novelraw Chapter 116 - 99: So Useless
Chapter 116 - 99: So Useless
An Jin knocked hesitantly on the door. "Mi Yin, are you in there?"
’Strange. Did he go out to hunt? But with his lazy personality, he doesn’t seem like the type to go hunting in this heat.’
An Jin stood at the door for a long time, weighing her options, unsure if she should call out again.
「After a long moment.」
She heard the sound of a snake tail slithering.
Then, a faint "Mm" came from inside the room.
Confusion rose in An Jin’s heart. "Why didn’t you answer just now?"
"I was sleeping. I didn’t hear you."
She could tell he was in a bad mood, and his reply was somewhat perfunctory. She nodded, a little unhappy herself. "Alright then. I won’t bother you. You get some rest..."
The light footsteps, unique to a female, sounded outside the door, then grew more and more distant.
In the darkness of the room, the python coiled in the corner lifted its head, its scarlet eyes flashing. Realizing the female was walking away, an intense sense of panic surged through it.
It suddenly arched its upper body and shot toward the door, wanting to coil around the female and bring her back. But just as its head was about to touch the door...
...it recoiled as if shocked.
"HISS~"
’I wanted Jin’er to realize I was unhappy, so I haven’t left to eat for two days. But her attention is still completely on that Wolf Beast.’
’As expected, no one cares about a Wandering Beast.’
’She probably... only accepted me because of the mate mark. In her heart, I’m not that important at all, am I...’
At this thought, Mi Yin grew even more dejected. The ten-meter-long, black-and-red python slowly coiled itself back into a flat disk, curling up motionlessly in the corner.
However, to his surprise, the female’s footsteps sounded again not long after, accompanied by the rich aroma of food.
A knock came at the wooden door, followed by the female’s gentle, concerned voice. "It’s evening now. I noticed you haven’t eaten much today, so I made some chicken soup for you. Do you want some?"
The python hid its head in its coils, curling its body even tighter, and said in a muffled, sulky voice, "Don’t worry about me. I’m not hungry."
An Jin was speechless. "..."
’He’s acting like a pouting child.’
She rubbed the spot between her eyebrows, realizing this snake was genuinely giving her the silent treatment. She never expected that the fierce and aloof Mi Yin would be so childish when he was angry.
’I have no experience appeasing people.’
She placed the steaming chicken soup by the door and waited for a long time, but he still didn’t open it. An Jin’s patience was wearing thin, but she still said in a gentle voice, "Don’t be angry anymore. Eat first. Whatever you want as compensation, I’ll agree to it, okay?"
"..."
Only after the footsteps outside disappeared again did the wooden door creak open slightly, just a crack.
A section of a snake tail extended from the room, firmly coiled around the pot of chicken soup, and dragged it inside. Then, the tail quickly shut the door again...
’I can’t let the soup Jin’er made with her own hands go to waste.’
When An Jin returned with a plate of roasted meat, she saw from a distance that the large bowl of chicken soup by the door was gone.
’He really is like a cub. His silent treatment crumbled so quickly.’
She couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile. She crouched down and placed the roasted meat at the door. Before she could even knock, the door opened with a CLICK.
A dark figure flashed before her eyes, and she was pulled into a man’s strong, cool, and firm embrace. The wooden door then slammed shut with a BANG, and her vision was plunged into darkness.
Mi Yin bent down, his thin lips brushing against her ear as he whispered, his long fingers trailing down from her waist. "You said you’d compensate me."
"..."
An Jin looked up, speechless. The light was too dim; she could only see the man’s blurry silhouette. His deep, scorching red eyes were gazing at her intently, easily capable of drowning a person in their beautiful depths.
"Can’t you show a little restraint?" It wasn’t that An Jin didn’t want to be with him, but the mere thought of a Snake Beast’s stamina made her legs feel weak.
’One of these days, he’s going to wring me dry.’
"You’re my mate. Of course I’d come to you," Mi Yin said, his voice a mixture of grievance and desire.
The feeling had given him a taste for it; after the first time, he immediately wanted a second.
Besides, it wasn’t that he was that desperate. It had genuinely been a long time since he had touched her. An Jin’s mind was completely focused on the tribe, and the time she spent with him was negligible.
The comfortable life in the tribe was too dull for Mi Yin.
He was usually lonely and bored. Besides sleeping, his only other activity was pestering her for some excitement.
An Jin couldn’t resist Mi Yin’s passionate advances and ultimately surrendered. He pressed her against the wall, and they moved through every part of the room.
Normally, he preferred quiet and was always restrained and gentle out of consideration for her feelings. This time, however, he completely let loose, his actions unusually fierce, as if he were venting his jealousy.
An Jin buried her blushing face in his chest and said uncomfortably, "Be... be gentler..."
Her eyes darted nervously to the wall. Ling Hong and Xi’s room was right next door. It would be too embarrassing to wake them up in the middle of the night.
But a dark current swirled in Mi Yin’s eyes, and he deliberately tried to make her cry out louder. Humiliated and angry, An Jin bit his firm arm a few times, trying to get away from him.
"...Don’t move," he said, pained, resting his head against her neck.
An Jin was extremely uncomfortable too. She truly didn’t dare to move, not out of obedience, but because she could feel the snake’s barbs.
As Wandering Beasts, most snakes forced themselves on females. Over thousands of years of evolution, they developed barbs to prevent females from escaping, allowing them to complete the mating by force.
In the darkness, Mi Yin’s panting subsided a little. The more she struggled, the more it drove him crazy with the desire to possess her, but he didn’t want to do it that way. It would hurt her.
When the first light of dawn broke through the night, Mi Yin, having exhausted An Jin, finally let her go. He transformed into his snake form and easily encircled her with his body.
Watching the female sleeping soundly with her eyes shut, her drenched black hair and flushed little face—every detail of her was utterly mesmerizing to him.
’If I tire her out, she won’t have the energy to look for other males.’
As a Wandering Beast disliked by females, Mi Yin was both proud and insecure. When facing An Jin, however, only his extreme insecurity remained.
He could only hide this insecurity behind a fiercer, more domineering facade.
’If she really took other mates, or accepted that Wolf Beast, she would definitely stop liking me, a Snake Beast.’
This was the only way Mi Yin could confirm her feelings for him, heighten his presence in her life, and fill the emotional void in his heart.
Based on past experience, Mi Yin predicted she would sleep until the afternoon. As the sky began to lighten, he placed her on the bed, carefully tucked her in, and prepared to go out.
The moment he opened the door, he saw the Wolf Beast pacing in the main hall. He sneered, swishing his snake tail as he slithered forward without a sideways glance.
The Silver Wolf’s eyes were bloodshot as it stared intently at the approaching Snake Beast. The tension between them was palpable.
’He had been woken up by the noises in the night. That Snake Beast dared to treat An Jin so roughly! As expected of a Wandering Beast, he has no idea how to cherish a female!’
The more Ling Hong thought about it, the angrier he became. He was a Sixth Rank Beastman now; he no longer had to act subservient as before. He could finally have a proper, all-out fight with him!
"ROOOAR!" Driven to battle by fury, the Silver Wolf lowered its body and leaped, lunging to bite and tear at the snake’s tail.
As a Wolf Beast, its bite force and combat prowess were already formidable, and now they were even more terrifying. A single bite could tear a chunk out of a wild beast.
But the scales on the python’s tail were like an armor of metal and stone. The bite merely left a few teeth marks; it didn’t even break the skin. Ling Hong was horrified. ’This level of defense isn’t something an ordinary Sixth Rank Beastman should have, is it?’
’Even if he’s not Seventh Rank, he must be close to a breakthrough.’
In the brief moment Ling Hong was stunned, Mi Yin seized the opportunity. His entire body transformed into a giant python, and in an instant, he ensnared the Silver Wolf in his thick tail. His sharp fangs immediately pierced the Silver Wolf’s side.
Fresh blood soaked its silver-white fur.
"HISS~" ’So this is your strength now. How useless.’
Mi Yin hadn’t intended to kill him; he hadn’t even used his venom. With the air of a victor, he tossed the injured Silver Wolf to the ground like trash. His upper body transformed into that of a devilishly handsome man, and he mocked him without restraint, "I deliberately waited for your injuries to heal. I was hoping to test the strength of a Sixth Rank Wolf Beast, but I didn’t expect you to be so useless."
The Silver Wolf glared at him and snorted angrily, but in the end, it dejectedly lowered its head and lay on the ground, silently licking its wounds.
’I don’t want Ren Anjin to see me in such a pathetic state when she wakes up.’
Xi was awakened by the commotion. When he opened his door, he was nearly scared to death.
Seeing the two of them engaged in an earth-shattering battle, he hid far off to the side. A mere Third Rank Beastman like him couldn’t afford to get caught in the crossfire.
"HISS~"
Mi Yin shot Xi a cold glance.
The Little Merfolk froze at his door, a chill running through his body, not daring to move. Fortunately, Mi Yin only gave him a passing glance before swishing his snake tail and leaving in a hurry.
...
An Jin woke up in the evening, rubbing her tired eyes. She stared blankly at the empty ceiling for a while before her senses returned, and she slowly climbed out of bed to open the door.
The main hall that greeted her was a complete mess.
"..." She was slightly stunned. Her eyes shifted, and she saw Ling Hong and Xi cleaning up the room.
Mi Yin, however, was nowhere to be found.
She went out to help them clean. "What happe—" Before she could finish, she saw the injuries on Ling Hong, and the two bleeding gashes on his side that hadn’t yet healed.
In that instant, she understood most of what had happened.
’That Mi Yin...!’
’Seriously.’
’Is he so bored at home that he has nothing better to do? Why is he bullying Ling Hong again?!’
An Jin put the stone basin back in its place, then walked over to the dejected Ling Hong. Looking at his wounds, she said with concern, "Let me treat your wounds and bandage them. Otherwise, they might get infected."
"There’s no need."
Ling Hong shook his head, rejecting her kindness, and listlessly continued to clean up the shattered stone bowls on the floor. "These wounds will heal on their own. Herbs are precious; save them for the tribesmen who need them."
Being injured by a rival in a fight for a female was a humiliating experience for a Beastman. He couldn’t accept the female’s concern with a clear conscience.
Ling Hong was the quiet type who would endure what he could, but Xi couldn’t stand this injustice.
That Snake Beast’s glance had been icy and bloodthirsty. A residual fear still lingered in Xi’s heart. He had clearly wanted to smash him to death with a single swipe of his tail.
’It’s a good thing the Snake Beast looked down on me for being just a Third Rank Beastman. Otherwise, he would have made an example out of me long ago.’