It turns out that even in a fantastical world with fox tails and dragons in public bathrooms, some things never truly changed. Animals acted similarly here as they did back in his first-world

Yang Xuetian was currently lying on a mound of dry leaves and warm fur. The creature, a dragon he assumed, had seemingly grown to like him and pulled him close, wrapping its body around the two of them like a snake.

He didn’t bother to fight it, feeling the thick muscles under its coat and knowing he wouldn’t win.

As such, he just stuck staring at the ceiling with a huge dragon under and around him. It rested its head on his lap while its tail swayed out of sight.

It was like sitting on a breathing throne.

Despite the weirdness of the situation, Yang Xuetian relaxed, not wanting to move anyway. He was tired from walking, possibly suffering from internal bleeding, and didn’t have the strength to fight off this creature.

That and it was a cutiepie~

He stroked the dragon's head, which was as large as his torso. It rumbled and purred, filling the room with warmth.

He had to admit, he’d never thought he’d see a dragon, let alone a fluffy one. Its fur was thick and soft yet not as long as expected. Perhaps a medium hair type?

His casual touch seemed to arouse the creature from its slumber, a grumbling cough indicating it wished for him to stop. He’d dealt with enough animals to know when they no longer wished to be petted.

“Ah, sorry about that.” He said, holding his hands up in surrender. “That was a bit pushy of me, right? I’ll stop.”

It stared at him for a second, Yang Xuetian’s reflection staring back at him from within the dragon's eyes.

He had originally assumed the creature's eyes were back but upon closer inspection, they were a dark blue. So dark, it was hard to distinguish its iris

from the pupil. Either way, its eyes were unfocused and dilated.

He wondered if the poor thing could even see him just then.

So he continued to stroke its fur, wanting the dragon to remain calm and aware of his presence. It huffed grumpily but relaxed under his touch.

He briefly wondered what he should do after this. He couldn’t stay here forever. As warm and comfy as this seat was, he still had to figure out who this body belonged to and why he was in a ditch.

Did this body have enemies? And if so, how was he supposed to live his life without dying at their hands?

“Why is life so stressful~” He sighed, closing his eyes. He’d been murdered before and now he was faced with the possibility of it happening again looming over him.

The dragon rumbled softly, possibly seeking to comfort him but more likely just snoring.

Either way, it was nice to have someone with him.

***

“-ck here, bitch!”

Yang Xuetian frowned, startled by the sudden shout. At some point, he’d fallen asleep with the dragon curled around him. He sat up, finding himself now on top of the coiled reptile.

He looked around, trying to find the source of the noise he’d just heard. Was it a person or-

He jumped at the sound of something crashing into… something. Like a rock hitting the wall but softer. Was there some distance between them and the source?

Something about the sound made him shiver.

Now fully awake, Yang Xuetian listened out for more sounds, wondering if it was his pursuers. Though, if so, why were they making such noise?

His ears twitched, swiveling toward the window above his head. The sound of… footsteps and panting.

He kept listening, finally picking out the other sounds. There wasn’t just one set of footsteps. There were a lot of them.

A chase?

He jumped when he heard something hit the bathroom entrance. It was a push door and should have swung open with the amount of force applied to it but the dragon's tail remained firm in front of it.

“N-no, please!” A small voice begged as the person slammed on the door again. The door rattled for a minute before he could hear the sound of footsteps running away.

That voice. It was a woman.

Putting the sounds and clues together, Yang Xuetian realized that something bad was about to happen. Without much thought, Yang Xuetian jumped from his spot on the dragon and rushed to the door. Moving the dragon's tail was hard but he managed to make just enough space to slip through the door.

He thought he could hear the creature letting out a sound but his concern for the woman pushed such things aside. He’d be back soon and it was safe in the bathroom.

The woman, on the other hand, was far from safe.

He followed the sound of a fight, the area being much easier to navigate now that the sun was rising over the city's edge.

He found them just off the paved path, hidden in the trees. Three men holding a lone woman to the ground. Her frantic attacks and ripped clothes made it clear what was happening.

Yang Xuetian didn’t hesitate.

He rushed forward, kicking the man trying to force her legs open in the head, knocking him out. With any luck, it’d kill the piece of shit too.

The others jumped to their feet, neither expecting an assailant but prepared to fight.

“A fox?” One sneered as they closed in on him. “Why not just slink away?”

“He’s not a Kumiho, right?” The other wondered out loud, eyeing him wearily.

“Those psychos wouldn’t stop at a kick in the head.”

These guys weren’t taking him seriously at all, talking casually like he was some naive hero of justice type. Yet he said nothing, as these bastards weren’t worth a single utterance.

He struck, knocking the sneering assailant onto his back before the other could even react.

Yang Xuetian had learned self-defense from fighting off angry boyfriends and others. While his form was in no way refined, it was a lot more flexible when facing thugs. And a lot more devastating.

Each strike targeted a weak spot, leaving the opponent breathless so they couldn’t counter or block.

His tail threw him off balance a little but made up for it by being an extra limb he could attack with.

All in all, the fight was short and Yang Xuetian soon disposed of the threat, leaving the men knocked out on the ground.

Listening out for any other hidden threats, he slowly approached the woman who had crawled a few feet away.

“Are you okay, miss?” He asked softly, keeping his distance so she wouldn’t be scared. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

If they did, he’d stomp their balls off just to make sure nothing worked downstairs again.

She shook her head, curling up. “I-I’m fine but what about you?”

The genuine concern in her eyes made him relax, letting out a breath of relief. He was truly worried this woman might be traumatized but she seemed to be holding up okay so far.

He assured her that he was fine as he offered her his coat. The morning air was chilly but he was sure she needed it more.

“You got hurt?!” She cried, trying to get to her feet but collapsing onto the tree nearby.

“Hey, don’t get all excited.” He watched her carefully, wanting to make sure she didn’t hurt herself. “I’m fine, okay?”

Surprisingly, he actually did feel great. He’d assumed it was just the adrenaline pushing him to do all that stuff but even after he’d calmed down, his body felt light.

But he was also covered in blood so he was sure his reassurances were falling on deaf ears.

Wanting to reassure her, he went over to the knocked-out assailants and searched their pockets for a cell phone. The one he found was cheap, probably a burner phone. Still, it worked well enough.

“So, I’ve called the police.” He reported, still searching the men’s pockets. Finding their wallet, he grinned. “We just have to wait for them to come pick these hooligans up.”

The woman, rather than looking reassured, looked at him with shock.

“T-that-!” She stopped, crying out when she saw him pocket the bills in their wallets. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He waved her off, not wanting anything compromising to be left from her on these guys. “These guys are going to jail so they won’t mind letting me borrow this.”

“Is that… okay?”

“Does it matter?”

“Doesn’t it?!”

Seeing her all flustered and panicked was amusing, so he smiled casually, shrugging off her moral condemnation.

“Darling, you need to relax. Taking advantage of bad people isn’t something to feel anything but glee for.” He explained, showing off the huge bundle of bills he’d taken. “They don’t need the money but we do.”

“So you robbed them!?”

“No, I took your medical expenses from them.” He reasoned, counting the bills. “They owe you so it's only right you get something from this. What are they going to do? Call the cops on us?”

“You… you..”

Seeing her flabbergasted expression, Yang Xuetian smiled. He had wanted to calm her nerves. Such a thing had happened to such a lovely lady so it was bound to be stressful.

Shocking her with his antics was just the thing to get her mind off what had happened.

As such, he spent the few minutes in which they waited for the cops to tease her about her new ‘slush fund’ and gave her friendly suggestions.

He learned her name was Mao Mingxia and she was a young mermaid who had only recently moved to the city after spending her life in the countryside. Her father was some rich fuck who had her out of wedlock, so she had a half-sister and half-brother. She also had a fiance that she had quickly fallen for. She had run away from some party after overhearing her stepmother's desire to use her mermaid skin for something weird.

Yang Xuetian was a bit shocked she was so willing to share so much with a guy whose name she didn’t even know but more so than anything, her tale felt… strange.

Hearing her life story, Yang Xuetian couldn’t help but think of all those trashy novels Liang Mei used to tell him about during her teens. She grew out of them after maturing but the sheer insanity of the plotlines had always stuck with him.

So why did her life story sound so much like the setup for some Cinderella-like plot?

Thinking about it, that system thing had mentioned being sent to a story, right? So maybe Mao Mingxia was the protagonist?

Looking her over, she was certainly pretty enough for the role. Long blue-black hair that fell over her shoulder like a gentle wave. Bright green eyes that spoke of innocence and kindness. Even with her torn and dirty clothes, she looked beautiful.

Yeah, she probably was someone important in this world.

Yet Yang Xuetian didn’t feel a desire to cling to her.

Protagonists like her tended to get into all kinds of crazy situations. He had come to her rescue because he felt guilty about her hiding spot being blocked. While he felt concerned for her and was happy she was alright, he figured this would be the end of things.

Getting to beat those bastards up was a definite plus.

***

Unsurprisingly, he had to accompany Mao Mingxia to the precinct. She was still a bit shaken and begged him to come with her. She proclaimed that he was injured and needed medical attention.

Apparently, all the blood on his clothes was cause for concern.

Even when he showed the EMT that there were no injuries, they insisted on taking him to the hospital. Mao Mingxia came with him.

“If my savior dies because I was careless, I’d never forgive myself!” She cried, huddling in his overcoat.

Ah, such a cute but demanding woman. He sighed, letting himself be taken away.

It would be better to get checked out just to make sure he wasn’t suffering internal bleeding. He felt fine but how many stories started with such assumptions, only to end with a corpse at the end?

“May we ask a few questions, sir?” The EMT asked, filling out a form. Yang Xuetian nodded. “You are a fox, correct?”

Considering his ears and tail, he’d assume so. “Yes.”

“Nationality?”

At this, Yang Xuetian frowned. Those thugs had mentioned a Kumiho when they saw him so there must be different kinds of foxes in this world. Considering what little he knew of Korean mythology, he didn’t think he was one of those.

“Chinese.” He answered, seeing the EMT visibly relax.

“Your name, sir?”

This was… a problem.

He didn’t know what this body’s name was. He doubted he’d get so lucky that the two would share a name.

There was only one solution he could go with.

“I… I can’t remember.” He mumbled, feeling foolish even saying it out loud.

As expected, Mao Mingxia and the EMT frowned and pressed him for details. Luckily, he knew so little about the world he was in he could legitimately feign ignorance.

“You poor thing~” Mao Mingxia held his hand like he was on his deathbed. “I-I might not have much but I will help you regain your memories!”

The EMT assured her that amnesia wasn’t common but could be treated if given time. They discussed his possible identity amongst themselves, leaving Yang Xuetian alone with his thoughts.

He really had died it seems.

Honestly, he was hoping all this craziness was a dream but he felt the sting as his fist pelted those thugs. He was chilled by the morning wind and marveled at the dampness in the air.

Dreams weren’t that vivid.

So he had really died. He died and became some kind of fox creature.

It was… something.

Honestly, he didn’t mind dying. There were only a few things in his life that meant anything to him.

The family he chose for himself.

The profession that brought him joy.

Outside that, there was just the daily sludge that filled the hours between those two joys.

His only regret was that he’d be leaving Liang Mei so abruptly. She had already lost her brother some time ago. If he died too then wouldn’t she be heartbroken?

He shut his eyes, feeling the sting of tears threaten to spill out.

He couldn’t cry.

What was done was done. Crying wouldn’t help anyone. Besides, he’d already cried once today so he could bear to do so again.

As he slowly accepted his fate, a thought occurred to him.

Had he forgotten something?

It was only when he was almost at the hospital that he remembered that he had forgotten about the dragon in the bathroom! Ah, he should have mentioned it when he was talking to the police. While seemingly docile, he was sure it would cause a panic if it was found there.

Once he got a hold of a phone, he tried alerting authorities of the matter but they soon called him back to say there was nothing there. The bathroom was wrecked but empty.

Had it left on its own?

Yang Xuetian was worried, thinking of the disoriented creature limping about, seeking a safe place to rest.

Or perhaps… Was it not just an animal but a person?

He was sure it was a dragon but when he told the police about it, the person on the other end mockingly declared that it couldn’t be an actual dragon. Probably something similar, like a wyvern but definitely not a dragon.

Whatever it was, he just hoped it would be okay after he left.

***

Luo Weiyuan woke up lying on a tile floor. His head felt like it weighed a ton yet light as a feather once he sat up. The world shifted wildly as he tried to get his bearings.

Where… was he?

“Young master Luo?”

Luo Weiyuan reluctantly opened his eyes, seeing a man in a suit standing beside him. It was one of his servants. There were so many, that he never gave thought to remembering their names.

He narrowed his eyes on the man. “Where is this?”

The servant shuddered, feeling the pressure pressing down on him from the naked man. Even while unarmed and vulnerable, the great Luo Weiyuan was still a being too high above him to act recklessly.

“Young master, this is Guin Park in City F.” He reported bowing low. By his side, another servant offered Luo Weiyuan a robe. “It took us a few hours to locate you since you flew so far from the main house.”

As Luo Weiyuan clothed himself, he looked around. Somehow, he wandered into a public bathroom while the drugs raced through his system. Considering it had forced his transformation, it was a wise choice. Had he hidden outside, those who drugged him would have found him while he was weak.

He slammed a fist through the wall, leaving a deep crater where once smooth tiles lie. The servant jumped back, biting their tongue lest their master turn his ire toward them.

It was mortifying to have been reduced to such a state! He was the great Luo Weiyuan, a noble dragon destined for greatness. Yet some powder that should have been burned away with his inner flames made him weak?

“It seems there are some who wish to test my patience.” He growled, baring his fangs. His nostrils flared as he imagined the sweet scent of his enemies' burning flesh and their pleading cries just before his noble fire snuffed it out.

In his anger, he smelled something. Blood.

His dark blue eyes darted toward the source, fixating on the spot just beyond the pair of servants before him. A third was walking toward him, heading straight for the spot.

It was a tiny spot, a small red stain that would be easily missed. Yet Luo Weiyuan’s heart clenched at the thought of it being tarnished with these servants' filthy feet.

“Don’t move!” He roared, freezing the people in place. The almost-killed servant stopped just before stepping on the spot.

That was why he lived.

“...Was I alone?”

“S-sir?” None of the servants knew what was going on with their young master. They were only tasked with retrieving him and escorting him home.

Why was he asking such strange questions now?

“How were my words unclear? Is such a simple question too difficult for you to understand? Is this the caliber of the staff employed by the Luo clan?”

The servants stared at the ground, feeling unsure. How was one supposed to respond to such a thing?

“S-sir, we located you a few hours ago.” the servant up front said, bowing his head. “When we arrived, you were alone in your human form. We found no traces of anyone else.”

Not that they were really expecting to see any. An injured or impaired dragon was very dangerous. They would lash out and kill anyone who was not their family or their mate.

If there was another person who found their master, that person would just be a stain on the wall before they could even marvel at the beauty of a fully transformed dragon.

Luo Weiyuan stared at his servants, scowling deep.

He knew he hadn’t been alone. He could still remember the mild warmth of their skin on his chest. That person had been so light and fluffy, looking like a cloud as they took their place on top of him.

The fact that his feverish self had allowed someone to use him like a chair made him curious.

What kind of person were they?

Luo Weiyuan really wanted to know so he could pry their head open and see what brazen thoughts were running through their mind.

His pride was on the line.

“Find the person who was here with me.” He ordered, walking over to the stain on the floor. It was blood. “They are probably injured so check the hospitals all over F City.”