Chapter 74 Entrust The Human To Me

"I won’t forget." Xue Yao blew gently on another piece of chicken before taking a bite. "How far are the Spirit Mountains?"

"Not very far if you’re in your beast form." Little Ancestor replied, taking another bite of the chicken chest.

She looked at him blankly. "...I can’t transform into beast form, I’m only a human."

Little Ancestor blinked once before nodding. "Oh." He thought for a moment. "Then... it’ll take longer."

Xue Yao sighed. "Anyway, we will figure a way out."

He scratched his cheek sheepishly before continuing, "Brother usually hunts deeper inside the mountains, but we won’t follow him. We’ll stay near the outer area where the hunting party camps. There are plenty of beasts there too."

Xue Yao nodded thoughtfully as she listened. ’As long as I can get outside the clan... that’s enough.’

She lowered her eyes to the bowl in her hands, hiding the small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. ’Whether I find an opportunity to escape or not... tomorrow I’ll finally get to see what this world looks like beyond these walls.’

Little Ancestor, completely unaware of what was going through her mind, happily took another bite of chicken. "This is really delicious."

Xue Yao smiled and quietly picked up another piece for herself. ’Yeah... eat as much as you can, my free ticket to leaving this hell hole... Xue Yao, you really are blessed. Look at the little pup offering you freedom without even trying to win him over.’

Xue Yao picked the wings of the chicken on her plate and placed them on Little Ancestor’s plate. "Eat more then." She flashed him a smile.

Little Ancestor’s eyes widened, sparkling like the stars in the heavens. "I will!" He exclaimed before burying his head inside his plate, eating hungrily as if he had never tasted food for a whole century.

Xue Yao frowned a little. ’He is a wild wolf, what do I expect... as long as he can appreciate my cuisine, who cares.’

Hours went by, Xue Yao let out a satisfied sigh as she leaned lazily against the bark of a tree, while folding her arms behind her head.

She stared at the little patches of sky that were not covered by the thick trees. She blinked as her mind travelled to the human world. She wondered how many days had gone by now... how was her family doing? They must have found out that she had fallen asleep, they must be sobbing now.

Her mind wandered back to her mother Lin Shuying. Her wrinkles must have grown deeper now, and her eye bags must have grown worse. She rarely ever showed any weakness, always acting as if she had everything in control. However, Xue Yao knew her heart was as soft as tofu.

"I know how dangerous it is to fall asleep, so I don’t want you to worry about losing me." Her own words echoed in her ears.

She reached one hand towards the stars as if she could hold them, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. ’Not only have I broken my promise, but I also made them worry. I was reckless thinking I could only sleep for one second... now I have caused them the one thing they feared the most, losing me to the sleep curse. And so far, what have I been doing? Trying to tame beasts, trying to sleep, and trying to fill my stomach... but I forgot about the family who are waiting for my return... I have to go back home and forget about everything here.

But how can I find my way back home? What is the mystery behind the sleep curse, and how can I break it?’

Xue Yao was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize Little Ancestor had been staring at her for a while now. He slowly walked on all fours towards her. He tilted his head to the side in confusion... why was the human crying?

He leaned his head closer to her. He curiously stared at the glistening liquid on her cheeks, and without thinking twice, he stuck out his tongue, licking her tears off her cheeks.

Feeling the warm wet sensation on her cheeks, Xue Yao snapped out of her trance, only to find a big head with two white pointy ears coming closer to her again. Two big golden eyes and a tongue stinking out freely to assault the other side of her face.

Before Xue Yao could think twice about it, her fist shot up.

"Arghhh." Little Ancestor groaned as he fell back on the ground.

Xue Yao pushed herself off the ground. Her brows almost touched as she pointed one finger at him. "What the heck do you think you are doing? Don’t tell me the chicken was unable to satisfy you, now you want to eat me too."

Little Ancestor unconsciously let out a growl. But he quickly shook his head as he pushed himself to his feet. He tilted his head, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "No, you were crying, and I was trying to make you feel better."

"So if you see someone crying, the next thing you do is lick their cheeks? What are you? A dog?" Xue Yao frowned as she wiped the saliva from her cheeks.

A deep growl resonated through the air. "I’m a wolf, not a dog." Little Ancestor bared his fangs at her, unable to bear the insult.

Xue Yao frowned. "The last time I checked, dogs and wolves are of the same family... anyway, you don’t go around licking people’s faces."

"That is how we show we care... anyway, I don’t want to argue with you." Little Ancestor said, turning around to leave. "I just wanted to make you feel better." He said under his breath, before walking away.

Xue Yao let out a sigh before running her hands through her hair. "Why would you want to make me feel better? We aren’t that close... and it is such a weird way to show your care." She shouted behind him.

The woods became quiet as Little Ancestor disappeared from view. Xue Yao sighed, her shoulders sinking. She closed her eyes, trying to control the waves of emotions that were crashing through her.

Her own, that was filled with frustration and longing, and another that felt wronged, confused, and in denial.

’What does it all mean?’ She thought inwardly as she stared at the Beast Heart Pendant. Yet, there was no answer.

She slowly took everything back to her space before walking back to her room. The night breeze caressed her hair, soothing her skin... yet all she could think of was if she had overdone it. Did she wrong Little Ancestor? And does this mean that their plan won’t go through?

Xue Yao let out a deep sigh, her steps faltering as she stopped by the pond beside her courtyard. The remaining fishes swam lazily, their golden scales shimmering under the twinkle of the sky.

Xue Yao lowered herself to a squat. For a few seconds, she could only stare at the fishes... a tight knot formed in her chest that refused to go away.

"I’m sorry for killing your family members. I didn’t know your history and thought you were just some pretty fish. I know I have been reckless, maybe a little heartless... to be frank with you, I don’t even know what is wrong with me. I know I like food, but ever since I found myself in the beast world I have become hungrier than before... and of course that doesn’t justify my actions." She paused, shaking her head at the rubbish she had said.

"I just wanted to apologize..."

Her words were cut off as one dragon golden fish leaped into the air and spit water on her face, before jumping back into the pond.

Xue Yao closed her eyes. "Well... I guess that is fair." She muttered as she wiped the water off her face.

Unknowingly to her, just above her, two figures stood on the rooftop, watching her.

"Are you sure you want to keep the human?" The figure with the black long hair said, his black tail stiff in the air.

The figure with the long white hair and golden eyes stepped forward to stand just beside him. "This is the only way I can free myself from the clutches of the elders." Lie Lang said with a frown.

A sinister smirk formed on the lips of the Grand Alpha. "Is that so? If you really want to free yourself from their clutches, then you should let go of Ruo Shuo and mate her to another."

Lie Lang’s gaze darkened. "No." He firmly refused, clutching his fist. "I’ll find a way to get rid of the elders. Only then will I take her as my mate."

The Grand Alpha’s face was covered by his hair as if a curtain had been drawn over his face, his reddish pink lips pulled down just a little bit.

"But this human is very interesting... even Little Ancestor is fond of her. She killed your dragon golden fish, and she even said no to me. Lie Lang..." He drawled, his lips pulling up into a sinister smile. "... why don’t you entrust the human to me for a couple of days? Hmmm?"

The winds ruffled his hair, pulling it back enough just to show one icy blue eye filled with so much intent that it would make anyone bow into submission.