Chapter 489 - 486: Letting the Body Be Occupied

Chapter 489: Chapter 486: Letting the Body Be Occupied

This... was far more than a simple swap.

"I... I don’t know!" Lan Yi shook her head frantically, her eyes filled with genuine bewilderment. "That Beastman... she only said to swap them and guaranteed it wouldn’t be discovered. I really don’t know what happened after that!"

Jiao Yuan stared intently at Lan Yi for a long time, his gaze a complex storm of emotions: anger, disappointment, heartache, and above all, a profound weariness.

Finally, he slowly straightened up. Without giving her another glance, he turned and started walking out.

"Where are you going?" Lan Yi rushed over in a panic, reaching for his arm.

Coral, who had been hiding just inside the door with a face as pale as a sheet, also rushed over in tears, clinging tightly to Jiao Yuan’s leg. "Father Beast! Father Beast! Are you abandoning Mother and me? Are you abandoning Coral?"

Jiao Yuan’s body went rigid.

He looked down at Coral’s small face, so full of dependence and fear, and a whirlwind of emotions churned within him.

’This was the female cub he had doted on for more than a decade, the one who had enjoyed all the honor and affection that should have belonged to his biological daughter... But his actual daughter?’

’What had she gone through all those years?’

’Such a small cub, without her Father Beast or Mother by her side, how did she survive?’

A great wave of anguish and fury washed over him.

He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, they held nothing but icy resolve.

He didn’t respond to Coral’s cries, nor did he spare another glance for Lan Yi. With gentle but firm, irresistible strength, he pried Coral’s hands from his leg, then strode away without a single look back.

The heavy sound of his footsteps echoed down the empty stone corridor until they faded into silence.

＊＊＊＊

In the days that followed, Jiao Yuan tried every way he could to make it up to the female cub he had wronged.

Precious beast pelts, rare Spirit Fruits, energy-infused Crystal Stones, delicate ornaments for females...

They were delivered in a ceaseless stream to the front of Shuang Hua’s stone house.

Food, trinkets, and practical items—they piled up until they filled nearly half the courtyard.

"Wanwan, these things... if you don’t want them, I’ll have someone throw them all back at him!"

Shuang Hua gazed at the mountain of "offerings" in the courtyard, her face flush with anger. She felt indignant on Bai Wanwan’s behalf.

’No matter how precious these things are, can they really make up for all the suffering she’s endured?’

Bai Wanwan, however, merely spared a casual glance for the priceless gifts, a faint, detached smile playing on her lips. "Why throw them back? To let Lan Yi and Coral have them?"

She picked up a lustrous Gemstone Necklace and toyed with it in her hands, a smile lingering on her lips. "I’ll take them. I’ll take them all. Aunt Shuang, if you like anything, just take it. Don’t hesitate."

’This was what Jiao Yuan owed the body’s original owner.’

’This is the cruel Beast World, and the original owner had been cast out into a tiny tribe.’

’If not for the System she was bound to, the original owner would have likely been killed with a single swipe of Chou Rong’s claws the very first time she tried to plot against him.’

’Even if she had gotten away with it by some fluke, the Wandering Beasts would never have let her go.’

’Once you’re dead, what good is all this stuff?’

’It could never make up for what was lost, but she absolutely wasn’t giving any of it back.’

And so, Bai Wanwan accepted everything Jiao Yuan sent without exception, but she wouldn’t deign to offer him so much as a word of thanks or even a single glance.

When he heard the report from his Beastman subordinate that Bai Wanwan had accepted everything, a faint spark of hope finally ignited in Jiao Yuan’s bleak eyes.

He immediately picked out several of the most delicate trinkets, ones that females were said to adore, and returned to Shuang Hua’s courtyard, his heart filled with a mix of apprehension and hope.

However, he couldn’t even get close to the courtyard gate.

Jin Yi and Yin Ze stood before him like a pair of icy guardian statues, silently barring his way. They unleashed the undisguised pressure of Red Rank Males, a clear warning in the air.

Hua Han leaned against a nearby tree trunk. Though he knew this was his Wife’s Father Beast, his sly, fox-like eyes remained devoid of warmth.

Shuang Hua emerged from the courtyard. The moment she saw him, her gentle expression vanished, replaced by a dark scowl. Her gaze was frigid, as if she were looking at a complete stranger. Treating him as if he were invisible, she turned to walk away.

"Shuang Hua!"

Jiao Yuan called out to her anxiously, his voice pleading, "I... I want to see Wanwan. Just for a moment... Could you please tell her for me?"

Shuang Hua stopped but didn’t turn around. Her voice was chilling, like ice beads clattering on stone. "She doesn’t want to see you. Jiao Yuan Clan Leader, please leave."

"Shuang Hua!" Jiao Yuan’s voice was filled with anguish. "Those things you told me before... were they true?"

He was referring to the time Shuang Hua had subtly hinted that Lan Yi had mated with another male, that Coral might not be his biological daughter. But back then, he had been so completely in love with Lan Yi that he had refused to believe her.

But now, each of these revelations was like a Bone Needle piercing his heart.

Shuang Hua slowly turned. Seeing his bloodshot eyes, her own gaze held only a calm, sorrowful resignation. "True or false, what does it matter now? The damage is done. Some cracks can never be mended."

With that, she didn’t linger. She walked resolutely into the courtyard, and the heavy wooden door slowly swung shut in his face, extinguishing the last flicker of his hope.

Jiao Yuan stood rooted to the spot, completely drained of strength. He stared, utterly crestfallen, at the closed door, as if gazing across the insurmountable chasm that now separated him from his own female cub.

Late at night, in the empty stone hall of the Clan Leader’s residence, Jiao Yuan sat alone on a cold stone chair, several jars of potent Monkey Wine before him.

The potent aroma of wine filled the air, but it could not dispel the bitterness and solitude in his heart.

He raised a wine jar and took a hard swig. The harsh liquor burned his throat, but it couldn’t stop the stinging in his eyes.

"Jinying..." he began, his voice hoarse, echoing in the empty stone hall. "Come... have a drink with me."

From the shadows, Jinying’s figure slowly emerged.

He walked silently to sit across from Jiao Yuan, picked up another jar, and took a long drink, equally silent.

’The cold liquor slid down his throat, but it couldn’t extinguish the inexplicable pain and affection that had suddenly bloomed in his heart.’

Two souls, equally devoured by pain, drank away their respective sorrows in the silence of the night.

"Jinying, can you tell me more about Wanwan?"

The formidable Red Rank Male now looked like a vulnerable child, gazing expectantly at the male beside him.

Jinying took a sip of Monkey Wine and shook his head. "Uncle Yuan, I’ve only seen her once. Everything I know about her is just hearsay."

’In truth, after learning Bai Wanwan’s real identity, he too felt a strange sense of resentment.’

’He resented them for not taking care of their own female cub, for letting her endure so much hardship.’

Jiao Yuan hugged the wine jar, already half-drunk. "It’s my fault. I’m the one who didn’t protect her..."

Jinying remained seated, unmoving. For an instant, he felt control of his body slipping away again. But this time, for some reason, he didn’t fight it, letting the other entity take over.