The square was already filled with a group of beastmen, all transformed into their beast forms.
Tang Hongluan’s four beast husbands were, of course, prominently among them. The rest were about a dozen beastmen organized by Jiang Cheng, their purpose naturally being to keep an eye on Xiao Shuo.
The old priest and the clan leader were also present.
“Jiang Cheng, you’re responsible for taking care of the old priest! If anything happens to him, don’t even think about coming back!” the tribal chief sternly instructed.
Tang Hongluan’s gaze fell on the old priest. Was this old man really going too? Wasn’t he afraid the long journey would jostle him to death?
It seemed her bluff had truly convinced him. Thinking about it, she actually felt a little guilty.
Aside from the beastmen about to set off, there were naturally plenty of onlookers: men, women, young, and old.
Especially some of the women, whose eyes turned red with envy when they saw Tang Hongluan climbing onto Xiao Shuo’s back.
“Heavens, open your eyes! How can someone like Tang Hongluan defile Xiao Shuo like this?”
“I feel so bad for Xiao Shuo and Yan Chen!”
“And for Bi Ze and Qing Yuan too!”
“Yun Li is also so pitiful!”
Jiang Xin’s face was green with envy, her eyes practically popping out of her head as she glared daggers at Tang Hongluan.
Of course, Tang Hongluan didn’t spare them a single glance.
Right now, she didn’t dare relax for even a millisecond, she had to hold onto Xiao Shuo tightly. Who knew when this bastard might suddenly bolt off?
She had almost fallen off earlier.
Once the old priest climbed onto Jiang Cheng’s tiger back, the group set off!
Like the wind, swift as lightning.
Tang Hongluan could only hear the wind roaring in her ears. The speed was so fast she could barely keep her eyes open.
But not long after they started running, Xiao Shuo’s speed noticeably slowed down. The other beastmen, seeing this, also inexplicably reduced their pace.
“Xiao Shuo!” Jiang Cheng urged. “We need to hurry, or we won’t make it back before dark!”
“My wound hurts!” Xiao Shuo outright stopped. “I can’t run anymore!”
The old priest sighed. When he had gone to find Xiao Shuo yesterday, the young man had been very reluctant to go. Sure enough, now he was stalling…
“Qing Ya, carry Xiao Shuo on your back!” Jiang Cheng didn’t hesitate. Even if he was dying, he had to get him there!
Qing Ya was also a fifth-tier beastman, the strongest among Jiang Cheng’s group. He glanced at Jiang Cheng, then at Xiao Shuo, cautiously approaching.
But before he could take more than a few steps, Xiao Shuo bared his fangs, adopting an aggressive stance.
Qing Ya immediately stopped. He had no intention of fighting Xiao Shuo… Besides, even if he were to carry Xiao Shuo, the latter would have to revert to human form. There was no way he could carry a tiger.
A furious roar! Yan Chen glared at Xiao Shuo, seething with anger.
Seeing this, Qing Ya quickly backed away.
Xiao Shuo wasn’t about to back down either. He turned and snarled back at Yan Chen with another tiger’s roar.
Tang Hongluan could see this was really shaping up to be a fight… She desperately wanted to get away, but Xiao Shuo’s over-two-meter-tall body gave her no chance to dismount…
Was Xiao Shuo really planning to fight Yan Chen while carrying her on his back?
He might not care about his life, but she still wanted to live!
“Hey, hey… let me down!” Tang Hongluan patted Xiao Shuo’s tiger back.
At this critical moment, Xiao Shuo wasn’t about to listen to her. Besides, he had never intended to let her down in the first place…
Tang Hongluan wanted to ask her other beast husbands for help, but one look at Yan Chen’s furious eyes told her that was hopeless.
So, she turned her desperate gaze toward Bi Ze and Qing Yuan, who were hiding far away, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. But the two acted as if they didn’t see her, completely ignoring her pleading look.
The beastmen didn’t want to get involved in the fight between the tiger shifters.
Besides, Tang Hongluan wasn’t in any real danger, and Xiao Shuo wasn’t so easy to kill. If Xiao Shuo wanted to throw Tang Hongluan off, he could do it in an instant. Anyone could see that Xiao Shuo was just picking a fight on purpose, and outsiders like them couldn’t be bothered to interfere.
Their hearts were chilled to the bone. But perhaps because Yan Chen saw Xiao Shuo carrying a woman on his back, he never actually attacked. The two tigers remained locked in a tense standoff, the situation at a stalemate.
“I said, my leg hurts!” Xiao Shuo declared again. “Once it feels better, we’ll keep moving!”
With that, he shifted back into human form and sat weakly on the ground.
His cunning eyes fixed on Tang Hongluan. “The gods said three days. So as long as we get there by tomorrow, it’s fine, right?”
Tang Hongluan just wanted to scoff. This bastard was clearly stalling on purpose!
“Your ability has healing properties, doesn’t it? Why don’t you heal me so we don’t delay the journey?” He smoothly shifted the pressure onto Tang Hongluan.
Everyone silently turned their gazes toward her. They knew she had awakened a light-based ability, which indeed had healing effects. If she helped Xiao Shuo recover, they could set off immediately. His request wasn’t unreasonable!
And after all, Tang Hongluan was Xiao Shuo’s mate, wasn’t it only right for her to heal her own beastman?
“Hongluan, Xiao Shuo has a point!” The old priest, eager to reach the site of the divine wrath, felt that while Xiao Shuo was deliberately stalling, his demand was still reasonable. Sometimes, dealing with these youngsters required playing dumb and smoothing things over.
Tang Hongluan smiled. So, this was the trap waiting for her, huh?
“Then hurry up!” Yan Chen, impatient, also shifted back to human form and glared at her. Since even the old priest agreed, they might as well wait for Xiao Shuo here. They definitely weren’t making it back today anyway.
Tang Hongluan shot Yan Chen a glare before turning back to Xiao Shuo with a sweet smile. “I’ll heal you right away!”
Xiao Shuo was pleased.
Yesterday, he had accidentally experienced the healing effects of her light ability, and he hadn’t been able to forget it. If there was a way to make his leg pain disappear, why suffer through it every day?
Sure enough, in an instant, his leg felt much better.
Xiao Shuo exhaled in satisfaction. This ability was good. His gaze flickered briefly over Tang Hongluan’s face, no longer cracked and peeling like old tree bark, but now with a healthy glow. So she had been using this ability to heal herself too?
Such a useful thing, why not take full advantage of it? And exploit it to the extreme!
Tang Hongluan’s forehead beaded with sweat as she watched the muscle tissue on Xiao Shuo’s leg regenerate at a visible rate. The gaping wound, once the size of a fist, gradually shrank to the size of an egg.
This was the first time she realized just how powerful her healing ability was.
Xiao Shuo kept his eyes closed, basking in the sensation, until he felt the energy fade. Only then did he open his eyes, displeased, and shoot Tang Hongluan a cold look.
But when he saw that his wound had shrunk by nearly half, he smirked in satisfaction. At least this female was finally good for something!
From now on, he’d make sure to squeeze every last drop of use out of her.
“Ready to go?” Yan Chen asked lazily, though his tone carried a threat. “If we drag this out any longer, it’ll be dark. Who knows how many more breaks Lord Xiao will need?”
Xiao Shuo grinned. “Let’s go.”
Thus, the breakneck speed continued.
Tang Hongluan, draped over Xiao Shuo’s back, began to feel drowsy.
This wretched woman was actually falling asleep on his back? Xiao Shuo sneered coldly, he hadn’t forgotten the grudge of those thirty kowtows! So, he deliberately ran with a jolting gait, leaving Tang Hongluan exhausted, starving, and now nauseous from the bumpy ride…
“Hey, hey, hey… slow down…” Tang Hongluan couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, barely suppressing the bile rising in her throat.
Xiao Shuo obediently slowed down, even came to a complete stop, then flung Tang Hongluan off his back onto the ground. With a wicked smirk, he arched a brow and said, “She asked to slow down…”