Of course, there was another reason she did not want to sleep in the same room as Hu Lingye and Qian Wei.
And that was… Qian Wei’s secret.
True to his word, Qian Wei had indeed built her a little nest that looked wonderfully warm and comfortable.
It was round and finely made, but no matter how she looked at it, it still struck her as looking rather like a dog’s bed.
Yet the moment Hu Lingye stepped into the room, she smiled and said, “How familiar. How did you know this is exactly the kind of bed I slept in when I was little?”
Qian Wei smiled gently and stroked her head. “Is there anything I don’t know?”
I’m screaming inside! But I certainly don’t know! Su Mingyue thought frantically.
Hu Lingye was a tiger cub back thenbut she was a human! A human being!
“Why, does the Fourth Young Lady look dissatisfied? Don’t you like it?”
Qian Wei’s voice drifted over, cold and sharp.
Cold sweat began to bead on her forehead. She was genuinely terrified of this man.
Once Hu Lingxuan’s anger cooled down in a few days, she would definitely move back to sleep in the room next to their mother’s!
Having made up her mind, she immediately scrambled into the nest that looked so much like a doghouse, lay down, and even pulled the cover over herself.
Qian Wei looked pleased and turned back with a smile. “See how much she likes it!”
Hu Lingye laughed. “Good, as long as Little Four is happy. It seems your tastes are much like mine, little one.”
Su Mingyue nodded with a smile, though her eyes were brimming with tears.
Fine. For the sake of my goddess, I’ll endure it!
Speaking of Qian Wei’s secretthe most important part was those few days every month. The novel had only mentioned it briefly, without giving exact details.
So she had no idea which days of the month it happened.
All she could do was pray silently that she would not stumble across it, or it would be the end of her.
Night fell deep and dark.
Hu Lingye lay fast asleep on the large bed, while Su Mingyue in her little nest was also sleeping soundly.
Bright moonlight poured through the window, illuminating the figure beneath the canopya creature with the head of a dragon, the body of a deer, hooves like a horse, and a tail like an ox.
Bathed in the silver glow, the creature seemed to feel utterly content.
This was Qian Wei’s true form.
Beings like him were natural hybrids, born outcasts on the Continent of Shapeshifters, despised and rejected by all pure-blooded beasts. The moment he and his sister were born, their parents had abandoned them, screaming that they were monsters and urging other beasts to devour them.
But no creature dared touch them, so they were simply left on the mountainside to fend for themselves.
There, the siblings discovered something remarkable: they could survive and grow normally without eating ordinary foodon one condition. Every month, they had to bathe fully in the moonlight for seven consecutive days.
Without it, they would suffer hunger and weakness just like any other beast.
They could still eat normal food, of course, but it did little to replenish their strength.
Ohand they were also masters of illusion, able to bewitch and deceive other creatures. That was exactly how Qian Wei had managed to stay by Hu Lingye’s side for so long without anyone suspecting his true nature.
“Only the third day so far,” he murmured lazily. “My strength is returning far too slowly. If this keeps up, my powers will weaken. Looks like I won’t be leaving the compound anytime soon.”
He stretched out comfortably in the moonlight, flicking his tail back and forth out of boredom.
Hu Lingye slept deeply, and he knew every habit of her sleepso he had no fear of her waking suddenly.
As for the little intruder, if she were truly a normal child, she should be sleeping like a log, impossible to wake.
He hadn’t planned to pay her any attention, but boredom got the better of him. He lifted his body, leaped lightly over to her nest, and dangled his tail right above her face, waving it back and forth.
Yet the little girl remained fast asleep, eyes closed, and even let a drop of saliva trickle from the corner of her mouth.
Qian Wei’s tail froze mid-air. He spat out two words in disgust: “Disgusting.”
With that, he sprang back to his place beside Hu Lingye and lay still.
Only when he was gone did Su Mingyue let out a quiet breath of relief. She had always hoped that even without the special advantages of a main character, she might at least have a little bit of beginner’s luck.
But clearly, she had hoped for too much.
She had stumbled right into the very days when Qian Wei needed to absorb moonlight and restore his strengthseven days in a row, just like a monthly cycle, and once it started, it would not stop.
If she stayed here tomorrow night, the same thing would happen again…
Nowhat had just happened was actually the best-case scenario.
The worst outcome would be if she failed to hide her presence, and Qian Wei discovered she had been awake all along and already knew his secret.
In that case, he would surely swallow her whole in an instant. He was a master of illusionsafter eating her, he could simply cast a spell on Hu Lingye to make her believe anything he wanted. Su Mingyue’s disappearance would be easily explained, and no one would ever link it to him.
Even if it happened right inside Hu Lingye’s own quarters, no one in the entire clannot even the Queen herselfcould punish him. Hu Lingye’s status and influence would shield him completely.
Qian Wei would get away scot-free.
So what was she going to do?
Su Mingyue’s mind raced immediately.
How could she move out of her goddess’s quarters by tomorrow?
Maybe… pretend to be sick?
Cough, cough, cough!
Su Mingyue coughed with all her might. She had indeed thought of this plan the night before, but she had never expected that when she woke up, she actually had caught a real cold!
Fortunately, tigers were mammals too, and her kind did suffer from colds. There were even healers skilled in treating such illnesses.
“Stop coughing, you little nuisance. You’re already ugly enough, and now you look even worse when you cough. The very thought that Lingye had to go and fetch a healer for something as unsightly as you makes my blood boil.”
Ever since Hu Lingye had left to find the doctor, Qian Wei had made no effort to hide his loathing. His contempt was written all over his face, as if she were no threat at allhardly worth taking seriously.
And indeed, in his eyes, she wasn’t. She was just a three-year-old child.
But she could still feel anger.
Su Mingyue puffed out her flushed cheeks and glared back at him so fiercely it was as if she wanted to burn a hole right through his face.
“Are you angry?” Qian Wei found her expression amusing, and a cruel, playful glint entered his eyes.
He reached out and pinched her small nose. “Your nose is all stuffed up. Maybe this will help clear it.”
Su Mingyue wanted nothing more than to bite his finger clean off. But remembering the danger she was in, she quickly forced herself to calm down.
“Fine, fine. Why would I waste my time arguing with a toddler?” Qian Wei smirked. “Lingye may be fond of you, but I know I am still the one she loves most. Though… if we ever have a daughter in the future, about your age…”
He paused, then curled his lips into a mocking sneer. “She would surely be far more beautiful than you.”
Su Mingyue: …
Suddenly
BOOM
AWWOOO
A long, fierce wolf howl echoed through the entire compound.
Qian Wei shot to his feet in an instant, his gaze fixed on the direction of the sound.
“Damn itthat’s the way Lingye went to fetch the healer!”