Chapter 427: Don’t Be So Moved by Yourself

Chapter 427: Chapter 427: Don’t Be So Moved by Yourself

His blood-red eyes were locked on hers—on that resolute, ice-cold gaze. There wasn’t a trace of fear in it, only a bone-deep hatred and an unwillingness to ever compromise.

Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds. Roger’s chest heaved violently, his harsh breaths washing over Bai Wanwan’s face.

In the end, that frenzied possessiveness, strong enough to burn everything to the ground, seemed to be temporarily quelled by her curse-like vow.

He abruptly released his grip on her and stood, turning his back to her. His shoulders trembled slightly.

The only sounds in the cave were his ragged breaths and the CRACKLING of the bonfire.

After a long while, he finally seemed to calm down.

"Bai Wanwan, you can throw a fit all you want, but I’m not letting you go this time. I have all the time and patience in the world to wear you down."

Roger knew that any one of Bai Wanwan’s Beast Husbands would be difficult to deal with. That was why this time, he would take her far away from the Land Beasts’ sphere of influence.

Only by getting far away from this continent would her Land Beast Husbands be unable to reach them.

He stood at the mouth of the cave, gazing out at the pitch-black forest. His voice was laced with the madness of a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble.

He would take Bai Wanwan to the sea. If he could successfully escape her Beast Husbands’ pursuit, he would have a lifetime to win her heart. But if he failed... he would pay with his life.

He knew he had gone about this all wrong from the very beginning. And now, Bai Wanwan loathed him to her very core.

He had already lost his best chance.

「The days bled into one another...」

Roger traveled with Bai Wanwan, hiding by day and moving by night. He deliberately chose treacherous, untrodden paths, carefully erasing every trace of their passage.

During the day, they would hide in dark caves. He did a decent impression of how other males cared for their females.

She watched as he washed her clothes, hunted and roasted meat, and carefully selected the most tender cuts to slice into small pieces for her...

But she remained completely unmoved. Her only anxiety was that so much time had passed, yet her Beast Husbands still hadn’t found her.

"What are you looking at?"

Roger finished roasting the tender meat, cut it into small pieces, placed them on a leaf, and offered it to her. "In three more days, we’ll reach the territory of the Ocean Beastmen. If your Beast Husbands haven’t found you by then, they’ll never get another chance... Bai Wanwan, you should just accept your fate."

Bai Wanwan snorted. "I’m not one to accept my fate."

In fact, while they were traveling, she had been secretly dropping items that carried her scent.

But for some reason, no matter how stealthy she was, it was as if Roger had her under surveillance. He always noticed her little tricks.

And he would pick up every single thing she dropped.

"If I couldn’t even spot these little tricks of yours, what right would I have to even think about snatching you away from your Beast Husbands? That would be just asking to die!"

"I think you *are* asking to die! The day my Beast Husbands find me will be the day you die!"

Instead of anger, Roger just laughed. "Fine by me. But until then, you’re going to behave."

Bai Wanwan shot him a furious glare.

Roger knew all her habits. After she ate, he went to the river to fetch water so she could wash up.

Bai Wanwan stared at his retreating back. It wasn’t that the thought of escaping hadn’t crossed her mind.

But even if she did get away, she couldn’t possibly make it back to her Beast Husbands safely on her own.

’Besides, he’s just fetching water. He’s not injured or asleep.’

She could only temporarily abandon the idea of escaping on her own.

He placed the stone basin of water before her, wet a piece of Jue Sha, and began to clean her skin.

His movements were surprisingly gentle. "Bai Wanwan, I’ve watched from the shadows so many times as your Beast Husbands meticulously cared for you. I know your habits, know how much you value cleanliness. I’ve dreamed over and over again of being able to care for you just like them, and now... my dream has come true."

Bai Wanwan’s brow furrowed, and she shot him a merciless glare. "Don’t get all sentimental. I never asked you to take care of me."

The rare tenderness on Roger’s face vanished. He tossed the Jue Sha into the stone basin. "You’re right. I brought this on myself."

With that, just as he did every other time, he spread a thick beast-hide blanket on the cave floor.

He reached out a long arm and imprisoned the female in his embrace.

Bai Wanwan kicked him forcefully, trying to put some distance between them.

But the male seemed to feel no pain. No matter how hard she kicked, Roger’s hold didn’t loosen in the slightest.

"Tired yet? If you are, then go to sleep."

His arms were like cast iron. She’d thought about blasting him with the laser gun.

But if she killed him... the laser gun had a limited number of shots. She would just end up being eaten by the endless stream of beasts in the forest anyway.

She endured. And endured. Until, finally, the salty tang of a sea breeze replaced the scent of the forest.

They had reached the eastern coast of the continent.

Roger didn’t choose a tribal settlement. Instead, at the base of a steep cliff, he found a hidden, natural cave, its entrance half-submerged in the sea.

At high tide, the entrance was partially submerged, only becoming fully exposed at low tide.

"From now on, this will be our *home*."

By now, Bai Wanwan had grown accustomed to his one-sided conversations and simply ignored him.

Roger, in turn, had grown used to being ignored. After setting her aside to rest, he began to work with crude stone tools and a Bone Blade.

He dug into a higher, drier part of the cave, widening and deepening it, painstakingly carving out a space just large enough for them.

He had seen the new home she and her mates had built in the Tiger Clan. It had looked so comfortable.

’He couldn’t give her a life like that now, but he would do his best to make this temporary shelter as comfortable as possible.’

’And, if all went according to plan, they would spend a month or two here. Once he was sure they had evaded her Beast Husbands, and the rainy season arrived, he would take her to a nearby tribe for shelter.’

It took him a full day, but Roger managed to widen the cave considerably. It was now more than spacious enough for two Beastmen to live in.

The cave was filled with the thick stench of the sea and damp must. In a corner sat a pile of Roger’s catch from the sea, reeking with a foul, fishy odor.

The smell made Bai Wanwan want to retch.

Seeing her reaction, Roger went to her side and gently patted her back. "Just bear with it a little longer. After some time passes, I’ll take you to live in a nearby tribe."

Bai Wanwan sidestepped his touch. "Why should I have to bear it? This is all your fault."

Having Bai Wanwan by his side had soothed his inner possessiveness, and for once, his tone was gentle. "It is my fault. If your Beast Husbands find me, my life is theirs. They can punish me however they see fit."

"Who wants your worthless life!" Bai Wanwan snapped, glaring at him before turning her head to dry heave again.

Roger didn’t press the issue, simply issuing a cold warning. "I’m going out. You stay here and behave. Don’t even think about escaping. The surrounding cliffs are too steep for you to climb. And out there..."

He pointed toward the turbulent sea and the beach littered with jagged reefs. "...you’ll either find beasts waiting to tear you to shreds, Crocodylus porosus Beastmen lurking in the shallows who love nothing more than snatching lone females, or the amphibious Sea Clan who hide in the deep, just as desperate for a female as anyone else. Without a male’s protection, stepping out of this cave is a death sentence. Or worse. The choice is yours."