"What happened?" Lia asked.
"I tripped," Ziqian lied.
"Why bother lying?" Ero snickered. "Just admit you got too excited giving a blowjob to his son.
Why don't you say it yourself?! Ziqian fumed inwardly.
"If I could, I'd even make a recording and play it for Lia," Ero added with a smug little bounce.
Ziqian's fists clenched, struggling not to crush the red fluffball right then and there. Ero, oblivious, only laughed harder—completely unaware of the tragic fate that awaited him later in their ward's hands.
"Don't worry, Ah-Zi. Lia saw the two of you kissing earlier, but he didn't say anything. That means he also likes you," Phi said innocently.
Ero immediately burst out laughing, while Ziqian's face turned scarlet.
Ugh! Of course that was the case. Why else would Lia cough so loudly if not to warn them? The thought only deepened his embarrassment. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and bury himself.
He had played around before, but he was always discreet—never caught so openly like this.
Lia confirmed that Ziqian's bruises were nothing serious—just some discoloration and slight swelling. A simple injury, but certainly not the kind one would get from merely tripping in the forest, especially not with those faint finger marks around his waist and wrists. Still, Lia didn't expose the sub-beast's flimsy excuse. He only reminded Ziqian to rest early and avoid moving too much.
Even so, Lia felt a bit flustered. Those marks… he could hardly imagine the Xue he knew would be the one to leave them, yet who else could it have been? After all, the two had been alone together.
Ziqian, clearly embarrassed, hurried to his feet and bid Lia farewell. But before he could take a step, Xue scooped him up with ease, gathered their belongings, and walked out of the tent.
Lia was left momentarily stunned. He never expected that his cold, indifferent son would one day act so thoughtful and considerate toward someone else.
_______________.
"That bitch! Now that Huo isn't here, he dares set his eyes on my Xue!" A beautiful brown-haired sub-beast spat, stomping his foot as he glared at the figure being carried in Xue's arms.
Gio had once been regarded as the most beautiful sub-beast in the tribe—at least, until Ziqian appeared and effortlessly outshone him. Yet, even before that, Xue had never spared him so much as an extra glance.
They had grown up together, Gio alongside the twins, and in all those years, Xue had remained the same: cold, aloof, and untouchable. That very distance only made him more dazzling in Gio's eyes, a height no one else could reach.
And though Gio knew Xue was unattainable, his heart still clung stubbornly to one hope—one day, he would be the one standing at the man's side.
"Looking for food was just his excuse to seduce our beasts," Gio sneered, her voice dripping with malice.
At once, a ripple of murmurs spread through the gathered sub-beasts. Some frowned uncertainly, recalling harmless exchanges that now felt suspicious under Gio's poisonous words. Others wore smug, knowing looks, eager to fuel the fire.
"He even smiled at my man," a skinny sub-beast gasped, clutching his chest as if offended. His gaze darted anxiously to the others. "Don't tell me… he's been smiling at your husbands too whenever they crossed paths?"
Gio inwardly rolled his eyes. Please, who in their right mind would ever want to seduce your ugly husband?
"He always smiles so sweetly—probably to lure our beasts."
"Pretending to be weak so someone will carry him!"
Envy and insecurity twisted into sharp whispers, each one piling atop the other, turning Ziqian's every smile into a poisonous charm in their minds.
Gio put on a gentle face, his voice honey-sweet as he patted the anxious one's hand. "Only with each other's support," he said soothingly, "can we prevent him from seducing our men."
"Gio is right!" Several voices chorused at once, their tones a mixture of relief and self-righteousness as though declaring a common enemy made their own insecurities vanish.
Gio's eyes narrowed, and he cast a meaningful glance at Kea.
"No one knows where he came from. He could have previously belonged to a hostile tribe and was sent here to harm us," Kea said, his tone sharp and full of disdain. His words only stoked the fire further, and another round of slanders echoed."He's trying to gain our trust."
"And once he does, he'll turn our beasts against us."
"We need to let the whole tribe know his schemes."
Gio's nails dug into his palms, his hatred fueling him. Let's see how long that pretty face lasts once everyone believes he's a danger to the tribe.
Like Gio, Kea despised Ziqian. He was already married, bound to a beast he barely cared for, but his heart had always belonged to Huo. He had long planned to make Huo his second husband—sub-beasts could take multiple partners. It should have been his right.
But ever since that outsider arrived, everything had changed.
Huo—his Huo—was now openly pursuing Ziqian, hovering near him like a shadow, protecting him, smiling at him as though no one else existed. Kea burned with envy.
I won't let him take Huo away from me, Kea thought with suppressed rage.
Kea had been patiently waiting until the tribe gathered to select the leader for the annual hunt at Mount Nebo. Every year it was the same—Huo would not be chosen. The man was strong, yes, but still far beneath Xue's overwhelming presence. It wasn't that Kea lacked faith in Huo—it was simply the truth he could not deny.
He planned to console Huo as he always did after the selection, but this year would be different. With the help of Raya—a plant that could stir estrus—he intended to lure Huo with the irresistible pull of his pheromones.
After all, what kind of beast could turn away a sub-beast in heat? Just imagining Huo losing control and claiming him made Kea's cheeks burn with anticipation.
After that, he would let the whole tribe know that Huo had forced him while he was in heat. As a sub-beast with a partner, such a crime would be unforgivable—Huo's honor would shatter, and no one would dare defend him.
The tribe would never tolerate it. Hou's name, his pride, and his future would all be ruined. In the tribe's eyes, the blame would never fall on him. A sub-beast in estrus was vulnerable, pitiable, and innocent.
Then, when Huo was at his lowest—hated, condemned, and cast aside—Kea would step forward to "make amends." He would offer marriage as a way to cleanse the shame, to show the tribe that he was merciful enough to forgive.
In the eyes of others, it would look like generosity. In truth, it would bind Huo to him forever. It didn't matter to Kea if Huo didn't love him yet—love could come later. What mattered was securing marriage before it was too late. Once bound, Huo would have no choice but to stay by his side.
But Kea never expected Lia to announce Huo as the leader for the annual hunt. In a single breath, all of his careful planning crumbled to dust.
Kea lowered his gaze quickly, hiding the storm raging in his chest, but his thoughts spun with venom. He had been ready to give himself to Huo, to force fate into his own hands.
"I think he is not—ahh!" A timid sub-beast cried out, his voice breaking into a yelp as Kea's fingers dug mercilessly into his waist. He flinched, clutching at the spot, only to find Gio's icy glare bearing down on him like a blade pressed to his throat.
"What are you trying to say, Pen?" Kea's voice was deceptively sweet, but the venom laced within it made Pen's stomach twist. "Are you siding with him?"
Pen's lips trembled. "I—I didn't mean—" he stammered, shrinking under their gazes. The timid sub-beast's cheeks turned pale as he rubbed the sore spot on his waist where Kea had pinched him.
Gio folded his arms, eyes narrowing into sharp slits. "Your sister Yan is friends with him, right? Are you also friends with him now?" His tone was full of sarcasm, the implication heavy enough to make Pen's heart race.
"I—I just think maybe—" Pen's words died in his throat as he looked around, realizing every pair of eyes in their circle was watching him, waiting to see whether he would stand with them or be a traitor.
Kea smirked, his tone light but the threat unmistakable. "If that's the case, then perhaps you shouldn't stay with us anymore. We don't need traitors."
Pen's breath hitched. His eyes burned, moisture gathering at the corners. His small fists tightened in his lap, but he stayed silent, swallowing back his protests.
Pen had met Ziqian several times and even overheard him chatting warmly with his sister. The sub-beast he saw was nothing like the person Gio and Kea described. Ziqian smiled not only at the beasts but at everyone—he was gentle with the females, respectful to the elders, and playful with the cubs.
Pen wanted to speak up, to explain that Ziqian was different, but every time he opened his mouth, Gio's glare or Kea's sharp pinch silenced him. Their displeasure was always followed by whispered threats—that if he dared defend Ziqian again, he would be excluded from their group.
The thought of being cast out, of losing the only circle that accepted him, made his chest tighten. So he bowed his head, clutching his hands together, and endured as their voices once again rose in a storm of lies and mockery.
Ero and Phi were lazily drifting around the tribe, as they often did, when they stumbled upon Gio, Kea, and their circle slandering Ziqian.
Ero's crimson fur stood on end as he bounced angrily in midair, then darted down to jump repeatedly on Kea's head. "Let's remember the ugly faces of these people," he spat, each bounce punctuating his words. "If only we had bodies—hmph! —they'd vanish to oblivion with a flick of my fingers."
Phi, calmer yet equally upset, drifted closer to the timid one cowering at the edge. He rubbed his yellow fur against Pen's pale cheeks. "This child's heart is kind. He doesn't belong among these wolves in sheep's skin."
The two guardians hovered there, powerless, forced to swallow their fury as the malicious words poured on.
While helping Xue sort through the herbs, Ziqian suddenly pressed his hand to his chest. A strange unease surged inside him—not his own, but something that seeped in from far away.
It was then he could faintly sense Ero's anger blazing like fire, restless and explosive, and Phi's unhappiness pulsing in low, troubled waves.
"What's wrong with them now…" he muttered softly, pressing his hand against his heart. It wasn't painful, but it was heavy.
He sighed and shook his head, forcing a smile. Forget it. If they're angry, it must be because of me again.
He had lived long enough to know that people's tongues were sharper than knives. No matter how kindly he smiled or how politely he acted, there would always be those who twisted his actions into something ugly.
It is not the first and will never be the last.