Rebirth With The Beast_10

Chapter 56 continued...

---

Su Yi narrowed his eyes, looked the person over, and asked coldly, “Why are you here?”

Tang Yu rubbed his sore wrist, squinted, and huffed, “All thanks to that busted jade of yours—I got reborn too.”

Su Yi’s gaze flickered. He looked unsure. “You were there when the shootout happened?”

So Tang Yu told Su Yi everything that had happened—how he’d crossed over and how he’d later met Jers.

Tang Yu wasn’t stupid; back in the other world he’d only played dumb. He had no interest in fighting his big brother for the family fortune, so there was no reason to act too clever. Coming clean to Su Yi now was a decision he’d thought through. He hadn’t expected Su Yi to be reborn as well, so he’d told Jers and the others his real name anyway. Even if he didn’t confess, Su Yi would figure it out soon enough. If he came over now and laid his cards on the table like a dope, Su Yi would just take him for a silly kid—and be less guarded. And if Su Yi wasn’t too wary of him, Tang Yu didn’t have to worry about getting killed someday.

Su Yi had never met Tang Yu in person, but he had collected plenty of information on him. The youngest in the Tang family, doted on by a host of elders, he’d grown up with a spoiled young master’s temper. Su Yi didn’t put too much stock in those reports, but the fact that Tang Yu hadn’t fought Tang the Elder for the inheritance did suggest he wasn’t dumb. Whether he truly didn’t want to fight or simply didn’t dare, in the end the “big brother” who pretended to dote on him still tried to have his own little brother killed. In Tang the Elder’s mind, only the dead pose no threat.

Su Yi sneered inwardly. Whether you were once Captain Su or once the Tang family’s little young master, in this world you only had one identity: a “female” in the beastman world. He wasn’t at all worried Tang Yu could stir up some great storm; they were both in the same boat now anyway.

Tang Yu squeezed his palm, fell silent for a while, then asked, “Do you… already have a partner?”

Su Yi nodded and called out, “Little Yilai!”

Tang Yu craned his neck to look into the house. He expected a tall, burly beastman to come out, but after a long wait, out came… a little snake.

At the sight of the little white snake, he couldn’t help a shiver. Truth be told, he was a bit afraid of snakes.

“Mother-father, why did you call me?”

When the little snake piped that out, sticky-sweet, Tang Yu’s jaw nearly dropped.

In Tang Yu’s view, with Su Yi’s current skills he could live just fine without relying on a beastman. He hadn’t expected this “cop-rogue” to behave himself as a “female”—and even have a little cub?

“Come, let me introduce you to an uncle,” Su Yi beckoned Little Yilai over.

Just then, as the little snake started to slither over, a tall figure appeared behind him. The man bent and picked Yilai up, then walked into the yard.

The drizzling rain also chose that moment to stop.

Tang Yu stared blankly at the beastman. He suddenly understood why Su Yi was content to play the “female” here—clearly Su Yi had fallen for this beautiful beastman.

The man was strikingly handsome, but unlike Jers’s mixed Sino-Western aura, this one carried a serpentine allure. He had snow-white hair and long lashes of a pale color. His most eye-catching feature was his heterochromatic eyes: one so light it gleamed like transparent crystal; the other molten gold—a serpent’s pupil, radiating fierce aggression and wildness.

“Xinuo, this is a ‘female’ Jers brought back—name’s Tang Yu,” Su Yi said, setting down what he was holding and walking to Xinuo’s side, gesturing toward Tang Yu.

Then he pulled Xinuo along and said to Tang Yu, “This is my partner, Xinuo. He’s of the winged-snake clan. Handsome, right?” Those last three words sounded a lot like showing off to Tang Yu’s ears. He thought: Hmph, my Jers is handsome too—wait, what?

He suddenly jumped to his feet, blushing for no reason, fidgeted in place, and muttered to himself, “I—I don’t think he’s handsome at all.”

Watching Tang Yu babble to himself, Xinuo and Little Yilai had no idea what he was going on about. Su Yi, though, had a hunch it had to do with Jers.

When Tang Yu had told his story earlier, he’d looked low-spirited the whole time—sad and resentful. But when he got to Jers, though he kept a scowl and badmouthed the guy nonstop, his eyes couldn’t hide their little sparks of joy.

So Su Yi figured Tang Yu liked Jers. If you truly hate someone, you don’t spend that much effort talking about them.

Tang Yu mooched lunch at Su Yi’s, then happily set off to tell Jers he was staying.

But before he could, the valley welcomed another set of visitors.

When Tang Yu found Jers, he was holding a slender “female” in his arms, standing in Mino’s yard.

The yard wasn’t small, but with four or five beastmen standing and two more lying on the ground, it felt suddenly crowded. Mino was sweating bullets with all the fuss. Tang Yu didn’t have time to wonder what happened; he rushed over to help as Mino’s assistant.

Soon after, Dilson called Su Yi over as well.

Su Yi didn’t jump in; he stood off to the side, coolly watching.

The man in the middle was Ed—the same winged leopard who’d come by not long ago—with Taige, his constant shadow, behind him.

Ed gave Su Yi an apologetic smile, murmured a couple of instructions to Taige, and walked out of the yard with Su Yi.

“What happened?” Su Yi glanced at the two beastmen lying on the ground.

Chapter 57

Ed, for once, looked worn out. He glanced back at his clansmen in the yard. “A band of roaming beastmen showed up near our tribe—only seven or eight, so we didn’t take it seriously. We didn’t expect they’d sneak in during the rain and kidnap our little females. We’ve been tracking them for days and finally caught up two days to the west. During the fight, we blundered into an ambush. We rescued one female along the way, then were driven toward your valley—where we happened to run into Jers.”

He’d only sketched the outline, but Su Yi could imagine how dangerous it had been.

“We’ll help you again,” Su Yi said, expressionless, “but I want to make an agreement with the winged leopards.”

“Name it. As long as it doesn’t harm my tribe, I’ll do my best to agree.”

Su Yi smiled faintly. “Promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you will never be enemies with our valley. If you break the oath, may the Beast God abandon you.”

The Beast God’s place in beastmen’s hearts couldn’t be summed up in a few words. Even the “ill-omened” like Xinuo still believed, despite being branded forsaken by that god. That was how deep the faith ran.

Ed blinked—he hadn’t expected that.

“How can you be so sure I can speak for the winged leopards?” He walked over to a beastman and pointed at the “female” clinging to him. “Look how spirited he is—and then look at our healer’s hand he slapped red. The way I see it, your ‘females’ are pretty tough. Since he’s that tough, and I don’t see any wounds on him, maybe he’s just clinging to our beastman and refusing to let go?”

It was a bit much to say, but Su Yi didn’t stop him.

The beastman blinked, glanced at dearly-wronged Mino, then at the “female” glued to another beastman’s arms, and suddenly had nothing to say.

Hearing Tang Yu talk like that, the “female” burst into even louder sobs.

“Boo-hoo, I—I’m just scared. If he hadn’t saved me, I—I might have been ruined. When I think of those filthy drifters, I get so scared—I’m so scared…”

He sobbed and hiccupped through it. Before he could finish, Jers, impatient, simply let go.

The moment his feet touched down, the “female” swayed like he’d collapse, fragile to the point of making the winged leopards’ hearts seize.

Su Yi had had enough. He looked away and said to Dilson, “You and Uncle Taylor work out the rest. I’m going back.”

He turned to leave, then halfway remembered Tang Yu and glanced at him. “You coming?”

Tang Yu pointed at Mino. “I’ll keep watch here. Otherwise that silly kid will get bullied again.”

Su Yi cracked a smile. He saw right through Tang Yu’s little scheme. It was just like back when Dilson and Mino first liked each other—two blockheads who’d never get together without a push, flirting like a marathon.

Chapter 58

The winged leopard “female” was named Resa, the prettiest in their clan—and among those kidnapped. After settling the wounded and Resa, Ed led the uninjured out to search for the rest of the females.

Not long after he left, Mino’s house got lively again.

Resa didn’t want to stay there; he said it wasn’t appropriate to live with a mated couple.

The only other places were Su Yi’s and Ian’s. Su Yi’s setup was like Mino’s, and Ian already had two injured beastmen staying—adding Resa would make it cramped.

Seeing everyone at a loss, Resa cried, “I—I’m still an unmated female. Living with a mated pair really isn’t proper.”

Tang Yu said, “So where do you think you should live?”

Resa blushed, wiped his tears, and stole a glance at Jers. The meaning in those eyes couldn’t have been clearer. Tang Yu nearly cracked his own molars grinding his teeth.

Not proper, huh? And bunking with a bunch of men is “proper”? Proper for climbing into Jers’s bed, you mean!

Resa hobbled over to Jers, lightly clutched his arm, and looked up at him with gentle eyes. “Could I stay with you? Our relationship, after all…” He trailed off and lowered his head, bashful.

What did that mean?

Tang Yu shot to his feet. What relationship? He’d just gone to acknowledge a compatriot in this world—how had Jers and Resa gotten “something” in a single morning?

When Jers didn’t answer, Resa widened his teary, pitiful eyes. Fat drops rolled down his lovely face. Annoyingly, while Tang Yu saw a grown man, Resa’s delicate features made the pear-blossoms-in-rain look pretty convincing.

“Jers, d-do you not want to?”

Jers’s black eyes slid sideways and collided with Tang Yu’s. He didn’t look at Resa—he looked at Tang Yu and said, “Okay.”

“Can’t you make the call?” Su Yi shot back earlier to Ed.

From their two previous meetings, Ed hadn’t openly ordered the winged leopards around, but from how they reacted he clearly had their ear. Coupled with his conduct, he was a man suited to big things.

Su Yi actually respected people like that. He himself wasn’t cut out for the grand stage—home and hearth were more his style.

Just then Xinuo arrived at Mino’s. Seeing Ed, he acted like he didn’t, and went straight to Su Yi’s side, handing him a fruit he liked. The stern look on Su Yi’s face melted away, replaced by his usual geniality.

At that moment, Tang Yu’s impatient voice rang out in the yard.

“How’s Mino supposed to check your injuries like this?”

Su Yi turned back toward the yard. Tang Yu was tugging at a “female” in Jers’s arms; the “female” clutched Jers in terror, face streaked with tears, pitiful to the extreme.

Su Yi took one look and asked, “What’s going on?”

Tang Yu jerked his chin, helpless. “He’s hurt. Mino needs to check him, but he’s curled up in Jers’s arms—how are we supposed to?”

Su Yi cleared his throat. “You look too fierce—you scared him.”

Then he pasted on a harmless, sunny smile and said gently to the “female,” “Don’t be afraid. You’re surrounded by your tribesmen—this is very safe. Come down like a good boy so we can see what hurts, okay?”

The “female” didn’t budge, burying his head in Jers’s chest and trembling nonstop—as if Su Yi were some terrifying monster.

Tang Yu snorted a laugh. “And you say I’m fierce? Look at you scaring the poor little thing, haha.”

Mino, with his easy laugh, couldn’t help chuckling too.

Su Yi shot them both a glare. “Quit fooling around and get this handled. Keep dawdling and it’ll be dark.”

It was the rainy season; the skies were gray even at midday. It was afternoon already—soon it would be dark, and everything would be twice as inconvenient.

Mino sobered at once and reached for the “female,” but the reaction was extreme.

He shrieked and slapped Mino’s outstretched hand like Mino was some villain.

Seeing Mino’s hand go red, Su Yi frowned.

“Go away! I—I don’t want to, don’t touch me!” The high, sharp cry startled Mino into yanking his hand back and retreating a step, timid.

Su Yi was about to step in when Tang Yu moved to Mino’s side and barked at the winged leopards staring at him, “What are you looking at? Never seen a healer work?”

One of them said, “Our females are very delicate. Please be careful when you treat them.”

That set Tang Yu off. He froze—Jers had never cared much for females, nor for Tang Yu.

But when Jers said “Okay,” he suddenly wondered if he’d been wrong. Jers was a beastman, after all—why wouldn’t he like females, especially a pretty, delicate one like Resa?

Thinking of how cold Jers was to him—it wasn’t that Jers disliked females. He just didn’t like him.

Avoiding Jers’s eyes, Tang Yu hurried to Mino’s side and started straightening the mess in the yard.

Mino glanced at him. “You were staying with Jers, right? If Resa moves in, where will you go?”

A little distracted, Tang Yu answered absentmindedly, “There are caves nearby, aren’t there? I’ll stay in one of those.”

He’d already asked Su Yi—yes, there were a few unused caves in the valley. If Jers stayed mad, he couldn’t keep shamelessly crashing with him. Even if Su Yi, as a “fellow countryman,” agreed to put him up for a while, he couldn’t impose forever.

“That won’t do. Caves are too damp in the rainy season. Come stay with me for now,” Mino said, grabbing his arm with sincere concern.

Tang Yu pinched Mino’s little nose. The silly guy was too darn cute.

“It’s fine. I’m not some delicate flower. Before I reached the valley, I survived alone in the forest for months,” he said, rather proud.

Mino wanted to persuade him more, but just then Resa’s knees buckled and he nearly collapsed. Luckily, Jers had an arm around him, or he’d have gone down hard.

The jokes forgotten, Mino hurried over to examine him.

“No serious injuries. Just a sprained ankle, and you’re still shaken—that’s why you feel weak,” he soothed. Resa leaned weakly against Jers and murmured thanks.

Before leaving, Ed had left plenty of game for Resa and the wounded beastmen, plus several especially nice pelts hunted for Resa. They’d been freshly skinned, still bloody. With Jers carrying Resa and most of the meat, he couldn’t take the pelts as well.

Resa, eyes reddening, asked Mino to take the pelts to Jers’s place for him. Mino looked at the heap with a troubled face. Unlike Su Yi, he usually did lighter chores; the heavy lifting fell to Dilson. But Dilson had taken the wounded to Ian’s and wasn’t back yet. That left only Mino and Tang Yu in the yard.

Tang Yu sighed. “I’ll do it. You focus on your herbs.”

He hadn’t expected to dump a whole basin of dirty water on himself.

Jers walked ahead holding Resa; Tang Yu followed with the pelts. There were a lot, and they were big—enough to bury Tang Yu entirely. From a distance it looked like a pile of pelts walking on its own. With every step they slipped; once or twice he stepped on them. They were still bloody, and soon Tang Yu was smeared head to toe.

Trailing behind, he felt dizzy from the stench. He’d grown up a pampered young master—who’d have thought he’d end up personally waiting on someone else?

Worse, every so often Resa would say, “Careful—those pelts are very valuable,” in a soft, aggrieved tone, as if each time Tang Yu stepped wrong he’d stomped on Resa’s wounds.