Yue Ling lifted her head and looked at the towering, broad-shouldered female—Anna.
In the beast world, male beastmen were generally blessed with striking looks, while females tended to fall short by comparison. Even Anna, who was praised as the most beautiful female in the Wolf Tribe, could only barely be called pleasant-looking by human standards.
Listening to Anna's blatant warning, Yue Ling pressed her lips together.
With a build like that, Anna could probably pick up her one-meter-six frame and beat her senseless without breaking a sweat.
Yue Ling instantly chickened out.
She instinctively shrank back, tucking her neck in fear and retreating fully into Bai Ying's embrace. Her slender back trembled slightly, her thin figure fragile and pitiful, radiating a vulnerability that made anyone's heart ache.
[System 999… do females beat other females here?]
Yue Ling asked silently, panic creeping into her thoughts. She truly knew far too little about this beast world.
[Uh… yes. Some females will fight other females over a male they fancy.]
System 999 answered honestly.
Her target was Bai Ying.
And this female was fierce.
If things escalated, that beating felt unavoidable.
Yue Ling was on the verge of tears.
Earlier, Bai Ying had protected her purely out of instinct. But now, with the frightened little female trembling in his arms, he could clearly see her pale, delicate neck just by lowering his gaze.
Seeing how terrified she was, Bai Ying's dissatisfaction toward Anna surged.
"Anna, that's enough," he said coldly. "You've gone too far. You scared her."
Anna: "I just raised my voice a bit. I didn't even touch her."
Watching Bai Ying openly side with Yue Ling—the mad female—Anna felt a stab of disbelief. She and Bai Ying had grown up together, yet he had never defended anyone like this before.
"Bai Ying, didn't you say you weren't interested in bonding?" Anna snapped.
"You're helping her like this—don't tell me you've actually taken a liking to this mad female? She's Yue Ling! The dirtiest, filthiest, ugliest female in the entire tribe—someone destined to become a communal mate!"
Anna's anger boiled over. She was about to call Yue Ling ugly again—but the image of that startlingly beautiful face flashed through her mind, and the word simply wouldn't come out.
Yue Ling listened as Anna's voice grew sharper and louder.
"Wait… what's a communal mate?"
She cautiously poked her head out from Bai Ying's chest. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.
Bai Ying frowned, unsure how to explain something so cruel to this sheltered little female.
System 999 was just about to answer when Anna sneered and cut in first.
"You idiot," Anna scoffed.
"You don't even know what a communal mate is?"
"It means that all the low-quality males in the tribe—those who can't find a female—become your beast husbands. That's a communal mate."
Her words were blunt and merciless.
She didn't care about the feelings of the male beastmen nearby. But none of them reacted—they were already used to it. This was the beast world: survival of the fittest, strength above all. Weak males rarely found mates. If they wanted offspring, they could only bond with the lowest-ranking females—like the former Yue Ling: mentally unstable, filthy, and unwanted.
Yue Ling's face went deathly pale.
Her fingers clenched tightly into Bai Ying's chest muscles as she whispered, trembling,
"I don't want to be a communal mate."
The moment those words left her lips, Bai Ying felt an indescribable ache spread through his chest.
Let her become a communal mate?
Just imagining it filled him with irritation and unease.
No. He didn't want that.
Nearby, Ayima—still stewing over Anna's earlier insults about Lang You—finally couldn't hold back.
"Anna," she said sharply, "if Yue Ling saves Lang You, she'll become the most honored female in our tribe."
Then she turned toward Yue Ling and softened her voice.
"Don't be afraid, Yue Ling. Even if… even if Lang You doesn't make it, you're clear-minded now. You're no longer mad. That makes you a normal female. You won't become a communal mate."
Her voice wavered when she mentioned Lang You—her feelings were painfully sincere.
Yue Ling looked at Ayima, who had stepped in to defend her.
Another tall, sturdy female—plain-looking, but with eyes that curved gently when she smiled, radiating warmth and kindness.
The old chief cleared his throat.
"That's enough," he said. "Let Yue Ling go eat first. Everything else can wait."
Anna snorted, clearly displeased, but said nothing more.
"I'll take her," Bai Ying said.
His rough, calloused hand wrapped around Yue Ling's slender waist. He hadn't expected a female's waist to be this soft. Her sweet, intoxicating scent flooded his senses, stirring something restless deep in his chest.
All his life, Bai Ying had chased strength. His only dream was to become the strongest wolf beastman. Bonding had never crossed his mind—until now.
After only a few brief encounters with Yue Ling, he found himself thinking… bonding with her might not be so bad.
The crowd instinctively parted to make way for them.
Once out of the press of bodies, Yue Ling let out a long breath and gently pulled away from Bai Ying. Her thoughts were still tangled in the terrifying concept of communal mates.
[As long as you save Lang You, Host, you'll be the most powerful shaman in the Wolf Tribe. They won't dare make you a communal mate.]
System 999 tried to reassure her.
Hearing that, Yue Ling's heart softened slightly. Alone in this foreign world, only System 999 stood by her side—supporting her soul, steadying her spirit.
The warmth in Bai Ying's arms disappeared, along with the lingering softness beneath his palm, leaving him oddly reluctant.
"I'll walk you back to your cave," he said quietly.
Yue Ling nodded obediently, no longer dwelling on the subject.
She led Bai Ying to the cave where she lived.
The moment he stepped inside, his expression darkened.
There wasn't even a stone bed—only a few animal hides spread directly on the ground. When it rained, the floor would grow damp. A female sleeping like this for long periods would inevitably fall ill.
This was how the tribe had been taking care of her?
A sharp pang of pity struck his chest.
As the strongest beastman in the tribe, caring for a mad female had never been his responsibility. Over the years, he'd barely interacted with her at all—only hearing other males speak of her with disgust and contempt. Even the weakest males despised her.
And yet…
"Wait here," Bai Ying said abruptly.
Before Yue Ling could respond, he turned and strode out of the cave.