Chapter 67 Plan

Little Ancestor looked around one more time to make sure no one was listening before leaning in even closer.

"Tomorrow morning, a hunting party is leaving the clan," he whispered. "They’re heading into the Spirit Mountains to hunt high-level spirit beasts. We can secretly follow them. They’ll do all the hunting..." His eyes sparkled as he grinned from ear to ear. "...and we’ll eat the meat."

Xue Yao stared at him for several long seconds. "...That’s your brilliant plan?"

"It is." He answered without the slightest hesitation, looking so proud of himself that Xue Yao almost felt bad for what she was about to say.

She rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Do you know how much work that sounds like? First we have to sneak out without anyone noticing. Then we have to avoid getting caught. After that we have to walk all the way to the Spirit Mountains, climb who knows how many mountains, follow a hunting party around, and somehow avoid getting eaten by spirit beasts before we finally get a chance to eat."

She counted every point on her fingers before looking back at him with complete seriousness. "I’m already tired just thinking about it."

Little Ancestor stared at her with his mouth hanging open. "You’re so lazy!"

Xue Yao immediately shook her head. "I’m conserving energy."

"That’s just another way of saying lazy." Little Ancestor argued.

"It sounds much nicer when I say it." Xue Yao said shamelessly.

The little wolf rolled his eyes so dramatically that Xue Yao thought they might get stuck. "You really are hopeless."

She simply shrugged. "I’ve survived this long."

"I honestly don’t know how." Little Ancestor shook his head.

"Neither do I." Xue Yao said with a tired sigh. She must truly have nine lives like the cats.

Little Ancestor looked at her in disbelief before letting out an exaggerated sigh. "I climbed over a wall to save you from starving, and this is the attitude I get."

Xue Yao folded her arms. "I never asked you to climb over the wall."

"You would’ve starved!" Little Ancestor’s face turned red. How could a human be this ungrateful? That he couldn’t understand.

"I already ate." The words slipped out before she had a chance to stop them.

Little Ancestor blinked. "...What?"

Xue Yao froze. "...Nothing."

His eyes slowly narrowed. "You said you already ate."

"I misspoke." Xue Yao cleared her throat nervously.

"You did not." Little Ancestor walked closer to her, sniffing the air around her.

"I absolutely did." Xue Yao said, backing away from him.

He crossed his arms and looked at her suspiciously. "Brother ordered that nobody was allowed to bring you food."

"I know." Xue Yao closed her eyes as if in pain.

"So how did you eat?" Little Ancestor tilted his head as he stared at her with curiosity.

Xue Yao looked everywhere except at him. "...I figured something out."

"What does that mean?" He frowned.

"It means..." She coughed lightly. "...I solved the problem."

Little Ancestor took another step closer. "What problem?"

"My hunger." Xue Yao almost snapped from all the questioning.

"How?" Little Ancestor widened his eyes, completely curious.

Xue Yao smiled innocently. "I’d rather not say."

The little wolf gasped. "You secretly ate!"

"...Hypothetically."

"There really was food! You actually smelled like a roasted rabbit." Little Ancestor gulped unconsciously.

"...Hypothetically." Xue Yao shrugged her shoulders again.

He pointed at her accusingly. "You didn’t starve at all!"

Xue Yao scratched her cheek. "...Not in the end."

Little Ancestor looked so offended that Xue Yao almost laughed. "I climbed over the wall for nothing!"

"You got some exercise." Xue Yao said lightheartedly.

"I didn’t want exercise!" He said waving his hand in the air angrily.

"You also fought a very dangerous branch." Xue Yao teased.

He immediately pointed toward the broken branch sticking out from the wall. "It attacked me first."

"Of course it did." Xue Yao nodded.

"It did!" Little Ancestor folded his arms across his chest as if he didn’t want to argue anymore.

She laughed quietly before shaking her head. "You’re impossible."

"No." He puffed out his chest. "You’re impossible."

Xue Yao was about to tease him again when her smile slowly faded. Leaving the clan... The words quietly resurfaced in her mind.

She had been so busy arguing that she almost forgot what he had suggested. Leaving the White Moon Wolf Clan meant leaving the palace. Leaving the palace meant stepping outside these walls for the first time since arriving here.

Her expression gradually became thoughtful. ’If I really leave the clan... I might finally get a chance to see what the outside world looked like. More importantly... I might find a chance to escape.’

The thought quietly settled in the back of her mind.

She had accepted becoming Lie Lang’s Royal Concubine because she didn’t have another choice. Staying alive had come first. But that didn’t mean she planned to stay here forever.

If an opportunity appeared... Wouldn’t she be a fool not to take it?

Little Ancestor noticed her sudden silence and tilted his head. "What are you thinking about?"

Xue Yao looked back at him. "...I’ll think about what you said."

His eyes immediately lit up. "Really?"

"But..." She raised one finger. "Before I decide anything, you have to answer one question honestly."

He nodded. "What is it?"

Her expression slowly turned serious. "...Why did Lie Lang almost kill me?"

Little Ancestor stared at her as if she had asked a dumb question. His expression gradually turned from confusion to disbelief. "...You’re actually asking me that?"

Xue Yao blinked. "...Yes?"

He slapped a hand against his forehead. "You really don’t know?"

"I wouldn’t be asking if I did." Xue Yao reasoned.

"You cooked Dragon Golden Fish!" Little Ancestor exclaimed.

"I know that much." Xue Yao replied calmly.

"You don’t know what Dragon Golden Fish are!"

Xue Yao thought about it for a moment before answering honestly. "...Fish?"

Little Ancestor looked ready to cry. "They’re not just fish!" He grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her toward the pond.