Chapter 127: Blackening

"Then you should go find the beastmen who injured you. Why are you grabbing Ah Chang and the others?"

Miduo just thought Ji Chen had gone mad; it was clearly he who came to cooperate with them, and now the one burning bridges is also him.

If it weren't for worrying about that wandering beastman guarding outside, and fearing that Ah Chang and the others' lives were uncertain, Miduo would have already acted against Ji Chen.

After all, Ji Chen couldn't defeat her before; now that he's injured, it's even more obvious.

Yet faced with Miduo's frenzy, Ji Chen merely curved his mouth and said, "Can't help it, who made me a cripple now? So…"

He sighed lightly as he spoke, his gaze toward Miduo gentle yet obsessive, "It can only be you."

What do you mean, "only me"?

Miduo didn't initially understand what he meant, but when she saw him yank off the beast‑skin coat she was wearing, she instantly erupted in fury.

"You're courting death!"

Even though that wandering beastman had snatched her weapon, Miduo's combat prowess remained formidable; she seized Ji Chen's shoulder and executed a back‑shoulder throw, slamming him hard onto the ground.

"Boom!"

Ji Chen's perfectly intact arm, under Miduo's rough action, clearly emitted a cracking sound in his ear.

Ji Chen's expression suddenly darkened, but before he could stand up to counter, Miduo raised her hand and delivered a rapid punch; had that punch landed, Ji Chen's already‑crippled eye would have been completely ruined.

So the male reacted swiftly, turning his head away; Miduo's punch missed. Naturally she still wanted to press on—he dared to make a move on her, so she would naturally give him a severe reprimand.

But after such a brief exchange, the wandering beastman guarding the cave entrance surged in at lightning speed, reaching out to block Miduo's attack on Ji Chen while, without any mercy, striking her down harshly.

"Get out of the way!"

"Ji Chen, I'm going to kill you!"

With her limbs disabled, Miduo still couldn't evade Ji Chen's rape.

And that wandering beastman, of unknown origin, somehow obtained the medicine used in the Pairing Ceremony to tattoo the beast body; when Miduo awoke and saw the tattoo on Ji Chen's body, she nearly went insane.

However, her madness didn't attract Ji Chen's or the wandering beastman's attention; instead, the next day she threw Ah Chang and the others into the cave one by one.

Miduo spent the most humiliating and desperate period of her life in that cave.

……

Silver Eagle Tribe—who could have guessed that upon seeing Miduo again, she not only ended up with Ji Chen, but also finally formally paired with the males around her.

"She formed a pair?"

Yun Li was rather surprised by the news; after all, shouldn't the Silver Eagle Tribe's Pairing Ceremony be conducted under a Priest's witness?

And the medicine for the beast‑body tattoo—Miduo's group also had it? That item was originally brought back by the Silver Eagle Priest from an outside tribe.

"Yes, Ji Chen and Ah Chang now bear Miduo's beast body."

Xin also found this unbelievable, because Miduo hadn't paired with any male for years; who could have known that after disappearing for over half a month, she not only paired with a male, but simultaneously paired with so many males at once.

"Now that they've just returned, they've already been summoned to the Priest."

"What did they say when they went to the Priest? Was Miduo forced?"

Although it's known Miduo is formidable, and if she hadn't consented the chance of Ji Chen making her pair with him would be very slim, Yun Li felt that since Ji Chen could secretly plot to kill her Beast Husband and several cubs, forcing Miduo to pair with him wasn't impossible.

"I don't know, but I think like you—Miduo pairing with Ah Chang is one thing, but Ji Chen…"

Xin knit his brows, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "You probably don't know, Ji Chen's one eye is ruined, and his arm looks a bit off."

Miduo never liked Ji Chen before; now that he's like this, given her temperament, she wouldn't be attracted to a cripple.

Yet she nevertheless paired with Ji Chen.

To claim there's no hidden agenda here, who would believe it?

"And the medicine they used for the pairing—only a Priest knows how to concoct that, right? Did Miduo already obtain that medicine from the Priest?"

Yun Li also voiced her doubt.

Hearing that, Xin thought for a moment and agreed, "Maybe. Didn't you say she gave the Young Master some medicine before? Perhaps she was looking for a chance to force a pairing with the Young Master."

Upon hearing this, Yun Li fell silent; earlier she had taken Leng Xiu's words and covertly publicized the matter, intending to bind Ji Chen and Miduo together, preventing Ji Chen from harassing her under the guise of pursuit.

But now that the two have paired, their previous actions are rather redundant.

"Is that so?"

She suppressed her thoughts, then continued, "But now she's paired with the Young Master's younger brother; will she still keep her eyes on the Young Master?"

Xin gave her a meaning‑laden look, "The Young Master's relationship with Ji Chen isn't exactly good, is it?"

Not to mention the Young Master's thoughts are now on the female before him; even if Miduo keeps pursuing him, the Young Master will still refuse her.

Yun Li understood that glance, didn't continue the topic, and switched to talking about Gong Mei's egg hatching.

Gong Mei discovered she was pregnant after returning from Red Grass Valley; an eagle‑beastman's pregnancy is far easier than Yun Li's—within less than half a month, Gong Mei gave birth to five eggs.

Thus their family now focuses on incubating the eggs and hunting to stockpile more food.

The five cubs will require a lot of meat; while Gong Mei's wish to be a mother is fulfilled, the household burden has also risen.

"Five eagle chicks are hard to raise, but their family can afford it. I really envy them—Ah Mei gave birth to five cubs at once, one more than you."

In response to Xin's sigh, Yun Li just gave a helpless smile; she was born a wolf cub, not as easy as Gong Mei—missing one, she'd be glad to have fewer troubles.

The two chatted idly all morning; when it was time to eat, Yun Li took her leave and returned home.

But on the road she ran into Miduo and Ji Chen coming toward her; the Miduo now was clearly quite different from the beautiful female she first met, even her gaze seemed deadened.

"Yun Li, cherish your current days."

Seeing her, Miduo's face flashed an uncontrollable disgust and jealousy.

Yun Li's current smooth sailing is truly irritating; even though everything that happened to her was caused by Ji Chen, when you think about it, every incident is intricately linked to the female before her.

Just thinking that, Miduo couldn't bear to see herself unlucky while Yun Li remained untouched by misfortune and didn't vent any anger.

She even maliciously thought, if Yun Li were to suffer what happened to her now, how wonderful that would be.

Isn't the wandering beastman beside Ji Chen still without a female?

Why doesn't Ji Chen let him kidnap Yun Li? As long as he captures her, then Leng Xiu, for his own coveted female, would surely allow…

Facing Miduo's unabashed malice, Yun Li frowned, said nothing, simply sidestepped them and kept hurrying home.

"Wait, why is A Li moving so fast?"

Ji Chen's eyes looked gloomy at Yun Li, who ignored them, and in a cold tone said, "At least I once pursued you; now that I'm passing by you don't even give a greeting?"

A Chang timely blocked Yun Li's path.

Yun Li was forced to stop, and could only frown tightly as she looked at Ji Chen.

"What greeting could we possibly exchange? Are we that familiar?"

"Not familiar?"

Ji Chen's face broke into a strange smile.