novelraw Chapter 118 - 99: So Useless
Chapter 118 - 99: So Useless
An Jin knocked hesitantly on the door. "Mi Yin, are you in there?"
Silence. ’Strange,’ she thought. ’Did he go out hunting? Then again, with his lazy disposition, he doesn’t seem like the type to go hunting in this heat.’
An Jin stood at the door for a long time, wavering, unsure if she should call out to him again.
「After a long moment.」
She heard the scraping sound of a snake’s tail.
Then, a faint sound of acknowledgment came from within the room.
An Jin was puzzled. "Why didn’t you answer before?"
"I was sleeping. Didn’t hear you."
She could tell he wasn’t in a good mood, and his reply was dismissive. She nodded, a little disappointed. "All right, then. I won’t disturb you. You get some rest..."
Outside, her light footsteps sounded, then grew more and more distant.
In the darkness of the room, the python coiled in a corner lifted its head. Its crimson serpentine eyes flickered. Realizing the female was leaving, an intense wave of panic surged through him.
He suddenly arched the upper half of his body and slithered rapidly toward the door, wanting to snatch the female back. But just as his head was about to touch the wood...
...he recoiled as if shocked.
"HISS~"
’He wanted Jin’er to know he was unhappy. He hadn’t even gone out to eat for two days. But her attention was still fixed on that Wolf Beast.’
’Just as I thought. No one cares about Wandering Beasts.’
’She probably... only accepted me because of the mate mark. I’m probably not that important to her at all...’
At this thought, Mi Yin grew even more despondent. The massive, over ten-meter-long black-and-red python slowly coiled itself up again, circle by circle, until it formed a flat disk, unmoving in the corner.
To his surprise, however, the female’s footsteps returned not long after, accompanied by the rich aroma of food.
Then, 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 anything all day, so I made you some chicken soup. Would you like some?"
The python tucked its head deeper into its coils, his body tightening, and said in a stuffy, muffled voice, "You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not hungry."
An Jin was speechless.
’He’s acting like a pouting child.’
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. She realized this snake was genuinely sulking. She never would have thought the ruthless and aloof Mi Yin could be so childish when he was angry.
’And she had no experience placating anyone.’
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 kept her voice gentle. "Don’t be angry anymore. Eat first. I’ll agree to anything you want as compensation, okay?"
"..."
Once the footsteps outside had faded away again, the wooden door creaked open just a crack.
The tip of a snake’s tail snaked out, wrapped tightly around the pot of chicken soup, and dragged it inside. The tail then swiftly pulled the door shut...
’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,’ she thought. ’His silent treatment crumbled so fast.’
A smile tugged at her lips. She crouched down to place the roasted meat by the door, but before she could even knock, the door clicked open.
A dark shadow flashed before her. A pair of powerful arms pulled her into a cool, firm embrace, and the wooden door slammed shut with a BANG. Her world was plunged into darkness.
Mi Yin leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear as he murmured, his slender fingers tracing a path down from her waist. "You said you’d make it up to me."
"..."
An Jin looked up, speechless. The light was too dim; she could only make out the man’s hazy silhouette. His deep, scorching crimson eyes were fixed on her, threatening to drown her 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 whole body go weak. She couldn’t take it.
’Sooner or later, he’s going to wring me dry.’
"You’re my mate. Of course I’m going to come to you," Mi Yin said, his voice laced with both grievance and desire.
The feeling was addictive; once he’d had a taste, he craved more.
Besides, it wasn’t that he was that desperate. It had been a genuinely long time since they had been together. An Jin’s mind was completely focused on the tribe, and she had precious little time for him.
And for Mi Yin, the peaceful life in the tribe was excruciatingly dull.
He was usually lonely and bored. Apart from sleeping, his only other pastime was pestering her for some excitement.
An Jin couldn’t resist Mi Yin’s passionate advances and finally gave in. He pressed her against the wall, their bodies moving to every corner of the room.
He normally preferred quiet and, out of consideration for her, had always been restrained and gentle. This time, however, he let loose completely, his actions uncharacteristically fierce, as if he were venting his jealousy.
"Can’t you be a little gentler?" An Jin buried her head in his solid chest, her face flushed as she spoke uncomfortably.
She nervously glanced at the wall. Ling Hong and Xi’s room was right next door. It would be mortifying if they woke them up in the middle of the night.
Mi Yin, however, seemed to deliberately try to make her cry out louder. Mortified and furious, An Jin bit down on his muscular arm several times, trying to get away from him.
"...Don’t move," he rasped, his voice strained as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
An Jin instantly froze. It wasn’t out of obedience; she could feel the snake’s barbs.
As Wandering Beasts, snakes often mated by force. Over millennia of evolution, they had developed barbs to prevent a female from escaping, ensuring the completion of the act.
In the darkness, Mi Yin’s ragged breathing eased slightly. The more she struggled, the more it drove him into a frenzy of possessiveness.
But he didn’t want to do that. It would hurt her.
By the time dawn broke through the darkness, Mi Yin had completely worn An Jin out. He finally released her, shifting into his snake form and easily encircling her with his body.
He watched the female sleep soundly, her eyes shut tight. Her damp, ink-black hair, her small, flushed face—every detail of her was utterly mesmerizing to him.
’If I wear her out,’ he thought, ’she won’t have the energy to go looking for other males.’
As a Wandering Beast disliked by females, Mi Yin was a mix of pride and insecurity. But when he was with An Jin, only his extreme insecurity remained.
He could only mask this insecurity with a fiercer, more domineering facade.
’If she really takes another mate, or accepts that Wolf Beast, she would surely stop liking a Snake Beast like me.’
This was the only way Mi Yin could reassure himself of her feelings, assert his presence, 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 under the covers, and prepared to leave.
The moment he opened the door, he saw the Wolf Beast pacing in the main hall. Mi Yin let out a cold sneer and, swishing his snake tail, slithered forward to meet him without a sideways glance.
The Silver Wolf’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the approaching Snake Beast. The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.
He had been woken up by the noises during the night. ’How dare that Snake Beast treat An Jin so roughly! Just as I’d expect from 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 be meek and subservient as before. He could finally have a proper, all-out fight with him!
"GRRAH!" Driven by a furious will to fight, the Silver Wolf lowered its body and sprang forward, its massive jaws snapping at the snake’s tail.
As a Wolf Beast, his bite force and fighting prowess were already formidable, and now they were terrifying. A single bite from him could take down a wild animal.
But the scales on the python’s tail were like steel armor. His fangs only left a few shallow marks, failing to even draw a drop of blood. Ling Hong was horrified. ’This level of defense... it’s beyond that of a normal Sixth Rank Beastman, isn’t it?’
’Even if he’s not at the Seventh Rank, he must be close to a breakthrough.’
In the brief instant that Ling Hong was stunned, Mi Yin seized the opportunity. His body swelled to its full, giant python size, and in a flash, he had the Silver Wolf caught in his thick coils. His sharp fangs sank into the Silver Wolf’s flank.
Blood soaked the wolf’s silver-white fur.
"HISS~" ’So this is your strength now? How useless.’
Mi Yin had no intention of killing him; he hadn’t even used his venom. With the air of a victor, he tossed the injured Silver Wolf to the ground like a piece of trash. His upper body shifted into that of a demonically handsome man, and he sneered without reservation, "I deliberately waited for your injuries to heal. I wanted to test the strength of a Sixth Rank Wolf Beast, but I didn’t expect you to be so pathetic."
The Silver Wolf glared at him, giving an indignant snort, but ultimately lowered its head in dejection. He lay silently on the ground, licking his wounds.
’He didn’t want An Jin to wake up and see him in such a pathetic state.’
Xi was woken by the commotion. When he opened his door, he was nearly scared to death.
Seeing the two of them fighting so violently, 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 in the doorway, a chill running down his spine. He didn’t dare to move. Fortunately, Mi Yin only gave him a passing glance before swishing his tail and hurrying out the door.
...
An Jin woke in the evening, rubbing her eyes wearily. Her mind was a blank slate as she stared at the empty ceiling for a long moment before her senses finally returned. She slowly climbed out of bed and opened the door.
The main hall was a complete wreck.
She froze for a second, her gaze sweeping the room. She saw Ling Hong and Xi cleaning up.
Mi Yin, however, was nowhere to be seen.
She went out to help them. "What happe—" She cut herself off when she saw the wounds on Ling Hong’s body, especially the two bloody gashes on his flank that had yet to heal.
She understood most of what had happened in an instant.
’That Mi Yin...!’
’Honestly.’
An Jin was angry enough to curse. ’Was he that bored sitting at home? Why did he have to start bullying Ling Hong again?!’
An Jin put the stone basin back in its place and walked over to the dejected Ling Hong. Looking at his wounds with concern, she said, "Let me treat those for you and bandage them up. Otherwise, they might get infected."
"There’s no need."
Ling Hong shook his head, rejecting her kind offer. He listlessly continued to pick up the shattered pieces of a stone bowl. "These wounds will heal on their own. Herbs are precious. Save them for the tribe members who need them."
For a Beastman, being injured by a rival in a fight over a female was a humiliating experience. He couldn’t accept her concern with a clear conscience.
Ling Hong’s reserved nature meant he would suffer in silence, but Xi couldn’t stomach the injustice.
The look that Snake Beast had given him was icy and bloodthirsty. Lingering fear still gripped Xi’s heart. It was obvious the snake had wanted to swat him dead with a single flick of his tail.
Luckily, the Snake Beast had looked down on him for being a mere Third Rank Beastman. Otherwise, he would have made an example of him long ago.