A shrill scream tore from his throat.
The leader’s fingers spasmed, gripping his own clothes tightly.
"Wh-what happened to me?" Yue ger panicked, struggling. "I… I—"
No wonder the pain was so unbearable—his legs, his hand…
"Am I going to die…?" His voice was so weak it could barely be heard unless one leaned in. The leader edged closer but didn’t answer.
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, Yue ger clenched his remaining fingers with all his strength, clutching the leader’s sleeve. He ignored the pain contorting his face, ignored the fresh blood seeping from his wounds—
"Did Wang Jin… did Wang Jin die?"
His wide, round eyes fixed on the leader, brimming with hatred and obsession—like a vengeful spirit clawing its way up from hell, terrifying to behold.
The leader’s heart turned cold. His lips, pressed into a thin line, finally parted, the faintest friction between them producing a single word:
"Yes."
The resentment in Yue ger’s eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by sheer delight. His lips stretched into a grin.
The movement tugged at the wounds on his face, sending tears streaming down his cheeks.
Tears and laughter intertwined, his hysterical sobbing and giggling making him seem like a terrifying lunatic…
The leader watched this version of Yue ger, his heart sinking deeper and deeper, as if plunging into the abyss of hell.
Is this really all he cares about? Does he have nothing else to say?
The leader’s fingers tightened, his fingertips rubbing absently against the fabric of his clothes—until he could no longer hold back.
"I know everything."
Yue ger’s laughter cut off abruptly—if it could even be called laughter, sounding more like the dying gasps of a man on the verge of suffocation.
He paused, his eyes shifting toward the leader, his face a mask of confusion. "What?"
"Everything," the leader said steadily. "I know it all. How you used raw meat to kill Wang Jin. How you poisoned Xiao Yu. How you took poison yourself to fake illness. And—"
He took a deep breath, tilting his head back to suppress the stinging in his eyes. "And there's the matter of the wine scheme."
"..." Yue ger's fingers loosened their grip on the leader, leaving behind finger marks on his clothes—marks that seemed to dig deep into his own heart, carving bloody imprints.
Yue ger said nothing, his gaze distant, as if he no longer cared whether the leader knew or not.
This silence only made the leader more uneasy. He stood up, about to speak, when suddenly the door was kicked open...
A man walked in with a cold expression.
Both of them turned to look. The man's face was stern, reeking of blood, yet without a single wound on his body. He strode forward with his hands behind his back, like a king returning.
When Yue ger saw who it was, he cried out joyfully, "Brother Heng—"
But the man’s sharp eyes never landed on him. Instead, his icy gaze swept directly to the leader’s face as he demanded, "Where is A-jin?"
His voice was as cold as shards of ice, piercing the leader’s heart and chilling him to the bone.
"..." The leader’s heart shuddered, but he didn't answer.
Yuan Heng’s lips were pale, his fingers trembling. He asked again, his tone cutting, "Where is my ger? Why is my home overrun by beasts?"
"..." The leader swallowed. Though it wasn’t yet winter, he felt as if he were standing in a blizzard, battered by freezing winds until his whole body stiffened.
"Brother Heng!" Someone rushed out from inside the house, his face lighting up at the sight of Yuan Heng.
It was Lai Yuan.
Yuan Heng turned to him urgently. "A-Yuan, where is A-jin?"
Lai Yuan’s smile froze. Yuan Heng’s expression darkened, his fingers shaking so badly he could barely form a fist.
Lai Yuan pulled something from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. Yuan Heng looked down—it was a hairpin, its end carved with intricate patterns. Once pristine white jade, now stained with dried blood, the dark red blotches robbing it of its former luster.
Yuan Heng felt as if a heavy hammer had struck his heart, the blow ringing in his ears until his mind held nothing but the image of that hairpin.
His lips pressed into a thin line, his face ashen. His eyes were sharp, like a god of war returned from battle, carrying the aura of death.
He said nothing, simply standing there, yet his overwhelming presence pressed down from all sides, forcing Lai Yuan to his knees.
The leader’s legs weakened, barely able to hold him up.
Then, slowly, Yuan Heng reached out and took the hairpin from Lai Yuan’s hands.
Such a simple motion—yet as his hand extended, Lai Yuan thought it might land on his head and crush him into pulp...
Never before had he felt such suffocating pressure from Yuan Heng.
Even in past conflicts with the leader, the man had never lost control like this.
"Brother... Brother Heng... I... Xiao Ruo and I... we tried our best..." Lai Yuan stammered, his face pale.
Yuan Heng seemed not to hear. He stared fixedly at the hairpin and asked, "What happened?"
His voice was eerily calm, devoid of emotion, yet it weighed heavily on the leader and Lai Yuan, pressing bloody imprints into their hearts.
Lai Yuan gritted his teeth. "It was the leader... Xiao Ruo and I lured the beasts away, and the leader went to rescue them... but he only brought back Yue ger..."
Yuan Heng’s gaze locked onto the leader’s face. The leader paled, his entire body trembling uncontrollably under that deathly stare.
As if instinctively submitting to this man’s dominance.
"...N-no... there’s also Yue ger..." Another voice came from inside the house. Supported by someone, a frail figure staggered forward, his face ghostly white.
It was Mu ger—A-jin’s closest friend.
"Yue ger hung raw meat on A-jin’s house... attracting giant lizards. They attacked A-jin’s house... trapping me, A-jin, A-Yuan, and Xiao Ruo inside..."
"!" Raw meat...
Yuan Heng’s eyes darkened as he glanced at Yue ger, who lay on the ground staring up at him. His expression turned sinister, like a hellish reaper ready to claim lives.
Mu ger choked back a sob. "Brother Heng, I’m sorry... we failed to protect A-jin... In the end, A-jin grabbed Yue ger and used themselves as bait... to lure the lizards away and save us..."
"..." That little ger had sacrificed himself.
Yuan Heng’s fingers trembled, his nails digging deep into his palms.
"Brother Heng, while you were gone, these people bullied A-jin. They accused him of killing Yu ger and tried to drive him out of the tribe. When the beast tide came, Yue ger hung raw meat to draw them straight to A-jin's home. After A-jin fell into the tide, A-Yuan and Xiao Ruo risked their lives to divert it, waiting for the leader to save him... but though he found A-jin, he abandoned him!"
Mu ger broke down, weeping uncontrollably.
Lai Yuan stood and pulled him into a tight embrace.
As Yuan Heng listened, his heart felt as if gripped by an invisible hand, squeezing tighter and tighter until each beat was agony.
His eyes burned red as he turned to the leader, his glare sharp enough to flay him alive.
The leader averted his gaze.
Yuan Heng took a deep breath, then looked at Mu ger and asked quietly, "How long has A-jin been missing?"
Mu ger hurriedly replied, "He fell last night... it’s been a full day now."
"Where did he disappear from?" Yuan Heng grabbed Lai Yuan. "Take me there."
"Alright!" Lai Yuan hesitated only a moment before Yuan Heng shifted into his beast form—a massive white tiger—and leaped away. He quickly transformed and followed.
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