Chapter 518: Chapter 517: I Was Entrusted by Someone

The only answer the Winged Tiger Beastman received was the cry of startled birds nearby. With the rainy season approaching, the sky was overcast most of the time, and the wind carried a distinct chill. Someone had thrown his Beast Skins away, and he had no idea where they’d gone.

He could clearly feel the skin on the front of his body; it was scraped and aching all over. The pain was a dense, constant thrum that shattered his concentration.

’This was just like what he had done to Ding Yin! Only this time, he felt no excitement—just the same agonizing pain he had inflicted on her.’

Until the pain was his own, he could never have known the kind of suffering he had inflicted on others.

The Winged Tiger Beastman continued to plead, "I was wrong... I’ll treat females well from now on... Please, let me go. Give me a chance to change my ways..."

If it had been an ordinary vine, he could have channeled his Spiritual Power and broken free with brute force. But the one binding him was Si Teng, which had been raised and nurtured by Zhi Le and the others.

He was completely at their mercy!

Just then, Xu Chi snapped his fingers. Si Teng reluctantly loosened its grip, allowing the Winged Tiger Beastman to plummet to the ground.

On the ground, tiger beasts roared in excitement and lunged at the Winged Tiger Beastman.

The Winged Tiger Beastman instinctively shifted into his Beast Form, hoping to flap his wings and escape. But his Beast Skins had been taken from him, so even in his Beast Form, he was completely bare—not a single feather remained!

With no other choice, he had to bite the bullet and fight the tiger beasts... By the time he returned to the tribe wrapped in a tiger beast’s hide, two days had passed.

After letting the Winged Tiger Beastman go, Xu Chi and Si Shuo returned to the Winged Tiger Tribe.

He wasn’t the only male in Ding Yin’s life. By listening to her thoughts, Si Shuo learned that those males didn’t treat her as their own female at all.

She appeared to have males providing for her, but none of them bore the Beast Mark. Their attitude toward her was vile; they would ignore her wishes and drag her into the nearby woods whenever they pleased.

She didn’t live in the female cave, but her situation was hardly any better. Nearly every male in the tribe not bound by a Beast Mark had forced her into the kind of intimate acts meant only for partners. She had even given birth to two litters of cubs.

However, her cubs were ashamed of her "chaotic" life and refused to acknowledge her as their mother. They would even throw stones at her in front of their friends to make it clear they wanted nothing to do with her.

Ding Yin had become despondent long ago. If she weren’t so worried about a pair of winged lion cubs, she never would have gritted her teeth and held on for this long.

After spending the entire afternoon washing beast-skin clothes, Ding Yin earned two finger-thick strips of jerky in return. She broke off a small piece and chewed it slowly, then carefully set the rest aside, planning to have someone deliver it to the winged lion cubs in a few days.

Jing Qi and Jing Lin cried uncontrollably. They thought their own lives were hard enough, but they never imagined their Mother would be tormented until she barely looked human anymore.

They wanted to run forward and take their Mother away, but Si Shuo held them back.

’Sweet Ring had a Father and a Mother, so of course she couldn’t be a Water Monster.’ Beings with Divine Power were nurtured by the heavens and the earth themselves, but the two little ones hadn’t considered that.

"Ma’am, please let us take our Mother away. She’s suffered far too much for us. We’re willing to do anything to repay your kindness!"

Jing Lin gritted his teeth and said, "Ma’am, our Mother gave us life. We can’t just let her keep suffering here. We’re too young and don’t have the power to take her away now, but we promise that in the future, my brother’s life and mine will be yours..."

Si Shuo gave a helpless smile and whispered, "It’s not that I don’t want to take her away. I’m afraid she wouldn’t want you to see her in her current state."

"Leave this to us adults. We will certainly not allow your Mother to suffer any longer!"

The two winged lion cubs dropped to their knees and began to kowtow fervently. It was the only thing they could do to express their resolve to follow them.

Xu Chi wrapped an arm around Si Shuo’s waist and said nonchalantly, "If you want to thank someone, you should be thanking Sweet Ring. If it weren’t for her, the three of you—mother and sons—might never have lived to see the day you were reunited."

Seeing the two cubs about to kneel to her, Sweet Ring quickly waved her hands in dismissal. "You said you’d always follow me, that you’d be my servants. As long as you keep your word, that’s enough. We’re all on the same side now, no need for thanks."

"Lady Ji Nuan, we will become very strong!" Jing Qi said with great solemnity.

"Me too!" Jing Lin declared resolutely. "I’m healthy now, so I can also become the greatest Warrior in the Far East Land and protect Lady Ji Nuan."

A flicker of gloom crossed Sweet Ring’s young face. ’Just protection? Don’t they have any other ideas? Isn’t finding a female partner a male’s instinct? Even as cubs, they’re supposed to make plans for the future.’

Si Shuo chuckled and poked her on the forehead, then used a tree trunk as cover to step out into the open.

When she saw her, a look of gratitude flashed across Ding Yin’s face. She instinctively glanced from side to side and, seeing that everyone was in the plaza for the bonfire party, stepped forward to take Si Shuo’s hand.

But as she raised her hand, she saw what a mere three or four years had done. She had gone from a cherished and beautiful young female to a withered, sallow woman. The back of her gaunt hand was covered in sunspots, and her palm was riddled with thick calluses.

She gave an awkward smile and drew her hand back. "Hello. This isn’t the right place to talk. Should we go over there?" She pointed to the nearby woods, then quickly added, "We can just stay at the edge. We won’t go too far in."

Si Shuo smiled, nodded, and walked over side-by-side with her.

The tree trunks in the woods were thick, and after only a few steps, they were concealed from view while still able to see everything outside.

"Thank you for today. I... I have nothing to offer as thanks. But if there’s ever any way I can be of use to you, you must tell me!"

Si Shuo sighed softly. Ding Yin clearly wasn’t old—her first litter of winged lion cubs was only five—yet she looked like an ordinary, middle-aged female in her thirties or forties, her hair half-gray and her features haggard.

"I’ve been asked by someone to take you away from this place."

Ding Yin froze, her expression caught somewhere between a sob and a smile. "Is it Little Qi and Little Lin?" ’In this entire world, besides those two cubs, there was no one left who would spare a thought for her, no one who would ache for her.’

’She was supposed to be the one taking care of her cubs, yet she had become their greatest worry and burden.’

"Yes," Si Shuo nodded. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is there anywhere you want to go?"

Ding Yin slowly shook her head, her lips pressed into a tight line. Her tears had long since run dry. Now, her eyes simply ached. She wanted desperately to break down and wail, but she couldn’t squeeze out a single tear.

"Nowhere. The Winged Tiger Tribe won’t let me go, and the Winged Lion Tribe won’t take me in. I’ve never been anywhere besides those two tribes." Ding Yin’s voice was flat. "This is the punishment I deserve. If I hadn’t been so conspicuous, Jiang wouldn’t have been set up, had his wings broken, and been besieged by dozens of Beastmen from the Winged Tiger Tribe..."

"My other Beast Husbands, trying to protect me, were killed or injured one after another, and I was dragged here."

"I’m the one who blinded my eyes... Once Little Qi and Little Lin can hunt for themselves, I’ll go and join Jiang and the others..."