On the Continent of Shapeshifters, there were strict taboos among beastkind.
While intermarriage between closely related species was not uncommon, most offspring would still inherit the main physical traits of their parents’ kind. Truly strange, unrecognizable new species rarely appearedespecially not something like Qian Wei.
“Qian Wei? Is… is this your true form? That can’t beyou were supposed to be a White Tiger!”
Hu Lingye stared in shock at the sight before her.
Everyone else reacted the same way. All this time, whenever Qian Wei appeared among the Tigers, he had used his illusion magic, so to everyone’s eyes he had simply been an exceptionally handsome male White Tiger. That was the only reason he had been accepted as Hu Lingye’s mate.
“A hybrid! This monster is a hybrid! He carries the traits of at least five different species! On this continent, such creatures are said to bring disaster wherever they go!” someone shouted from the crowd.
In an instant, the Tiger guards surrounded him.
Hu Lingye stepped forward to intervene, only to be held back by soldiers. “Young Mistress, this is by order of the Chief himself. When a hybrid is discovered, the Chief alone must decide his fateyou know this law well.”
Hu Lingye was still only the heir apparent; once her father had spoken, she had no power to oppose him. She could only nod silently and turn her gaze away.
Seeing her look away, Qian Wei remained strangely calm. He had long expected this day to come.
After all, the very words he was hearing now were the same words his own clan had hurled at him the day he was born. Back then, still helpless infants, he and his sister had been marked for death. If their mother had not risked everything to sneak them into the mountains under cover of night, they would never have survived.
But it was truethey were different from every other beast on the continent. If their very existence was considered a curse and a sign of doom, what was the point of their being born at all?
He had wondered this for years, finding no answeruntil he met Hu Lingye. After that, it no longer mattered if he ever found the answer. Simply being by her side, sharing her life, had been enough.
Now, that dream was over.
His secret was exposed, and he had completely drained his strength. He could not even run away. If the Tiger Chief was wise, he would surely order his execution. There was no escape left.
“Handsome Brother-in-law!”
A tiny voice piped up from the side.
Everyone else had retreated far back in fear, but one small figure ducked past the guards and poked her head out from a quiet corner.
At first, Qian Wei had found this little nuisance amusing, but now he thought her foolish. “Little one, can’t you see my true form now? You still dare come closer? Aren’t you afraid I’ll swallow you whole?”
Hearing those familiar words, Su Mingyue felt no fear at allshe could even smile.
“It’s alright. You wouldn’t be the first one who’s wanted to eat me. But if I have to be eaten, I’d rather it be by someone as handsome as youthen I’d die with no regrets.”
Qian Wei: …
“Handsome Brother-in-law, I brought these from the forest. I know you lived there when you were small too. I don’t know if they’ll help, but take themjust in case.”
She pushed three smooth, round stones through the gaps between the guards with her plump little hands.
Qian Wei caught them in his mouth, and a cool, refreshing energy instantly spread through him.
He knew this scent well.
“Spirit Crystals? Where did you get these?”
Spirit Crystals were extremely rare. They grew only deep within the Shapeshifter Forest, and each tree bore only one tiny fruit every few days. Yet this little girl had just given him three at once.
“So that’s what they’re called. I just woke up one day under that tree, and it grows these every five days. They taste sweet… I lived on them for a long time.”
Su Mingyue’s voice was soft and still slightly slurred with childishness, but her round, baby-fat face was bright with a warm, innocent smile.
Qian Wei found it hard to believe. Not only had she survived alone in the depths of the forest where these crystals grew, but she had also made her way all the way to the Tiger Clan. It was nothing short of miraculous.
Who exactly was this strange little creature?
“Thank you. I won’t forget this debt.”
Soon after, the guards led him away.
For the first time, Hu Lingye lost her usual composure and calm as the heir. She stood looking shaken and uncertain.
Su Mingyue knew that while the immediate threat of the clan being wiped out was gone, the Wolves were not completely destroyed. The Tiger lands bordered the vast Shapeshifter Foresta perfect hiding place for the enemy. If the Wolves retreated deep inside, the Tigers would have little chance of victory chasing after them. The risk of the clan’s destruction still loomed.
If she wanted to live safely and comfortably here, she had to prevent that from happening. And the key to everything was Hu Lingye.
“Elder Sister… are you sad?” Su Mingyue tugged gently on her sleeve.
Hu Lingye looked down. “Little Four, I don’t have time for sadness. Qian Wei was one of my partners, but this is a world where the strong survive and the weak perish. If I let grief cloud my judgment, the clan will become vulnerableand everyone will suffer.”
Truly, she was exactly the noble, selfless woman from the novelalways clear-headed, always putting her people first. Yet in reality, she was still only a seventeen-year-old girl.
“But I don’t think Handsome Brother-in-law is a bad person. Will he be in danger?”
Hu Lingye fell silent.
Under the laws of beastkind, a hybrid like Qian Wei was almost certainly condemned to death. And if her father had made the decision, she had no right to interfere. Worse still, she had been his partner for years and never discovered his true natureher father might even strip her of her right to rule as punishment for that failure.
“There is nothing we can do.”
With Qian Wei taken into custody, Su Mingyue finally returned to her own roombut her mind was far from resting.
She thought constantly: What would happen if he was executed? What if he was spared? And something about his true form kept nagging at her… she felt as though she had seen that creature somewhere before.
But where? Her memory felt foggy, as if she was growing forgetful already.
Where have I seen it?
“After just a few days apart, you’ve put on quite a bit of weightand your skin has grown softer and fairer too. You’d make a nice, plump little dumpling to eat right now.”
A mocking voice drifted down from above.
“Little morsel, thanks to you, I’ve been denied three meals already. Why don’t I just swallow you whole to make up for it?”
Hu Lingxuan sat perched on the beam of the ceiling, looking down at her with a hungry, mischievous glint in his eyes.