Ziqian had come with the warriors to rescue them—but how?
Based on his mother's and Cai's accounts, Ziqian's oracle had coincided with his final struggle against the five-horned monster. The warriors, led by Xue, arrived in less than a day after traveling without rest.
That shouldn't have been possible if they were with Ziqian because with the dola they could not have traveled that quickly.
A dola was a wooden crate carried by two or more beasts. It was usually reserved for the high priest or for sub-beasts without partners when visiting other tribes during exchanges.
If they hadn't used a dola, then there was only one possible explanation—one Huo was unwilling to accept.
For an unwed sub-beast, riding on someone's beast form was far too intimate. It was something meant only for married partners or for those who had already confirmed their bond and were merely waiting for the Eulogia to marry.
Maybe… maybe they hadn't had a choice that time, Huo thought.
He wanted to believe that was the case, yet the uneasiness in his chest stubbornly refused to fade.
That was why, whenever Cai and Ren came to visit, he tried to ask them about Ziqian and Xue's current relationship. But the two always remained tight-lipped, repeatedly urging him to focus on his recovery instead of worrying about other matters, before smoothly steering the conversation elsewhere.
That alone was proof enough.
They knew something, but they were hiding it from him, afraid that the truth might interfere with his recovery.
Huo scowled.
Everything pointed in one direction, yet he refused to accept it—not until he heard the truth directly from Ziqian's own mouth.
He needed to confirm something, and he would get them tonight.
No matter what the result was, he would fight for it. There was still plenty of time before the next Eulogia, and before it came, he would do everything he could to make Ziqian choose him.
~
Ziqian, who doesn't have any idea or doesn't see even the shadow of Dola, was having a serious conversation with the three guardians.
"Do you think this will work?" Ziqian asked.
"Don't worry, Ah-Zi. It is what the Beast God said himself," Gae answered.
Three days ago, after Huo woke up and Ziqian returned to their tent with Xue, he had nearly screamed in shock when a black interface suddenly appeared before his eyes. Jagged words, etched like claw marks, glowed blood against the dark panel:
Punishment will be null.
Worship on the fifth day with food.
Only the dripping blood was missing, and it could have been a message straight out of a horror film. Even the words themselves felt like an incomplete puzzle—cryptic fragments typically left behind by killers.
Even the three fluff balls were equally shocked by what they saw. It was the first time such a thing had ever happened, but the divinity radiating from the black interface told them immediately where it had come from.
It was a message from the Beast God, Cernunnos.
After a long period of brainstorming and deciphering its meaning, they finally reached a conclusion: the Beast God simply wanted Ziqian to worship him on the fifth day, offering food in exchange for nullifying Nia's punishment.
The three guardians hesitated at first. How could they allow their Ah-Zi to worship another god? But Ziqian insisted that if this was what the god really wanted, then it was not a big deal to him.
He was already prepared to beg the Beast God to save Nia, and if offering prayers and food would be enough, he would happily oblige.
Ziqian intended to prepare another feast, this time inviting the entire tribe. With Huo and Rei finally safe, it was an opportunity for celebration. However, it was also a time to honor the memories of the seven beasts who had died.
Ziqian informed Lia and Bei of his plan, and they agreed to it. Lia had originally wanted to hold a celebration for Ziqian, but the sub-beast had firmly rejected the idea.
When Ziqian proposed hosting a feast to thank the Beast God and pray for the dead, they agreed without hesitation, despite such rites usually being done during Eulogia.
The trio, along with the other females Ziqian had been teaching to cook over the past few days, all volunteered to help. They split into small groups and went to the safe places Ziqian had shown them to harvest vegetables.
Everyone was eager to contribute, especially knowing that the plants they had once ignored could now be turned into delicious dishes.
Meanwhile, Xue led a small team on a full-day hunt. He also instructed the warriors stationed at the border to bring back extra prey each time they went out, setting it aside for the occasion.
The men agreed instantly. Not only did they hunt extra, but they also brought back twice as much. After enduring tasteless meat for so long, the men had fallen in love with the rich flavors of every dish Ziqian prepared. Doubling the prey was not only for Ziqian's sake but also to satisfy their own appetites.
As the preparations continued, the tribe grew increasingly bustling.
Yet the very person who had planned it all was now pouting, crouched in the small open space beside their tent as he laid out another batch of chilies to dry in a winnowing basket.
Ziqian felt troubled.
On the surface, he and Xue appeared no different than before, but he could sense the tension between them getting intense with each passing day, especially whenever he went to visit and stay with Huo.
Ziqian let out a sigh.
"Ah-Zi, why the long face?" Ero asked. "We've already told you that sub-beasts in this world can have several husbands. Just talk it out with Xue and Huo. I'm sure they will accept it."
"Ero is right, Ah-Zi. Having multiple partners here isn't a taboo. Don't burden yourself over it," Gae chimed in.
Gae and Ero followed him around as they kept on encouraging him to open up to the twins, while Phi stayed behind with Nia. The white fluff ball already woke up the day after Huo, but it still doesn't have any energy to move around. Its white fur was still a little dimmed.
"I know. It's just that even though I used to fool around in my previous life, I still had some morals. I never dated two men at the same time," Ziqian said seriously.
All of his past relationships—if they could even be called that—had always been one-night stands. He always made sure to tell the other party it was a one-time thing, with no strings attached. That was why he never asked for, nor gave, his real name.
"Don't lie, Ziqian. You didn't date anyone before," Ero rebuts.
"Hey! I dated... once."
"Oh yeah! The one guy that cheated on you with your stepbrother?"
"No! He didn't cheat. We broke up first... before they—"
"Yes, defend him more!" Ero snapped. His dark red fur bristled and flared, standing on end until he looked like an angry porcupine.
"Ero, stop it!" Gae reprimanded.
"Hmph!" Ero huffed, his anger flared as he remembered the man who had caused their Ah-Zi so much pain—and, in many ways, his misfortunes.
Ziqian let out a weary sigh. "Okay, okay, don't be angry anymore. I'll try to talk to Xue later."
"Should I just say something like, 'Hey, I like you and your twin brother, so why don't you both join my harem?' Or maybe, 'The two of you fit my aesthetic so well that I can't choose. Why don't the three of us just get married?'"
Gae and Ero were left dumbfounded. They couldn't tell whether Ziqian was joking because he had a serious expression while saying those things.
"…I don't think you need to be that direct, Ah-Zi," Gae said after a brief silence.
Ziqian wanted to ruffle his hair in frustration, but remembering how troublesome it was to neatly tie it, he redirected his resentment toward the chilies spread across the winnowing baskets.
"I know, right? But how am I supposed to tell them, 'I'm fickle and greedy, and I want both of you,' without sounding exactly like that?" he whined. "Help me think of a nicer way to say it, okay?"
Gae and Ero couldn't help but laugh.
"I didn't expect your problem to be how to sound like a white lotus, Ah-Zi," Ero teased.
"I'm not okay!" Ziqian retorted defensively. "I just don't want to look bad in front of Huo and Xue."
Even Ziqian didn't quite understand why he was acting like this. In his previous life, he had always said and done whatever he wanted, never caring much about how others judged him.
Because he had learned early on that no matter what you did, you could never please everyone. There are people who would always find something to criticize.
But ever since he came to this world, his life had been reset. He didn't want to bring all his bad habits from Earth along with him. More importantly, he didn't want to look bad in front of Xue and Huo.
They were different from his past one-night stands. This wasn't a casual fling—they were talking about marriage here. And he knew, without a doubt, that he genuinely liked the twins. That was why he wanted to appear perfect in their eyes.
He knew he shouldn't feel this way.
But he did.
He was afraid.
And if acting like a white lotus would help, then perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all.