A tall, over-one-eighty-centimeter male hoisted over the shoulder of a frail female standing only one hundred and sixty-eight centimeters created a sight of indescribable comedy.
By the time Bo Jing came to his senses, he was already deposited on the bed by Ye Xi'an.
Call it a bed, but it was really just a wooden board propped up on bricks at the four corners, with a single quilt that was paper-thin.
Bo Jing immediately struggled to sit up, but the wound on his abdomen drained him of his strength, forcing him to flop back down in a miserable heap. He could only put on a fierce front to intimidate Ye Xi'an, though his hands were already trembling with fear—he was terrified that Ye Xi'an would truly take advantage of his weakness: "What are you trying to do?!"
Ye Xi'an did not dare look at Bo Jing. Although Beastmen were not human, they looked far too much like them, which still triggered a stress response in her social-phobic self: "Not trying to *do* you, that's for sure."
Fearing he would continue to misunderstand her intentions for mating, Ye Xi'an immediately walked over and sat down in the corner of the room farthest from the bed.
"I just want you to recover from your injuries properly."
Bo Jing did not believe Ye Xi'an at all. Clutching the quilt, his hazy eyes stared fixedly at her, not daring to let her out of his sight for fear that the female might pounce on him the moment he let his guard down.
"Growl—"
Someone's stomach gave a rumble.
Bo Jing instantly clutched his midsection as his stomach kept up its protests.
He hadn't eaten in two days. A male's energy requirements were already massive, and on top of being thrashed by Ye Xi'an today, he really couldn't hold out much longer.
"Are you hungry? Where is the food? I'll get it for you."
Ye Xi'an swept her gaze around the room. In the space of less than twenty square meters, aside from the makeshift bed, there was nothing left except holes covering the walls.
She saw no place where food could possibly be hidden.
"Speak up. Do you want to starve to death?"
Bo Jing twitched the corner of his mouth: "Where would there be food? Didn't you squander everything we had all at once?"
Of the four of them, one stayed behind every week to protect Ye Xi'an and take care of her daily needs, while the other three went out to earn money.Before going out to work every time, he would gather all his money together, buy food, and store it in Ye Xi'an's spatial storage.
Yet it was never much—at most enough for two people to eat three full meals. To ensure Ye Xi'an would have something to eat throughout the week, he would only eat just enough to barely stave off hunger at every meal.
You could say he was simply keeping himself alive by a thread.
Yet Ye Xi'an, showing no regard for the hardships of life, had eaten all the food at once the day before yesterday.
When hunger finally struck, she realized there was no food left and threw a tantrum, demanding that he go buy bread.
But where was he supposed to get money? Ye Xi'an didn't care about any of that; she simply assumed he was refusing to buy it for her, and picking up a whip, she lashed him with it.
And now she was asking him where there was food—he would also love to know where to find some.
Ye Xi'an pointed her right index finger at her own face. "Me?"
She thought back carefully, and it seemed there really had been such an incident.
The original host's memories were too chaotic; unless she thought about it carefully, she wouldn't have known at all.
"Fine then."
Ye Xi'an was somewhat speechless. Having arrived only a short while ago, she had so many blames to shoulder.
"Since it's my fault, I'll go out and find something to eat."
Anyway, there were no humans outside, so she had nothing to be afraid of.
At that very moment, the tattered rag serving as a door curtain was lifted, and a two-meter-tall, robustly built man strode in, followed by four slightly leaner henchmen.
His hair was curly and wrapped around his entire head, with a pair of brown bear ears hidden within the locks.
When he opened his mouth, a row of pitch-black, rotten teeth was revealed.
He glanced sideways at Bo Jing, his expression ferocious and menacing: "Want to find food? Well, you've got to pay the protection fee first!"
Then, shifting his tone, he cast a lewd look at Ye Xi'an, his voice utterly frivolous: "Hehe, of course, if the little female is willing to accompany me for a night, that protection fee can be considered paid."Although Ye Xi'an’s appearance was a bit rough, to these low-ability males, she was still an existence beyond their reach.
One had to know that the ratio of females to males on the Main God Star was nearly 1 to 200. Even if one female took ten males, there would still be a massive surplus of bachelors. Furthermore, males like them, who lived in the Slums, never even caught a glimpse of a female; they could only see them on billboards their entire lives.
No one knew how the Ye Xi'an family had fallen to such a state, but for the men here, it was a stroke of luck.
Bo Jing could tell what the male was thinking just by looking at his expression, and he couldn't help but spit in disgust. Even though he didn't like Ye Xi'an, his female wasn't someone just anyone could set their sights on.
Especially since the males here were so sleazy.
On the surrounding streets, any advertising sticker featuring a female would vanish within a minute. It was this group of men tearing them down to take home for their own unspeakable activities.
Bo Jing wiped the look of vulnerability from his face and placed his hand naturally on the bed, feigning that he wasn't injured. "Xiong Da, what are you here for again? Didn't you learn your lesson last time?"
Xiong Da retracted his greedy gaze from the female and cast a sullen look at Bo Jing, who lay motionless on the bed.
He still thought he was the high-quality male he once was, but wasn't he just like the rest of them in the Slums now? That high-and-mighty attitude of his was truly repulsive. Don't think he didn't know—these four males were beaten by the female every single day; they were even more useless than he was.
"You dare bring up last time? If it weren't for you four teaming up against me, would I have lost?" He crossed his arms triumphantly. This time, he had specifically chosen a moment when the other three males were away.
Since Bo Jing had been beaten into this state by the little female, who could possibly stop him now?
"Come on, get up. Let's fight again. If I lose, I'll scram. But if you lose… heh heh, the little female will be mine tonight."
Standing to the side, Ye Xi'an finally grasped the situation. This beast-man, Xiong Da, was trying to take advantage of someone’s misfortune.
"Um..."
Ye Xi'an spoke up, her voice still soft and delicate, which made Xiong Da’s heart melt. Although the little female wasn't much to look at, her voice was truly beautiful; it was enough to make him grow hard.
He smiled lewdly, rubbing his palms together as he looked at Ye Xi'an. "Little female, what were you going to say?"
Ye Xi'an pursed her lips, feeling somewhat nervous. She really hadn't interacted with anyone in a long time. She spoke in a gentle, hushed tone, "Um, do your parents know you’re this shameless?"
"Huh?"
Xiong Da dug into his ear, thinking he had misheard. After all, the little female looked so soft and gentle; the contrast with what he just heard was too great.
Xiong Da nudged the lackey behind him. "What did the little female say?"
The lackey stammered, afraid to repeat it.
In the end, it was Bo Jing who repeated it: "Ha, she said you’re shameless, you idiot."
After saying this, he wore a mocking smile. He hadn't expected Ye Xi'an to dare say something like that. Usually, she only dared to be fierce at home, but in front of other males, she wouldn't even dare to let out a peep.
Ye Xi'an pressed her index fingers together, not daring to look up—it was the kind of posture that would stir up a protective instinct at first glance, only her image was shattered the moment she opened her mouth: "Bo Jing is right. It seems not only are you shameless, your ears aren't very good either."
Ye Xi'an’s words were already unpleasant, and the way the two of them were singing each other's praises made them look just like a loving young couple, which sent Xiong Da into a fit of rage.
"You two!"