Chapter 469 - 466: A Mysterious Sense of Closeness

Chapter 469: Chapter 466: A Mysterious Sense of Closeness

After the birth, Bai Wanwan was in no hurry to set out.

Her Beast Husbands formed an impenetrable circle of protection around her and the cubs.

They had a clear division of labor: hunting, standing guard, and caring for the young cubs.

They waited until the winter snow melted, new buds sprouted from withered branches, and a warm spring breeze began to blow across the land.

Her Beast Husbands carefully packed their belongings, placing the baby eggs in special baskets lined with warm, fleecy grass. Xin Feng and Jin Yi took turns carrying them on their backs.

The group left the cave they had called home for so long, a place filled with memories, and embarked on the final leg of their journey to the Flood Dragon Tribe.

They traveled at a leisurely pace, admiring the early spring scenery and asking the Beastmen they encountered for directions to the Flood Dragon Tribe.

After more than ten days of trekking, they finally crested a mountain ridge covered in jagged, bizarre rocks. It was then that the males scented the strong, distinct aroma of the Flood Dragon Clan.

Xin Feng stood beside Bai Wanwan and murmured, "Wanwan, we must be close. This scent... it’s unique to the territory of the Flood Dragon Clan."

Bai Wanwan remained calm, feeling neither anxious nor nervous about the impending revelation of her origins.

’After all, I’m an outsider to begin with.’

Just as they were about to enter a natural Stone Forest formed from massive black rocks, the sound of a conversation—deliberately hushed yet fraught with intense emotion—drifted from its depths.

"Shuang Hua, did you really avoid the clan and call me all the way out here just to say this?" a male voice rang out, extremely authoritative with a metallic, resonant quality. It was thick with obvious displeasure.

Even from a distance and through the Stone Forest, the intangible pressure belonging to a supreme expert radiated outward, instantly putting Yan Lie and the others on edge.

Through a gap in the Stone Forest, Bai Wanwan and her Beast Husbands saw a male and a female Beastman locked in a standoff.

The male was exceptionally tall and powerfully built, clad in deep cyan leather armor that looked as if it were woven from Flood Dragon scales. His features were stern and resolute, his brows furrowed tightly. It was the Clan Leader of the Flood Dragon Tribe—Jiao Yuan!

The aura radiating from him was, to their shock, also Red Rank!

Furthermore, it was far more condensed and profound than that of Zhu Xiu and the others, who had only recently advanced.

The female standing opposite him was exceptionally beautiful, with a cold and aloof temperament.

She wore a silvery-white Jue Sha Long Skirt, and her face was a mask of exasperation and anxiety, though she clearly refused to give up. "Everything I said is true! She even admitted it to my face! Jiao Yuan, you can’t keep being fooled by that weak and harmless act of hers! She’s nothing but a—"

"Enough!" Jiao Yuan snapped. His voice was low but carried a heart-stopping, penetrating force that seemed to chill the very air. "Shuang Hua, I have told you time and time again! In my heart, you are like a sister to me! But if you continue to target Lan Yi like this,"

His gaze was as sharp as a blade, carrying an unquestionable warning. "I will have no choice but to side with her and protect her from your baseless accusations and harm!"

"I’m doing this for you! It’s not about targeting her!" The rims of Shuang Hua’s eyes reddened with anger, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor of hurt and frustration. "Why can’t you understand—"

"I have many clan matters to attend to." Jiao Yuan had clearly lost his patience. He cut Shuang Hua off coldly and turned to leave.

But after taking a few steps, he stopped again. Without turning back, his voice drifted over, as cold as an ultimatum: "In the future, if something like this happens again, I won’t listen to anything you say. You’d best watch yourself."

With that, his towering figure vanished into the depths of the Stone Forest in a few powerful bounds, the oppressive pressure dissipating along with him.

"You!" Shuang Hua watched Jiao Yuan’s determined retreat, her body trembling with rage. Her beautiful face flushed crimson, and she finally couldn’t stop herself from roaring at the spot where he’d vanished. "You deserve to be tricked! You’re nothing but a stupid beast!"

She stomped her foot viciously, crushing the gravel beneath it to dust. Her chest heaved, a clear sign she was furious to the point of exploding.

Behind the rocks, Bai Wanwan and her group held their breath.

That confrontation had been intense, and a single wrong move could have exposed them.

With Jiao Yuan gone and Shuang Hua’s back to them, consumed by her anger, it was the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed.

However, just as they were preparing to circle around the Stone Forest, disaster struck!

"ROAR!" A savage roar erupted from the woods to their side.

A ferocious cheetah of an unusual size, its fangs bared, shot out like a bolt of black lightning!

It seemed to have been drawn by Shuang Hua’s scent. Its blood-red eyes locked onto the lone female, and it launched itself forward, a foul stench of blood trailing in its wake as it lunged straight for her!

Shuang Hua’s face went deathly pale. Because her conversation had involved Jiao Yuan’s Wife, Lan Yi, she had intentionally come without any guards!

In that instant, the shadow of death enveloped her!

Instinct took over, and Shuang Hua spun around to flee, desperately trying to find cover.

Her movements were frantic, but her eyes showed a flicker of unyielding resolve; she hadn’t been completely overwhelmed by fear.

The male Beast Husbands found the scene hard to watch. In the Beast World, a male’s instinct to protect a female was practically carved into his bones.

But not one of them moved. They were all waiting for the command of their female.

Bai Wanwan’s gaze was sharp, taking in the cheetah about to land on Shuang Hua’s back, and the unyielding resolve in the female’s eyes, a refusal to give up even in the face of death.

"Xin Feng, save her."

"Yes." Xin Feng’s figure vanished from his spot like a phantom.

The next moment, he appeared behind Shuang Hua.

PSSSH!

The ferocious cheetah’s massive body went rigid in mid-air. A fatal red line split open across its throat, and its heavy corpse slammed onto the ground just a few steps from Shuang Hua’s feet, instantly staining the earth crimson.

The bloody stench that had been rushing toward her came to an abrupt halt.

Still shaken, Shuang Hua stopped in her tracks, panting heavily. She turned to see the cheetah’s corpse on the ground, the silent Xin Feng standing beside it, and Bai Wanwan’s group emerging from behind the Stone Forest.

Her eyes filled with the profound relief of a survivor and heartfelt gratitude.

"Thank... thank you for saving me!" Shuang Hua’s voice still trembled, but she quickly regained the composure befitting a Flood Dragon female and offered her solemn thanks to Bai Wanwan and her companions.

Bai Wanwan seized the opportunity to step forward, her expression a perfect mixture of gentleness and the bewilderment of a newcomer. "Don’t mention it. We couldn’t possibly stand by and do nothing when we saw a female in danger."

Bai Wanwan had used an item to alter her appearance.

Therefore, Shuang Hua didn’t react with surprise, unlike the Flood Dragon Male from before.

But... for some reason, she felt a strange sense of affinity.

’It’s probably just a strange feeling born from my gratitude,’ she thought. ’Because this little female had her Beast Husbands save my life.’

She stepped forward enthusiastically and affectionately took Bai Wanwan’s arm. "Little female, it’s getting late, and you must not have a place to stay. If you wouldn’t mind, you’re welcome to rest at my home."

Bai Wanwan had just been wondering how she would get into the Flood Dragon Tribe, and now she was being handed the perfect opportunity.

She immediately put on a flattered expression. "This... wouldn’t it be too much trouble for you? Besides, I have quite a few Beast Husbands... "