Bai Ying frowned slightly but did not turn around. Without hesitation, he lengthened his stride and disappeared into the depths of the forest, his figure swiftly swallowed by the trees.
Yue Ling's wrist was gripped tightly by Lang Zuo. She could only watch helplessly as the man she was supposed to seduce grew farther and farther away, until he vanished completely from sight.
A wave of powerlessness surged up from her chest.
"Let go of me," she said, struggling lightly. "I wasn't running around."
She truly hated the way Lang Zuo and Lang You treated her—like a criminal under guard, restrained by brute force at every turn.
From the surrounding crowd came mocking laughter.
"Well, if it isn't Lang Zuo. Shouldn't you be off taking care of that filthy, stinking, ugly crazy female? What are you doing here, grabbing such a pretty little female in the center of the tribe?"
Several beastmen frowned at the sight of Lang Zuo's rough handling. Some even shifted into a guarded stance, clearly displeased. To them, this tall wolf beastman looked downright vicious—manhandling such a delicate, adorable female.
The "filthy, stinking, ugly" Yue Ling: ...
Lang Zuo shot the surrounding beastmen a cold sideways glance. One hand still clenched around Yue Ling's wrist, the other holding the freshly roasted meat, he turned and headed straight back toward the area where Yue Ling lived.
Her seduction target was already gone.
Yue Ling let out a quiet sigh and resigned herself to being dragged along.
"Lang Zuo, aren't you afraid the chieftain will be angry?" someone called out.
"You're trying to monopolize the new female!"
Lang Zuo raised an eyebrow at the speaker, impatience written plainly across his sharp, handsome features.
Yue Ling felt as though she had used up a lifetime's worth of speechlessness in just these past two days.
"If you have a problem," Lang Zuo said flatly, "go talk to the chieftain."
"You're being too arrogant, Lang Zuo!" another beastman snapped.
Lang Zuo curled his lips into a cold, humorless smile and stared directly at the one shouting.
"She's not some newly arrived female," he said. "She's the crazy female—Yue Ling."
That single sentence sent ripples through the crowd.
Shock spread across their faces. None of them had imagined that once cleaned up, that infamous mad female could look so soft, so beautiful, so harmless.
But… her mind was broken.
She wasn't normal.
Lang Zuo ignored the stunned reactions entirely and pulled Yue Ling away from the crowd.
Back in the cave, Yue Ling sat on the animal-hide bed, the roasted meat in her hands still faintly warm.
Lang Zuo stood nearby, his expression unreadable as he looked down at her.
"I didn't run around," Yue Ling said quietly but firmly. "Is it wrong for me to go to the tribe?"
She was truly afraid of being locked away again. She only had three days. She couldn't afford to wait passively in this cave until death came knocking.
"The cold season is coming," Lang Zuo said, avoiding her question. "Lang You and I need to hunt. I'll bring you fresh roasted meat at midday."
With that, he turned and left the cave.
They had already wasted too much time because of her. Without enough food stored, the arrival of the cold season would mean starvation.
At the entrance of the cave, Lang Zuo pushed a massive stone into place, sealing it off and leaving only a narrow gap.
The instant Yue Ling saw him moving the stone, she rushed toward the entrance—but she was too late. All she could do was watch as the cave was shut off completely.
She slapped her hands against the rock desperately.
"Lang Zuo! Let me out! You can't do this to me!"
So much for "females are precious."
So much for "males must obey females."
It was all a lie.
This was nothing less than unlawful imprisonment.
System 999 chimed in quietly.
[It's probably because the image of the crazy female is too deeply rooted in their minds.]
Yue Ling's palms stung from striking the stone, yet no one responded.
She slumped back, staring at the immovable rock, her chest tight with frustration and helplessness.
Lang Zuo wasn't doing this out of cruelty—he was afraid she would start wandering aimlessly again. Even though she seemed far more normal now, the past had made him cautious.
Before, when she was filthy and disheveled, he'd feared she would be killed by ferocious beasts roaming the mountains.
Now that she was clean, fragile, and beautiful, there was another danger to worry about.
Rogue beastmen.
Those wandering beasts—exiles, or males who had lost their mates—were the most dangerous of all.
Any female who fell into their hands would become nothing more than a breeding tool.
And a female as small and weak as Yue Ling?
If she encountered them, there would be no escape. Only death.