Chapter 610 - 607: Don’t Want to See Him

Chapter 610: Chapter 607: Don’t Want to See Him

Her smile and understanding finally allowed Yan Lie to relax, and a relieved smile spread across his handsome face. "Mm, where are you going? I’ll go with you."

"You don’t have to. I’m going to see Clan Leader Jiao Yuan. You can play with the cubs. I’ll be back soon."

Yan Lie saw that Hua Han and Xin Feng were accompanying her, so after a moment’s thought, he nodded. "Then be back soon."

"Alright," Bai Wanwan said with a smile, waving to him before leaving with Xin Feng and Hua Han.

After passing the open space near their home, they reached the wide main street of the Tiger Clan.

She saw the faces of many newly joined Foreign Beastmen. The apprehension on their faces seemed to have faded considerably. They were working and chatting with the Tiger Clan Beastmen, and she could even see a few cubs from different clans huddled together, playing.

Under the sunlight, the clan was a picture of perfect order.

Sturdy stone houses were scattered about in a pleasant, orderly fashion. Drying beast hides and cured meats indicated plentiful food stores. The males, females, and cubs all wore smiles. Everything stood in stark contrast to the broken, deathly-still clans she had seen on the outside, making this place seem like a tranquil oasis in a world of chaos.

Any Beastman who recognized her, whether from the Tiger Clan or a foreign one, would stop and greet her with respectful enthusiasm, "Holy Female Bai Wanwan!"

Their voices were filled with sincere respect.

Bai Wanwan returned each greeting with a smile.

＊＊＊＊＊

Jiao Yuan had been waiting at his dwelling for a long time, but his daughter still hadn’t arrived. A flicker of anxiety crossed his mature, authoritative face.

As it happened, a Tiger Clan male passed by, shouldering his kill. Jiao Yuan reached out to stop him, intending to ask for his daughter’s dwelling and go find her himself.

Just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

’Shuang Hua!’

His gaze involuntarily locked onto her graceful but distant profile.

As if sensing a Beastman’s gaze upon her, Shuang Hua looked up.

Their eyes met.

However, there was no flicker of emotion in Shuang Hua’s eyes. It was as if she were looking at a common stone on the roadside. She slowly averted her gaze and kept walking, showing no intention of even pausing for a moment.

An indescribable emotion—annoyance, confusion, or something else entirely—instantly gripped Jiao Yuan.

He immediately abandoned his plan to ask for directions, turned without hesitation, and strode after her.

Shuang Hua had not gone far before a tall figure blocked her path.

Jiao Yuan completely ignored the unassuming male beside her, his gaze locked solely on Shuang Hua. His voice was deep, carrying the habitual oppressiveness of one long accustomed to command, yet it held a trace of displeasure from being ignored that even he hadn’t realized was there. "Shuang Hua."

Shuang Hua stopped but didn’t look at him. Instead, she turned to the male Beastman beside her, who seemed flustered by Jiao Yuan’s sudden appearance, and said gently, "Let’s go home."

She tried to walk around Jiao Yuan to continue on her way.

This deliberate snub caused a flare of nameless anger to surge through Jiao Yuan.

He strode forward, blocking Shuang Hua’s path once more and cutting off her route completely.

He was tall and imposing, radiating the stern authority unique to a Clan Leader. He looked down at this face—so familiar, yet unseen for so long. "Shuang Hua, it’s been a long time. Why are you avoiding me?"

Forced to a halt, Shuang Hua finally raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

Her gaze was calm, so calm it bordered on apathy. The familiar warmth from his memories was completely gone.

"Mm," she replied flatly, her tone devoid of any inflection. "Because I don’t want to see you."

’She doesn’t want to see me?’

Jiao Yuan’s brow instantly knitted together, forming a deep furrow.

He had never seen Shuang Hua treat him with such a cold, even openly dismissive, attitude.

Even if they’d had their disagreements and... issues in the past, they were still clansmen, connected by blood!

They were people from the same past who had spent countless years together!

"Why don’t you want to see me?"

His voice held a trace of suppressed frustration and confusion as he tried to use their shared past to break through the wall of ice between them. "We’re from the same clan, we grew up together. After so long, I just wanted to see how you’re doing."

But Shuang Hua seemed not to notice the subtle attempt at reconciliation in his words. Her reply remained brief and detached, laced with an intent to draw a clear line between them. "Well, now you’ve seen. I’m doing very well here in the Tiger Clan, thanks to Wanwan."

With that, it seemed there was nothing left for them to say.

As Jiao Yuan watched Shuang Hua turn to leave again, that strange, tangled emotion in his heart compelled him. He almost subconsciously took another step forward, intending to stop her once more.

This time, however, the unremarkable male who had been standing quietly beside Shuang Hua took a firm step to the side, planting himself squarely in Jiao Yuan’s path.

A moment ago, Jiao Yuan’s attention had been entirely on Shuang Hua; he hadn’t paid the male beside her any mind at all. Now, being blocked, a surge of irrational anger flared within him. "Move!"

However, despite facing Jiao Yuan’s powerful aura, the male named Qiu Gang, though his expression was grave, had an exceptionally resolute gaze. His feet seemed rooted to the spot, and he didn’t yield a single inch, silently fulfilling his duty as a guardian.

Seeing this, Shuang Hua frowned, her tone taking on a clear edge of impatience and distance. She looked at Jiao Yuan and said distinctly, "Jiao Yuan, there’s been nothing for you and me to talk about for a long time. Please leave. Don’t disturb my life any further. Qiu Gang, we’re leaving."

With that, she turned away decisively, not sparing Jiao Yuan another glance.

Qiu Gang grunted in affirmation. Still vigilant, he carefully shielded Shuang Hua as they slowly walked away, his eyes never leaving Jiao Yuan.

Jiao Yuan stood rooted to the spot, watching Shuang Hua’s figure recede into the distance under the other male’s protection. This time, he didn’t follow.

A complex anger, tinged with a sense of powerlessness, churned in his chest.

He stared as Shuang Hua’s figure grew more and more distant, as if she, just like Wanwan, was walking out of his world.

After some time—perhaps only a moment—a familiar voice sounded from behind, interrupting his turbulent thoughts.

"You were looking for me?"

’It’s Wanwan!’

The cold, oppressive aura around Jiao Yuan instantly receded like a tide. He immediately suppressed all outward emotion and spun around.

When his gaze fell upon Bai Wanwan standing a short distance away, he struggled to force a smile onto his angular, habitually stern face—a smile that could almost be called "paternal." Warmth filled his eyes and his voice softened. "Wanwan, you’re here."

He paused, afraid his sudden appearance might seem odd, and quickly added an explanation. "I heard this continent has been in chaos lately. This Father Beast couldn’t rest easy, so I decided to come and see for myself how you were doing."