Chapter 214: "Be Good and Come with Me.

Yu Zhizhi stared blankly at the group of Beastmen who had appeared out of nowhere. Her hand trembled on the door, and just as she was about to shut it, she heard the lead Cheetah laugh—

The cold night wind was not as chilling as the sound of his laughter.

The Cheetah took a step forward and held out his right hand. His voice was deceptively smooth. "Rabbit Clan Lady, the moonlight is beautiful tonight, hardly a night for bloodshed. To avoid any accidents, please don’t resist, and come along quietly."

He hadn’t come here with high expectations.

Any female who wasn’t ugly would have sufficed.

But the Cheetah had never imagined this Rabbit Clan female would be so beautiful. Whether she had high Fertility or not was irrelevant. A Beastman surviving in the Sad Dragon Cave lived life on a knife’s edge; he didn’t care about having offspring. He just wanted to keep a female to satisfy his carnal needs.

Yu Zhizhi’s skin crawled under his stare. She shook her head repeatedly, trying to shut the door.

The Cheetah suddenly changed his tack. "Your companion... he’s severely injured, isn’t he? Aren’t you worried he might just die at any moment?"

’Tang Luo Ke...’

Yu Zhizhi had no idea what these people were capable of. She thought of the severely injured wolf and slowly bit her lip.

The Cheetah’s eyes were fixed on the small Rabbit Clan female. Seeing her bite her lip, the vile thoughts in his mind grew even more ferocious.

"As long as you come with me, I promise I won’t hurt him," he coaxed.

The words had barely left his mouth...

...when a hoarse chuckle echoed from inside the safe house.

"Pfft—"

The Cheetah’s expression changed instantly. The last of his "patience" evaporated as he stared icily at the window.

Tang Luo Ke was awake.

He glanced to the side, saw the little rabbit’s cowering form by the door, and sat up, removing the cloth from his forehead.

"You’re awake?" Yu Zhizhi asked, looking at him nervously.

Tang Luo Ke grunted in affirmation. "How could I not be, with all this noise?"

He got up and walked toward the wooden door.

Coming up behind the little rabbit, he rested a hand on her shoulder. He glanced at the horde of male Beast Clan members at the door and sighed.

’Just look at them,’ he thought. ’These damn bastards. Look how they’ve scared my little rabbit.’

Tang Luo Ke pushed the door open. "Hurt me? You lot?"

The Cheetah heard the young man’s low, weak, and hoarse voice. He had been warily tightening his grip on his blade, but upon seeing the man’s pair of black wolf ears, he couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

’Just how weak does a male have to be to expose his Beast Form like that?’

This was completely different from actively choosing partial or full Beastification during a fight.

In one’s human form, beast ears or a tail were a liability in a fight, a fatal weakness.

The Cheetah judged that this wolf was merely bluffing.

It was just...

...why did this wolf look somewhat familiar?

He cleared his throat, and just as he was about to say something, he felt the man beside him tugging his sleeve. "B-Boss..."

The Cheetah frowned. "Spit it out! What are you shaking for?"

’Pathetic.’

Their mercenary band was well-known in the Sad Dragon Cave. Trembling like a leaf before a sick, crippled wolf? Did he have no pride?

The Mouse Clan male looked ready to cry. "He... he seems to be... he’s..."

The name seemed to scald his tongue. "Don Locke... K."

The Valoran Empire’s War Weapon. Merely speaking the name required immense courage.

The Cheetah froze.

Under the dark sky, he squinted, looking closer—

The Wolf Clan youth’s choppy black hair was damp with sweat from his slumber, and a pair of scarlet eyes were staring coldly at him.

Sheltered against his chest was the little female rabbit, a creature so beautiful she would make any male’s heart pound...

The Wolf Clan youth had one hand on her shoulder, his pale fingertips looking as if they were carved from stone.

The Cheetah’s gaze snapped back to his face—

He suddenly shuddered!

The Cheetah remembered now why he’d looked familiar at first glance!

It was likely because of the exposed Beast Form; the Cheetah hadn’t made the connection at all!

"Lo-lo-lo... Lord Locke...!" The Cheetah was so terrified his teeth were chattering. Without a word, he dropped his weapon and threw himself to his knees.

The drifters in the Sad Dragon Cave might not follow the Empire’s news, watch entertainment broadcasts, or know which noble S-Class females had recently been promoted, but they had most certainly heard the name of the War Weapon.

"I was wrong! I’m sorry! We didn’t know this lady was yours..."

As the Cheetah spoke, he shot a vicious glare at the hyena.

’—This was the "sick and crippled wolf" the hyena mentioned?!’

’Damn it, he was practically their ancestor!’

The moment the hyena heard Tang Luo Ke’s name, his legs went weak and he practically slid to his knees. The other members of the group all fell to their knees as well, their previous arrogance and aggression completely snuffed out in an instant.

This was a mercenary group with a known reputation in the Sad Dragon Cave; who knew how many they had killed. Now, they were as meek as newborn kittens.

Yu Zhizhi leaned against Tang Luo Ke’s chest. Seeing them all kneeling in a massive group, she finally realized just how terrifying Tang’s name was to male Beastmen...

He was clearly in a state of severe injury, yet no one dared to doubt his Strength.

Tang Luo Ke pulled Yu Zhizhi inside the house, adjusting the Holy Temple White Robe she was wearing. "It’s windy tonight. If it gets stuffy, you can open the window for some air."

Once he finished speaking, his gaze fell on the Cheetah kneeling on the ground before him.

That one look was enough to make the Cheetah’s blood run cold, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

Tang Luo Ke leaned against the door, his wolf tail swaying slowly behind him.

He seemed to be contemplating how to dispose of this group.

’In the past, he wouldn’t have needed to think. He would have just slaughtered them.’

’But now his little rabbit was watching; it wouldn’t be good to get too bloody. Besides, they still had to live in this safe little nest for a while. He couldn’t have them dirtying it.’

’And... they had other uses.’

’I’ll spare their pathetic lives for now.’

Tang Luo Ke grabbed a small dagger from behind the cabin door and tossed it in front of the Cheetah.

"Swallow it, and I’ll spare your life."

The Cheetah should consider himself lucky that his disrespect for the little rabbit had been purely verbal.

A look of immense joy washed over the kneeling Leopard Clan male’s face. He hurriedly grabbed the dagger and, without a word, shoved it into his mouth. Enduring the searing pain of sliced flesh, he forced the small dagger down his throat.

Blood kept welling up from his throat...

He coughed up a great mouthful, his features twisted together in agony and his face turning purple from the strain.

The dagger had shredded his throat; he would likely never be able to speak again.

But at least his life had been spared...

The Cheetah’s heart was filled with gratitude.

The hyena broke out in a cold sweat. He knew he was screwed. He hadn’t properly vetted the wolf’s identity; after this, the boss was definitely going to punish him...

"Get out." Tang Luo Ke closed the door.

Only after he uttered those two words did the mercenaries dare to scramble to their feet and leave as quickly as possible.

Tang Luo Ke’s brow twitched, and blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped it away with the back of his hand, then looked down at the little female’s worried face. A smile surfaced on his own, and a moment later, he couldn’t resist pinching her cheek.

"Were you starting to doubt me, hmm? You think a few mongrels like that could hurt me?"

Tang Luo Ke chuckled softly.

He propped his elbow against the door, his body still in a state of extreme exhaustion. Afraid he might collapse, Yu Zhizhi quickly rushed to support him.

"How... how are you getting worse the more you rest?" Yu Zhizhi’s face turned pale.

It was so strange.

’She had used her Healing Skill several times...’

’By all rights, his wounds should be slowly recovering.’

’But Tang Luo Ke’s body was only growing weaker, as if he might die at any second.’