Rebirth With The Beast_15

Chapter 86 continued...

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“Go on—don’t worry, I want to hear it,” Su Yi said with a smile.

Seeing no one was angry, the beastman continued, “Mm. A few years ago he was taken by ill-omened beastmen. There were a lot of them, and our tribe was too small to stand up to them—we couldn’t get Roxy back. But strangely enough, a little over ten days later Roxy came back on his own. And he hadn’t been violated by the ill-omened beastmen at all. You may not know this, but whether it’s ill-omened beastmen or wandering beastmen who take a female, the outcome is usually miserable. But nothing had happened to Roxy—he returned without a scratch. Back then, everyone in the tribe said the Beast God must have protected him.”

Su Yi laughed coldly to himself. Looking at how thin and delicate Roxy was, he was clearly just an ordinary, pampered female. The idea that he escaped alone was impossible—someone must have helped him. So why didn’t he say who helped him?

Unless the one who helped him was dead—unless he was certain that person would never show up—or unless he was afraid of people finding out something.

Roxy hadn’t eaten in a long time. When the group stopped to rest, Gil went to get him some food. Su Yi was just about to go over and chat with this “Beast-God-blessed” female when a tall beastman beat him to it.

It was the very beastman who’d saved Roxy and been badly injured for it.

“I need to talk to you,” the beastman said gruffly, pulling Roxy toward a more secluded spot.

Su Yi discreetly followed, but halfway there Xinoel caught his arm.

“I’ll go.”

Su Yi didn’t argue. Snakes were good at hiding. He trusted Xinoel to be less easily noticed than he would be.

Su Yi went to help the others roast meat and waited a long time before Xinoel came back.

They took some food and walked off to the side.

“How’d it go?” Su Yi asked, handing Xinoel a piece of meat.

“There’s something off about that Roxy. The injured beastman is actually one of the wanderers. I don’t know how Roxy tricked him, but he betrayed his companions for Roxy. When he realized Roxy had a would-be partner among us, he got furious and argued with him.”

Su Yi’s eyes flickered. From this wounded beastman, it wasn’t hard to guess how Roxy had escaped those ill-omened beastmen before.

“No—are they still there?”

Su Yi asked urgently. Earlier, Roxy hadn’t said who saved him—likely because, just like last time, he had used some shameless means. If the previous savior had ended up dead, this beastman was probably in danger too.

Xinoel immediately scooped Su Yi up and rushed over. They were still too late. When they arrived, Gil was in a rage, beating the beastman.

Su Yi glanced at Roxy. Roxy looked terrified, cowering and shaking on the side. His clothes were torn open at the collar, as if to testify to what had just happened.

Su Yi suddenly wanted to laugh, but couldn’t. He’d always thought this was a primitive society, and however scheming people here might be, they couldn’t outplay a modern man like him.

But the scene before him told him plainly that he was too naive. In any era, in any civilization, there are people who are both clever and cruel.

Clearly, he was looking at one right now.

Xinoel started forward to save the man, but Su Yi stopped him.

“He’s past saving.” As soon as Su Yi finished speaking, the beastman—already covered in wounds and grievously injured—collapsed.

Even as he fell, his eyes were still on Roxy.

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Chapter 87

Gil, blinded by rage, hadn’t held back, and the beastman had been seriously hurt to begin with. When Su Yi hurried over, he saw the man’s fatal wound had split open again. The heavy stench of blood rushed at him—so strong it had to mean massive blood loss.

With Su Yi’s abilities, there was no way to staunch such bleeding.

When Roxy saw the beastman fall, he looked devastated. “It’s all my fault. I really didn’t know he liked me too. If only I’d known earlier…”

To Su Yi’s eye, Roxy’s looks were merely delicate—nowhere close to the kind of beauty that would drive someone to crime.

How had a person like this made that beastman protect him so wholeheartedly?

Su Yi’s gaze deepened. He tugged Xinoel to leave.

When he decided someone wasn’t as nice as they appeared, he didn’t want to look at their face anymore.

Seeing Su Yi’s mood dip, Xinoel scooped him up. Su Yi shot him a glare. “Don’t mess with me—I’m in a bad mood.”

An incident like this would likely slow their progress. To cheer Su Yi up, Xinoel carried him off into a nearby stand of trees.

They walked until they were some distance from the main group before stopping.

Su Yi was still stewing when he suddenly spotted a few familiar plants, and the gloom slipped his mind.

Xinoel knew Su Yi loved these odd plants. Every time they traveled, he kept an eye out.

Su Yi ran to a grapevine, cut some vine with his dagger—the grapes could be transplanted back home—and then began picking fruit. Grapes could be eaten fresh or made into wine. Xinoel came to help, and when he did, Su Yi’s attention moved on.

He started forward but, after only a few steps, he tripped over something.

Looking down—sweet potato vines? Su Yi had spent plenty of time in the countryside as a child; he knew them well.

He quickly pulled out a homemade iron spade from his spatial stash and set to digging.

Xinoel had been picking fruit. Seeing Su Yi suddenly lit up, he knew he’d found something good again.

Because they were pressed for time, they couldn’t dig much before they had to get back on the road.

Elsewhere, Jers and Tang Yu had traveled ahead, so while Su Yi’s group was still en route, the two of them arrived quietly at their destination.

Heeding Su Yi’s advice not to startle the snake, they hid when they reached the vicinity.

Jers, quick and capable, stashed Tang Yu in a concealed spot, covered his scent with herbs, and made two solo passes near the wanderers’ encampment.

By the time he came back, it was late.

They made do with a simple dinner and sat together talking.

Through the weed-choked cave mouth, they could see the rain had eased to a sparse drizzle.

Jers was actually a lazy sort; if the wanderers hadn’t taken Tang Yu, he would never have joined this operation.

“Honestly, I didn’t want you to come,” Jers said, rubbing Tang Yu’s belly. Because he’d known hunger before, Tang Yu often overate. He had tonight, too. Jers had tried to stop him when he’d had enough, but Tang Yu had stared at him wide-eyed like he was abusing him.

Jers’s heart softened, and Tang Yu ate himself uncomfortable.

So Jers had to use his own hands to rub Tang Yu’s stomach. His little belly was soft; Jers didn’t dare press hard for fear of hurting him.

“Why not? Su Yi got to come,” Tang Yu asked.

“If I leave him in the valley, I worry something will happen. The safest place is still by my side,” Jers said. As he spoke, Tang Yu’s eyes narrowed in contentment, and he seemed about to doze off. Jers’s hand slipped under Tang Yu’s shirt, sliding slowly downward.

Tang Yu flushed and caught the marauding hand. “Don’t—quit it. You’ve really been going overboard lately.” He shrank back, but Jers simply gave a little tug and plopped him onto his lap.

Jers’s dark eyes held him. Tang Yu didn’t quite dare meet them, yet he couldn’t help sneaking looks at that handsome face. He was besotted with Jers’s air of effortless control.

Seeing Tang Yu both shy and eager, Jers couldn’t help a smile. That smile stunned Tang Yu. Jers leaned in and planted two kisses on his pink lips.

“But I want to take you,” he murmured.

Tang Yu went even redder. He turned his head to avoid the next kiss, wanting to snap back, but Jers caught his lower back with one hand and his chin with the other. Jers only had to dip his head to taste him—yet he deliberately stopped short, closing the distance but not going further.

Tang Yu arched back; the posture was uncomfortable. Jers’s grip on his chin hurt, and soon his eyes were brimming. He parted his lips, revealing small teeth and the tip of a cute tongue.

Jers’s gaze flickered; then he covered Tang Yu’s mouth with his own. Their lips met lightly at first as they breathed each other in. No one knew who started it, but the kiss turned hot in an instant.

Tang Yu couldn’t breathe. He reached to push away—but ended up clutching Jers’s neck.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him. When it came to Jers, his principles melted. He’d never been this uninhibited before. Let Jers show a little warmth and he was the one clinging.

Jers discovered Tang Yu loved being kissed. Compared to the “baby-making” part, he preferred the tender entanglement of skin and breath.

Jers and Dilson were close friends. Back in the valley, Jers had happily told him he’d finally slept with Tang Yu.

Dilson had shared his and Mino’s first time. Both of them were emotionally slow. Even after Su Yi pushed them together and they were living under the same roof, they still didn’t cross any lines.

One day, Dilson suddenly wanted to hold Mino and, very solemnly, said so.

Mino, red to the roots, nearly fainted but nodded. Dilson, hands shaking, finally embraced his partner. Seeing Mino’s shy, blissful look and catching that sweet female scent, Dilson couldn’t help untying Mino’s clothes.

Their first time was tougher than anyone’s. They both wanted each other, yet both were bashful. They finally agreed to just shut their eyes and strip—but midway, Dilson lost his nerve, and Mino’s hard-won courage evaporated too.

By comparison, Jers was lucky. Tang Yu suffered a bit, but for them it was a leap forward in both feelings and body.

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Chapter 88

Su Yi’s group didn’t arrive until noon the next day. If not for the business with Roxy on the road, they would’ve made it by dawn.

Su Yi disliked Roxy from the start, but the more you dislike something, the more it shows up.

He didn’t like Roxy; Roxy, however, seemed to like Su Yi.

Not wanting to seem ill-mannered, Su Yi kept things outwardly “harmonious.” But once Roxy met Tang Yu, sparks flew.

In other beastmen’s eyes, Roxy was an open, enthusiastic type. The instant he saw Tang Yu, he got all worked up, grabbed his hand, and insisted they be friends.

Tang Yu had slept badly the night before; the little lord’s temper came out. He frowned, pulled his hand free, and gave Roxy a baffled look.

“Did you mistake me for someone else?”

He wasn’t buying Roxy’s warmth. Back when he’d been the Tang family’s young master, he’d seen too many people like Roxy swarming up with smiles. As the saying goes, “unsolicited attentions mean either adultery or theft.” Tang Yu didn’t think he had anything worth Roxy’s interest—unless it was Jers. Most likely this guy had his eye on Tang Yu’s man. Who could blame him? His man was tall, rich, and handsome.

Roxy had seen all kinds of reactions, but he hadn’t expected this—such obvious hostility.

He forced a laugh and slunk away.

Aide was a strong commander, and Lie knew the wanderers best, so the two of them led the operation.

For safety, Roxy—as a do-nothing female—was hidden away alone. Gil, worried about him, stayed back too at Aide’s direction.

Watching the main force head out, Roxy asked curiously, “Huh? Why are those two females going somewhere so dangerous? If a fight breaks out, their partners will have to look after them.”

Gil chuckled. “Ha! That you don’t know. After our tribe was attacked, it was their valley that saved us. Now we’re one tribe. Those two may be females, but they aren’t ordinary—they make weapons and hunt themselves. There’s no problem with them going.”

Roxy smiled faintly. When he first met them, he’d felt that the one called Su Yi looked at him oddly. And Tang Yu seemed prejudiced against him too.

Clearly, those two females were trouble.

Su Yi, Tang Yu, Xinoel, and Jers went ahead. Xinoel and Jers carried Su Yi and Tang Yu into the air to draw attention.

Jers had scouted before and knew there were sentries around the wanderers’ stronghold. They had to take them out first to avoid alerting the rest—hit them before they could react.

When the sentries saw the two flying beastmen, they tensed. Just as they moved to blow their horns, a petite figure dropped down behind them. They turned at the sound to see a pretty female standing there expressionless.

One beastman blinked, then leered. Wanderers could steal food or hunt it, but they had no females, so they couldn’t help snatching any they saw.

The sudden appearance of a female drew their eyes; they even forgot to warn their comrades.

Though tempting, the female’s scent reminded them of the two beasts circling overhead.

They exchanged looks—deal with the flyers fast, then grab the female.

“Which tribe are you from?” a wanderer called up to Xinoel and Jers.

Then they realized something was wrong. The two circling overhead were a giant snow-white serpent and a dragon—enormous and rare.

Both were trouble: with the former, one mistake meant poison; the latter were kings of the continent.

They rushed to signal—but another voice cut them off. “Mm, did nobody tell you not to show your back to an enemy?” Su Yi’s cool voice sounded; the next instant a beastman felt a sharp pain at the nape, and darkness swallowed him.

The others cried out in shock. Who’d ever seen a female flatten an adult beastman in one blow?

Su Yi held a hammer. He’d wanted a more “refined” weapon, but for a guaranteed knockout, weight was better.

Seeing Su Yi drop one, Tang Yu instantly loosed an arrow—whoosh!—straight into another beastman.

The wounded man screamed, and Xinoel dropped like a stone and knocked him out with a punch. The four moved quickly, clearing the sentries and charging inward.

The base was large. From Jers’s scouting the day before, there were sixty or seventy wanderers here—not counting the abducted females and enslaved children.

All told, around a hundred people.

As soon as Su Yi’s team broke in, Aide led the main force in behind them.

Since he’d been before, Jers knew the layout better. He shifted back to human and led the other three to free the captured females and cubs first.

Females and cubs were penned separately. To save time, Jers gave Xinoel the location of one group and took Tang Yu to the other.

Su Yi was a sucker for kids and couldn’t stand seeing women and children suffer. Finding a group of children locked in a dark, damp cave made his head spin.

He didn’t remember how he took out the guards—only that, as soon as he stepped in, the stench hit him.

The cave was as filthy as a dump. The children were all gaunt, their big round eyes staring at him.

Because Su Yi was a female, they were startled at first, then surged toward him as if they’d seen a relative.

Su Yi bent to catch the first small body that barreled into him, his voice shaking. “It’s okay, it’s okay… you’re safe now…”

He didn’t know if he was saying the right things; those were the only words that came.

Many of the kids were wounded. They looked like the starving children you’d see on TV—so thin their eyes bulged, making them look even bigger.

One child—a female, by the looks of it—was even smaller than the rest. She was naked, bones jutting under skin.

Author’s note:
Set the time wrong, haha.

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Chapter 89

The little female stared with almost protruding eyes, a bit dazed, at Su Yi. His chest clenched; he couldn’t bear seeing children suffer. Sensing his distress, Xinoel hurried over and took his hand. Su Yi’s fingers were cold; only when Xinoel closed his grip did some color return to Su Yi’s face.

Outside, the sounds of fighting and beast-roars rose—Aide’s group had arrived.

There was no time to wallow. Su Yi lifted the tiny female into his arms.

In a low voice he said, “Don’t be afraid. We’re here to get you out.”

Maybe they’d been locked up too long; even after he spoke, they just stared. Only when he repeated himself did they begin to stir and babble. Su Yi quickly motioned for silence, signaling them not to make noise.

If it were just him and Xinoel, they wouldn’t fear running into anyone. If danger came, Xinoel could flee on his own and Su Yi could duck into his spatial pocket.

But this was different. With kids to protect, they had to be extremely careful. If the wanderers noticed and flew into a rage, who knew what they might do.

“Who are you?” a slightly older cub asked quietly, big eyes fixed on Su Yi. He wasn’t openly hostile, but the guarded look in his gaze was plain.

Su Yi knew that if he didn’t explain, they might not follow. He patiently said, “My name is Su Yi. I’m a female from a nearby tribe. To protect our people, our tribe joined with the winged leopards to drive out the wanderers. My partner and I found you here, and we just want to get you out.”

He spoke with open sincerity, meeting the boy’s eyes.

The cub hesitated, weighing things, and finally chose to trust him.

Even if Su Yi had ill intent, for children who had already suffered so much, it would just be moving from one cage to another. Their lives were already miserable; it couldn’t get much worse.

Aside from a few wary cubs, most were instinctively inclined to trust a female. Su Yi quickly organized them and counted thirteen in all. One was unconscious from malnutrition and overwork.

Xinoel scooped up two at a time—four in all, cradled against him. Su Yi put the tiny female he’d tucked inside his coat onto his back, then lifted the unconscious cub and headed out.

By then, Tang Yu’s group was finished.

He’d been freeing females—easier to deal with as adults. He led them out to rendezvous with Su Yi. Guessing there would be many children, he’d told the females to each take a child’s hand so they wouldn’t get lost when they ran.

Most of the females were willing to help once they heard there were kids. They’d all been taken together and had gotten somewhat familiar. But quite a few were unwilling.

Tang Yu told the unwilling ones to escape on their own, then.

At that, a few shrilled back—but one look from Jers shut them up.

In the end, all the females came—mainly because they were afraid they’d run into wanderers if they left Tang Yu and Jers’s protection.

Tang Yu knew exactly what they were thinking, but this wasn’t the time to argue. Once they were safe, he could give those females’ parents a lesson or two.

There were thirteen cubs and nine females. One child per adult lightened Su Yi and Xinoel’s load considerably.

As soon as they saw the kids, the females moved in to help. The few who had balked hesitated only a moment—then, seeing everyone else step up and Jers watching them, they reluctantly took a child’s hand.

Su Yi’s eyes flickered. Their hesitation had been brief, but he’d seen it clearly. Three of the females seemed particularly unwilling.

He shot Tang Yu a look, signaling him to keep an eye on those three. Tang Yu nodded and began directing the group’s escape.

On their way out, they ran into a few wanderers. Jers took the lead and dropped them all.