"So worried about me?" The man held her tightly, his low, husky voice full of endless affection and a gentle, irrepressible chuckle.
"Lan Cang!" Sang Luo squirmed out of his embrace.
"Luoluo, your voice…it's healed?" Still in shock, Lan Cang pulled her back onto his firm, long thighs. He looked her over, making sure he wasn't hallucinating from his severe injuries.
'Not only did I survive, but my little mute can speak!'
"Hmph, I was never mute. I was injured before; my vocal cords were torn, so I couldn't speak properly. But it's thanks to the Beast Crystals you've been feeding me. Those Crystal Stones have a wonderful healing effect on the body. Not only are my injuries almost gone, but my throat is all better too." While still straddling him, she wrapped her soft arms around his neck and, overcome with emotion, gave him a kiss on his handsome face. "Thank you, Lan Cang!"
Lan Cang's face instantly flushed red. It was the first time he had ever heard her speak. It was just as he had imagined… lovely. Sweet and soft, yet as clear and gentle as a chirping bird. His heart melted.
For a moment, his overwhelming joy needed a physical outlet. He took one of her arms and bent his head to kiss her, but Sang Luo suddenly frowned and hissed in pain. Lan Cang immediately stopped. He pulled aside her clothes and saw several layers of bandages wrapped around one side of her chest, with a faint trace of blood seeping through.
His pull had torn her wound open again.
"I'm sorry, Luoluo. You're hurt." He pressed his lips together and said dejectedly, "...I'm the one who hurt you."
It wasn't a question, but a statement.
He had no memory of his manic episodes, but these claw marks were clearly left by his beast form. Lan Cang's voice trembled, a mixture of joy and sorrow. "You…you came looking for me?"
"Mhm."
"I'm sorry," he said again, his heart aching. He slapped himself across the face.
"Hey! It took a ton of effort to bring you back. You're finally awake, so don't you dare hurt yourself again. Just stay home and recover for the next few days." Sang Luo grabbed his hand and chided him, "If you really feel sorry, then your punishment is to tell me everything that happened on your patrol, without leaving out a single detail. What exactly happened? Why did your mania suddenly flare up?"
"...An accident." Lan Cang frowned.
He had taken two other Beastmen to patrol the West Forest. The terrain there was very steep, so Star Beasts rarely roamed that area. Any that did live in the West Forest were typically low-Level. High Rank Star Beasts with any intelligence always chose the well-hidden waterway in the East Forest to launch surprise attacks on the tribe at night.
That was why he had taken so few people with him. But to everyone's surprise, a Sixth Rank Star Beast had actually appeared in the West Forest!
A Sixth Rank Star Beast was practically the local tyrant in this region. The old Lan Cang wouldn't have feared a Sixth Rank Star Beast, but his strength had fallen. Even with his recent recovery, he was at the Fifth Rank at best. If that Sixth Rank Star Beast escaped, it would immediately endanger the tribe. He had instantly covered the other two Beastmen so they could escape and raise the alarm, while he engaged the beast in battle.
Battle and blood are potent triggers for the manic genes within a Beastman.
The susceptibility to a manic episode is directly proportional to one's innate talent.
And that's what led to what happened next.
If he had taken a few more Beastmen with him, they might have stood a fighting chance. But Tu Zhu had only assigned him two. Then again, no one could have predicted such a situation, so no matter how you looked at it, it was just an accident.
'It wasn't that simple,' Sang Luo's intuition told her. 'It's too much of a coincidence.' But since Lan Cang was awake now, she didn't dwell on it.
"Oh, right, Luoluo. Open your mouth. Here."
Before Sang Luo could see what he had taken out from his clothes, he pushed the cold, hard object into her mouth. Instantly, the stone melted into a familiar warm current that spread through her limbs, making her whole body feel wonderfully warm and comfortable.
The wound on her chest healed completely; even the scab disappeared.
Her eyes widened. It was the Sixth Rank Crystal Core.
"You killed that Sixth Rank Star Beast!" Sang Luo's voice rose, and she shook her head. "This is such a waste. You should have eaten it. It's useless for me."
'Although absorbing the Crystal Core feels wonderful, I just tried to check that faint, mysterious power inside me, and nothing has changed. As expected, a female's constitution isn't suited for Cultivation. I'm just naturally useless.'
"Crystal Cores can strengthen the body. If eating it is good for you, then it's useful," he said, ruffling her hair.
In contrast to the tranquility in their home, the Kordo Tribe had been anything but peaceful lately. The sound of smashing objects could often be heard from Manla's home. She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to find a way to drive that weak female out of the tribe!
Manla had been jealous that Lan Cang had taken a liking to Sang Luo before. However, after Lan Cang's Level dropped and he became a cripple, her desire to claim him as her mate had waned considerably, even though she still liked him. She wasn't willing to start a huge fight over that weak female and lose face; if a quick lesson didn't work, she was prepared to drop it.
But things were different now. Lan Cang had killed a Sixth Rank Star Beast!
His strength was back!
There was no way she would just hand over such a powerful Male Beast to someone else.
That weak female had to go!
Sang Luo went to the witch doctor to pay for the past few days of medicine. Manla took the opportunity to corner her in a secluded corner with a few of her followers.
"I'll give you one last piece of advice: leave the Kordo Tribe immediately. I can even give you some money for your journey, enough to ensure you can live comfortably somewhere else for the rest of your life. But if you dare to stay in the tribe and cling to Lan Cang, don't blame me for making sure you don't see another sunrise."
Sang Luo just stared at her coldly without a word.
'This female is obviously jealous of me. I can't believe I'm attracting this much envy when I've been keeping such a low profile. It's a good thing I'll be leaving here soon. Otherwise, being treated as an imaginary rival by a jealous female all day, I'd start worrying about my food being poisoned.'
Sang Luo decided to keep pretending to be mute. She was also afraid that the Kordo Tribe would try to force her to stay in the future. After all, the appeal and importance of a healthy, high-quality female to the tribe far surpassed even that of a High Rank Beastman.
"What are you staring at me so blankly for? Don't you understand what I'm saying? Heh, you're not just a mute, are you? Is there something wrong with your brain, too?"
As Manla spoke, she moved to get physical, but a powerful force suddenly struck. "Ah!" She was thrown several meters, her head slamming violently against a wall and leaving it bloody.
Lan Cang had gone out to look for Sang Luo when she didn't return after a long time, only to stumble upon this scene.
He immediately pulled Sang Luo behind him and glared coldly at Manla as she scrambled up from the ground, and at the two bewildered Beastmen behind her. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Lan Cang… I, no, I wasn't doing anything to her! I… I just wanted to have a word with her…" Manla clutched her head, frantic. She didn't want to leave a bad impression on him.
"You were about to push her."
He wasn't blind.
Seeing that she'd been exposed and could no longer hide it, Manla's expression changed. She said viciously, "I'm doing this for your own good! Now that your strength has returned, there's no need to be tied to this crippled, weak female. You can choose a much higher-quality female—like me! I have superior Fertility! I can give you the highest-quality offspring and even help you become the Clan Leader. This crippled, weak female can't help you with anything. She can't even bear children! Don't let her hold you back!"
Lan Cang's expression turned murderously cold. If the one before him hadn't been a female, he would have already struck to kill.
The two Beastmen hurriedly held back the agitated Manla, trying to get her to stop talking. Couldn't she see the murderous look in Lan Cang's eyes? They wouldn't be surprised if he decided to kill them to keep them quiet! Now that Lan Cang's strength had returned, the two of them were no match for him.
"Unless she comes with me to the Female Stone to be tested! If she can prove she has Fertility, fine. Otherwise, she can forget about staying in the Kordo Tribe!"
Sang Luo squeezed his hand tightly. The frost on Lan Cang's face thawed slightly. When he turned to her, his expression was gentle again. "What's wrong?"
He saw her brows furrowed, her face pale, and a thin layer of sweat beading on her forehead. She was gently rubbing her thighs together. Lan Cang thought she was scared and was just about to comfort her when—
—he suddenly heard her whisper, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Lan Cang, I…let's go back. I don't feel so good…"