Chapter 276: Heavens, What Has She Done?

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Heavens, What Has She Done?

As he finished speaking, fragmented memories began to surface.

A feverish heat, tangled limbs, ragged gasps... and the sensation of a hand, its temperature different, caressing her skin.

But the face in her memory seemed to belong to someone else.

She quickly asked Yan Lie, "When... when did you get here?"

She knew she had been drugged; that intense craving wasn’t normal at all.

The memories were there, but she had been so dazed and confused at the time that she couldn’t tell if they were jumbled or real.

"We arrived just after you did."

Bai Wanwan breathed a small sigh of relief. "I didn’t do anything... inappropriate with any other males, did I?"

Yan Lie thought for a moment. At the time, Wanwan had been in Jin Yi’s arms, but her clothes were still on.

"Don’t worry. It was me the whole time."

Only after receiving this definitive answer did Bai Wanwan truly relax.

It was only then that she turned her head to look around, but she didn’t see her other Beast Husbands or Jin Yi.

"Where are they?"

"They’re dealing with those Bear Clan Beastmen. But it should be over by now, so don’t worry."

If he hadn’t needed to help Wanwan with the thorn flower poison, he would have wanted to personally kill the males who had dared to harm her.

Bai Wanwan saw that the clothes beside them were rumpled beyond recognition and simply pulled a clean set from her System Space to change into.

"Let me."

Yan Lie immediately took the clothes and carefully helped her dress.

"Let’s go out and see what’s happening."

As she spoke, she tried to stand, but her legs gave out, and she nearly fell.

Quick as a flash, Yan Lie caught her by the waist. "Wanwan, I’ll carry you."

Bai Wanwan was feeling a little weak, but she noticed that the smile was gone from the ever-cheerful Yan Lie’s eyes.

Realizing this, she simply stared at him.

Yan Lie quickly noticed her gaze and forced a smile. "Wanwan, what are you staring at me for?"

Bai Wanwan didn’t answer right away. Instead, she moved closer, tilting her head as she studied him.

Yan Lie gazed at her face, so close and as lovely as a delicate flower. He remembered the way she had kissed him during their intimacy, and his breathing quickened involuntarily.

"Wanwan, is the thorn flower poison not completely out of your system? Are you still... feeling it?"

Yan Lie stopped walking, his gaze turning serious.

Bai Wanwan raised her hands and cupped his face. "What are you thinking about?"

"You’re not feeling unwell? Then why do you keep staring at me like that?"

He loved Wanwan, and he loved looking at her.

But having her stare at him so intently made him feel strangely self-conscious.

He was afraid he had done something wrong, or wasn’t handsome enough, and she wouldn’t like it.

Bai Wanwan applied gentle pressure, turning his face to look at her.

"You’re not acting like yourself today."

Yan Lie hadn’t even realized it himself. He paused, taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"You always smile when you see me. You didn’t smile when I woke up today."

Yan Lie’s gaze flickered away for a second before he forced another smile. "No, I did. You must have missed it."

Bai Wanwan narrowed her eyes, keeping her hands on his face to prevent him from looking away.

"Wanwan..." Yan Lie sounded resigned.

Bai Wanwan quickly guessed the reason and said it aloud. "You’re blaming yourself because I was taken from our home by the Bear Clan males, aren’t you?"

Bai Wanwan’s words hit the nail on the head.

Before finding Wanwan, he had been bottling up a frustrating mix of self-blame and anxiety. He had even made a decision.

If anything had happened to Wanwan, he would have followed her in death.

"Wanwan, it’s my fault. Both times, you were hurt on my watch. Am I useless?"

Bai Wanwan took a soft breath and shook her head. "I was the one who told you to go watch the cubs. Besides, neither of us could have imagined someone would come to our home and attack us."

’This really was unexpected. Not even Zhuo Ling’s Beast Husbands would dare to attack them so brazenly within the Golden Lion Tribe.’

"No, I should have stayed by your side."

Yan Lie lowered his gaze. The two incidents had clearly left a deep scar on him.

"Even if you had never left my side, if someone really wanted to get me, they could have sent three males with Yellow Rank Talent Power to capture me. Could you have fought all three of them alone? Besides... you had to watch over all our cubs at the time."

Seeing he was still unconvinced, she leaned in and gave him a kiss. "It just happened to be on your watch. If it had been Zhuo Xiu or Xin Feng, they would have been just as distracted if they were busy hunting or doing something else. We’re not the Beast God; we all make mistakes sometimes."

Just as she finished speaking, there was a noise from outside.

A moment later, Zhuo Xiu’s figure appeared at the cave entrance.

Bai Wanwan turned and smiled at him. "You’re back! Are you hurt?"

Zhuo Xiu crossed the distance in a few strides, taking Bai Wanwan from Yan Lie’s arms. He suppressed the cold, murderous aura clinging to him and asked her in a low voice, "I’m not hurt. How are you feeling now? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Bai Wanwan smiled and shook her head. "I’m fine, just a little tired."

Right after him, Xin Feng and Jin Yi also walked in.

Xin Feng’s usually measured pace was noticeably quicker as he walked to Bai Wanwan’s side and took her offered hand.

"I’m sorry for making you worry. I didn’t suffer much."

Jin Yi stood silently to the side, watching Bai Wanwan as she smiled and soothed her Beast Husbands.

After torturing himself by watching for a moment, he averted his gaze and looked outside.

But then, her voice reached him.

"Jin Yi, thank you, too."

He had no choice but to look back at her.

"Thank me? I’m the one who got you into this mess." His voice was tinged with bitterness.

"You didn’t get me into this mess. Zhuo Ling deliberately lied to mislead them into capturing me."

’That’s another score to settle. When I get back, Zhuo Ling and I are going to end this, one way or another.’

Jin Yi’s lips parted, but in the end, he said nothing.

’What could he possibly say? That it wasn’t a misunderstanding, that it wasn’t a lie, and that he had truly fallen for her?’

Fortunately, Xin Feng spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

"We don’t know if any of the Bear Clan Beastmen made it back to report. We need to leave here at once."

"Right, let’s go."

Zhuo Xiu, still holding Bai Wanwan, turned and led the way toward the mouth of the cave.

As they passed Jin Yi, Bai Wanwan’s gaze fell upon him.

’Some of the fragments in her mind felt so real. She wasn’t sure if she had... taken advantage of Jin Yi.’

’If she had mistaken him for one of her Beast Husbands and had her hands all over him, it would be mortifying.’

’Yan Lie said nothing happened, so it must have just been her muddled thoughts when she wasn’t in her right mind.’

Just as she was about to look away, her eyes fixed on his neck.

’Wait... what’s that?’

His neck was covered in marks.

And then, the images in her mind became much clearer.

She was wrapping her arms around Jin Yi’s neck, pulling him down, kissing his beautifully shaped lips, then moving to his Adam’s apple...

Her hand had traced his sensuous collarbones, his well-defined abs, the muscles along his ribs...

And finally... she had even touched...

Oh, God!

’Were those memories real?’