Chapter 54 Strange Human

The moment Lie Lang stepped into his study, the familiar scent of freshly brewed tea drifted toward him.

Han Luo sat comfortably beside the open window with one leg crossed over the other, a cup of tea in one hand and a stack of military reports in the other. Hearing the door open, he looked up with the same relaxed smile that always seemed to find its way onto his face.

"I was beginning to wonder whether I should send someone to look for you," he said with an amused chuckle. "Then I heard the entire fortress had become lively this afternoon. After that, I figured you were probably the reason."

Lie Lang walked past him without answering. He removed the heavy cloak from his shoulders, hung it neatly on the wooden stand by the door, and only then made his way behind the desk.

Han Luo watched him the whole time before lifting his teacup again. "You’ve caused quite a lot of trouble."

"I didn’t intend to."

Han Luo laughed. "Nobody ever does." He took another sip before setting the cup back down. "By the time I returned, every servant I passed was whispering about you. The Alpha carried a human woman through the fortress. The Alpha made her his Royal Concubine. The five elders were injured by a human. I’ve already heard seven different versions of the story, and somehow each one sounds more outrageous than the last."

Lie Lang said nothing.

Han Luo’s smile slowly faded as he studied his friend’s expression. "So... they’re all true?"

"They are." Lie Lang said calmly.

The easy atmosphere disappeared almost instantly. Han Luo leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "The elders really tried to search her memories?"

Lie Lang nodded. "They did."

"And you let them?" Han Luo frowned. He had let him taste the rabbit grilled by the human to convince him to spare her. He couldn’t believe he allowed the elders to lay a finger on her.

"I wasn’t there." Lie Lang said with a low exhale.

Han Luo frowned. "You weren’t?"

Lie Lang quietly shook his head. "I arrived after they had already begun."

Han Luo let out a long breath and leaned back again. "I suppose if you’d been there from the beginning, none of this would’ve happened."

Lie Lang lowered his gaze to the documents scattered across the desk, but his eyes never settled on a single page. "They almost killed her."

The words were spoken so calmly that someone else might have missed the guilt hidden behind them. But Han Luo didn’t.

He looked at Lie Lang for a long moment before quietly picking up his teacup again. "You know, when I first met Bai Xue Yao in the prison, I thought she was just an unusual human."

Lie Lang looked up as if he found his words intriguing.

"She cooked better than most spirit chefs I’ve met. She sat behind prison bars bargaining with me over roasted rabbit as though we were in the middle of a marketplace, and she argued with me without the slightest fear."

A small smile returned to Han Luo’s face as he remembered that afternoon. "Most people become careful when they realize who they’re speaking to, but she didn’t. She spoke exactly the same from beginning to end and even threatened Little Ancestor."

He gently turned the teacup between his fingers. "I thought she was interesting."

The smile gradually disappeared. "But now..." He slowly shook his head. "Now I think I underestimated her."

Lie Lang remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"The more I think about her, the less she makes sense." Han Luo looked out the window for a moment before continuing. "She barely has any cultivation, yet she somehow tamed a beast. She knows things no ordinary human should know. She can speak and understand beast language. She doesn’t behave like someone who grew up in fear, yet she also doesn’t act like someone with power. Then today..." He looked back at Lie Lang. "Five elders couldn’t even search her memories."

He fell silent for a moment before asking quietly, "Have you ever met anyone like that before?"

"No." Lie Lang answered without even thinking.

"Neither have I." Han Luo slowly nodded.

For a while, neither of them spoke. The evening breeze drifted through the open window, stirring the papers on the desk as the branches outside swayed gently beneath the fading sunlight.

Finally, Lie Lang broke the silence.

"When the elders announced they were going to search her memories..." He stopped, remembering the fear he had seen in Bai Xue Yao’s eyes. "She panicked."

Han Luo looked at him. "I don’t find that surprising."

Lie Lang slowly shook his head. "No." He rested one hand lightly on the desk. "She wasn’t afraid because she might die."

Han Luo frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She was afraid because they wanted her memories."

Those words made Han Luo’s expression change.

Lie Lang continued calmly. "I’ve seen people face death. I’ve seen fear of pain, fear of punishment, and fear of losing everything." His gaze drifted toward the window again. "What I saw today wasn’t any of those."

Han Luo didn’t interrupt.

"She looked like someone trying to protect something."

The words lingered between them as both men fell silent again.

Han Luo slowly lowered his eyes, absentmindedly turning the teacup in his hand. "What could an ordinary human possibly have hidden in her memories that would make her react like that?"

Lie Lang didn’t answer because he had been asking himself the same question ever since he left her chamber.

Han Luo watched him quietly before setting his teacup back on the table. "The elders won’t let this go. Even if they can’t touch Bai Xue Yao openly anymore, they’ll find another way to investigate her."

"I know."

Han Luo studied him for another moment before asking, "And Ruo Shuo?"

Only then did Lie Lang look up. "She’ll understand."

Han Luo couldn’t help sighing.

"I hope you’re right." He rested one arm on the chair and looked at Lie Lang with a helpless smile. "You’ve known her for more than two hundred years. The whole clan has believed she would become your Luna ever since the two of you were young. Then, in a single afternoon, you carried another woman through the fortress and made her your Royal Concubine. Even if she understands why you did it, that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt."

Lie Lang lowered his eyes again. He knew Han Luo wasn’t wrong.