“Let… go of me…”

Lu Cuicui’s pupils dilated in fear as she stared at the male before her. Desperately, she clawed at his hand, trying to pry his fingers from her throat. But it was futile.

Long Mo’s cold, merciless gaze bore into her, void of any warmth or pity. His grip remained unrelenting until her face flushed red, nearing the point of suffocation. Only then did he release her.

With a thud, Lu Cuicui collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Her hands clutched her throat as she greedily inhaled, as if this breath would be her last.

“What… What are you doing? I’m a female! Do you want to kill me?” she stammered, her voice trembling with terror as she looked at the male standing ominously in the doorway.

Long Mo’s icy eyes locked onto her, his voice cold and dripping with menace. “Why did you frame her?”

“What?”

Lu Cuicui blinked, momentarily confused.

“Why did you frame Hu Jiao Jiao?” Long Mo repeated, his patience waning, his eyes darkening with murderous intent. It was clear his tolerance was at its limit.

Realizing what he meant, Lu Cuicui shivered, shrinking back. A flicker of malice crossed her eyes, but she feigned innocence, her face contorting with bewilderment. “Long Mo, I don’t understand what you’re talking about…”

She didn’t expected this loser to defend Hu Jiao Jiao.

But she would never allow Hu Jiao Jiao to get off so easily!

Long Mo’s eyes clouded with a deeper shade of darkness, his pupils turning a frightening shade of crimson, like the eyes of a demon from the underworld.

“This is your last chance. Tell me—why did you frame Hu Jiao Jiao?” His voice was laced with a terrifying edge.

Despite the fear his eyes struck in her, Lu Cuicui reminded herself that Long Mo was still a mere waste. How could he intimidate her like this?

Hu Jiao Jiao had bullied her, and now Long Mo was doing the same. Why should they both treat her like this?

Summoning her courage, she responded weakly but defiantly, “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I never framed Hu Jiao Jiao. Those things I said—I heard them from the wandering beastmen. If you don’t believe me, go ask them yourself… Ah!”

Her words were cut short as she let out a blood-curdling scream.

Long Mo had yanked her by the hair, forcing her head back, while his foot viciously stomped down on her hand that braced against the ground.

“Ahh!”

Lu Cuicui’s agonized screams echoed through the night. Her face turned deathly pale and her numerous wounds, visible in the moonlight, made her look even more terrifying—like a ghost from the underworld.

“Still not talking? Then I’ll break your fingers, one by one,” Long Mo said coldly, staring at her as though she were already dead.

If Hu Jiao Jiao were here to witness this, she would have seen that Long Mo had fully transformed into the ruthless, bloodthirsty villain she had seen in her nightmares.

Long Mo didn’t care for any “code” about not harming females. He wasn’t that kind of person.

Lu Cuicui, writhing in pain, hadn’t yet had the chance to answer before Long Mo, tired of waiting, violently snapped her index finger back with his foot.

Crack!

The sickening sound of bone breaking echoed in the air.

“Ahh! I’ll talk, I’ll talk!” Lu Cuicui’s desperate cries pierced the night. Tears and snot ran down her face, mixing with blood as she sobbed hysterically.

This waste… how had he suddenly become so terrifying?

Long Mo finally removed his foot, though he kept a tight grip on her hair. His gaze bore down on her with unrelenting fury. “Talk.”

Sobbing uncontrollably, Lu Cuicui suddenly began to laugh, a crazed, delirious laugh. The pain had pushed her to the brink of madness, and when she opened her mouth to speak, blood spilled out from where she had bitten her tongue.

Blood and saliva dripped from her mouth as she cackled like a deranged woman.

“Why? Ha, ha, ha… you ask me why?”

“Why should Hu Jiao Jiao be the one to have a chance with Ying Yuan, while I was left to be tormented by wandering beasts? I want her to suffer a hundred times more than I have!”

“And as for Lu Mian’er? She’s nothing but a worthless, weak female! How dare she be favored by Ying Yuan? All of this should have been mine!”

Lu Cuicui had grown up pampered, beloved by the males of the tribe. Her parents had always told her, “Our Cuicui will have the strongest male as her mate. Only the best is good enough for her.”

She had set her sights on Ying Yuan long ago, and when Hu Jiao Jiao, who had been disliked by the tribe, and Lu Mian’er, a mere pushover, entered the picture, she had thought they were no competition.

But fate had cruelly betrayed her. Hu Jiao Jiao’s schemes had led Ying Yuan to accidentally mate with Lu Mian’er!

In her twisted mind, everything was Hu Jiao Jiao’s fault.

Lu Cuicui continued to laugh maniacally. “You didn’t know, did you? I told the wandering beasts where to find them at the fruit-picking grounds. I wanted them captured, but they got lucky and escaped.”

“But no matter. Hu Jiao Jiao will be kicked out of the tribe, and she’ll suffer just like I did. Ha, ha, ha…”

As she raved, Long Mo’s eyes burned with fury, his eyes filled with bloodlust. His hands trembled with the effort of holding back the urge to kill her right then and there.

Seeing his anger, Lu Cuicui felt a perverse satisfaction.

“You, a useless waste, came here to defend Hu Jiao Jiao? So what if I told you all this? No one in the tribe will believe a thing you say. You’re just a worthless mutt.”

Her face twisted with triumph as she spat at him.

“I’m a female. What are you going to do, kill me? If you do, you’ll be exiled, and your five little brats will starve to death without you.”

Long Mo’s face darkened as rage consumed him. His golden eyes glinted with malice as he transformed his hand into a dragon’s claw, ready to strike.

At that moment, shouts rang out from outside the hut.

“Long Mo, stop!”

“Don’t kill her!”

The Chief and Ying Yuan, along with a group of beastmen, rushed into the room, their voices filled with urgency.

But they were too late.

With a sickening squelch, Long Mo’s claw pierced Lu Cuicui’s eyes.

Plop!

Two bloodied eyeballs flew through the air, landing on the ground with a soft thud, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

Everyone watching felt their hearts freeze as a chill spread through their veins.