Chapter 32

The cat tribe in the northern region was surrounded by many other beast clans. Among them were plenty of powerful young male beasts. Even if Kasai wanted to scheme, it seemed far too coincidental that she had chosen Ye Baizhi’s elder brother.

And considering how much Kasai knew about her, Ye Baizhi couldn’t believe there wasn’t a deeper conspiracy at play.

Kasai listened to the questions and suddenly burst into laughter.

“Haha, Ye Baizhi, you want to know? Well, I won’t tell you.”

“You think returning to the rabbit tribe means you’re safe?”

“How ridiculous. Ye Baizhi, you are far too naive.”

“What a shame… I didn’t get to kill your brother.”

“If I had known earlier, I should have struck sooner, wiped out your entire rabbit tribe.”

Smack!

“Ah—!” Kasai had barely finished speaking when Ye Baizhi delivered another sharp slap. Her face burned with pain, but she had no strength to fight back. All she could do was kneel there, seething with hatred.

Kasai continued to laugh wildly, but Ye Baizhi struck her with another sharp slap.

Kasai was consumed with hatred, but she was powerless. All she could do was kneel.

Ye Baizhi took out a knife and traced it along Kasai’s face.

“You won’t speak? Then I’ll peel your skin off, bit by bit—starting with your face.”

Kasai’s expression froze. She looked into Ye Baizhi’s cold gaze and knew immediately—she was serious.

“You… What are you trying to do?”

Even now, Kasai refused to show weakness before the Snow Wolf King. She feared being disfigured.

Ye Baizhi chuckled. “Obviously, I’m going to ruin your face.”

Desperate, Kasai turned to Xue Youchen. “King, you see it now—she’s a ruthless female, cruel and heartless! Everyone loathes her!”

“King, you must open your eyes! Don’t let her deceive you.”

She was trying to turn Xue Youchen against Ye Baizhi.

Trying to make him look at her. Trying to make him save her.

Even now, she still believed herself worthy. She wanted the Snow Wolf King to acknowledge her. But no matter how much she screamed, Xue Youchen didn’t spare her a single glance.

Instead, Ye Baizhi turned to him and said, “I really am a terrible female. Not a good one.”

“If you regret this, you can walk away now.”

Ye Baizhi had never depended on others. She wasn’t like other females in the beast world, who relied on their mates to survive. She could live just fine on her own. Her wood-based powers had strengthened significantly over the past few days. Given enough time, she would regain the abilities she had back in the apocalypse.

Xue Youchen’s expression remained gentle throughout. “A little cruelty is good—it means you won’t be bullied or wronged.”

As he spoke, he stepped forward and softly brushed his fingers over her brow, his voice warm. “Since I am your mate, I will always be your mate. That will never change.”

He would never leave her. And he would never regret it.

“Do as you wish. Don’t concern yourself with what others say.”

“Reputation is meaningless.”

His Ah Zhi was wonderful. It was the fools in the imperial city who failed to see it. In fact, he wished he could hide her away, keep her all to himself.

“Pff—”

Kasai could hardly believe what she was hearing. Especially seeing Xue Youchen treat Ye Baizhi with such tenderness—it made her so jealous that she coughed up blood. Her gaze darkened with pure malice as she glared at Ye Baizhi. “You want to know? I won’t tell you.”

“Even if you kill me, I won’t say a word.”

By now, Kasai looked utterly deranged.

Completely reckless. Completely unhinged.

At that moment, Xue Youchen instinctively released his oppressive aura upon her.

A powerful force descended upon Kasai, crushing her from above. “Pff—”

The pain overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t even remain kneeling—her body collapsed onto the ground. She trembled violently, agony tearing through her like she was about to be shattered from within. Cold sweat dripped from her entire body. Then, with a sharp crack, her leg bones snapped.

Kasai let out a piercing scream.

“Ah—! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

She couldn’t endure the Snow Wolf King’s oppressive force any longer, and her desperate cries filled the air.

Only then did Xue Youchen withdraw his aura.

Gasping for breath, Kasai lay sprawled on the ground, barely able to move.

“It was a beastman from the imperial city who contacted me and ordered me to do this,” she rasped.

“A year ago, he sought me out, threatening me. He demanded that I kill your brother and wipe out the rabbit tribe.”

“He knew I carried half the bloodline of a magic beast—and used it to force my hand.”

“I told him I wasn’t strong enough, but he claimed my magic beast heritage would allow me to consume Ye Chuan’s gifted bone and enhance my power.”

“With that strength, I could gain recognition in the feline tribe… and lead them to destroy the rabbit tribe.”

“I don’t know who that person is, but I could feel his deep hatred toward you every time he spoke.”

“His strength is overwhelming. I was terrified.”

Ye Baizhi listened, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

A beastman from the imperial city. There were only a handful of possible factions.

“What does he look like?”

Kasai shook her head. “I don’t know. He was always in beastman form, dressed in black.”

“I never saw his face clearly.”

“But his clothing pattern was unmistakably from the imperial city.”

“And he carried the imperial city’s Ye family token.”

The Ye family—Ye Baizhi’s former clan. The noble rabbit clan of the imperial city. The same family where the true daughter, Ye Mengyin, now resided. If Ye Mengyin weren’t involved in this, Ye Baizhi wouldn’t believe it.

She continued, “A few days ago, the beasts in the forest were corrupted by demonic energy. That was your doing, wasn’t it?”

Kasai nodded. “That’s right. I did it.”

“Why should I be denied the right to live here just because I have half a demon bloodline?”

“Why must the demon race be locked outside the Misty Forest, suffering in harsh conditions while other beastmen thrive?”

Her father had come from the demon race, hiding his identity and suppressing his aura to remain undetected. Her mother had only learned the truth after giving birth to her. By then, nothing could be changed. Her mother had secretly protected her. With no power of her own, her mother relied on the tribe to survive.

Kasai had only managed to cultivate and gain strength thanks to her half-demon bloodline. Otherwise, she would have been just another powerless female. She believed that among the young females of the northern district, she was the strongest and most gifted—the perfect mate for the Snow Wolf King. In her mind, she had imagined countless glorious futures and dreamed of becoming his chosen mate. But reality had crushed her expectations.

The Snow Wolf King had bonded with Ye Baizhi, the very person she considered worthless. She could hardly believe it.

Seeing him treat Ye Baizhi with such tenderness, Kasai felt herself unraveling.

Ye Baizhi let out a cold chuckle. “Oh? You actually dare to ask why?”

“Because your demon race once invaded the Beast Continent and slaughtered countless innocent beastmen.”

“You know nothing but destruction. Even you—you tried to kill my elder brother. He was innocent, yet you schemed against him and betrayed him, despite his unwavering trust in you.”

Kasai’s heart had always been consumed with obsession for the Snow Wolf King. There was no way she could ever truly care for anyone else.

No matter how kind Ye Chuan had been to her, she had always seen it as something she was entitled to.

Furious, Kasai spat, “It’s his fault for having a worthless, hated sister like you! You offended the nobles of the central imperial city—you dragged him down with you!”

“If not for you, I wouldn’t have even known who your brother was. I wouldn’t have wasted my time scheming against him.”

She let out a twisted laugh. “Normally, beastmen—even those with high-level abilities—don’t possess a gifted bone. But your brother did. It made him the perfect target.”

“I could have taken his power for myself. And even if he died, at least his existence would have served a purpose.”