As evening approached, the fading sunlight slipped through the window, draping the room in a warm golden glow. Xue Yunxue sat in the living room together with her four beast husbands. The atmosphere was strange—quiet, yet heavy with invisible pressure.
Aside from Lu Xiao, who had been looking at her with barely concealed tenderness, the other three men stared at Xue Yunxue with intense, probing gazes.
Who exactly was this girl?
The question seemed to linger in the air.
How could a woman who had appeared less than a month ago shake their balance so thoroughly—making men who were used to being cold and ruthless act cautiously instead?
Xue Yunxue naturally felt those gazes. Her back stiffened slightly. To hide her discomfort, she pretended not to notice and focused on the cup of warm milk in front of her.
The milk was fragrant and fresh.She knew it came from the northern ranches—a gift Luo Shixin had brought back from patrol a few days ago. Among all the supplies, a large portion had been deliberately set aside just for her.
She took a slow sip.
"We've decided together," Luo Shixin's calm, level voice broke the silence, as steady as a still lake."For your safety and well-being, we'll stay with you. And… we'll protect you."
"Cough—!"
Xue Yunxue choked.
The warm milk nearly came out of her nose. She coughed lightly and hurriedly lifted her head, eyes wide.
Protect her?Did she look like a helpless child who couldn't live on her own?
Before she could say anything, Lu Xiao had already moved. With a natural, attentive motion, he took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the milk from the corner of Xue Yunxue's lips.
His touch was light—too light.
And precisely because of that, the atmosphere grew even more awkward.
Yun Wu's gaze hardened.Is this vampire deliberately provoking us?
"Thank you," Xue Yunxue took a breath and leaned back slightly, trying to steady herself.
"I appreciate the thought," she said at last, her voice clear and calm."But… I already have my own plans."
"Your plans?" Xiang Shuai curled his lips faintly. His snake tongue flicked out briefly before retreating. "What plans?"
Xue Yunxue fell silent for a moment. She stared at the gently trembling surface of the milk in her cup, then raised her eyes.
Her gaze changed.
"I need to become stronger," she said softly, yet with firm resolve.
The four men exchanged looks almost simultaneously.
"When I'm strong enough," Xue Yunxue continued, shoulders straight,"I can rely on myself."
Her fingers clenched on the table.
"And protect myself."
The words landed with real weight, echoing in the silent room.
Inside her mind, Moa's small voice cried out in admiration,Big Sister Xue… you're so cool!
That afternoon, Xue Yunxue realized one important thing.
This wolf didn't know the meaning of gentleness.
Yun Wu trained her as if she were a rookie soldier on the battlefield. Weight lifting until her arms trembled, merciless push-ups, running, squats—exercise after exercise slammed into her body without pause.
Every muscle screamed.
Damn it…Damn wolf!
Couldn't he be just a little more humane to a woman?!
When the sun sank and night began to blanket the sky, Xue Yunxue could barely lift her arms. Her body felt like it no longer belonged to her.
She surrendered.
Without saying much, she took a hot bath and collapsed onto the bed. For the first time, she didn't even have the strength to think about dinner.
As a result…
That night, Yun Wu took over the kitchen.
Yun Wu grilled meat with a serious expression—unfortunately, that seriousness did absolutely nothing for the taste.
The grilled meat… was sweet.Painfully sweet.
Xiang Shuai stared at the piece of meat on his plate as if it were his mortal enemy.
Then he shot Yun Wu a sharp glare.
"This is all your fault," he hissed angrily. "Because of a rotten wolf like you, I don't get proper food!"
He stabbed the meat with his fork.
"You can't even tell salt from sugar! You're a kitchen monster!"
Yun Wu snorted coldly."Shut up and eat."
Xiang Shuai nearly cried when he bit into the rock-hard meat and eventually gave up, choosing to starve for the rest of the night.
—
Did the night end peacefully?
Of course not.
Yun Wu's house only had three rooms. One room was clearly reserved for Xue Yunxue alone—no one dared object to that decision. That left two rooms for the men.
The problem was…
They weren't ordinary men.
Tension rose when they had to decide who would share a room with Xiang Shuai.
The snake man had an extremely troublesome habit—when he slept deeply, he often unconsciously transformed into a half-snake form. And not a minor one.
His tail alone could fill an entire bed, sometimes coiling so far it nearly occupied the whole room. In his half-snake form, Xiang Shuai's body could reach nearly ten meters in length.
Yun Wu, who had been forced to share a room with him the night before, remembered it all too clearly.
He barely slept.
Every slight movement meant cold scales brushing against his legs. Not to mention that massive tail slowly shifting as Xiang Shuai dreamed—pressing, coiling, forcing Yun Wu to cling to the wall as if fighting for survival on a battlefield.
Sleeping in his own house…Yet it felt like camping in the lair of a giant serpent.
This time, Yun Wu flatly refused.
"I'm not reliving that nightmare," he said firmly.
Luo Shixin observed calmly, while Xiang Shuai merely snorted lazily, as if none of this was a big deal.
In the end, a decision was made.
Xiang Shuai would sleep alone—for everyone's mental safety.
As for Luo Shixin, without a word, he took out a folding military bed he always kept in his storage space. Simple, practical, and clearly not the first time he had slept like that.
—
Days passed in relative peace.
Xue Yunxue continued training relentlessly—cultivating spiritual energy, sharpening her reflexes, strengthening control over her body. However, there was one thing she avoided with absolute clarity: physical training with Yun Wu.
That was pure torture.
Every time the wolf man, face expressionless, offered to "train her again," Xue Yunxue would immediately find an excuse—cleaning the kitchen, hanging laundry, even pretending to fall asleep. In her heart, Yun Wu's training was meant for frontline soldiers, not for a woman who still wanted to walk the next day.
A few days later, Luo Shixin was called back to headquarters.
As the General of the Cloud Army, responsibility never truly left him room for personal life. There were reports to handle, strategies to plan, enemy movements to monitor. Though his face remained calm as water, Xue Yunxue knew—Luo Shixin took his duties seriously.
—
That day, an official letter was delivered to Yun Wu's house.
The moment he saw the seal and read its contents, Yun Wu's brows furrowed deeply. Displeasure was clear on his face.
The City Lord of Wulong had summoned him.
That old tiger…For a long time, he had never hidden his intention to make Yun Wu his spoiled daughter's partner. And that daughter—the woman who constantly clung to him—had never known the meaning of giving up.
Yet Yun Wu couldn't refuse outright.
Sometimes, the City Lord offered tasks with rewards large enough to be hard to decline.
He remembered the last reward.Because of Xue Yunxue—and Lu Xiao's open support—the money had to be split. And not evenly.
Seventy-five percent…All of it went to Xue Yunxue.
That girl was far too persistent when fighting for her rights, and Yun Wu, for reasons he couldn't explain, hadn't truly been able to refuse. At present, he genuinely needed the money.
In the end, with a cold expression, Yun Wu decided to go.
—
Night fell.
Lu Xiao looked unlike his usual self. His face was pale—paler than his already fair complexion. His gaze was dim, as if something was gnawing at him from within.
"I don't feel well tonight," he said softly to Xue Yunxue. "I have to leave."
There was restraint in his voice—something he didn't explain.
Before Xue Yunxue could ask further, Lu Xiao's body faded, turning into thin black mist that slowly vanished into the night air.
Gone.Just like that.
That night, only Xue Yunxue and Xiang Shuai remained.
Xue Yunxue cooked something simple—salt-and-chili pork and grilled ribs marinated to perfection. The aroma filled the room, chasing away the emptiness left behind by the others.
Xiang Shuai devoured everything without leaving a trace.
The snake man—without realizing it—was falling deeper and deeper in love with Xue Yunxue's cooking. For the sake of preserving that pleasure, he even tried to behave better.
Though, of course, his sharp tongue still slipped now and then.
"Hmph… don't get cocky," he muttered while chewing. "This… is only a little better than usual."
Yet his plate was spotless. His snake tongue even flicked out to lick the remaining oil and seasoning from his lips.
Xiang Shuai went outside briefly to pick vegetables he had planted in the yard. With his power, plants that should have taken weeks to harvest grew lush and ripe in just days. Fresh green leaves, sturdy stems—near-perfect manipulation of natural energy.
As Xue Yunxue finished helping gather some vegetables and was about to head back inside, Moa's voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
Big Sister Xue, something is approaching.Moa sounded wary.Its intent is malicious. The target… is you.
Xue Yunxue stopped. Her face remained calm, almost expressionless, as she slowly turned around.
In an instant—
A stag-horned man burst out from behind the trees, the sword in his hand shooting straight toward her heart.
Clang!
Xue Yunxue moved swiftly. Her body twisted, narrowly dodging the fatal thrust. Without giving him a chance, she struck toward his chest, channeling the surrounding natural energy.
Thorns burst from the ground, sharp and fast, slicing through the air like a rain of needles.
But the horned man was no ordinary opponent.
He leaped back, dodging the thorns with agile movements, eyes sharp with killing intent. In the next instant, shadows emerged from all directions.
Xue Yunxue now stood in the middle of the yard—
Surrounded.
Several large, towering men formed a tight circle around her. Their aggressive auras pressed down, making the air heavy.
The commotion reached the house.
Xiang Shuai looked up sharply and jumped out without hesitation.
The moment he saw Xue Yunxue surrounded, his expression turned icy.
"How dare you," he hissed.
In an instant, his body transformed. His lower half elongated, gleaming white scales appeared, and a massive snake tail coiled against the ground. Xiang Shuai became a half-snake, his aura surging sharply.
Without giving them a chance, his tail lashed out.
One… two… three—
The attackers' bodies were tightly bound, lifted off the ground, then slammed violently into the yard. The earth shook as bones collided with soil in deafening impacts.
Xue Yunxue didn't stand idle.
She advanced, seizing the opening, her attacks swift and precise—no longer a fragile girl, but a warrior beginning to find her own strength.
Under the moonlight, Yun Wu's yard once again turned into a battlefield.
If Yun Wu had been here, he might have spat blood at the sight of his house—just barely cleaned—being destroyed all over again. Cracked earth, shattered flowerpots, broken fences reduced to debris.
Xue Yunxue and Xiang Shuai fought side by side.
Xiang Shuai's silver hair gleamed coldly under the moon, reflecting light like snow scales. His half-snake body moved fluidly and lethally, every sweep of his tail elegant yet brutal. With a single spinning motion, he swept away multiple enemies—huge bodies flying like rag dolls, crashing down with thunderous force.
Xiang Shuai fought as if he were dancing.
Every step light, every strike precise—like the battlefield was merely a stage.
On the other side, Xue Yunxue was no less captivating.
Her movements were agile, swift, and supple. She leapt, spun, and dodged through gaps in the enemies' attacks with near-perfect timing. Though she hadn't yet taken down a single opponent, none of them could touch even a thread of her clothing. Every near-hit failed, cut short by her nimble steps or a burst of natural energy released at the last second.
The ground beneath her responded—roots surged unexpectedly, thorns erupted silently, forcing enemies off balance and opening gaps.
Under the pale moonlight, the two moved in harmony—
one deadly, one flowing—
like a beautiful yet dangerous dance of blades.
—
Xiang Shuai was mesmerized.
Amid the chaos of battle, his gaze was unconsciously drawn to Xue Yunxue. Her movements were too beautiful to ignore—fluid, graceful, as if her body was made to dance among danger. Every step precise, every turn light yet calculated. Her long black hair swayed with her movements, reflecting moonlight, making her seem almost unreal.
For a brief moment, Xiang Shuai forgot this was a battle of life and death.
But that split-second lapse turned into killing instinct.
With a sharp motion, Xiang Shuai raised his hand. The air trembled, and dark-purple blades formed from his spiritual energy—thin, sharp, and coldly gleaming. Without hesitation, he swung his arm.
The blades shot forth.
"Wait—leave them alive!" Xue Yunxue shouted.
Too late.
The purple blades were faster than mercy. They sliced through the air almost soundlessly, piercing the bandits in an instant. Blood sprayed, the large bodies froze as if time stopped, then collapsed one by one.
The yard fell silent.
Moonlight illuminated the horrific scene—corpses lying twisted, green ground stained dark red, the air thick with the metallic scent of blood. The night wind whispered through the leaves, as if bearing witness to the tragic end.
"Why did you kill all of them?" Xue Yunxue's voice trembled, half-angry, half-disappointed. Her chest rose and fell—not from exhaustion, but from emotions she hadn't yet sorted out.
Xiang Shuai turned casually, as if what had just happened was trivial."Didn't they come to kill us?" he said coldly. "Then there's nothing wrong with killing them first."
Xue Yunxue clenched her fists."At least… you could've left one or two alive. We could interrogate them," she said, restraining her emotions. "Find out who sent them, what their real goal was."
Xiang Shuai snorted, his snake tongue flicking out briefly—a sign of impatience."Tch. People like that won't say anything useful," he replied. "Even if they lived today, they'd come back tomorrow. With more people. With more poison."
He stepped toward one of the corpses, staring without a shred of pity."For them," he said softly but sharply, "death is far better than living just to nurture hatred."
Xue Yunxue fell silent.
She knew Xiang Shuai's logic made sense—too much sense in this cruel beast world. Still, her heart refused to accept such swift, merciless slaughter.
"Then how are we supposed to deal with these bodies now?" Xue Yunxue asked, voice low and tense, eyes sweeping over the devastated yard.
Xiang Shuai froze. For the first time since the fight ended, his relaxed expression cracked. He looked around—walls webbed with cracks, fences half-collapsed, the ground torn apart, shattered windows everywhere, and the front door… barely deserved to be called a door.
"…"
He scratched his temple, clearly having never considered the aftermath.
"I can compensate," he said at last, quieter than usual. "Walls, fences—even a new house wouldn't be a problem. But you know… Yun Wu is stubborn."
He snorted softly."And I'm not sure that old wolf would accept compensation from me. Especially after this happens for the second time."
Xue Yunxue let out a long sigh and briefly covered her face with her palm."Exactly…" she muttered helplessly.
Lowering her hand, she looked at the ruins again."For some reason," she added softly, "I feel like Yun Wu is far more terrifying than these bandits."
Xiang Shuai glanced at her, then at the utterly destroyed front door. The image of Yun Wu—with veins bulging at his temple and a murderous glare—appeared vividly in his mind.
"…I agree," he said quietly.
Under moonlight stained red like blood, the two stood amid the destruction—not thinking about the enemies already dead, but about one living wolf who would soon return… and would likely erupt far more violently than any bandit ever could.
"Maybe we should call the authorities to report this," Xiang Shuai said.