Xuan Longās face slowly turned stiff as he listened to the two shouting at each other. He didnāt speak, but his eyes grew colder and colder with every word they said.
The more he heard, the more he realized that both of them had a hand in hurting his female.
At first, he hadnāt even bothered to look at the female. He thought she was just some random woman being targeted by a crazy beastman. But now that he looked carefully, his heart turned cold. That female... she was also involved.
His expression darkened, his aura freezing around him like sharp ice. Female or not, he thought, anyone who dares to harm my female doesnāt deserve to breathe the same air.
He stayed silent for a moment, watching the two still throwing blame at each other. It was clear they were just trying to save themselves.
He already knew neither of them was telling the truth. But it didnāt matter. He would bring them both back to her...his female.
He knew his female wasnāt soft like others... She was strong, and she perfectly knew how to deal with people who crossed her. And he knew she would be happy if he brought these two fake people in front of her.
He could already imagine her happily praising him.
But suddenly, when his trail of thought got broken by their constant shouting, his face became more ashen. Finally, his voice broke the noise.
"Both of you, shut up before I decide to silence you right here."
His cold tone made both of them freeze instantly. Even Luo Chen, who had been roaring like a madman, stopped and looked down.
Xuan Longās long snake tail coiled tighter around Luo Chen, locking him in place. His eyes flicked toward Bai Lianhua with disgust.
He didnāt even want to touch her. Just looking at her made him feel filthy. If his scales touched such a dirty female, how could he face his own female again?
She loved his clean and shiny scales and always touched them; he couldnāt allow them to get dirty by any random female.
He looked down at Luo Chen and said in a low, dangerous voice,
"Drag her with you."
Luo Chen blinked, then let out a rough, broken laugh. His hand shot out, grabbing Bai Lianhua by her hair.
He didnāt even ask why. He was more than ready to help this feral beastman deal with this bitch who liked to play with everyone. And what delighted him more was that he could see the disgust in the eyes of the feral beastman for this little bitch. Hah!
"Bitch, youāre finished too! Donāt even think about running now!" He growled, jerking her forward.
Bai Lianhua screamed and stumbled, trying to pull away, but it was useless. Xuan Longās massive body had already blocked all possible ways to escape, and Luo Chenās grip on her hair grew harder.
"Move," Xuan Long said coldly, turning around without another glance at her.
Then he started swarming back toward the tribe, his tail still wrapped around Luo Chen, keeping him in place, while Luo Chen behind him was dragging Bai Lianhua along roughly.
Bai Lianhua was in so much pain that she was crying nonstop, but none of the beastmen gave her any reaction. Her entire scalp was numb from Luo Chenās iron-like grip, and her entire body was scraping against the forest floor, leaving bloody marks everywhere.
How could they treat a female like this? None of these beastmen were good. One of them was a stray beastman, and the other was a feral one...no wonder no one liked them. They were simply inhuman.
All she wanted was for some miracle to happen so someone could save her from their clutches.
Xuan Long immediately slithered back toward the tribe, his huge body gliding over the ground without a single sound.
Behind him, Luo Chen was half-dragged by his thick tail, and Bai Lianhua was still being pulled by her tangled hair.
But Xuan Long didnāt even spare them a glance. He didnāt care if they lived or died. His cold eyes were fixed straight ahead toward the tribe, toward his female.
Meanwhile, inside the tribe, things were lively.
The tribe leader had gathered everyone in the middle of the open area.
Beastmen were talking loudly, some females were laughing, everyone was in a good mood. They were planning for their next big hunt.
"Weāll go to the west forest this time!"
"Yes! The hides there are thick! We can exchange them for more rice!"
"And weāll smoke the meat! The females love cooked meat!!"
Laughter and chatter filled the air. Everyone was smiling ear to ear; the depressing mood had been lifted by good news.
But just when everyone was busy arguing about who would lead the hunt, a loud scream came from one of the guard posts.
"Ahhhh...!!! What is that?! A giant snake! A giant snake is coming straight toward us!"
The laughter stopped instantly and everyone froze.
Then, chaos. Pure chaos.
"What snake?!"
"Where?! Where?!"
"Oh my beast god... look! Itās so huge!"
One of the beastmen pointed with a trembling hand, and when everyone turned to look, their hearts almost jumped out of their chests.
From the edge of the forest, an enormous green shadow was sliding toward them. The ground shook with every movement of that body. His scales glistened under the sunlight like sharp blades, and his emerald eyes were glowing like two jewels.
Someone screamed.
Then another one.
Within seconds, the entire tribe was shouting and running everywhere.
"Hide the females!!"
"Change into beast form!!"
"Run... run!!"
Even the tribe leaderās face turned white as a sheet. His mouth opened and closed like a dying fish. He couldnāt even form words as he looked at the monster coming straight toward them.
"WhāWhat kind of snake is that?!" someone shouted.
"Heās bigger than our cave!"
"Why is he coming here?! Did we offend the snake tribe?!"
Everyone was panicking, shouting over each other. Females were being pulled inside the caves, children were crying, dust flying everywhere.
And in the middle of that chaos, poor Su Qinglan stood frozen for a second.
Her face went pale.
Because she recognized that snake.
Her heart thumped hard. That was Xuan Long.
Oh heavens, why was he coming like this?! In his full form?! He could have at least warned her first!
The sight of him was terrifying; he was huge, majestic, and angry-looking. But she knew him. He wasnāt dangerous to them... unless someone provoked him.
"Donāt attack!" she shouted loudly, waving her hands. "Donāt attack him! Heās my beast husband! Heās good!"
But her voice was completely lost in the panic. Nobody heard her, or more probably they didnāt want to believe her.
Everyone was still screaming and running for their dear life.
Someone even yelled, "Sheās hallucinating! No way that monster is anyoneās husband!"
"Just look at the snake, he looks like he is hungry from years and now has come here to feast on our tribe."
"Itās my first time; I have seen such a big snake. Is he a god or what?"
"Am I going to die today? I have not even touched a femaleās hand; why is my life so pitiful."
"Shut up! He is not a monster or god, he is my beast husband. Say one more word, I will slap your face." Su Qinglan shouted at the nearby young beastman who was shouting nonsense the whole time, creating even more chaos.
But he looked at her pitifully and said, "Female, donāt be afraid; I will protect you." He thought bitterly; it seemed the female was scared stiff by the giant snake.