Chapter 476 - 473: A Monstrous Lie

Chapter 476: Chapter 473: A Monstrous Lie

Bai Wanwan’s cold, sharp questions pierced Jiao Yuan’s heart like a quenched steel needle.

"Are you saying... Lan Yi is lying to me?" Jiao Yuan’s voice was dangerously low, simmering with suppressed, thunderous rage. His thick, dark brows knitted together tightly, and his gaze, filled with scrutiny and clear displeasure, fell upon Bai Wanwan.

He refused to believe the words of a strange young female over his own Wife.

To become his mate, Lan Yi had taken no other Beast Husbands.

He felt he owed her so much and had sworn to protect her for her entire life.

Nestled in his embrace, a look of perfectly-timed hurt and vulnerability instantly appeared on Lan Yi’s beautiful face. Glistening teardrops even clung to her long lashes.

She buried her face deeper into Jiao Yuan’s firm chest, her shoulders trembling slightly as if she were suffering some great injustice—a silent accusation against Bai Wanwan’s slander.

Bai Wanwan’s Beast Husbands were feeling extremely conflicted.

They had just witnessed with their own eyes how Lan Yi twisted the truth and viciously insulted Shuang Hua.

That face, so strikingly similar to Wanwan’s true appearance, now wore a mask of hypocrisy that made them deeply uneasy.

’Could the Mother who shared Wanwan’s blood really be a person of such character?’

’No wonder she abandoned Wanwan.’ The thought made their hearts ache for Bai Wanwan, the feeling nearly overwhelming them.

Jiao Yuan patted Lan Yi’s arm comfortingly, then looked up at Bai Wanwan again.

At the same time, Lan Yi shot Bai Wanwan a look, her eyes glinting with a clear warning.

Bai Wanwan, however, paid it no mind.

Her gaze was as placid as still water, and her voice, clear and steady, cut through Jiao Yuan’s anger.

"Jiao Yuan Clan Leader, I have no intention of passing judgment on your relationship. I only ask that you consider a few questions fairly."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lan Yi’s slightly stiff back before she continued, "Every time your Wife accused Aunt Shuang of bullying or framing her, have you ever once, with your own eyes, seen Aunt Shuang raise a hand to her, or with your own ears, heard her say an insulting word? Or has it always been your Wife coming to you in tears, after which you simply assume Aunt Shuang is to blame?"

"Furthermore," Bai Wanwan’s tone held a hint of subtle irony, "if it’s truly as your Wife claims—that Aunt Shuang resents her and targets her at every turn—then why is your Wife always the one to seek her out and start trouble? Why has Aunt Shuang never once set foot in your territory to ’bully’ her? Does that make any sense? Is it really Aunt Shuang who can’t let go, or... is your Wife the one with a guilty conscience, always trying to suppress dissent and eliminate hidden threats?"

Her words peeled away the truth layer by layer, like an onion.

From her brief conversation with Aunt Shuang, Bai Wanwan had gathered that Lan Yi always made the first move, constantly making her presence felt before Jiao Yuan to deepen his animosity toward Shuang Hua.

With Bai Wanwan having so bluntly exposed the heart of the matter, Lan Yi’s body, nestled in Jiao Yuan’s embrace, stiffened abruptly. Though she tried her best to hide it, those around her still noticed.

Jiao Yuan instinctively looked down at Lan Yi in his arms.

A sliver of doubt, like a pebble tossed into the lake of his heart, sent a small ripple across the solid fortress of his beliefs.

But the doubt vanished in an instant.

’No, it can’t be!’

’Lan Yi is my Wife, the beloved female I swore to protect for my entire life.’

’How can I doubt her because of a few words from an outsider?’

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his frustration. His gaze, full of complicated emotions, shifted to Shuang Hua, who stood silently to the side as if she were a mere bystander.

"Shuang Hua, if... I misunderstood you in the past and caused you harm, I apologize."

He was skirting the real issue, not wanting to implicate Lan Yi.

Though they sounded like an apology, his words still implicitly placed Lan Yi in an excusable position.

Bai Wanwan sighed to herself.

’Males in this world are ruled by their hearts. Once they’ve set their mind on someone, not even a team of wild horses could drag them away.’

’This Jiao Yuan Clan Leader is so powerful, yet he’s completely clueless when it comes to matters of the heart.’

’The male and female before me are likely my original body’s Father Beast and Mother. I don’t want to get too involved with them.’

’But on two separate occasions, Flood Dragon Males tried to harm me. I can’t just let that go.’

"Just go..." Shuang Hua’s voice was hoarse and weary.

She didn’t even look at Jiao Yuan and Lan Yi, as if they were nothing but air. She simply turned and forced a pained smile for Bai Wanwan that looked worse than tears. "Wanwan," she said, her voice barely a whisper, "let’s... go inside."

Jiao Yuan watched Shuang Hua’s distant, despairing back, and a strange tightness constricted his chest. But just then, Lan Yi let out a weak whimper from his arms, immediately pulling his attention back to her.

He hesitated no longer. Tightening his hold on Lan Yi, he turned to leave the place that had so thoroughly unsettled him.

"Jiao Yuan Clan Leader." Bai Wanwan’s cool voice rang out again, each word as sharp and clear as ice striking the ground, stopping him in his tracks.

Jiao Yuan froze and turned back impatiently. "What is it now?"

His feelings toward this young female were a complicated mix of annoyance at her audacity and a strange inability to be truly angry with her.

Bai Wanwan’s gaze locked onto Jiao Yuan as she asked, her words slow and deliberate, "Your daughter, Coral, is unable to awaken the Life Tree. Have you never stopped to think more deeply about why that is?"

The color drained from Jiao Yuan’s face.

’That is one of the tribe’s most guarded secrets. How could this young female possibly know?’

But the reaction from Lan Yi, who had been leaning "weakly" in Jiao Yuan’s arms, was even more extreme.

The feigned hurt and vulnerability on her face were instantly replaced by sheer panic.

All color drained from her beautiful face, leaving it ashen. Her eyes filled with disbelieving terror.

She frantically clutched the hem of her dress, at a complete loss.

Bai Wanwan and her Beast Husbands took in the entire scene, missing nothing.

Jiao Yuan stared at Bai Wanwan, his expression a mixture of shock and suspicion. His voice carried a harsh, probing tone he had not used before. "You’re a female from another tribe. How could you know our secrets? Did Shuang Hua tell you?"

He instinctively glanced toward Shuang Hua’s back, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Bai Wanwan didn’t answer his question about Shuang Hua directly. Instead, she dropped an even bigger bombshell.

"No. A female who is already dead told me."

Bai Wanwan’s voice was laced with an icy chill. "That female told me that the Flood Dragon Tribe’s Life Tree is on the verge of withering away. She also said that it all stems from a lie—a monstrous lie about a bloodline."

Jiao Yuan looked visibly shaken, his brow furrowed. ’Who was that female?’

’What monstrous lie about a bloodline?’

A small smile touched Bai Wanwan’s lips as she quietly observed the changing expressions on her original body’s Mother.

The woman had nearly crushed the magnificent fabric of her dress in her hands.

"What else do you know? Please, tell me." Jiao Yuan took a step forward, his expression urgent.

"If the Clan Leader wants answers, I think he’ll get them more clearly from the female by his side than from me."

’Truthfully, I don’t know what happened back then either,’ Bai Wanwan thought, looking at Lan Yi’s panicked expression.

’But this matter almost certainly has something to do with her.’