Hearing a loud noise and earth-shattering wails coming from the tent, the guard beastman naturally had to rush in to check.

Who would have thought that when he barged in radiating killing intent, he would see his captain hanging on that beastman’s body, hugging the man’s neck and crying miserably? The beastman, on the other hand, was supporting his captain’s butt with one hand while patting his back to comfort him with the other.

The guard beastman: "..." Excuse me, sorry for the interruption.

He quietly walked in and quietly walked out, conveniently stopping the others who were rushing in to rescue: "It’s the captain’s acquaintance, nothing is wrong."

Inside the tent, Evan helplessly hugged Aaron, patting his back to comfort him. In Evan’s green eyes, unnamed emotions constantly churned like a tornado. He had to close his eyes and grit his teeth tightly to control himself.

After crying enough, Aaron wiped all his tears and snot on the other’s clothes, then let go of his arms and legs to stand on the ground. He tilted his head up to look at Evan, his gaze sweeping over the man’s resolute face. His hand gently touched the slave mark on Evan’s cheek, and he choked out:

"We thought you were dead; when the three of us found our way back to that place, everything had already been burned down by those slave masters."

Evan’s original form was a Black Panther, and he had become a slave even earlier than Aaron. During their time in the slave camp, Aaron frequently suffered beatings that left him a bloody mess just because of his stubborn personality.

Moreover, because his appearance was even softer and more beautiful than a Sub-Beast, he was targeted by the slave drivers many times. It was Evan who always appeared in time to rescue him. It was also Evan who always sneaked away to find herbs to treat his wounds.

Later, under Evan’s persuasion, Aaron gradually learned how to pretend to be obedient. Evan also helped him create a fake scar on his face, helping him escape the fate of being humiliated.

Afterward, Colton met with misfortune; when Aaron and Christian dug Colton out of the snow, the three decided to flee. Aaron had invited Evan to run away with them, but Evan tried his best to dissuade them.

Firstly, their Beast Energy was suppressed by the slave mark; they couldn’t shift into their beast forms, and their strength was also locked away. Secondly, there was a tracking array within the slave mark; even if they escaped, they would be caught and brought back, and whether they could survive then was hard to say.

But Colton was about to die; if he continued staying, he would definitely die. Only by escaping outside might there be a chance of survival. Thus, the group of three didn’t listen to Evan’s advice, finding an opportunity to run away. Sure enough, they hadn’t gone far before they were discovered.

Seeing that they were about to be caught and brought back, it was Evan who risked his life to set fire to the tents in the slave camp, distracting the soldiers, and then inciting the slaves to flee together.

The three of them took advantage of the chaos to run away with all their might. Before leaving the slave camp, Aaron turned his head to look back and saw Evan getting his chest pierced by a guard beastman’s claws.

"I thought I would never see you again in this life."

Aaron repeated once more, stroking Evan’s cheek, and asked: "Did they tattoo this on your face after catching you back?"

Evan nodded. Aaron heartbreakingly touched Evan’s throat, asking: "Was your tongue also cut out afterward?"

Evan nodded slightly again. His green eyes stared fixedly at Aaron, containing many complex emotions, which Aaron very naturally avoided by observing Evan’s entire body instead.

Waiting until the unnatural feeling slightly faded, Aaron finally raised his head to smile at Evan as if he knew nothing, saying: "Once we return to the tribe, the Priest will help you remove the slave mark. Our tribe’s Priest is very capable; he is the Beast God’s envoy. Right, Christian and Colton are both healthy as well, and they also hold important positions in the tribe..."

Aaron pulled Evan’s hand, pressing him to sit down on his animal skin-cushioned chair, constantly chattering away to tell Evan about the things he had experienced after escaping the slave camp. Even though he couldn’t speak, Evan still listened attentively, occasionally nodding to show he understood.

His hand never stopped holding Aaron’s hand, his rough thumb gently stroking the back of Aaron’s hand, so gently as if afraid of scratching it. Evan looked at Aaron’s rosy lips constantly opening and closing, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.

He didn’t know since when he had harbored forbidden feelings for Aaron; by the time he realized it, those feelings were already beyond his control. He felt like he was just like those despicable slave drivers, harboring filthy thoughts toward Aaron.

Both of them were beastmen; Evan didn’t dare let Aaron discover his feelings, afraid that Aaron would be disgusted by him. Reason told him it was wrong, but his heart, time and time again, forced him to miss Aaron. God knows, during those days of being recaptured, he had to rely on this forbidden love to get through.

Every time he was about to die, he would think of Aaron’s pure smile, thinking of his laziness and coquettishness whenever it was just the two of them. Only by thinking of Aaron and the desire to see the person he loved again did Evan have the courage to keep living.

At the beginning of spring, the place imprisoning him was attacked by a beast tide; Evan took advantage of the chaos to escape, then wandered aimlessly. He also didn’t know how he managed to cross the magical beast forest all alone without a single shred of Beast Energy left in his body.

When he met Asher’s group, after knowing they were a merchant caravan, he didn’t hesitate to shamelessly follow them. They were a merchant caravan, so they would pass through many tribes and meet many people. He just needed to silently follow them; perhaps he would find his beloved.

Evan hadn’t expected to encounter his heart after just a few days. Perhaps the Beast God had heard his agonizing pleas?

Earlier, when he saw Aaron, he almost lost control. Perhaps the lust in his eyes was too obvious, causing Aaron to notice. When Aaron raised his head to investigate, he could only bend down very low, hiding his broken body.

Evan originally didn’t intend to reunite with Aaron, only wanting to silently follow them; quietly looking at Aaron from afar was enough. His Aaron was becoming more and more beautiful, more and more dazzling; he didn’t dare let Aaron meet a lowly slave like him again.

It’s just that he didn’t expect it was still unavoidable.

Evan smiled bitterly in his heart, his expression still looking affectionately at Aaron. Aaron was rendered at a loss by this gaze.

He had always been a smart person; Evan thought he had hidden it very well, but how could it escape Aaron’s eyes. Aaron didn’t like the way the slave drivers looked at him, but he didn’t hate it when Evan looked at him with that gaze either. He just didn’t know how to face it, so he kept ignoring it as if he didn’t see it, telling himself in his heart: [That is just familial affection. He is just treating me like a younger brother].

On one hand, Aaron avoided it; on the other hand, he enjoyed Evan’s doting care for him. If it weren’t for the escape incident, perhaps he would have forever remained such a despicable fox. If he could go back to that time, Aaron would definitely beat himself to death.

Both of them were beastmen; how could he receive another beastman’s care and take it for granted like that!

Aaron had figured it out; perhaps it was because they couldn’t interact with Sub-Beasts in the slave camp, and his appearance was too similar to a Sub-Beast, that Evan misunderstood his feelings for Aaron as love.

Later, when they returned to Crimson, there were so many beautiful Sub-Beasts; Evan would definitely understand...

Thinking up to here, for some reason, Aaron’s chest felt a bit stifled. He hurriedly changed the subject:

"I have learned a bit of sign language for the mute; let me teach you? But first, you need to take a bath and immediately strip off these stinky animal skins for me."

Saying that, Aaron didn’t hesitate to strip off Evan’s animal skin cloak. Evan tried hard to stop him, but it was completely ineffective. Aaron was no longer the weak Silver Fox beastman in the slave camp back then; he was now a level-two Divine Energy warrior. The animal skin cloak was very quickly stripped off clean by Aaron.

The glaring scars beneath the cloak were exposed to the light, piercing Aaron’s eyes and making his heart clench. He remembered that in the slave camp before, Evan didn’t have this many scars on his body.

His gaze stared fixedly at the scar on Evan’s left chest. That scar was only a few centimeters away from his heart. If the position of the scar was slightly lower, perhaps he truly would never have been able to see Evan again.

Just to buy a little time for him and his two friends to escape, Evan had been tortured to this state. When would he ever be able to fully repay this debt of gratitude to Evan?

Evan flusteredly raised his hands to wipe away the tears at the corners of Aaron’s eyes. His rough, calloused thumbs quickly wiped two red streaks on the corners of Aaron’s eyes; Evan’s entire body went stiff, not knowing what to do.

Aaron uncomfortably turned his face away, saying:

"I’ll tell someone to boil bathwater; just stay in here."

After speaking, he quickly walked outside, his footsteps a bit rushed, looking as if he was fleeing.

Asher was discussing the injuries of the Starfall tribe beastmen with the healer; seeing Aaron walking out with red eyes, he stood up in surprise. Seeing Asher, Aaron immediately used his sleeve to cover his face and turned his head in another direction. Asher’s advancing footsteps halted, feeling a bit at a loss.

He was used to an Aaron who always smiled slyly, frivolously teasing the single Sub-Beasts in the tribe; he had never seen such a vulnerable Aaron. He was a bit curious, not knowing who the beastman in that tent was to Aaron.

Who knows where Aaron ran off to cry, but when the sun was nearing the foot of the mountain, he finally returned, sporting eyes as red as a rabbit’s. Evan didn’t sit waiting for him in the tent either; he had put his tattered cloak back on, gone outside, and curled up in his old spot.

Looking at that back curved like a shrimp, for some reason, Aaron felt a bit angry. He clenched his fists tightly, stared at Evan for a moment, and then went inside the tent.

Only after Aaron left did Evan raise his head; the lips revealed under the hood were slightly pale.