A wave of panic washed over Chu Jing. She might have been a bit of a scoundrel, but that didn't mean she had a death wish.
'I heard there are tons of hot beastmen here,' she thought. 'I don't want to die yet!'
Just as Chu Jing was debating whether to drag Rong Kai and run for it, a white figure flashed past. In the blink of an eye, the monster was taken care of.
The scene had unfolded too quickly, too suddenly.
While Chu Jing was still reeling from the shock, Rong Kai had already jumped down, completely ignoring whether she lived or died.
So, Chu Jing had no choice but to find a sturdy vine and slowly slide down on her own.
'In the end, you can only rely on yourself.'
'Once I've dealt with these Beastmen, I'm going to find other handsome ones.'
'As for that Rong Kai, I'll have to mess with him a few times on purpose. Otherwise, the two falls I just took would be a complete waste.'
Chu Jing didn't have many special hobbies, but she was great at holding grudges and was fiercely protective of her own.
Jiang Ji, now in his human form, stomped over to Chu Jing, his cheeks puffed out in anger.
"Chu Jing, you actually lied to me! Do you not want to break our bond?!"
"You vicious woman! I knew you weren't that kind!"
Jiang Ji cursed, grinding his teeth.
"How dare you trick me! I'll never let you get away with this!"
Chu Jing instinctively glanced at Rong Kai. Seeing him completely indifferent to the idea of "breaking their bond," her heart lurched with panic.
'Oh no, I absolutely can't let this guy get away.'
'Otherwise,' she thought, 'I'll probably be snuffed out by Rong Kai before I even find any other handsome Male Beasts.'
Although the Beast World had a rule that a Male Beast could never harm a female—or else they would lose their sanity and become a mindless monster bent on slaughter...
...if the original owner continued to court death, her Beast Husbands would only grow to resent her more. The day they'd team up to kill her probably wasn't far off.
Having been reborn, Chu Jing had no desire to kick the bucket before she even had a chance to enjoy any of the perks.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me talking to you?! Can you stop playing deaf and dumb?!"
Jiang Ji realized he'd been shouting for a while.
But Chu Jing showed absolutely no reaction. Not only did she ignore him, she didn't even spare him a single glance.
Jiang Ji grew even more furious.
When Chu Jing finally looked over, Jiang Ji realized how brazenly he had just offended her. 'Is she going to punish me now?'
In the Beast World, a female could punish a Male Beast without facing any repercussions, but it was a different story if a Male Beast laid a hand on a female!
At that thought, Jiang Ji swallowed, took a few steps back, and mumbled with a pout, "But you were the one who went back on your word first..."
Chu Jing glanced at the Male Beast before her, her face flushing slightly. "Hurry up and put your beast hide on."
Only then did Jiang Ji realize he wasn't wearing anything!
Jiang Ji's face turned beet red. After frantically pulling on his beast hide skirt, he tried to play it cool and save face.
"It's perfectly normal for a Male Beast not to wear a hide!"
"Stop dreaming! I'll never be your mate!"
Still unwilling to back down, he deliberately raised his voice and shouted.
Having learned from her previous experience, Chu Jing certainly wasn't going to provoke either of them now.
"I know. Let's go back now," she said softly.
After being out for so long, she was starting to feel hungry.
On the way back, Chu Jing and Jiang Ji walked side-by-side, maintaining a certain distance from each other.
Meanwhile, Rong Kai followed silently behind them.
Jiang Ji shot her a strange look, wondering to himself, 'Is this really the same female I know?'
'She just seems a little different than before.'
As Rong Kai walked along, his gaze fell on Chu Jing.
He pondered internally, 'Where should I start?'
'I remember always finishing off my prey quickly,' he thought, 'but with her, I want to take my time.'
'So, where would be the best place to strike?'
In that instant, a chill shot down Chu Jing's spine.
She instinctively turned around, her eyes meeting Rong Kai's, which were filled with murderous intent.
For a moment, her heart nearly stopped beating.
"You! Get in front of me!!" she suddenly roared.
'No wonder my back felt cold,' she thought. 'There was a pair of terrifying eyes staring at me from behind...'
The direction Chu Jing had been running was toward home.
And that guy Rong Kai had been hiding in the shadows the whole time, quietly watching her run around in a panic.
If her life and death weren't directly tied to the lives of his fellow Beast Husbands, Rong Kai would have never stepped in to save her.
Chu Jing was well aware of this.
She understood Rong Kai's motive wasn't concern for her, but self-preservation.
That was why she didn't say a word about him rescuing her just now.
She was afraid Rong Kai would use it as an excuse to break their bond.
If that happened, he would be completely unrestrained, and killing her would be as easy as crushing a tiny ant.
As for how the other Beast Husbands felt about the original owner, she had no clue.
This uncertainty made her uneasy.
She felt she had to find a chance to sound out their attitudes as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if something unexpected happened, she might not even know how she died.
The three of them returned to the Beast Cave.
Just as Chu Jing was pondering how to ask about the other Beast Husbands, she heard Jiang Ji's anxious voice.
"Xuyue! How did this happen to you? How did you get so badly injured?!"
Xuyue, one of the original owner's Beast Husbands, was an eagle-type Beastman.
He was one of the first to reach an agreement with Rong Kai and conspire to murder the original owner.
Chu Jing looked up and saw Xuyue lying weakly on the ground, covered in blood.
When Jiang Ji helped him up, a huge wound on Xuyue's abdomen was exposed.
Fresh blood was still gushing from it.
Jiang Ji immediately panicked.
"Why are you hurt so badly?! Come with me, quickly! We have to find the witch doctor!"
He said this with a sob in his voice.
"No... I can't."
Xuyue struggled to open his mouth, his voice weak.
He continued with difficulty, "Quick, go save... Cangming and the others... they were taken by the female leader, Du Nan..."
After saying this, Xuyue had almost no strength left.
Just then, he noticed Chu Jing was also there, and the sliver of hope in his eyes instantly vanished.
Xuyue gave a helpless smile, thinking to himself that Cangming and the others might never come back now.
Jiang Ji naturally understood Xuyue's worries.
He steeled himself, looked at Chu Jing, and spoke in a pleading tone.
"Please let me go save Cangming and the others. I owe them too much. When I was about to starve to death, they were the ones who gave me hope. From now on, I'll do whatever you say!"
In that moment of hesitation, it wasn't that Chu Jing was truly unwilling to let Jiang Ji go save them.
Instead, she was thinking about the name she had just heard: "Du Nan."
'Isn't Du Nan the female protagonist from the original novel?'
She clearly remembered that in the original plot, after the original owner sold Rong Kai to a Male Beast Cave, she had gained complete control over Jiang Ji.
However, later on, when Xuyue came seeking help, the original owner's face had turned livid.
She had asked furiously, "Taken by Du Nan? How shameless. Why did Du Nan choose them and not take some other Male Beasts?"