novelraw Chapter 121 - 99: Still So Weak
Chapter 121 - 99: Still So Weak
An Jin knocked on the door hesitantly. "Mi Yin, are you in there?"
Silence. ’Strange,’ she thought. ’Did he go out hunting? 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, wavering, unsure if she should call out to him again.
After a while, she heard the scraping sound of a snake’s tail.
Then, a faint "Mmm" came from inside the room.
An Jin was puzzled. "Why didn’t you answer just now?"
"I was sleeping. Didn’t hear you."
She could tell he wasn’t in a good mood, and his reply was rather dismissive. She nodded, a little upset herself. "Alright, then. I won’t bother you. Just... get some rest in there..."
Outside, her light footsteps sounded, then grew more and more distant.
In the pitch-black room, the python coiled in the corner lifted its head. Its scarlet pupils flickered. Realizing the female was leaving, it was overcome with a powerful sense of panic.
It suddenly arched its upper body and shot toward the door, wanting to coil around the female and drag her back. But at the very instant its head was about to touch the door...
...it recoiled violently, as if shocked.
"HISSS~"
’He wanted to make Jin’er realize he was upset. He hadn’t even gone out to eat for two days. But her attention was still completely on that Wolf Beast.’
’It’s just as I thought. No one cares about Wandering Beasts.’
’She probably only accepted him because of the mate mark. He wasn’t really that important to her at all, was he...?’
At this thought, Mi Yin grew even more dejected. The massive, black-and-red python, over ten meters in length, slowly coiled itself up again, loop by loop, and lay motionless in the corner.
But to his surprise, her footsteps returned not long after, accompanied by the rich aroma of food.
A knock came at the wooden door, followed by her gentle, concerned voice. "It’s evening already, and I noticed you haven’t eaten all day. I made some chicken soup for you. Do you want some?"
The python buried its head deeper into its coils, its body tightening as it answered in a muffled, sulky voice, "You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not hungry."
An Jin was speechless. "..."
’Why is he acting like a pouting child?’
She rubbed the bridge of her nose, realizing this snake was genuinely sulking. She never thought the ruthless and cold-hearted Mi Yin could be so childish when he was angry.
’She had no experience in appeasing someone like this.’
She set the steaming chicken soup down 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 whatever you want as compensation, alright?"
"..."
Only when the footsteps outside faded away again did the wooden door creak open, just a crack.
The tip of a snake’s tail snaked out from inside, firmly wrapped around the pot of chicken soup, and dragged it in. Then, the tail promptly pulled the door shut...
’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 already gone.
’He really is like a cub,’ she thought. ’So much for the silent treatment; his defenses crumbled so quickly.’
She couldn’t help but smile. She crouched down to place the roasted meat by the door, but before she could even knock, the door clicked open.
A dark figure 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 plunged into darkness.
Mi Yin leaned down, his thin lips brushing against her ear as he murmured, his slender fingers landing on her abdomen and trailing downward. "You said you’d compensate me."
"..."
An Jin looked up, speechless. The light was too dim; she could only make out the man’s blurry silhouette. His deep, scorching red eyes stared intently at her, beautiful enough to drown a person in their depths.
"Can’t you show a little self-control?" It wasn’t that An Jin didn’t want to be with him, but the thought of a Snake Beast’s stamina made her body go weak. She couldn’t take it.
"You’re my mate. Of course I’d come to you," Mi Yin said, his voice a mixture of grievance and longing.
The feeling was intoxicating; once he had a taste, he only craved more.
Besides, he wasn’t normally so desperate. It had just been so long since they’d been together. An Jin’s mind was completely focused on the tribe, and the time she spent with him was scant.
For Mi Yin, the comfortable life in the tribe was simply too boring.
He was usually lonely and bored. When he wasn’t sleeping, he was shamelessly clinging to her.
An Jin buried her head in his solid chest, her face flushed and uncomfortable.
She nervously glanced toward 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.
"...Don’t move," he said, his voice strained as he pressed against her neck.
An Jin really didn’t dare move, not out of obedience, but because she could feel the snake’s barbs.
As Wandering Beasts, snake-types often took females by force. Through millennia of evolution, they developed barbs to prevent a female from escaping, ensuring the completion of the mating.
In the darkness, Mi Yin’s ragged breathing lessened slightly. The more she struggled, the more it drove him wild with the need to possess her.
But he didn’t want to do that. It would hurt her.
By the time dawn broke through the darkness of night, Mi Yin had completely worn An Jin out. Only then did he finally release her, shifting into his snake form and gently coiling his body around her.
He watched her sleep soundly, eyes shut tight. Her sweat-dampened, ink-black hair, her flushed little face—every detail captivated him completely.
’If I wear her out, she won’t have the energy to go looking for other males.’
As a Wandering Beast, generally disliked by females, Mi Yin was a mixture of pride and insecurity. But in her presence, only his profound insecurity remained.
He could only mask this insecurity with a more domineering and aggressive front.
’If she really takes other mates, or accepts that Wolf Beast, she’ll definitely stop liking me, a Snake Beast.’
This was the only way Mi Yin knew to confirm her feelings, to make his presence known, and to fill his own emotional void.
Based on past experience, Mi Yin predicted she would sleep until the afternoon. As the sky began to lighten, he carried An Jin to their soft, large bed, carefully tucked her in, 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 laugh and, with a sway of his snake tail, moved to confront him without a sideways glance.
The Silver Wolf’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the approaching Snake Beast. The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.
’He had been awakened by the noises in the night. How dare this Snake Beast treat An Jin so crudely! Just as expected of a Wandering Beast—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!
"ROOOWR!" Spurred to battle by his fury, 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. He could take down a wild beast with a single bite.
But the scales on the python’s tail were like armor of metal and stone. The bite merely left a few shallow teeth marks without even drawing a drop of blood. Ling Hong was horrified. ’This level of defense... it’s not something an ordinary Sixth Rank Beastman should have, is it?’
’Even if he wasn’t Seventh Rank yet, he must be on the verge of a breakthrough.’
In the split second that Ling Hong was stunned, Mi Yin seized the opportunity. The giant python struck, ensnaring the Silver Wolf in its thick coils as its sharp fangs sank deep into the wolf’s flank.
Fresh blood soaked its silver-white fur.
"HISSS~" *So this is your strength now. How useless.*
Mi Yin had no intention of killing him; he hadn’t even used his venom. In the posture of a victor, he tossed the injured Silver Wolf to the ground like a piece of trash. His upper body transformed into that of a bewitchingly handsome man as he sneered without reservation, "I purposely waited for you 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 and snorted angrily, but ultimately lowered its head in dejection, lying silently on the ground to lick its wounds.
’He didn’t want An Jin to see him in such a pathetic state when she woke up.’
The commotion woke Xi, who nearly died of fright the moment he opened his door.
Seeing the earth-shattering battle between the two, he hid far off to the side. As a mere Third Rank Beastman, he couldn’t afford to get caught in the crossfire.
"HISSS~"
Mi Yin shot Xi a cold glance.
A chill ran through the Little Merfolk, who froze in his doorway, not daring to move. Fortunately, Mi Yin only gave him a passing glance before swaying his serpentine tail and hurrying out the door.
...
An Jin woke in the evening and tiredly rubbed her eyes. She stared blankly at the empty ceiling for a long time before her mind finally cleared. Slowly, she climbed out of bed and opened the door.
The main hall that greeted her was in complete disarray.
"..." She froze for a moment. Her eyes darted around and found Ling Hong and Xi cleaning up the room.
Mi Yin, however, was nowhere to be seen.
She stepped out to help them clean. "What happ—" Before she could finish, she saw Ling Hong’s injuries, specifically the two bloody gashes on his side that hadn’t yet healed.
She immediately understood most of what had happened.
That Mi Yin...!
’Honestly...’
An Jin was so angry she wanted to curse. ’Is he that bored at home? 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 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, refusing her kind offer. With a listless expression, he continued cleaning up the shattered stone bowls on the floor. "These wounds will heal on their own. The herbs are precious. Save them for tribespeople 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 stoic nature allowed him to suffer in silence, but Xi couldn’t bear the injustice.
The look that Snake Beast had given him was cold and bloodthirsty. A residual fear still lingered in Xi’s heart; it was obvious the snake had wanted to swat him dead with a single swipe of his tail.
Luckily, the Snake Beast had looked down on him for being a mere Third Rank Beastman. Otherwise, he would have been the first one to be made an example of.