Walking out of the cave, Wen Shu found the moonlight above her was completely blocked by the gentle evening breeze caressing her face.
"Female."
The pleasing call of a male's voice came from above.
Wen Shu looked up.
Under the deep night sky, a tall male with light brown hair and a long robe made of white feathers, his face covered with a wooden mask, was quietly looking at her.
His beautiful eyes were light yellow, his eye sockets deep, his eye shape clean and gentle, yet appeared somewhat cold when he looked at people with an expressionless face.
Being watched by such eyes, Wen Shu felt a tightening in her heart, with an inexplicable illusion that all secrets lay bare before him.
However, facing her silent, scrutinizing gaze.
The male, who just a second ago made her apprehensive, suddenly turned pale, panickedly gave way to the cave entrance, and huddled in a corner, "Sorry, Female Master, I forgot how I'm an eyesore, blocking your way, please don't get angry..."
He intentionally lowered his voice, yet a listening-sensitive Beastman still heard.
Not far away, a female emerged from the cave, and upon seeing Wen Shu, stomped her feet twice where she stood, but couldn't resist her temper.
"Some people are just malicious! If it wasn't for Nan's father, some ungrateful bastard would have died long ago, where would they find the life to act out here!"
The female's Beast Husband urged her, "Stop talking, be careful to not be overheard..."
"Let them hear! If they can do it, they shouldn't fear being talked about, if she's got the guts, she can go complain, even if Chief Weng favors her, can he really arrest me?"
Being indirectly criticized, Wen Shu finally pieced together who Nan was from her memories.
As a child, the original owner had been mischievous, running into the dense forest alone and nearly being eaten by a wild beast, saved by Nan's father who brought her back to the tribe.
Chief Weng was very grateful to them, and thus witnessed by the Beast God, arranged a marriage contract between the original owner and Nan.
Unable to refuse, and discovering on the wedding night that Nan was disfigured, his face full of gnarled scars, the original owner was filled with anger.
So she forced him to wear a mask, and when in a bad mood, she beat or scolded him.
She eventually forbade him from appearing in front of her.
The ridiculous thing was, after three years, the original owner had never even remembered his name!
Wen Shu glanced at Nan.
The male's broad back curled up, his hands covering his head, his eyes slightly trembling, cautiously observing her actions, looking extremely pitiful.
Even so...the difference from the first impression he gave was too big.
"I don't blame you, get up first."
She walked a few steps closer, reaching out to pull him, yet he abruptly retreated several steps, his body uncontrollably trembling.
Wen Shu's movements stiffened, he truly didn't seem to be pretending, in her memories, the original owner had also stumbled upon a few occasions where he was bullied by other Beastmen.
Perhaps she was overthinking?
She helplessly withdrew her hand, coldly commanding, "Get up and come home with me."
After speaking, she turned and left, hearing footsteps following from afar, she quickened her pace.
When returning to the cave, Mious was still not awake.
Wen Shu glanced at him from afar, leading Nan to stop at the hall outside the cave.
"Sit."
Wen Shu sat on a stone bench, pointing to the other side.
The male glanced at her, seeing her expression was relatively gentle, and obediently sat down.
Wen Shu organized her words, "Nan, as far as I know, we haven't entered Spiritual Pairing, right?"
Nan made eye contact with her peaceful gaze, his eyes somewhat vacant, but still quickly nodded.
With the last doubt dispelled, Wen Shu spoke straightforwardly, "Since we are nominal without substance, do you wish to leave?"
"No—"
Nan's pupils contracted, abruptly standing up.
Wen Shu calmly looked at him, interrupted, "I'm serious, after meeting Mious, I realized just how terrible I was before."
"I apologize for my past actions to you, and will provide you with appropriate compensation, please give me this chance."
She stood up, deeply bowed.
Nan stared dumbly at her for two seconds, the panic deepening in his eyes.
"No!" He shook his head forcefully, his voice trembling with urgency, "I won't leave… Female Master, it's all my fault, I'll be more obedient in the future, absolutely won't appear in front of you, please don't drive me away! I, I would die!"
In Beast World, abandoned males by their partners mostly had tragic endings, either unable to withstand public pressure or because of spiritual power eruptions becoming wandering beasts.
Though they hadn't entered Spiritual Pairing...
But he does not believe the female would suddenly change her temperament.
"Nan, before I send you away, I can heal your face. By then, no one in the tribe would be able to recognize you, nor would they remember that you were engaged to me."
Faced with Nan's intense reaction, Wen Shu felt a bit puzzled.
Everything he worried about, Wen Shu had thought through.
In the Beast World, unpaired Beastmen wouldn't leave each other's scent. Even if they were spiritually paired, breaking the contract wouldn't have any impact.
The original Wen Shu was indeed reckless, but surely wouldn't forget these common sense facts.
After hearing her words, Nan's face turned pale, and his figure wobbled before running anxiously into the cavern on the right.
When he came out again, he knelt straight in front of Wen Shu, eyes red from pleading, holding a long whip in his hand, "Female, if you're unhappy, you can hit me like before as long as you can forgive me! I beg you, don't send me away!"
His voice grew increasingly small, his bowed head almost sinking into his chest, while his shoulders trembled slightly from fear.
"..."
Wen Shu glanced at the black whip covered in barbs, with mixed feelings.
Case closed, it's not that breaking the contract means he can't survive, it's that the original's vicious image is too deeply imprinted, Nan simply doesn't trust her.
Forget it, after all, this is not a matter that can be resolved in a short time.
Wen Shu let out a long sigh in her heart and reached out to take the long whip.
The tip of the whip fell to the ground, drawing a shallow mark.
Seeing Nan's figure twitching as a result, she directly used both hands to roll up the whip and threw it out of the cave, "That's enough, I'm tired."
Then, under Nan's surprised gaze, she yawned and started to inspect the cave.
As the chief's only offspring, her cave was the brightest and most spacious in the tribe.
The cave was generally shaped like the letter "F", with an open top in the central area to maintain air circulation. Further in, to the left was a kitchen and two empty storage caves, while to the right was a main cavern and two smaller ones for sleeping.
Wen Shu pointed to the innermost smaller cave, "From now on, you will live there. No need to intentionally avoid me anymore."
After speaking, without waiting for Nan's response, she quickly walked into the main cavern.
A gust of night wind blew, extinguishing the flames, leaving the cave even darker.
Once confirming the female had left, Nan stood up expressionlessly, brushing off the dirt from his feather robe.
Would a naturally brutal and irritable female change her nature instantly?
Nan sighed lightly, raising his hand to feel the dry tear stains at the corner of his eye.
Yet, does it matter? It is of no consequence.
People always have to pay the price for their actions.
He gazed coldly at the main cavern, his tall figure standing still for a moment, then stepped out into the pale moonlight.
—————
Inside the main cavern, Wen Shu sat on the edge of the stone bed, staring absentmindedly at Mious.
The male's skin was coldly white, from chest to abdomen it was smooth as if the golden tattoos she once saw were just an illusion.
But the fact was, they were indeed spiritually paired.
As for how...
The only possibility was the spiritual connection formed when she used the Soul Capturing Technique on Mious.
It was necessary to clearly separate from Mious, but she couldn't act rashly until she had the ability to protect herself.
Putting aside the high-intensity training during the apocalypse, her physical constitution and superpower level were closely related.
But the original's spiritual power was too low, her abundant power was suppressed, and she couldn't release it. At the moment, apart from combat experience, her physical condition was not much different than before the apocalypse.
If danger were encountered, with the bond of the partner contract, Mious would not only refrain from harming her but would even protect her to stay alive.
Moreover, she still needed to heal Mious, and breaking the contract later wouldn't be too late.
After carefully considering the current situation, her tense nerves finally relaxed. Wen Shu dragged a beast fur blanket from the bed and curled up on the stone table in the corner to sleep, instinctively maintaining a vigilant posture.
——
In the morning, the tribe bustled once again, chaotic footsteps and voices constantly filled the air, with occasional excited animal calls mixed in.
Wen Shu was suddenly awakened, reaching out first to feel for the handgun beside her.
After half a day without finding it, she opened her eyes to see the smooth stone wall and the swaying wooden chandelier above, suddenly remembering that she had traveled to another world.
She flipped over to sit up, scratching her itchy hair, and immediately noticed the male opposite her, looking unwell.
Mious propped himself up on the edge of the stone bed, looking like he had been awake for a while. Meeting her gaze, his already stern face showed a few more hints of coldness, with a hidden sharp intent in his eyes.
The intense pressure hit her face, causing Wen Shu to sober up a bit, "You're awake..."