You Nian raised a hand and pressed it against Baixi’s broad, solid chest, stopping him from going any further.
“Someone’s coming.”
Baixi was clearly unsatisfied. He caught the hand she had pressed to his chest, threaded his fingers through hers, and clasped them tightly.
Even his languid voice carried a hint of annoyance toward the newcomer.
“I’d like to see which fool doesn’t know when to quit, interrupting Niannian and me while we’re being affectionate…”
After tidying themselves up, You Nian and Baixi went out of the cave together.
Mo Ling’s expression was dark. He stared fixedly at the male beastman now standing beside You Nian, sizing him up from head to toe.
He looked exactly as the rumors described: white hair, dressed in white beast hide…
He really was that beast who’d seduced her!
Li Yaoyao’s attention immediately settled on Baixi’s left arm.
This handsome male with long silver-white hair had six neat, silver-white Beast Marks on his left arm, revealing him to be a Six-Stripe Beastman.
Li Yaoyao sighed inwardly.
Not only was he powerful, he was also so strikingly handsome he seemed almost otherworldly—nothing like the vulgar males of the Black Tiger Tribe.
Li Yaoyao was green with envy, practically drooling inside. A trace of concealed jealousy crept into her eyes.
What had a scrawny, ugly Inferior Female like You Nian done to deserve such good luck?
She’d been abandoned by her male. An Inferior Female without a male to protect her ought to just go and die…
Every outstanding male in the world should be gathered around Li Yaoyao! They should all be her beast husbands!
Malice surged in Li Yaoyao’s heart. She feigned surprise and said, “You Nian, so you really do have another male—and he’s a Six-Stripe Beastman, too!”
Then she immediately put on an accusing expression.
“Brother Mo Ling may not be a Six-Stripe Beastman, but he’s at least at the peak of Five-Stripe.
“How could you cheat on him with another male just because Brother Mo Ling’s rank is a little lower?”
You Nian was at a loss for words. Li Yaoyao sounded as though she was trying to persuade her, but really, she was just pinning another accusation on her.
“Li Yaoyao, I honestly don’t understand why you’re always sticking your nose into my private affairs. Are you so desperate for males that you’re rushing to steal someone else’s?”
Mo Ling erupted, cutting off what You Nian was about to say.
“What, Li Yaoyao only said a few things that happen to be true, and now you’re going to turn around and slander her?”
Mo Ling let out a cold laugh.
“The male beside you is the same color as that little bastard. You still dare claim he isn’t your lover?”
“You keep insisting you haven’t been involved with any other males. What about him, then? Who is he?!”
After Li Yaoyao stirred him up, Mo Ling had almost completely lost control. His eyes were shadowed, and he could no longer suppress the bitterness and jealousy welling inside him.
Just because he wasn’t a Six-Stripe Beastman, had You Nian secretly given this other male a cub, then lied to him again and again so she could cling to him?
Was You Nian really so cold and selfish? Couldn’t she see how sincere he was, or all he’d done for her? By comparison, Li Yaoyao was much more considerate…
Baixi frowned. Something about this didn’t sound right.
The way the man was questioning him made it seem as though he and You Nian had some kind of unusual relationship.
“Niannian, who is he? I’m your partner, and we have a contract. I’m no lover on the side…”
Baixi gently squeezed You Nian’s hand to draw her attention.
You Nian stared at Mo Ling, the corners of her mouth lifting in a mocking smile.
“He’s my former beast husband.”
Baixi’s eyes narrowed. The warmth he’d shown before vanished, and he immediately adopted the attitude of a rival in love.
“Oh. I thought Niannian’s former male had died. So he’s still alive… I see. He’s the kind of cowardly male who abandons his mate and cub!”
“You’d be better off dead. Then you’d be gone for good, and I could take care of Niannian from now on. You wouldn’t have to worry about her.”
Mo Ling was already burning with anger and had nowhere to vent it. Baixi’s taunt only made him turn on him at once.
“What’s it to you? I’m her first partner. You’re nothing but a homewrecker—who do you think you are to speak?”
Baixi was furious now, too.
“When she was struggling to fish just to survive, where were you, her first partner? When she was raising the cub all by herself, where were you?”
“That cub isn’t even mine. Since you abandoned Niannian and the cub, I only agreed to raise the little one for Niannian’s sake.”
“She wants to be with another male now. What does that have to do with you?”
Mo Ling grew even angrier.
It was true that he and You Nian had fallen out, but they had never dissolved their mate contract. He was still You Nian’s first partner.
That was an unchangeable fact.
He was simply waiting for You Nian to sincerely repent; then he might consider forgiving her.
That didn’t mean that while they were at odds, he would allow a third party to come between them.
Who did this white-haired male, who’d appeared out of nowhere, think he was, sticking his nose into their business?
The air grew more and more charged.
Sure enough, the next second Mo Ling transformed into his black tiger form, a tiger more than four meters long.
His golden pupils narrowed to slits. His glossy, ink-black fur gleamed, and the sharp fangs bared in his mouth glinted coldly.
He crouched into an attack stance, sharp white claws just beginning to emerge from beneath his paws.
“Heh. You’re only a Five-Stripe Beastman, and you’re the one provoking me? You must have a death wish—”
Baixi wasn’t about to back down. He transformed into his serpent form at once: a jade-white giant snake more than ten meters long, far more terrifying to behold.
Li Yaoyao stared, stunned, and murmured, “The Snake Tribe? He’s not a white tiger beastman after all.”
She’d deliberately tried to fan the flames today, hoping to egg Mo Ling into killing You Nian’s new beast husband.
That way, You Nian would be plunged into despair again and die sooner, and Mo Ling would finally give up on her completely.
But who could have guessed that Baixi would not only outrank Mo Ling, but would also defend You Nian without question—even agreeing to raise her cub? He hadn’t been baited at all, and he didn’t care about You Nian’s past.
Mo Ling was outmatched physically and outranked, too. Before long, he was clearly losing.
In his original form, Baixi wrapped his snake body tightly around the giant tiger. Several of his scales had been clawed off, and blood stained the white ones.
But those were clearly only superficial wounds.
Mo Ling was in much worse shape. A sharp crack rang out as one of his bones broke under the pressure.
If a broken bone punctured an internal organ, his life would be in danger.
The jade-white giant snake flicked its crimson, icy tongue. Baixi’s voice dripped with contempt. “Is that all you’ve got?”
Li Yaoyao knew this was bad. Mo Ling dying here had never been part of her plan.
She would lose a Five-Stripe male she could have taken for herself! That absolutely could not happen!
Li Yaoyao hurried to intervene.
“White Snake, this area belongs to the Black Tiger Tribe. Since you and You Nian are living here, aren’t you afraid of causing trouble if you kill Brother Mo Ling?”
Mo Ling endured the pain in his body, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
His life was on the line, and even Li Yaoyao—who barely knew him—couldn’t stand by without speaking up for him.
But what about You Nian, that heartless female?
She was his one and only female, yet all she ever did was cheat on him and use him… Now she was even going to watch him die without lifting a finger.
Mo Ling’s death was exactly what You Nian wanted, wasn’t it? Then no one would stop her from running into the arms of that Six-Stripe Snake…
You Nian didn’t feel much sympathy for the scumbag beastman. She had, in fact, been watching the fight as though it were a show.
She admitted that Li Yaoyao’s words had reminded her of something important.
If Baixi killed Mo Ling, it would bring trouble.
She’d spent so many system points on sweet potatoes and potatoes… They’d only just reached halfway through their growth and weren’t ready to harvest.
If something happened to Mo Ling, the beastfolk of the Black Tiger Tribe might all come after them.
She’d have no choice but to abandon the seedlings and flee. That would leave both sides suffering losses.
The scumbag beastman Mo Ling wasn’t worth as much as the potatoes and sweet potatoes still growing in her fields!
Once she’d thought it through, You Nian immediately spoke up to stop him.
“Baixi, that’s enough. Stop!”
At her words, Baixi brought his jade-white snake head closer to You Nian, but his coils still held the black tiger in a death grip, not loosening in the slightest.
“Niannian, do you feel sorry for him?”
Baixi’s voice was almost gentle, his words carrying a hint of coaxing as he tested her.
But inside him, a venomous snake lay coiled, ready to strike.
If Niannian said yes, his tail would tighten at once. Without the slightest hesitation, he would crush the black tiger to death!