Chapter 4

Ye Chuan’s face flushed red upon hearing those words, a deep sense of shame and anger washing over him. He glared at the female beast before him, his eyes burning with rage. His hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. He knew he had lost all his strength—he couldn’t even protect his sister. But even so, he still stepped in front of her. “Kana, my sister is a good person. You will not insult her.”

Kana scoffed, her gaze dripping with contempt as she burst into mocking laughter. “Oh? Playing the protective brother now? So what if I insult her? What can you do about it?”

“You’re a worthless weakling, and your sister—she’s just a fake noble cast out of the imperial city, abandoned and despised, a venomous female beast. I hear even those in the imperial city loathe her.”

“A vile and useless creature like her—why hasn’t she just died already? And yet, here you are, treating her like some kind of treasure.”

“You want me to spare your sister? Sure—you just have to kneel before me and beg. If you grovel properly, I might consider it.”

But before Kana could revel in her arrogance any further, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg. With a cry, she collapsed to her knees.

A piercing scream followed— And before she could react, Ye Baizhi’s bone knife was already pressed against her throat. Just one more inch, and blood would spill.

Kana’s eyes widened in shock as she took in the scene before her. She had no idea how Ye Chuan’s supposedly weak sister had managed to move so swiftly. For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating. But the bone knife at her throat—and the pain in her leg—told her otherwise. She dared not make a single movement. “What do you want?”

As she looked up, her gaze met Ye Baizhi’s—cold, chilling, and laced with murderous intent. She recalled the rumors her sister had told her about Ye Baizhi—that she was a vicious female beast, one who harmed others, selfish and cruel, killing without hesitation.

And a worthless one at that. If it weren’t for her family background and her former fiancé’s status, she would never have had the power to act recklessly.

Kana had never cared about her—after all, a weakling was nothing to fear.

Female beasts, in general, possessed little strength. She and her sister were special, however. Although they were of the feline tribe, both had attained second-tier power. With that level of strength, they could kill any female beast without abilities.

Ye Baizhi’s voice rang cold and unforgiving. “Kneel and apologize to my brother.”

“Or my blade will not hesitate!”

For a brief moment, fear flickered across Kana’s face, but she quickly composed herself. “What, you think you can actually kill me? My sister is the heir of the cat tribe, and my uncle is the tribe’s leader. You wouldn’t dare!”

Ye Baizhi’s knife pressed deeper—blood trickled down Kana’s throat.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t?”

“Killing you and disposing of the body would be easy. No one would ever know, wouldn’t they?”

Pain drained the color from Kana’s face.

Her wide eyes stared into Ye Baizhi’s—realizing, at last, that she was deadly serious. Her eyes carried an unmistakable intent to kill.

“And your death wouldn’t affect the cat tribe in the slightest. They would continue as usual, and in time, they would forget you even existed.”

Fear flickered across Kana’s gaze. Blood still trickled from her neck—she was in real pain. She began to grasp the truth in Ye Baizhi’s words. Clenching her teeth, she had no choice but to speak.

“Fine, I apologize.” She couldn’t afford to let anything happen to her. She couldn’t die here.

“I apologize for what I said earlier.”

“Though my words were wrong, everything I said was merely what people have been discussing. Even if I hadn’t spoken, the rumors would still exist.”

“Any beast tribe with ties to the imperial city would have heard about it—they all know your reputation.”

Ye Baizhi raised a brow. She didn’t care what others said. She didn’t care about her reputation.

This land was rich with resources, far better than the apocalypse she had endured. She could turn waste into treasure and eat all the pure, natural food she wanted.

Rumors meant nothing.

Watching Ye Baizhi remain utterly unfazed, Kana suddenly felt a wave of doubt—this woman truly didn’t care at all?

For female beasts, a ruined reputation meant disaster. If they were deemed too vicious, no capable beast husband would want them.

Surviving on their own—hunting, gathering food, and caring for themselves—would be a constant struggle. Over time, even the tribe might refuse to accept them.

Yet Ye Baizhi never considered any of this. To her, the forest was full of food. She fixed her gaze on Kana and spoke coldly. “What happened to my brother in the cat tribe? What did you do to him?”

“If you don’t talk, you won’t be leaving here today.” Her commanding presence carried an oppressive force—the natural authority of someone accustomed to dominance. It was something carried over from her past life.

Kana swallowed involuntarily, fear creeping in. “He betrayed my sister. He was with another female beast in the tribe, so my sister abandoned him and cast him out of the cat tribe. What’s wrong with that?”

Ye Baizhi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Then tell me—how did my brother lose his strength?”

“Everyone knows it. He was simply useless—hunted by wild beasts, stripped of his strength, and reduced to nothing.”

“And now you want to blame my sister for it?”

Ye Baizhi turned to Ye Chuan. He was still caught in the shock of his sister’s display of strength, but upon seeing her gaze, he quickly snapped back to reality and shook his head.

“I didn’t—Kasai gave me beast blood to drink. After that, I lost consciousness.”

“I did nothing.”

Ye Baizhi trusted her brother without hesitation. “And what about the female beast?”

“What?”

“You said my brother was with a female beast. Where is she now?”

“She… she’s dead.”

Ye Baizhi’s lips curled slightly.

How convenient. Something was definitely wrong. What exactly had Kana’s sister, Kasai, been planning? Had she intended to use her brother for something—some larger scheme? Once she had achieved her goal, had she discarded him?

If their uncle weren’t the Rabbit Tribe’s leader, Kasai might have even had Ye Chuan killed.

Ye Baizhi pressed for more answers, but Kana seemed genuinely unaware, showing no signs of lying. With that, she withdrew her bone knife. “Get lost.”

“Remember—next time, avoid us. Don’t come near the Rabbit Tribe’s territory. Otherwise, things won’t be so simple.”

Kana desperately wanted to get up and run. But then she remembered the wild chicken she had just hunted.

Ye Baizhi crossed her arms and spoke coldly, “You scared us just now—this chicken will be our compensation.”

Kana looked at Ye Baizhi, recalling her eerie agility. Not daring to argue, she swiftly shifted into her feline form and fled.

Ye Baizhi handed the chicken to her brother and then searched the area. To her surprise, she found some eggs. She considered storing them in her spatial ability but hesitated—even with her own brother, she didn’t want to reveal her secret. Instead, she cut some soft branches nearby, preparing to weave a basket for the eggs.

Ye Chuan, clueless about what she was doing, simply watched her in admiration. Then, with a somber expression, he said, “Sister, thank you for earlier. It was my fault—I was useless.”

“I really did nothing. When I was cast out of the cat tribe, I was weak, barely able to lift a finger.”

Hearing his words, Ye Baizhi paused in her movements.