That was an Ao dog, completely black except for a tuft of white fur on its chest.
It was exceptionally robust, comparable to nearly two wild wolves, with a broad skull, thick bones, and bulging developed muscles, somewhat resembling a modern Casro.
A standard large fierce dog.
As soon as the black dog showed up, it startled Miss Rabbit, who hastily drew the ruby knife from her waist.
However, the knife, not even a foot long, obviously did not give her much sense of security. Thus, the girl turned her gaze towards Li Yu.
She desperately signaled him with her eyes, implying that "Aren't you the Prophet? Get your boss, Saturday, to intervene with a miracle or something to drive this dog away."
However, Li Yu acted as if he saw nothing and, after a long pause, simply took off his black suit and placed it on the girl's shoulders.
He noticed that the black dog's fur around its neck was shedding more than in other areas, usually caused by wearing a collar, indicating that this was a hunting dog with an owner.
But this wasn't necessarily good news for the two of them.
A moment later, Miss Rabbit heard a voice from behind the bushy trees.
"Black Beauty, come back!"
Hearing this, the Ao dog immediately abandoned the two people by the fire, turned, and ran back into the bushes.
When it came back, it was following a man.
"Good evening to you both, where are you headed?"
"Duolin City."
Miss Rabbit hadn't forgotten why she had hastily fled Rock Snow City, and having just had a lesson from that female hunter, she was especially wary of strangers encountered in the wild.
After giving a random name in an attempt to send the man on his way, he surprisingly exclaimed, "Duolin City? I happen to be heading there myself. Why don't we travel together? It's always safer with more people."
Without waiting for Ireya and Li Yu to respond, he had already walked over to the fire and sat down with a plop, then he took off his hood, revealing the face underneath.
The girl stared at the face in shock and then instinctively leaned towards Li Yu.
"Sorry for scaring you, but I'm not a bad guy. Half of my face was mauled by a bear that attacked me from behind while I was fetching water by the creek, pinning me to the ground and biting into my right cheek, causing half of my cheek to disappear.
"At the crucial moment, Black Beauty saved me. It fearlessly lunged at the big bear, constantly barking and biting to attract the animal's attention, giving me a chance to escape.
"Since then, I swore that as long as Half-Face Jude has a bite to eat, my loyal dog will never go hungry."
Upon saying this, Jude reached into his pack and pulled out a strip of jerky made from an unknown animal's meat and tossed it to Black Beauty.
The dog eagerly pounced on it and swallowed the jerky in one gulp.
Jude stroked the hunting dog's head while looking up at Li Yu and Ireya.
"Because of this appearance, no matter where I go or how careful I am, I always end up in trouble. That's why I have no choice but to travel alone, taking backroads to Duolin City.
"Why did you two choose to sleep out here in the wilderness instead of walking on the main road?" However, he apologized again before they could even respond.
"Sorry, I shouldn't be prying. It's just that I've been stuck with beasts and bugs these past few days, and it's rare to come across people to talk to, so I just can't control my mouth."
Ireya and Li Yu exchanged looks before speaking, "Uh... we've run into some trouble. Last year's harvest was poor, so we went to the Lord to borrow some money for an emergency. Unexpectedly, disaster struck the fields again this year, and we couldn't repay the money. We didn't want to sell ourselves into slavery, so our only choice was to flee to Duolin City to seek refuge with a distant relative."
"Is that so? Then I wish you luck."
Half-Face looked at the girl with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, but he didn't press the issue further. He boiled some beans over the campfire and filled his stomach with bread before lying down early.
His large black dog also lay quietly beside him.
It wasn't long before Jude was snoring thunderously. Miss Rabbit sneaked over to Li Yu and whispered, "Hey, do you think he could be an assassin sent by my stepmother?"
"I wouldn't dismiss that possibility."
"What should we do then? Should we strike first, knock him out?" The girl kept glancing at the large black dog. "Hmm... we need to think of a way to separate him from his dog."
"It's best not to act rashly for now," Li Yu replied. "The lies you made up earlier were so terrible that anyone with eyes could tell from our clothes and the way we act that we aren't farmers.
"Since he suspects something is off about us, and it's hard to encounter anyone else out here, he dares to sleep so soundly. Either he isn't really asleep, or he is but doesn't worry at all about us attacking him. Either scenario suggests he won't be easy to deal with."
"So we just leave him be? What if, while we're asleep tonight, he..." Miss Rabbit made a throat-slashing gesture and grew increasingly anxious. "Did you notice something on his right waist, under his cloak? It bulged out a bit.
"When he was squatting there playing with his dog, I saw it. There's a hatchet hidden there! Losing our money and luggage is one thing, but I definitely don't want to wake up tomorrow morning to find my head missing."
"Understood," Li Yu said. "You can rest easy; I'll keep watch tonight."
He had slept well last night in his bed at the rental, and his shift had just started, so he was alert and not sleepy. Considering his experience with pulling all-nighters from his previous jobs, staying up all night wasn't a big deal for Li Yu.
Keeping watch for one night was nothing serious.
Ireya looked at Li Yu's arms and legs, then at Half-Face lying not far away with his robust hunting dog, and let out a deep sigh.
In the end, she grabbed her suit jacket and lay down next to Li Yu.
Miss Rabbit mumbled to herself, likely praying to the Silver Moon Goddess. She looked just like a student cramming for a final exam a week before, filled with a desire to survive.
Meanwhile, Li Yu sat silently by the fire.
Ireya had no clue what this self-proclaimed Prophet was thinking now, but seeing that Li Yu was as calm as usual, without a hint of panic, the heart in her throat settled a bit.
After praying to the Silver Moon Goddess, she clutched the necklace at her chest and silently called upon her ancestors, hoping for protection. Unfortunately, the Ancient Spirit residing within it still gave no response.
Perhaps she should try that 'Saturday' thing again? After all, her life was at stake. The Silver Moon Goddess should understand, shouldn't she? The girl closed her eyes amid these scrambled thoughts.
Although she still feared for her head 'moving houses', Ireya hadn't had an easy few days. As soon as she relaxed mentally, waves of fatigue washed over her.
Just as she was dozing off, about to fall asleep, the ground suddenly started shaking.
It was hooves! Riders were approaching!!!