CHAPTER 76

Half-Beast

As if unable to bear the ambiguous atmosphere flowing in the air, Tong Tong transformed into a certain tropical animal that loves to bury its head in the sand, burying herself once again under the quilt.

Though she could no longer see anything, her other senses sharpened at the same moment, such as her sense of smell, and her hearing.

That faint, lingering fragrance seemed to weave like fine threads, slowly penetrating the barriers she had deliberately set up, unhurriedly probing beyond the most secretive doors of her heart, gently knocking, teasing, seeping in... until it shattered the final obstacle.

'Is this... Davidoff? No, Chanel No. 5? That's not right either... Oh my god, could this be the legendary body scent only young maidens possess?''*

'Why don't I have it! This is unscientific...'

Tong Tong thought resentfully, refusing to admit the envy that had just extended into jealousy, even as she felt herself being bewitched.

On her side, she pursed her lips and remained silent, on Su Yan's side, she too made no sound, in the profound silence, the faint rustling of clothing became distinctly audible.

The more she tried not to care, the harder it became to ignore. The sound seemed amplified a thousandfold, accompanied by vivid images flashing through her mind.

Today, Su Yan was wearing a plain brocade robe identical to hers, light, breathable, elegant, and easy to remove.

As expected, underneath would be a white silk inner garment, followed by a sheer silk undergarment, and beneath that... nothing else, right?

'Cough, cough, cough! What nonsense am I thinking! What's underneath has nothing to do with me!'

'Sleep, sleep, sleep...'

Tong Tong felt as if she had choked on her own saliva. Buried under the thick quilt, she found it even harder to breathe, her mind flooded with scenes that were far from innocent.

Suddenly, the rustling of fabric stopped, and Tong Tong's heart leaped into her throat. The bed beside her dipped slightly, making her heart skip a beat. Whether it was her imagination or not, she could almost feel the slightly lower-than-normal body temperature of the person beside her through the tightly wrapped quilt.

'Actually, it's probably just psychological, right?'

'Stay calm, stay calm!'

'I'm not some naive girl who's never faced challenges before!'

Tong Tong took a deep breath, silently giving herself a pep talk: 'Back in kindergarten during nap time, wasn't I lying next to two little boys with runny noses?'

'During school, when sharing a desk, wasn't my deskmate a messy, smelly boy?'

'During the school festival rehearsals, when I was exhausted and slept on the floor, weren't there burly, muscular men all around me?'

'So, I could say I have plenty of experience sharing a bed with men, wait, something doesn't sound right, so why should I care now?'

'Besides, someone as serious and proper as Su Yan would never have any ill intentions...'

'But I still can't help caring!'

'Just thinking about sharing a bed with someone I like, knowing nothing will happen, still makes my heart race and my breathing quicken!'

'And what's with this uncontrollable sense of anticipation? Ahhh!'

Tong Tong bit the corner of the quilt, hating her own helplessness and even more so the seemingly oblivious and composed Su Yan beside her: 'Why am I the only one tangled up in all this while you, the cause of it all, feel no pressure at all, you jerk!'

After tossing and turning, pondering and agonizing... unable to resist the waves of drowsiness washing over her, Tong Tong tilted her head and finally drifted into a sweet slumber.

Behind her, Su Yan quietly withdrew her finger, which had been gently pressing her sleep acupoint from a distance. She reached over to adjust her quilt, ensuring she was sound asleep before slowly turning onto her side. Resting her head on her arm, she gazed quietly at her peaceful sleeping face under the moonlight, her lips softening naturally into a gentle curve.

Her hand, resting casually on the quilt, seemed to move of its own accord. Unconsciously, it crept toward her face, brushing away the strands of hair stuck to her cheek, tracing the delicate curves of her willow-like brows, gliding over her small nose, and finally landing lightly on her slightly pouted lips.

Beneath her fingertips was a softness like cotton and a pinkness like cherry blossoms. An inevitable question arose in her mind: 'These lips, always chattering nonstop, always greedily devouring delicious food, always capable of infuriating others, what would they taste like?'

Almost abandoning all restraint and resistance, Su Yan followed the hidden temptation in her heart. She slightly lowered her gaze and leaned gently toward Tong Tong, who was breathing steadily. Her propped-up body gradually bent down, slowly yet firmly leaning closer, her pure black pupils shimmered with a faint, enchanting purple halo, inexplicably adding a touch of bewitching allure...

Just as she was about to make contact, a soft sound struck the window lattice, startlingly abrupt in the silence, impossible to ignore.

The purple in Su Yan's eyes flickered and vanished, returning to pure darkness.

Her scattered senses quickly reassembled, her gaze now clear and focused on the lips mere inches away. In the next moment, however, she lay back in her original position, waved a hand to cast a protective barrier over Tong Tong, and then closed her eyes, pretending to be sound asleep.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the darkness remained silent, with no further movement, as if that fleeting moment had been nothing but her imagination.

Yet Su Yan paid it no mind, still lying motionless on her side, feigning sleep. Her breathing was steady, as if she had truly drifted into slumber, making it difficult to discern the truth.

After patiently waiting another brief moment, the window lattice finally stirred again, the thin, cicada-wing-like paper was pierced by a finger, revealing a small gap. A slender bamboo tube slid through, releasing a wisp of white smoke that drifted lazily toward the bed, enveloping the two.

Su Yan held her breath, but the corners of her lips curled into a silent, mocking smile as she quietly awaited the next move.

Another brief moment passed, and the intruder remained cautious, likely waiting for the drug to take effect. Then, with a soft creak, the door to the chamber was gently pushed open.

In the hazy moonlight, a tall figure approached against the light, tiptoeing toward the bed. Accompanied by the pungent scent of fur, the faint shadow of two pointed ears could be seen atop its head.

A rough, rustling sound of coarse fabric rubbing against itself echoed in the room, but Su Yan could no longer bear the stench. Without waiting for the intruder to prepare their tools, she struck back with a swift hand chop. A surge of white energy, trailing a faint afterimage, landed precisely on the side of the intruder's neck.

With a muffled groan, the figure collapsed to the floor with a thud.

Covering her nose with one hand, Su Yan waved the other lightly. A small candle on the table flickered to life, casting a faint glow in the thick darkness, just enough to reveal the intruder's full appearance.

It was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, with pale skin and robust limbs, slightly taller than the average woman. Her plump cheeks still held a childlike innocence, and though dressed in simple, coarse linen shorts, she did not appear frail. Strangely, the girl had two triangular pointed ears on her head, and a furry tail sprouted from the base of her spine, though it drooped limply due to its owner's unconscious state, it was unmistakably that of a cunning and cruel jackal.

A girl with jackal ears and a tail...?

Could she be a seventh-tier demon beast? But if so, how could she have been knocked out so easily?

Or perhaps it was just a fashionable disguise?

Su Yan frowned, deeply puzzled.

As she pondered, Tong Tong, who had truly fallen into a deep sleep beside her, suddenly smacked her lips and mumbled, "Hmm, such a strong smell... lamb... lamb skewers..."

Su Yan inwardly cursed her luck. Just as she was about to press her sleep acupoint again, it was already too late, Tong Tong smacked her lips and chewed for a moment before suddenly shuddering, her limbs flailing in the air, her expression turning tense and resentful. "That's mine! Don't you dare take it! No, no!"

With a low cry, Tong Tong sprang up from the bed, gasping for breath as if waking from a nightmare. She glanced back at Su Yan, whose phoenix-like eyes were wide open beside her, and immediately grabbed his collar, threatening fiercely, "You dead iceberg, give me back my lamb skewers!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she suddenly realized something was off. Her grip on Su Yan's collar loosened bit by bit, and she gently patted the wrinkled collar before slapping a hand over her own face, murmuring, "I must be dreaming! Yes, yes, that's it, just a dream! Just a dream! Hehe, hehe..."

After a few awkward chuckles, Tong Tong immediately sprang up, swiftly kneeling on the bed with her hands clasped over her head, sobbing and pleading for mercy: "Waah, Senior Brother, I was wrong! Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me, wuwuwu..."

Su Yan glanced sideways at her prostrate, worship-like posture, momentarily at a loss for how to react.

After a long pause, she pursed her lips and said coldly, "I'll forgive you for now. Get up."

'Just how deep must her obsession with food be to mistake the taste of a jackal for lamb skewers!'

"Wuwuwu, thank you for your mercy..." Tong Tong cautiously studied Su Yan's expression several times, confirming that he showed neither the fury of humiliation nor the murderous intent to silence her, before finally relaxing and offering a flattering smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the wolf-tailed girl lying on the floor and was instantly stunned. "Wow! Is this... cosplaying as the Fox Immortal? The effect is so realistic..."

As she spoke, she leaned halfway off the bed and reached out to tug at the girl's tail.

'Huh? It's stuck on pretty tight!'

'Mwahaha, this is so fun...'

Tong Tong laughed without a hint of caution.

Su Yan watched her actions with a cold gaze, a flicker of amusement passing through her eyes, but she made no move to stop her.

However, after Tong Tong spent a while examining the girl by touching and prodding here and there, she suddenly froze, her eyes widening as she scrambled backward to the far side of the bed. Wrapping herself tightly in the blanket, she trembled and pointed at the girl, stammering, "H-her... her tail, is it real?"

The corners of Su Yan's pale pink lips lifted slightly as she nodded lightly and said calmly, "As you can see."

'A-a-a monster!'

Tong Tong rolled her eyes, wanting to faint on the spot, only to realize that her nerves had unknowingly grown much more resilient. She simply couldn't pull off the fainting skill like an ordinary girl to escape danger or avoid reality when frightened.

"B-b-big Senior Brother, save me!" Grabbing Su Yan's sleeve, Tong Tong felt it wasn't enough and, following the lead, tightly wrapped her arms around his elegantly shaped arm, finally finding a sense of security.

Feeling the soft touch pressed against her arm, Su Yan's heart stirred, and her body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Clearing her throat lightly, Su Yan glanced indifferently at Tong Tong, her gaze shifting to where she had presumptuously crossed the line, issuing a silent warning.

Following her line of sight, Tong Tong wisely withdrew her arms from around her and shifted a small distance away. Tilting her head, she flashed a standard eight-tooth smile, trying to convey the message, "I'm very well-behaved."

"Hmph." Su Yan turned her gaze back, staring deeply at the girl on the floor who had groaned softly and was slowly waking up, her brow furrowing tightly. "Confess honestly, or... die."

The newly awakened girl's terrified expression mirrored Tong Tong's perfectly, both of them instinctively scooting backward as if looking into a mirror.

Hearing Su Yan's icy tone, the wolf-tailed girl trembled in fear but, upon meeting his deep, ink-black eyes, hurriedly nodded, afraid that even a moment's delay would lead to her being k!lled without hesitation.

"Tell me your identity." Su Yan looked down at the girl on the floor, who seemed to wish she could shrink into a ball, her gaze cold and merciless.

"I... I'm called Ah Huang, I'm a... half-beast." The girl stammered in a whisper, lowering her head and clutching herself tightly, not daring to meet Su Yan's gaze, pressed by her stare, she felt as if her heart had stopped, overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness that left her nowhere to hide.

In the cultivation world, demonic beasts could only take human form after reaching the seventh tier and surviving the heavenly tribulation. Never had it been heard that one could transform from birth, not even those with divine beast lineage.

As for this so-called half-beast, as the name implied, it was a monster that was half-beast and half-human, just like herself, an existence not tolerated by the world.

Yet, she wondered, where exactly did this wolf-tailed girl come from?

"A half-beast, is it..." The corner of Su Yan's mouth slowly curled into a cold, sharp, and disdainful arc, though the smile never reached her eyes.

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