After the wedding ceremony ended, Shu Ning gazed awkwardly at her two extremely handsome husbands.
One had shoulder-length, silver-red hair, its tips grading into a scorched golden-orange that shimmered with his movements.
His pale, chiseled face had sharp features and narrow, upswept eyes.
He had a streamlined physique, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his prominent knuckles ended in sharp, hooked claws.
The other had ink-blue hair that cascaded like a waterfall, with the faint glint of tiny scales visible between the strands.
He had pale golden vertical pupils, and fine scale patterns extended from the corners of his eyes to his temples.
His facial contours were cold and severe, with a sharp jawline.
He was tall and slender, with taut, well-defined muscles, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist.
Faintly visible scale patterns covered the area from his neck to his collarbones.
‘This fiery, red-hued Beastman radiating a wild aura must be my Fox Clan Beast Husband, Jintong.’
‘And the other, an Ice Element Beastman with an ink-blue motif, must be my Jiao Clan Beast Husband, Mo Li.’
Being stared at by Shu Ning, the disdain in the two tall, perfectly handsome men’s eyes intensified.
“If you have something to say, just spit it out!” Jintong said impatiently.
“Um, sorry.
Hello, I’m Shu Ning.
I’m your female.” Shu Ning finally realized how rude she was being.
“I know I’m ugly, and I know you definitely don’t like me like this.
So, if you’re willing, we can dissolve our partnership right now.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the two men looked at Shu Ning in unison, stunned.
They never expected that the legendary Shu Ning—the female rumored to be gluttonous, lazy, and incredibly shrewish—would say such a thing.
“What, you think we’re a joke?” Anger flared in Jintong’s red eyes as he spoke with contempt.
“The wedding just ended, and now you want to dump us.
It seems the rumors were true after all.”
“Or is this some kind of sick joke of yours?
Because it’s not funny at all!”
Looking at this incredibly ugly female, and considering all the unpleasant rumors he’d heard about Shu Ning before their political marriage, he hadn’t even voiced his own objections to the union, yet here she was, beating him to the punch.
As if *she* were the one reluctant to get married.
He felt even more displeased.
“We of the Jiao Clan only have one partner in our entire lives,” Mo Li said coldly.
“I came here for a political alliance.
By wanting to dissolve the marriage, are you trying to make it impossible for me to stay in your tribe?!” Mo Li’s tone was tinged with anger, his gaze utterly glacial.
Before Shu Ning could say a word, he turned and left without a backward glance.
‘There’s no way he could dissolve the marriage.
His purpose was the political alliance, and as long as that objective was met, that was enough.’
‘As for what happened after the marriage, he…’
An inscrutable emotion flickered in Mo Li’s eyes.
Annoyed, he quickly vanished into the dense forest.
“That’s not what I meant, hey—”
Shu Ning was just about to explain, but Mo Li had vanished in the blink of an eye, and she had no idea which way he’d gone.
‘Even if I wanted to follow, I wouldn’t know which direction to go.’
“What about you?” Shu Ning bit her lower lip, looking at Jintong with a helpless expression.
“Did you think we of the Fox Clan *don’t* take only one partner for life?”
In his Fox Clan, the bond between partners was mutual.
And yet, he had been chosen and sent to the Wolf Clan Tribe for this marriage.
He had no choice but to accept the arrangement; he couldn’t choose his marriage partner.
“Now you want to end the partnership?
What were you doing before?” Jintong said angrily.
‘This female…
She was the one who fought to be partnered with me, and now…’
“I’m sorry…” Shu Ning said guiltily.
‘I didn’t know all this.
I thought you could get a divorce even after getting married.
I never imagined that dissolving the partnership would cause them so much trouble.’
‘Actually, I wanted to stop this marriage before the ceremony was complete, but I didn’t expect the ritual to go so quickly.’
“If you really feel sorry for us, then please, try to change how you are now.”
Jintong’s fiery red pupils locked onto Shu Ning, a hint of expectation in their depths.
‘Forget it.
It’s impossible.
People rarely change.’ The thought shifted, and his eyes filled with scorn again.
Before Shu Ning could speak, he turned and left as well.
Leaving Shu Ning standing there alone.
…
‘My image right now must be terrible…’ Shu Ning muttered to herself.
‘But the original owner was the original owner, and I am me.’
‘I, Shu Ning, won’t give up so easily.
So what if I have to change my image!’
Shu Ning lifted her thick arm and looked down at her own disastrous figure.
She might have Beast Husbands now, but they all avoided her like the plague.
‘Even if it’s not to become beautiful and attract the opposite sex, I need to lose this weight.
After all, obesity is a disease.’
‘I don’t want to get high blood pressure at such a young age.
Besides, this clumsy body is just so inconvenient to move around in.’
Shu Ning secretly resolved to change herself.
She tried to follow her memory and head into the woods.
‘First, I need to find a river and wash up properly.’
But after walking for just a short while, she lost her sense of direction.
…
In this forest of towering trees and tangled old vines, Shu Ning became even more disoriented.
The farther she walked, the more wrong it felt.
‘No wonder the original owner never washed up.’
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the grass not far away.
The sound grew closer and closer…
‘I’m done for.
It can’t be some kind of ferocious beast, can it?!’
Panic seized Shu Ning’s heart.
She scanned her surroundings and suddenly spotted a pair of glowing vertical pupils in the bushes, staring intently at her.
‘With a body like mine, how could I possibly fight it…?’
Shu Ning was just about to turn and run.
Suddenly, the beast leaped out from the bushes!
It was a Black Bear!
“HELP—”
Shu Ning turned and fled in the opposite direction.
‘I’m dead for sure this time!’
Just as the Black Bear was about to pounce…
…a dark green figure suddenly leaped from the grass.
It opened its massive mouth and lunged toward Shu Ning and the Black Bear.
Seeing this, Shu Ning thought it was also coming to eat her and squeezed her eyes shut in fear.
‘This time, there’s nowhere left to run!’
In an instant, the Black Snake had sunk its fangs viciously into the Black Bear’s neck!
The Black Snake coiled tightly around the Black Bear, its jet-black scales reflecting a dazzling light as it constricted.
The Black Bear shrieked in pain until, with one final wail, it went silent.
Seeing the Black Bear was no longer moving, the Black Snake transformed into a human, blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth.
‘So it was him in the bushes just now.
He must have spotted the Black Bear.’
Seeing that she was unharmed, Shu Ning, still panting and shaken, finally got a clear look at the scene—and the man—before her.
Shu Ning stared at the handsome man in front of her.
He was tall and well-built, with taut muscles, long, curly black hair, and sharp eyes.
As a snake, his body had been entirely black, but now his skin was fair and smooth.
This was another of her Beast Husbands, Xuan Mo.
Shu Ning was instantly captivated by the man before her.
“Are you alright?” Xuan Mo spat out a mouthful of blood, then casually wiped the remaining blood from the corner of his lips with his long fingers as he looked at Shu Ning.
“I…
I’m fine,” Shu Ning stammered, her dazed reverie instantly broken.
“Good.” With that, he turned to leave.
“Wait…” Shu Ning called out hastily.
“What is it?” Xuan Mo paused, his tone icy.
“Thank you for what you did just now,” Shu Ning said gratefully.
“Mm.” A flash of surprise appeared in Xuan Mo’s eyes.
He started to leave again.
“Wait, Xuan Mo!
Do you know which way the river is?” Shu Ning asked quickly, seeing he was about to depart.
“It’s a short walk in that direction.” He left without waiting for Shu Ning to speak again.
“Th…
thank you!” Shu Ning called out gratefully to the already vanished Xuan Mo.
Shu Ning headed in the direction Xuan Mo had just pointed.
And just as he’d said, she reached the riverbank a short while later.