Revenge On Love Rats After Rebirth by Olivia Marsh

Chapter 1682, Extra Story: First Encounter.

Snow was falling heavily, obscuring the view of the source of the snow. Several tents stood tall in the distance, with fires burning inside. Occasionally, sounds of men's laughter and angry shouts could be heard from within.

In a tent on the side, a young boy was tied to a wooden stake with his back against it. Despite wearing only a thin black shirt in below-freezing temperatures and being covered in snow, he remained motionless as if frozen.

A small creature scurried out from another tent and made its way towards him. It struggled to untie the rope around his wrist but failed due to its weak strength. Exhausted, it collapsed onto him while gasping for air.

The boy opened his eyes upon feeling movement and revealed ghostly-colored pupils that shone like black gems reflecting light. Though only eleven or twelve years old, he already possessed an otherworldly aura that hinted at future greatness.

His gaze fell upon the small creature nestled in his arms that had used him as a makeshift bed while he rested.

"What are you doing?" His voice sounded cold and distant due to the weather conditions making it difficult for anyone to approach him easily.

Startled by his tone, the little creature quickly scrambled up onto its feet before answering timidly with an innocent voice that sounded like baby talk through all of its milk teeth: "I-I'm trying t-to help you." Its face was pitch-black except for two striking eyes colored pure baby blue which shone brightly even amidst such darkness; they were almost too big for its face giving off an impression of naivety despite their clarity indicating intelligence beyond their years.

Standing before him now with all four limbs straightened out as much as possible attempting to look more imposing than it actually was; Its sweet voice carried over through howling winds into his ears: "I'm letting you go, but you have to listen to me, understand?!" The boy looked skeptically at "him," wondering if he would actually release him. A gust of snow nearly engulfed the two of them, causing the little guy to sneeze.

The boy gazed into those tear-filled eyes for a few seconds before speaking in a cold voice that still retained the clear tone of youth. "Go find the guard over there and tell him I'm about to freeze to death." These ruthless mercenaries had captured children with extraordinary backgrounds, and losing even one was not worth it.

The little guy stared at the boy for a moment before turning towards the largest tent and disappearing into the blizzard. Soon after, a man walked over grumbling under his breath.

He looked down at the unconscious boy buried in snow with stiff limbs, cut off his bindings with his knife and picked him up without much thought before tossing him into an adjacent tent. Shortly thereafter, a black-and- white puppy snuck inside from outside.

The little guy climbed onto the boy's body and patted his face while calling out urgently: "Wake up! The bad guys are gone!" The boy opened his eyes and lifted up what turned out to be just another puppy.

Perhaps because it was so small that it posed no threat whatsoever; those people let "him" run around freely.

The boy placed him on ground level then flexed his stiff wrist muscles while wiping away tears from both bags under its eyes as he asked: "What do you want?" "I freed you; now you have to listen to me!" cried out this tiny creature anxiously as its big red-rimmed eyes stared back pleadingly at him.

Little one said, 'I'm hungry and cold, you need to figure something out quickly.' The young man remained silent for a moment before standing up. 'Wait here for a little while," he said.

The little one grabbed onto his clothes tightly with big round eyes and asked, 'Where are you going? When will you be back?" The young man hesitated as he looked down at the small creature that had just reached his knee. He lifted his hand to pat "his" head and said, 'I'm going to find sfood for you. I'll be back soon." After speaking, the young man lifted the curtain and walked into the snowstorm.

About half an hour later, he returned with a pile of things in hand. The milk bun sat cross-legged on the ground waiting obediently; its big eyes lit up when it saw him return.

The young man took out a lighter from his pocket and started a fire inside the tent. He heated up smilk that he had brought back from who knows where and handed it over with a straw to the little guy who was eagerly watching him.

The little one happily accepted the warm milk while humming along as it drank; meanwhile watching intently as two sweet potatoes were buried into the fire pit by the young man.

Perhaps feeling cold again after drinking its fill of milk, within no tat all, this small creature leaned towards him once more.

As he watched this tiny being nestled against his leg - licking its pink tongue over its lips while curiously staring at those roasting sweet potatoes - for once in his life this socially awkward youth found himself lost for words; except around family members there wasn't anyone else who dared approach him so fearlessly like this before.

With warmth now emanating from their fire pit inside their icy tent walls slowly began melting away too; whilst those sweet potatoes gradually began emitting an aroma so fragrant that even they couldn't resist taking deep breaths of appreciation! Grabbing hold of his hand with soft tender voice still heavy with traces of milk flavoring she exclaimed: "They're done! We can eat them now!" The young boy flipped the sweet potatoes with a casual tone, "Just wait a little longer." The little one pouted but didn't cry, obediently waiting.

Once the sweet potatoes were cooked, the boy picked one up and handed it to "him." The little one looked confused at the golden-brown honeyed potato and said in a petulant voice, "I don't know how to eat it. Feed me." The boy stared at those big round eyes for a few seconds before peeling off the skin of the potato and making sure it wasn't too hot before handing it over.

The little one leaned against him while holding onto the potato, taking a bite that was too hot and sticking out their tongue. They seemed like they wanted to cry but held back as they slowly nibbled on it.

The boy leisurely peeled another sweet potato.

After finishing their food, the little one seemed tired and uncomfortable sleeping on hard ground. They crawled into his arms with their chin resting on his shoulder saying, "I want to sleep now. Goodnight." Looking at this small bundle hanging onto him like a koala bear, he stayed silent for several seconds before accepting his fate of holding them while sleeping.

When everything quieted down, he noticed that this small thing in his arms had an unexpectedly soft body despite having such dark skin. She was tightly snuggled against him emitting warmth with each breath she took along with her childlike sweetness scent.

He wondered which wealthy family's delicate flower ended up in these people's hands so young...

Turning his head towards where he could see through the curtain gap outside was nothing but snowstorm winds mixed with faint sounds of people shouting outside; after staring for quite sthe slowly closed his eyelids falling asleep peacefully.

I'm not sure how long it had been, but the young man woke up in a state of shaking. He opened his eyes and saw a little thing lying on top of him, pulling at his collar and shaking him. When the little thing saw that he had woken up, it stopped its antics and spoke with a bossy tone...