"Um, wait. I can’t just leave like this." Jiang Zheyu realized that if she left, Yin Ji would become a wandering beast.

She stopped in her tracks.

Shan Xun stopped as well, glancing back at her. "Is there something else?"

Jiang Zheyu nodded. "Yeah, it’s a bit complicated. The Beastman who saved me... through a bizarre twist of fate, he became my Beast Husband. If I leave, he’ll be exiled from the tribe and become a wandering beast. I can’t just walk away."

"What happened?" Shan Xun’s brow furrowed.

So, Jiang Zheyu explained the whole story to Shan Xun.

After hearing her out, a muscle in Shan Xun’s sharp brow twitched. His lips parted slightly, letting out a soft, derisive huff. "Hah. Understood."

From her story, he immediately concluded that this other Beastman was just another male with ill intentions toward the young female.

At the same time, he figured that since the young female was so cute and beautiful, it was only natural that many Male Beastmen would be drawn to her.

If the young female liked them, she was certainly free to accept them.

He just didn’t have to like it.

But whether he liked it or not was irrelevant, and there was no need to let Jiang Zheyu know or to give her a sour look.

His only role was to protect the female. That was all.

Besides, he had no right to interfere in her choices. After all, he could never become Jiang Zheyu’s Beast Husband. Once this mission was over, they would go their separate ways, like two parallel lines, never to cross again. For now, all he had to do was keep her safe.

"Then let’s go back to Yin Ji’s house for now." Jiang Zheyu took Shan Xun’s hand and began to lead him back. "We can figure things out when he returns."

Shan Xun glanced down at Jiang Zheyu’s hand holding his before quickly looking away again.

Still, he obediently let her lead him forward.

Aliya stepped out of her house just in time to see Shan Xun not leading the woman out, but walking deeper into the tribe instead.

She quickly ran to block Shan Xun’s path. "This isn’t the way out of the tribe! The exit is that way! You’re not one of us, so get lost!"

As she spoke, Aliya pointed toward the exit. "That’s the way out of the tribe. Now, scram."

Shan Xun’s brow knitted slightly. He hadn’t expected this female to be so unreasonable, and he suddenly found himself thinking that, compared to other females, Jiang Zheyu was actually much more pleasant.

Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Zheyu stepped in front of him and spoke first.

"I’m a female of this tribe now. That means if he’s my Beast Husband, he can stay here."

Aliya was taken aback for a moment. Then, she frowned and retorted, "You haven’t even bonded. You don’t have the beast marks. You’re not Beast Mates at all."

"We might not be Beast Mates now, but we can be in a moment. I can go to Grandma Witch and have her bond us right now," Jiang Zheyu said, her tone matter-of-fact.

After she spoke, she instinctively glanced over at Shan Xun. ’He doesn’t have any feelings for me,’ she thought, ’will he be angry? I hope he doesn’t expose my lie. I’m just trying to get us out of this jam.’

’Even if he’s not willing, he can just see it as a little white lie to get us out of this bind. He shouldn’t expose me now; he can talk to me about it later when we’re alone.’

Thankfully, Shan Xun didn’t contradict her or say a word. He remained silent at her side, his gaze fixed on her. His deep purple eyes seemed to be swirling with some unknown emotion, and his expression was somber.

’Shan Xun still looked a little fierce, though,’ she thought. ’In fact, his expression seemed to have darkened even more after what I said.’

’But that didn’t matter. As long as he didn’t call my bluff, everything was fine.’

Since Shan Xun said nothing, Jiang Zheyu breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Hearing this, Aliya stomped her foot in frustration, but just as Jiang Zheyu had pointed out, there was nothing she could do about them now.

If Jiang Zheyu took Shan Xun as a Beast Husband, then he would be allowed to remain in the tribe.

Aliya had no choice but to leave them with a parting threat. "Jiang Zheyu, just you wait!"

With that, she stormed off, her Beast Husbands scrambling to follow. At last, silence fell.

Jiang Zheyu then turned to Shan Xun. After a moment of silence, she said softly, "Let’s go."

So, Jiang Zheyu continued to lead Shan Xun by the hand, not bringing up the words she had just spoken.

Shan Xun, for his part, acted as if he hadn’t taken her words to heart. He said nothing, simply following her in silence.

Jiang Zheyu had once resolved to properly pursue Shan Xun once she found him, but now that she knew the Zerg Mother was on this very planet, she wanted to eliminate it first before considering anything else.

"Captain Shan, how are your injuries?" Before bringing up the Zerg Mother, Jiang Zheyu decided she should first ask about his condition.

"Nothing serious," Shan Xun replied in two words.

"That’s good." Jiang Zheyu nodded, then continued slowly, "Captain Shan, I have a Zerg Queen Detector. It shows the Zerg Mother is on this planet. So, before we leave, I want to eliminate it."

Shan Xun knew Jiang Zheyu’s spiritual power was capable of killing the Zerg Mother. He was silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "What do you need me to do?"

"My physical stamina is poor, so I’ll need you to come with me," Jiang Zheyu explained. "But before we go, I probably need to say something to Yin Ji first."

"Fine." Shan Xun nodded. "When does that Beastman get back?"

Jiang Zheyu paused. She only knew that Yin Ji had gone hunting with the others in the tribe. ’How long do hunts normally last?’ she wondered.

She didn’t know.

From her expression, Shan Xun could tell she had no idea when the other Beastman would return.

"I’ll ask some of the other females in the tribe. They should know," Jiang Zheyu said.

So, they continued on their way and soon came across another female on the path.

Jiang Zheyu hurried forward. "Hello there, beautiful female."

When the female saw Jiang Zheyu approaching, she intended to walk around her. She disliked females with low fertility and didn’t plan on giving this one the time of day. But then Jiang Zheyu walked right in front of her, blocking her way, and she heard the other woman call her "beautiful female."

She spoke, as if bestowing a great favor, "What is it?"