift.'
Yarrow stared at the egg for a long moment, his hunger once again rising to the forefront. Despite everything, he couldn't deny that this bizarre, twisted situation had somehow ended up being exactly what he needed.
He sighed, taking the egg. "You're unbelievable..." he muttered.
But as he cracked it open and prepared to eat, he couldn't help but wonder just how far this strange journey would take him—and what other surprises Ji Xiaofei had in store.