Night fell. Miao Juan had been locked in her room for half the day. Ordinarily, one of the males would have come to check on her, but they must have been repulsed by her hideous appearance. The courtyard outside was utterly silent. When she came out again, she was wrapped up from head to toe. But even so, her shorter, stooped figure immediately gave her away as an old female.
"I'm hungry," she said, not daring to speak loudly. Her voice, just a whisper, was aged and hoarse.
The males exchanged a glance, and one of them rose to bring her some food.
"Juanzi, you... what on earth happened to you?"
"It's nothing. Someone just used a Curse Technique on me. It'll wear off eventually." Miao Juan had kept her superpower a secret, even from her own Beast Husbands.
'The more people who knew, the greater the danger. She had their Beast Marks, which guaranteed their loyalty, but every additional person who knew her secret also meant an additional risk.'
