CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18: CONFRONTATION

Wen Shu and Mious looked warily at the riverbank.

Under the dazzling sunlight, the male’s soaked black hair clung to his temples. When he raised his eyes, his eyelashes trembled slightly, water droplets slid past the faint dark circles under his eyes, showing a look of sleeplessness.

It was the missing Wu Xuan.

"Wen Shu, the female!"

Finally finding Wen Shu, Wu Xuan’s pupils trembled, unable to hide the excitement of regaining what he thought was lost. He ran towards her, but his gaze turned cold and dangerous upon noticing the female’s blood-soaked legs.

His gaze moved upward, where a muscular snake tail was rudely wrapped around the female’s waist, its tip hovering beneath her feet, with dried blood stains dripping from the dark scales.

Wu Xuan’s pupils contracted, his back straightening with anger, his eyes filled with intense killing intent, "Who are you! Let go of the female!"

Wu Xuan had searched for Wen Shu for a whole day and night, instinctively regarding the male close to the female as the culprit.

Provoked unreasonably, the cold and tough Mious spat out his tongue, his snake body rising as his cold gaze shot towards Wu Xuan.

The dangerous atmosphere was about to ignite at any moment.

The snake tail around her waist tightened, Wen Shu pushed at it with her hand, her eyes exploring as she looked at Wu Xuan.

Yesterday, she was attacked by a wandering beast, and Wu Xuan was missing.

Although there was no feud between Wu Xuan and the original host, and the silhouette she saw before passing out didn’t resemble him, she still couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

Wen Shu lowered her eyelids, hiding the thoughts in her eyes, and before the conflict escalated further, she waved at Wu Xuan, interrupting their confrontation, "Wu Xuan, you’ve misunderstood, he saved me! Hiss—"

She pretended to tug at her wound, biting her lips tight, discreetly observing Wu Xuan’s expression.

Upon hearing her painful gasp, Wu Xuan’s aura instantly retracted and he looked up with concern.

Seeing Wen Shu’s pale face and muddy appearance, he opened his mouth, the sharp corners of his eyes tinged with red, "Female, are you okay?"

Once the words were out, he frustratedly clenched his fists, how could she be okay with such injuries!

His nails pierced deep into his flesh, fine strands of fresh red seeping through the gaps.

With a look full of self-blame, he spoke in a low tone, "Female, I’m sorry, I failed to protect you..."

Meeting with the male’s mist-covered golden eyes, Wen Shu felt surprised, her suspicions dissipating by more than half.

Wu Xuan genuinely worried for her.

She looked away with a guilty conscience, feeling somewhat uneasy for testing someone who cared for her.

But who exactly wants to harm her?

Pushing down the doubts in her heart, she shook her head at Wu Xuan, "Why apologize, it’s not your fault, you..."

Yesterday at the riverbank, it was just the two of them. Wu Xuan might have seen something... they must talk alone.

Wen Shu’s gaze shifted, she raised a smile, "If you insist on apologizing, then please send me back to the tribe."

After hearing Wen Shu’s words, Wu Xuan’s brow moved slightly, incredulously looking up, seeing Wen Shu’s brows and eyes filled with amusement, his expression appeared lost.

Is the female smiling at him?

Wu Xuan pressed his lips tightly, although he failed to protect the female, the female turned around to comfort him. How could there be such a gentle and forgiving female like Wen Shu in the world?

His gaze lingered on Wen Shu’s clear eyes, feeling a swelling, bittersweet heaviness in his heart.

Wen Shu didn’t receive a response, hesitantly asked, "Wu Xuan? Do you not want to?"

Called out again, the string in Wu Xuan’s mind fully snapped, eagerly stepping towards the female.

He stood firm in front of Mious, raising his chin coldly. Due to gaining the female’s trust, a proud expression appeared between his brows, "Hand over the female to me, you can leave now."

Seeing the familiar interaction between Wen Shu and the male, a peculiar emotion seeped into Mious’s heart.

He glanced coldly at the rude unfamiliar male, unable to suppress a cold snort in his mind.

No wonder the female is willing to let him go, turns out she has a new pursuer.

He actually believed the rumors of the gladiatorial tournament and felt guilty for rejecting her intense emotions...

The snake tail around her waist remained unmoving, Wen Shu gently poked at it, gratefully smiling, "Mious, thank you for sending me back all the way, you should hurry back to your work, you can put me down now."

Hearing her words, Mious’s dark slit pupils flashed with displeasure, his gaze swept over the proud Wu Xuan and then looked at the considerate Wen Shu, coldly spoke, "Hmm."

Rather than wasting time here, he had more important things to do.

Mious slowly lowered Wen Shu, Wu Xuan immediately stepped forward and transformed into a thick tail, wrapping it around the female’s waist, cautiously supporting her back to prevent straining her leg wounds.

Then Wu Xuan discovered that the snake beast wrapping the female’s waist was the most comfortable position.

Only then did he look directly at Mious, the hostility in his eyes considerably lessened as he subtly claimed his sovereignty, "Thank you for saving the female."

"No need." Mious was sparing with words, he glanced at the two, exchanging smiles, attributing his stifling emotions to dislike.

Yes, that’s right, after all, he inherently disliked Wen Shu.

Realizing this, Mious, indifferent to others, stretched his snake tail straight, rubbing it against the ground, using mud to cover the bloodstains, coldly stated, "I need to meet the elders, returning to the tribe first."

After speaking, without glancing sideways, he brushed past the two.

His actions were deliberate, Wu Xuan hesitated for two seconds, staring in the direction the snake beast departed, flames flared in his eyes.

Yet, holding the female in his arms, he could only suppress his anger, "Female, who is that dark and slippery snake beast? Did he bully you!"

Used to Mious’s disdain, Wen Shu leaned on Wu Xuan’s arm, vaguely explaining, "No, no, I offended him before, it’s already kind enough that he saved me."

Absolutely couldn’t let slip that it was Mious. Once the refusal reason collapsed, who knows what this passionate male might do.

Wu Xuan tightened his grip on Wen Shu, making her more comfortable, his eyes full of disagreement, what excessive thing could a gentle female like her do?

Teaching the snake beast a lesson would be his job.

Now the most important thing was the female’s injury.

Her legs were twisted with flesh and blood, just looking at it made one frown. He couldn’t imagine how resilient the female must be to speak so calmly to him at this moment.

He lowered his gaze to the female, unconsciously softened his tone, speaking with heartache, "Female, your wounds are too serious, let’s hurry back to the tribe."

The arm at her waist tightened, Wen Shu hurriedly spoke to stop him, "Wait, I have things to take!"

She pointed to the riverbank, poking her head out from the male’s embrace to look, now being closer, she saw clearly that the fish meat had been swept into the mud, and her eyes darkened with sudden disappointment.

Unable to bear her forlorn appearance, Wu Xuan bent down to place her under a tree, picked up a branch, and jumped into the river. Soon, he returned holding a string of fresh fish, encircling Wen Shu as he hurried towards the tribe, "For now, if you enjoy these, I’ll catch more in a few days, but let’s go see the witch doctor first."

Wu Xuan held the fish in one hand and supported Wen Shu with the other, weaving through the forest.

The still-live fish flapped their fins incessantly, splashing fishy water onto Wen Shu’s face. She wiped it off with animal hide, turning her head to see the male’s exposed chest glaring at her.

Quietly raising her gaze higher, she asked the question that had been swirling in her mind for a long time, "Wu Xuan, why did you suddenly disappear yesterday?"