Chapter 279: Thick

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Thick

On the other side of the stone bed, several anxious-looking males glared at Bai Wanwan, their eyes bloodshot.

The look in their eyes... was as if they were staring at the one who had murdered their fathers.

Bai Wanwan glanced at them lazily. "What are you looking at? Whoever starts the fight is the one in the wrong. I’ve never provoked her; she’s the one who comes after me every time. This time... do you really think I’m going to let any of you off the hook?"

She chuckled softly. "If she just dies like this... it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. But if you force my hand, I’ll make her suffer even more than she is right now, you know!"

Just as their rage threatened to erupt, Zhu Xiu stepped up beside her.

He wrapped a long arm around her shoulder and glanced toward the other males.

He didn’t say a word, but an immense, oppressive aura emanated from him.

Zhuo Ling’s Beast Husbands didn’t dare start a fight here. Lu Da resentfully tore his gaze away from Zhu Xiu and Bai Wanwan.

"Wife, you have to hold on. You’re going to live, you have to."

"That’s right! You have to hold on! If you do, I can use my itching powder on you every day. Or how about that powder from last time, the one that gave you explosive diarrhea? If you don’t think that’s potent enough, I can let you try a few other things..."

Zhuo Ling was so enraged she couldn’t breathe, and her eyes began to roll back in her head.

"Wife!"

Jin Xi cried out in alarm, glaring at Bai Wanwan with hatred. "If anything happens to our Wife, we won’t let you get away with it."

Zhu Xiu was about to act, but Bai Wanwan stopped him by tugging on his sleeve.

She looked at the furious Jin Xi with a bright smile. "Alright! I’ll be waiting. If you don’t show up, I’ll be very disappointed in you, you know!"

Bai Wanwan was lazy by nature and didn’t like making enemies or getting into daily squabbles.

But once someone crossed her, failing to deal with them decisively would only lead to more trouble down the line.

That was why, this time, even if Zhuo Ling survived, she would have her Beast Husbands eliminate both Zhuo Ling and all of her Beast Husbands.

Only after she had delivered her threats and Zhuo Ling’s Beast Husbands had swallowed their rage did she turn her attention back to Zhuo Ling herself.

She stared blankly at Zhuo Ling for a moment before leaning in close.

She deliberately lowered her voice, her tone turning deceptively sweet. "You’re probably not going to make it. But don’t you worry. After you’re gone, I’ll send your Beast Husbands to join you one by one. And as for..."

Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled even more brightly. "...your precious Young Clan Leader Jin Yi, I’ll be sure to love him well in your place. I’ll spend my days and nights being intimate with him, and I’ll even bear him a few litters of beautiful little lion cubs..."

She hadn’t even finished!

Zhuo Ling’s face turned ashen with rage. She raised a hand, reaching toward something as if trying desperately to grab it.

Bai Wanwan leisurely followed the direction of her hand, only to see Jin Yi standing at the mouth of the cave.

The smile on Bai Wanwan’s face froze.

’Although I just lowered my voice to set the mood, the males have such sharp hearing.’

’He must have heard every single word.’

Before she could feel awkward, a broken sound escaped Zhuo Ling’s throat. "Jin... Jin Yi."

As she spoke, Bai Wanwan saw Jin Yi walking toward them.

The smile she wore from taunting Zhuo Ling unconsciously vanished as she watched Jin Yi approach the dying woman step by step.

She might not have even realized it herself, but a trace of displeasure colored the corners of her eyes.

Jin Yi finally stopped beside the stone bed.

He didn’t, however, take the hand Zhuo Ling held out to him.

Zhuo Ling was gravely injured, and raising her arm had taken all her strength. Finally, it fell back limply.

Her eyes filled with disappointment and fear. "Jin Yi... Save... save me."

Before entering, he had already gotten the details of her condition from the Clan Witch.

The Clan Witch had done her best, but Zhuo Ling’s injuries were too severe. Too much time had been lost on the way back, and she had lost too much blood...

Seeing his lack of response, the panic in Zhuo Ling’s eyes intensified.

She struggled to lift her hand again, trying to grasp him. "I saved... you. You have to save... save me."

Jin Yi lowered his gaze, a deep sorrow touching his features. "I can’t save you."

His words seemed to shatter the last bit of will she was clinging to. The light in her eyes, which had been fading in and out, finally broke completely.

She took a few gasping breaths, her eyes fixed on the ceiling of the cave in apparent agony.

’Seeing her like this, she probably isn’t going to make it.’

Bai Wanwan lost all interest in toying with her further.

Death erases all grievances.

She stood, took Zhu Xiu’s hand without a word, and started to walk out.

Jin Yi noticed that after that initial glance, she hadn’t looked at him again.

She walked right past him to leave.

"Wife..."

"Lingling..."

Hearing the voices of her Beast Husbands, Zhuo Ling’s heavy eyelids slowly drifted shut.

She took a few more ragged breaths, and then... she was still.

After leaving the cave, Bai Wanwan could still hear the anguished cries of Zhuo Ling’s Beast Husbands.

’She couldn’t help but recall Jin Yi’s expression. Was he also sad and grieving over Zhuo Ling’s death?’

’The thought made her feel inexplicably irritable.’

Zhu Xiu keenly sensed his female was in a bad mood.

He tightened his grip on her hand, forcing her attention back to him.

Zhu Xiu understood his female. He knew the things she’d said in the cave were all just to provoke Zhuo Ling.

’But who was she distracted by?’

’No matter who it was... from now on, she could only look at and think about him.’

"Do you want to walk for a bit, or go home?"

His voice betrayed none of his true feelings.

Bai Wanwan’s attention was indeed pulled back to the present. She didn’t dwell on the reason for her recent, uncontrollable emotions.

She slowly calmed herself and hugged his arm. "Let’s walk for a bit, then we can go back."

The celebratory atmosphere of the Harvest Festival hadn’t faded yet. The tribe’s cubs ran about cheerfully, and a few of them even bumped into her legs.

The cubs glanced back at her and timidly took a couple of steps back.

Bai Wanwan smiled at them. "Run a little slower, you don’t want to get hurt."

Looking at their adorable little faces, Bai Wanwan couldn’t feel an ounce of anger.

’As expected... creatures of any species are always cutest when they’re young.’

The cubs didn’t recognize her, so they timidly turned and ran off.

Just as Bai Wanwan was about to turn back, she was suddenly swept up into a pair of long arms.

She instinctively wrapped her arms around Zhu Xiu’s neck and laughed. "Why did you suddenly pick me up?"

"Those are nearly grown cubs. Didn’t it hurt when they ran into you?"

Bai Wanwan chuckled and answered honestly, "It did hurt a tiny bit. Those little ones are pretty solid."

Hearing this, Zhu Xiu managed to free one hand while still holding her to massage her calf.

"Better?"

The rough calluses on his hand brushed against her delicate skin, and Bai Wanwan just felt ticklish.

She squirmed and glanced down at her leg. "It doesn’t hurt. You... stop touching me."

Zhu Xiu had originally only meant to soothe her pain.

But hearing her soft, sweet voice and feeling the delicate skin beneath his palm...

A thick layer of desire gradually clouded his eyes.