The dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight that pierced through the window of the cottage, mocking Lin Wan with their freedom. She sat on a low stool, her hands propped under her jaw, letting out a heavy sigh for the umpteenth time that morning.

The sound echoed in the quiet room, a small protest against the wall of obsidian-gold protection that had surrounded her for the last five days.

Long Zhan was a meticulous jailer. He didn’t call it imprisonment, of course; he called it "preservation."

For the first three days after her collapse, he hadn’t even allowed her feet to touch the floor, excluding when she had to answer the call of nature, don’t even talk about that.

He had been adamant that she remain on the furs, her only movement being the occasional shift to a more comfortable position.

Every time she had tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed, he had appeared from the shadows like a silent, insurmountable wall, his violet eyes glowing with a quiet command that brooked no argument.

It didn’t matter how many times she explained that she was pregnant, not crippled; to him, the "essence drain" she had suffered was a sign of extreme fragility.

By the fourth day, after a relentless barrage of talking, pleading, and one very dramatic pout that had actually made the Dragon Lord’s stoic expression twitch, he had finally granted her a concession. She was allowed to sit by the window.

Now, on the fifth day, the novelty of gazing at the same patch of dirt and the distant forge had worn off.

Her eyes wandered to the square, where life in the Orycto tribe continued despite her isolation.

Thanks to Lilly and Ember, who came to visit her daily, and a few other local females who had worked up the courage to stop by, she wasn’t completely starved for conversation.

These other females were incredibly sweet—mostly rabbit and small rodent shifters—but they were all so painfully thin.

Looking at their narrow shoulders and the way their collarbones protruded, Lin Wan felt a surge of maternal instinct that had nothing to do with her own pregnancy.

She wanted to take them all into a kitchen and fatten them up with something more substantial than the lean, charred meats the tribe had survived on.

Being trapped with nothing but her thoughts had allowed her mind to wander back to her original goal: helping this world. She had transmigrated as an author, a creator, and she couldn’t stand the inefficiency of the beast world’s lifestyle.

’Thank God Weiwei isn’t like those mission systems I used to write about, ’Lin wan thought, leaning further into her palm. ’No "do this or your heart stops" ultimatums. No painful shocks for failing a quest.’

Still, her conscience was doing the work of a mission system anyway. Having observed the females here, she realized their weak constitutions weren’t just a biological fact; it was a result of their environment.

In the Southern region, under Qin Mo’s rule, things were slightly better because of the lushness of the jungle, but here in the more arid plains, the females were treated as delicate porcelain that shouldn’t be touched. But porcelain doesn’t survive a winter.

They didn’t just need protection; they needed a balanced diet. They needed nutrients that didn’t just come from muscle and bone.

And as she thought about nutrition, a specific, aching craving hit her like a physical blow.

’Rice.’

As an Asian woman, the lack of rice was starting to feel like a spiritual void. How had she survived this long on just meat and the occasional wild fruit? Her soul was crying out for a steaming bowl of white rice, soft and fragrant.

’If I can find a wild grain similar to rice and teach them how to cultivate and cook it,’ she mused,

’it won’t just benefit me. Even if I leave after finding Wang and Qin Mo, they’ll keep the procedure. They’ll have a source of energy that doesn’t rely on the success of a hunt.’

[Host,] Weiwei’s voice chirped suddenly in her mind, breaking her reverie.

’What?’

[According to my calculations, helping the females regulate their health through diversified nutrition should significantly help with the birthing crisis in this region,] Weiwei stated, its tone more analytical than usual.

’Really? It’s that simple?:

[Yes. If you should help with the birthing crisis, it won’t be that long for you to get the recognition you want.]

Lin blinked. Recognition? She didn’t have time to ask Weiwei what it meant by "the recognition she wanted" whether it was a system rank or something more mystical, because a commotion outside caught her attention.

She peered through the window shutters, her eyes widening. Long Zhan was walking fast—actually ’fast’—across the square toward the cottage. It was a strange and funny sight to behold; the Dragon Lord usually moved with a slow, predatory grace, as if the world waited for him. But right now, he looked like a man trying to outrun a persistent insect.

That insect was Su Mei.

The female was practically running after him, her long tail swishing frantically as she tried to keep up with his massive strides.

Her face was flushed, her voice a high-pitched trill as she called out to him, but Long Zhan didn’t even turn his head.

He reached the cottage door, stepped inside, and slammed it shut with a finality that echoed through the square.

Lin Wan stood up, her curiosity getting the better of her. She adjusted her mask. . . it was tied loosely today, more for comfort than concealment since she was alone, and peeked out through the gap in the window.

She locked eyes with Su Mei.

Su Mei had skidded to a halt just a few feet from the window. She was breathless, her chest heaving, but the moment she saw Lin Wan looking out, her expression shifted.

Because Lin Wan’s mask was loose, the afternoon sun hit the side of her face, illuminating the flawless, luminous skin and the perfect, delicate curve of her jawline.

The "enhancements" from the Golden Marrow Fruit were undeniable. Lin Wan looked like a celestial being compared to the dusty, weathered reality of the tribe.

Su Mei actually went out of breath for a second. Her mouth fell open, her eyes darting over the visible parts of Lin’s face.

The shock was visible in the way her ears pinned back. She had spent days calling Lin "ugly" and "masked freak," but the woman standing in that window was a beauty that made Su Mei’s own groomed appearance look common.

Then, the shock died, and in its place rose a jealousy so hot and acidic it seemed to radiate off her in waves.

Su Mei’s eyes narrowed into slits. She didn’t scream or throw a tantrum. Instead, she took a slow, deep breath, her gaze lingering on the closed door where the Dragon Lord had disappeared.

She knew now that her charms wouldn’t work on Long Zhan as long as this... ’thing’ was in the way. If beauty wouldn’t win him, then she would have to use the only thing more powerful than lust in the beast world: fear.

She stared at Lin Wan for a long beat, a silent, venomous promise, before turning on her heel and walking away toward the Chief’s quarters.

Lin Wan pulled back from the window, a chill running down her spine. "Weiwei, I think I just made a very dangerous enemy."

Inside the room, Long Zhan was standing by the table, his shoulders tense. He looked at Lin, his violet eyes softening only slightly when they landed on her.

"She is quite persistent," he muttered, his voice thick with irritation.

"She’s jealous, Long Zhan," Lin replied, walking toward him. "And a jealous female with nothing to do is a recipe for disaster. But I have more important things to worry about than Su Mei."

She looked him dead in the eye, her hands on her hips. "Long Zhan, I’m done being a prisoner. I have work to do. I need to help these females, and I need to find rice."

Long Zhan tilted his head. "Rice? Is that a type of beast?"

Lin couldn’t help but laugh. "No, it’s a grain. And it’s going to save this tribe. But first, you have to let me out of this house."

Long Zhan looked at the door, then back at her. He could still feel the lingering heat of Su Mei’s gaze outside, and he knew the tribe was buzzing with rumors. But he also saw the fire in Lin Wan’s eyes—the star-bright determination that had drawn him to her in the first place.

"You may leave," he said slowly, "but I will be with you."

While Lin Wan began her "nutrition revolution," Su Mei was huddled in the shadows of her home, her mind spinning with a dark plan. She had seen Lin’s face, too perfect, too sudden. No female should look like that after a collapse.

’She’s a fraud,’ Su Mei hissed to herself, her claws digging into the furs of her clothes .

’Or a demon. Yes... a demon who eats the essence of dragons to steal their beauty. I’ll prove it. I’ll show everyone that the ’Dragon Lord’ is protecting a monster.’

She didn’t know how she would do it yet, but she knew the legends of the old world, the stories of creatures who changed their shapes to lead tribes to ruin. She just needed a stage, a witness, and a way to strip that mask off for good in front of the entire council.

The trap was being set, and the bait was the very beautiful Lin Wan, who hadn’t even finished exploring herself, yet