Chapter 12

That night had been a haze of emotions and impulses—so much so that she hadn’t even taken the time to look at him properly. Now, seeing him clearly, she finally understood why so many female beasts in the Northern Region were infatuated with him.

It wasn’t just that Xue Youchen was incomparably beautiful—his entire presence radiated an air of effortless transcendence. More importantly, he was powerful. He was the King of the Northern Region. A noble and stunning male beast like him naturally attracted countless admirers. It was no wonder her past self had risked everything to try and manipulate Xue Youchen.

The crucial thing was that her former self had used an enchantment on him—but in doing so, she had fallen under its effect as well, and met her end instantly. Thus, the moment she transmigrated, she had found herself face-to-face with an entranced Xue Youchen.

She hadn’t even had time to react before, that very night, the two had fallen into each other’s embrace. At the time, she thought she was dreaming. By the time she had come to her senses, it was already the next morning.

The evening breeze lifted the hem of his robes, making him seem as if he might ascend at any moment—serene, sacred, evoking countless poetic images of beauty and elegance.

Words were simply insufficient to describe his appearance, demeanor, and aura. Perhaps because of the distance, Ye Baizhi couldn’t clearly see his precise features or the expression in his eyes. She couldn’t tell whether he carried an intent to kill.

Ye Baizhi wanted to explain something, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. Instinct took over, urging her to transform into her original rabbit form and flee in an instant. Using all her strength, she ran as fast as she could, darting away in a flash and returning home. Once she was back, she confirmed that he hadn’t pursued her, and only then did she slowly exhale in relief.

Lying on the stone bed, Ye Baizhi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She had no idea what Xue Youchen meant by all this.

…

Xue Youchen watched as Ye Baizhi disappeared into the distance, his calm eyes finally stirring slightly, as if ripples of moonlight and a thousand stars shimmered within them.

“She ran away again?”

Even his voice carried a cool, refreshing essence, like spring water flowing over smooth stones—clear, soothing, and melodious.

“My offspring!”

At that moment, Xue Youchen could truly feel the power of the bloodline connection. He was certain that Ye Baizhi was carrying his child.

Xue Youchen realized this, and a fleeting, mesmerizing gleam flickered in his eyes—deep and enchanting.

“Do you like these things?”

In the forest, his soft murmur carried the tenderness of spring rain.

…

That night, Ye Baizhi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. It wasn’t until the deep hours of the night that she finally drifted off. Her mind, however, was completely consumed by thoughts of Xue Youchen.

The next morning, she was awakened by a commotion. Ordinarily, she could sleep through noises, but this time, something seemed off about what she was hearing.

“Mother, these spiky fruits—did you have someone prepare them?”

“No, weren’t they the ones you picked yesterday? I thought you gathered them, but I assumed they weren’t ripe yet. Turns out, they’ve all ripened.”

“No, Mother, we didn’t harvest these yesterday. The ones we saw hadn’t split open and weren’t ripe enough to pick. How did so many suddenly appear overnight, and how are they all stripped of their outer husks?”

Ye Chuan’s voice was filled with astonishment.

Ye Baizhi suddenly sensed something, and in a flash, she rushed from the cave to the courtyard. There, she saw an orderly pile of chestnuts. The crucial part was that all of them had been neatly stripped of their prickly husks. What remained were just the smooth chestnuts inside. There was no need for them to go through the trouble of peeling them, nor did they have to worry about getting pricked.

“This can’t be…” Ye Baizhi stared around in shock. She even activated her wood-based ability to detect the surrounding energy but found absolutely nothing. And with that, her thoughts returned to last night—and to Xue Youchen. She still couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

“Sister, do you know anything about this?”

Ye Baizhi could only respond vaguely, “Oh, I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went and picked some ripe chestnuts.”

“These can be stored for winter food.”

Ye Lu looked at Ye Baizhi with concern. “Did you get hurt? Are you feeling unwell?”

Ye Chuan also watched her with a tense expression.

Ye Baizhi reassured them, “I’m fine. I was just moving around near the tribe. Nothing happened, I’m completely okay.”

Only then did Ye Lu relax. “Next time, tell me what you need, and I’ll take care of it. Don’t go out alone in the middle of the night—it’s too dangerous.”

“Even if it’s near the tribe, it’s still not safe.”

Ye Baizhi agreed. She really wouldn’t dare go out at night again.

That Xue Youchen was truly worthy of being called the Beast King—the aura he exuded was overwhelming. She knew that if he lifted a finger, he could easily eliminate her. It was said that he had already reached the ninth tier of power—no one could stand against him. She didn’t even know if he harbored any killing intent toward her.

So, after breakfast that morning, when Qiu Shi, Qiu Cai, and Lin Caocao excitedly came to invite Ye Baizhi on another foraging trip, she declined. She said she wanted to stay home and rest for a few days—she wouldn’t be going out for now. She wanted to avoid running into Xue Youchen.

Truthfully, she felt uneasy. Even though it was her former self who had drugged him, the one who had ended up with Xue Youchen was still her.

There was no way to explain it. She was just feeling a bit guilty.

“Ye Baizhi, then rest well. We’ll gather more wild vegetables and mushrooms today and bring some back for you.”

“Yes, yes! Yesterday, thanks to you, we found radishes. Even though my parents didn’t manage to hunt, we still had food to eat.”

“Ye Baizhi, my parents wanted me to thank you properly.”

“We never expected that shepherd’s purse and mushrooms could actually be eaten.”

They had heard from Ye Chuan that these two foods were edible, and their excitement was palpable. They planned to return to the same spot as yesterday, confident they’d come back with a full harvest.

Seeing their sincere expressions and hearing their heartfelt words, Ye Baizhi smiled. She would head out again in a few days to look for more food.

They also promised to help take care of Ye Chuan.

Their reassurances put her at ease.

Once everyone had left, Ye Baizhi went to check on her second brother, Ye Zhu. She placed her hand on his wrist to feel his pulse and confirmed that his condition remained unchanged.

Without the right medicinal herbs, she couldn’t fully neutralize the poison. But she could still use her wood-based ability to purge the toxins over time—eventually, he would wake up.

Even though her wood ability was currently limited, a night’s rest had allowed her to naturally absorb more of nature’s green essence. She channeled that energy into Ye Zhu’s body, helping him heal.

…

Over the next few days, Ye Baizhi stayed home—both to strengthen her wood-based ability and to help with household chores and cooking. During this time, her mother managed to hunt plenty of food every day, always returning with a full bounty.

Ye Baizhi made sure to prepare delicious meals for the family in different ways.

During dinner, Ye Lu sighed in amazement, “We’ve been really lucky these past few days—every day, we come across easily hunted beasts.”

“This morning, a whole group of wild animals suddenly appeared. A few of them looked like they had been chased and were injured—they ran straight toward us. Your uncle and I took them down effortlessly.”

“Daughter, eat as much as you want. If it’s not enough, I’ll go hunt more.”

Because food had been plentiful every day, Ye Lu had grown much more confident. She had also noticed that her daughter’s appetite was increasing significantly, but thankfully, she could still hunt enough.

Ye Baizhi, too, realized that her food intake seemed to be growing each day—and she was feeling hungry more often.