Tang Hongluan’s heart pounded wildly as she reflexively wrapped her arms tightly around the man’s waist.
What madness had suddenly possessed this damned man?
“You won’t die!” Xiao Shuo’s cold eyes glinted with amusement as he steadied his hold on Tang Hongluan, then in the next instant, pressed right up against Yan Chen.
“Xiao Shuo!” Yan Chen forcibly reeled back his fiery power, retreating several zhang away. He glared furiously at Xiao Shuo, that punch had nearly taken Tang Hongluan’s life along with it.
Tang Hongluan was nearly scared to death. Was this bastard using her as a human shield?
“I’m injured!” Xiao Shuo curled his lips slightly before tossing Tang Hongluan to the ground and withdrawing from the fight.
“Ow!” Thrown down without warning, Tang Hongluan felt as though her back might break. A thousand murderous thoughts toward the damned man flashed through her mind, this was absolutely an act of revenge!
Was thirty kowtows really such a big deal? What a petty man!
“Shameless! Using a woman as a shield!” Yan Chen’s disdain was palpable, his contempt immeasurable.
“I told you, I’m injured!” Xiao Shuo paid him no mind. “I need rest!”
With that, he grabbed Tang Hongluan, who was still muttering curses under her breath, and flung her up into a tree. “Too many wolves at night. It’s safer up here.”
After mentally cursing every ancestor in the damned man’s lineage, Tang Hongluan wobbled as she clung to the tree branch. “I’m hungry!”
“Heal my leg!” Xiao Shuo leaped up beside her, blocking her in as he stretched out his long leg right in front of her face.
This… was a barefaced threat!
“Yan Chen, I’m hungry!” Tang Hongluan ignored him, calling out to Yan Chen instead.
But Yan Chen was still fuming. He shut his tiger ears, pretending not to hear.
“Qing Yuan, Bi Ze…” Tang Hongluan switched to a softer, pleading tone, seeking help from her other two beast-husbands who had refused to intervene.
Xiao Shuo’s icy silver eyes gleamed with warning as he shot a glance toward the two men in the distance.
Only fools would step in now. The two vanished in unison.
The eagle and snake had no interest in spending the night with a pack of tigers. They dispersed in opposite directions.
The snake beastman’s keen senses picked up the faint traces of other beastmen lurking nearby. Qing Yuan, itching for a hunt after days of inactivity, felt his eyes glow green, a wicked smirk curling his lips…
Left utterly helpless on the tree branch, Tang Hongluan found herself staring at a man’s long, muscular leg, perfectly proportioned, firm yet sleek…
She averted her gaze, refusing to look any longer. The last thing she needed was to give in to temptation and let him have his way.
“Old Priest!” Tang Hongluan’s eyes lit up as she spotted the elder. The old man had authority, she needed someone with influence!
But the old priest wasn’t foolish either. Anyone could see this was a lovers’ quarrel, he wasn’t about to meddle in that.
He pretended to be deaf, moving away to rest elsewhere.
Seeing that no one was willing to interfere, Xiao Shuo relaxed. With a flash, he vanished into the woods, returning shortly with a sheep in tow.
This time, he didn’t eat the meat raw. For once, he started a fire himself and began roasting the mutton.
Tang Hongluan sat on the branch, her eyes wide, not staring at Xiao Shuo, but at the sizzling, glistening meat.
“Need meat to recover from injuries,” Xiao Shuo muttered as he roasted. “Gotta build strength for tomorrow’s kowtows!”
Tang Hongluan’s lips twitched. Still hung up on those kowtows? Fine! he’d better kowtow properly when the time came!
“I want some too!” Tang Hongluan declared boldly. So, he wanted her to heal his leg? If it meant getting meat, she wasn’t above compromise.
Xiao Shuo ignored her, picking up a roasted lamb leg and began gnawing on it!
Tang Hongluan: ???
“I want meat too!” She softened her tone slightly. After all, eating someone else’s food meant she was somewhat at their mercy…
Though when Xiao Shuo had forced her to treat his leg, he hadn’t shown any humility either…
Different power levels! She could only console herself this way, who made her unable to beat this damn man?
Xiao Shuo lifted his eyelids slightly in acknowledgment. Hoisting the entire roasted lamb, he leaped onto a tree branch and sat beside Tang Hongluan. “Treat my leg first!”
She wished she could slice this damn man to pieces, he had her completely under his thumb, not giving an inch.
“No strength!”
“Eat while you treat!”
“I only have one hand!”
Xiao Shuo’s lips twitched as he glanced at Tang Hongluan’s still half-crippled right hand. Fair point…
“Maybe you could feed me?” Tang Hongluan grinned, deliberately raising her crippled hand to annoy him.
“Hmph!” Xiao Shuo disdainfully tossed the roasted lamb at her. “Eat it yourself!”
Finally getting her wish, Tang Hongluan devoured the meat, grease dripping from her lips. The meat in this beast world was delicious, so good! She needed to eat more!
“I’m not like you, full of schemes!” After finishing, Tang Hongluan wiped her mouth and glanced at Xiao Shuo’s long leg, already placed in front of her. Warm light glowed from her palm.
Xiao Shuo exhaled in satisfaction, finding a comfortable position to rest his eyes.
When he woke the next morning, he found the wound on his leg had completely vanished, not even a scar remained!
Glancing at Tang Hongluan, who was still asleep against the tree branch, her face looked much cleaner in the morning light. But her heart was black, how dare she deceive the entire Tiger Clan right in front of them…
Leaping down from the branch, he transformed into his beast form, full of vigor. Without the leg injury holding him back, who could stop him now?
A tiger’s roar shook the mountains.
Tang Hongluan, now accustomed to it, grumbled as she opened her eyes to daylight.
She didn’t know how late it had been last night, she’d just fallen asleep at some point.
Awkwardly perched on the branch, she pondered how to climb down when a fiery figure suddenly flung her off, landing her squarely on Xiao Shuo’s back.
Yan Chen, in his beast form, followed behind Xiao Shuo, eyeing the unsteady Tang Hongluan on his back before roaring.
“We must arrive today, complete the ceremony, and return as quickly as possible!”
This time, Xiao Shuo didn’t falter. The group raced like the wind, reaching their destination before noon.
Tang Hongluan was stunned by the sight before her.
The world lay in eerie silence, as if on the brink of destruction. The air reeked of sulfur and scorched earth.
Once lush woodlands were now reduced to charred ruins.
Molten lava snaked down the mountains like rivers of liquid gold, bubbling ominously as it consumed all life in its path.
Ash still lingered in the sky, drifting down in flakes. Fierce winds whipped up scalding dust, while flames, embers, and fury churned in the air like the wrath of gods…
The old priest stumbled and fell to his knees. Truly, the mountain god was enraged!
“Xiao Shuo! Thirty kowtows!” Yan Chen’s fiery eyes burned coldly.
“What’s the rush?” Xiao Shuo lazily glanced at Yan Chen. “If the gods are angry, maybe they’ve gone out for a stroll. Why not let our little messenger here ask if they’re even home?”
With that, he shot Tang Hongluan a look brimming with disdain.
Tang Hongluan frowned slightly, unwilling to engage with this despicable man.
“Hongluan!” The old priest called out to her with a trembling voice, his eyes also gleaming with anticipation. “Did the mountain god specify where to kowtow? What if we bow all this time and he doesn’t receive it?”
The mountain was so vast, could they really just kowtow randomly? Wouldn’t that be too careless?
He was well-versed in sacrificial rituals, but when it came to a ceremony specifically meant to kowtow to the mountain god, he truly had no idea how to begin.
Yan Chen naturally watched closely, waiting to see how Tang Hongluan would respond.
Xiao Shuo, filled with disdain, thought to himself, Is this wretched woman about to start spouting nonsense again?
“Why not get closer and ask the deity directly?” Before Tang Hongluan could answer, Xiao Shuo declared confidently, pointing toward the volcano’s crater. “I’ll take Tang Hongluan there, how about we ask the mountain god ourselves?”