Chapter 599: Chapter 599: The Heirloom Stone Was Never Yours

Rong Yanchen’s fingers slowly clenched tighter around the dagger in his hand as he stared at the man before him. His violet eyes were trembling violently.

The heat from those terrifying purple-red flames was still burning around the forest like a living beast.

None of the hidden fox guards dared to move anymore. Every single one of them was staring at the newcomer with pale faces.

Su Qinglan was already standing tightly beside Rong Ye while holding his arm firmly. Her heart that had been hanging in fear for the entire day finally calmed down slightly.

The moment she saw him appear, she felt like all the fear and pressure crushing her chest disappeared completely. Even though she still did not know how he found her, just seeing him here already made her eyes sting with tears.

Rong Ye lowered his head slightly and looked at her swollen belly before gently stroking it. His cold expression softened instantly.

The dangerous flames surrounding him became calmer, as though they were afraid to hurt her. His fingers carefully touched her back where blood had stained her clothes, and his eyes instantly darkened.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked softly.

Su Qinglan immediately nodded angrily before glaring at Rong Yanchen. "This bastard even threatened the cubs," she complained without hesitation.

The moment those words fell, the temperature around them instantly dropped.

Rong Yanchen’s pupils shrank.

Because the man before him slowly lifted his eyes again, and this time the killing intent inside them was enough to make even the surrounding rank-eight fox beastmen step backward unconsciously.

Rong Ye suddenly smiled.

But that smile carried no warmth.

"You touched my female?" he asked quietly.

Rong Yanchen’s entire body instinctively became alert. Every nerve in his body screamed danger. Even though he hated admitting it, the pressure this man gave him was terrifying.

Especially those strange flames. His own purple flames were already considered supreme among the nine-tailed fox clan, yet before this crimson-violet fire, they looked weak and suppressed.

Still, Rong Yanchen forcefully calmed himself down.

He was never someone who became frightened easily.

His gaze swept over Rong Ye’s face again and again. The more he looked, the uglier his expression became.

That resemblance was too obvious. The eyes, the facial structure, and even the arrogant cold aura around him were almost identical to their father’s when he was younger.

Only this man looked colder, more dangerous, and more terrifying.

Rong Yanchen suddenly sneered coldly. "So another bastard child survived."

Su Qinglan instantly frowned fiercely.

But Rong Ye only laughed softly.

That laugh was low and lazy, yet it made everyone’s backs turn cold.

"Bastard child?" Rong Ye repeated slowly before tilting his head slightly.

"Elder brother, after not seeing each other for so many years, your mouth is still as unpleasant as before."

Rong Yanchen’s expression finally cracked. His fingers trembled slightly. Before he suddenly growled furiously, "Who exactly are you?!"

The forest became completely silent. Even the hidden guards did not dare breathe loudly. Rong Ye looked at him calmly for a few seconds before suddenly smiling faintly.

"It seems my elder brother truly forgot me."

His voice became quieter.

"Or perhaps... you never cared enough to remember."

Su Qinglan suddenly looked at Rong Ye’s side profile. For the first time, she could hear a faint bitterness hidden beneath his calm tone.

Rong Ye quietly looked at the stunned expression on Rong Yanchen’s face, and a cold smile slowly appeared on his lips. It was clear that even now, his elder brother still had not completely recognized him.

Or perhaps, from the very beginning, Rong Yanchen had never truly cared enough to remember his existence. That thought made the coldness in Rong Ye’s violet eyes deepen even further.

The night wind swept through the forest, causing the purple-red flames surrounding Rong Ye’s body to flicker beautifully in the darkness.

The flames reflected against his handsome face, making him look almost unreal, like a being who had stepped out from ancient legends.

Su Qinglan could clearly feel the terrifying pressure around him, but strangely, those flames never burned her. Instead, wrapped inside his embrace, she only felt warmth and safety.

Meanwhile, Rong Yanchen’s chest was rising and falling heavily. His instincts were screaming at him that something was very wrong.

The man standing before him not only possessed the pure bloodline aura of the nine-tailed fox clan, but even his appearance resembled him frighteningly.

Those violet eyes, the fox ears, the tails, and especially that overwhelming pressure... it all pointed toward a truth Rong Yanchen absolutely did not want to believe. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Then suddenly, Rong Ye slowly raised his hand toward his waist.

His movements were calm and leisurely, yet for some reason, Rong Yanchen’s heartbeat violently sped up.

His eyes unconsciously followed Rong Ye’s fingers, and the moment he saw the object dangling from his hand, the color instantly drained from his face.

A violet crystal pendant gently swayed in the air beneath the moonlight.

The crystal was translucent and beautiful, glowing faintly with ancient energy.

At its center was the symbol of the nine-tailed fox clan carved deeply into the stone.

Rong Yanchen’s pupils violently shrank. His body even staggered backward half a step.

"That..." his voice came out hoarse and disbelieving. "Impossible..."

Rong Ye watched his reaction calmly before lightly dangling the pendant once more in front of him.

"So, elder brother," he said softly, "do you recognize this now? Perhaps this might help you remember who I am."

The moment those words fell, countless memories exploded inside Rong Yanchen’s mind like a flood that had broken through its dam.

Back then, he had only been eighteen years old, yet he was already acknowledged as the strongest and most talented cub of the younger generation.

Since childhood, everyone in the clan had constantly praised him. They called him the future king, the heir of the nine-tailed fox clan, the pride of their bloodline.

Rong Yanchen had believed those words completely.

Because of them, he trained desperately harder than anyone else. He followed his father into battles, learned strategy and politics, cultivated day and night without rest, and endured countless hardships just to become worthy of the throne.

Everything he did was for one thing...the heirloom stone of the nine-tailed fox clan.

That heirloom was not just a symbol of authority.

Whoever possessed it would become the future beast king and command every member of the nine-tailed fox clan. It represented absolute power, status, and recognition.

Most importantly, it represented his father’s acknowledgment.

So on that day, Rong Yanchen had entered the great hall believing without a doubt that the heirloom would finally be passed down to him.

He still remembered standing there proudly in front of the entire clan, waiting for his father to officially announce him as the next leader.

But instead, his father had smiled gently and carried out a tiny fox cub into the hall.

A child barely seven or eight years old. It was his youngest brother with the same mother, Rong Ye.

And then, in front of everyone present, his father personally placed the heirloom around that little cub’s neck.

At that moment, Rong Yanchen felt as though the entire sky had collapsed around him.

Why?

Why him?

He had sacrificed everything for that position. He was the eldest son, the strongest son, the one who had worked the hardest.

Yet his father had skipped over him completely and handed the clan’s future to a weak little child who was almost ten years younger than him.