Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Lu Ziran called Ruan Qiuqiu's name twice more, anxiously waiting in place for a few seconds, an inexplicable feeling of frustration rising in his chest.

Fifteen minutes earlier, he had arrived at the Flame Wolf Tribe. He had prepared himself for a potential wait to inquire about Ruan Qiuqiu, but Lionheart's luck was as good as ever—he ran into Xie Yu right away.

Xie Yu and Lu Ziran were both warriors from neighboring demon tribes and met annually at the autumn gathering, so they were acquainted.

Xie Yu was surprised to see Lu Ziran. "Lu Ziran? What brings you to our Flame Wolf Tribe?"

After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Ziran casually inquired, "A while back, a human married into our tribe. The Chief sent me to see if she's still alive."

Xie Yu's expression turned odd. "You mean Ruan Qiuqiu?"

"Yes, is she dead?" Lu Ziran wouldn't be surprised; he hadn't expected Ruan Qiuqiu to survive.

Xie Yu's expression became even stranger at his words. "She's not dead."

"Not only is she not dead, she's quite arrogant." The memory of Ruan Qiuqiu threatening him with the curse on her body made Xie Yu grind his teeth.

"Not dead?" Lu Ziran was genuinely surprised. His handsome face darkened. "Then is Yuan Jue dead?"

If Yuan Jue was dead, that explained Ruan Qiuqiu's survival.

Xie Yu gritted his teeth. "I wish Yuan Jue were dead. But from what Ruan Qiuqiu said, that wolf is alive and well, and even capable of being intimate with her."

At the word "intimate," Lu Ziran's expression became completely distorted. He asked incredulously, "You're saying Ruan Qiuqiu and that wolf are intimate?"

Xie Yu was startled by the lion's sudden raised voice, but seeing Lu Ziran's livid face, he quickly understood. This lion likely considered Ruan Qiuqiu his "prey." Death was acceptable, but being with another demon was not. This mirrored his own feelings.

Understanding this, Xie Yu's eyes flickered, a plan forming in his mind. He deliberately added fuel to the fire. "Yes, she said it herself. She even said they've been intimate seven or eight times. I didn't believe it at first, but the scent on her was really strong…"

Lu Ziran's face was so contorted it looked as if it might drip. He struggled to suppress the inexplicable rage welling up inside him, gritting his teeth as he asked, "Where are that damned woman and that crippled wolf demon?"

Seeing him take the bait, Xie Yu was delighted.

He feigned surprise, concealing the matter of the "curse" on Yuan Jue, and deliberately said, "Ziran, what are you planning to do? Do you know how powerful our former chief was? Even if he's now a crippled wolf, his strength has declined, but he should still be at least third-tier. You want to attack him?"

"Ha." Lu Ziran sneered. "Third-tier?"

Just a few days ago, he had reached the bottleneck of the fourth-tier. Was he supposed to be afraid of a crippled wolf whose strength had declined to just above third-tier?

He changed his mind. Today, he would kill Yuan Jue and take Ruan Qiuqiu back to lock her in the dungeon.

Then, on the day of the beast tide, he would let the lion demon in his "dream" push her down to die in his place.

She was meant to die for him anyway. What did it mean for her to be with another demon now?

Betrayal?

She was just a somewhat foolish tool; how dare she betray him?

He had Xie Yu point the way and rushed towards Ruan Qiuqiu's cave, filled with rage, intending to confront her.

But what angered Lu Ziran even more was that this foolish tool, Ruan Qiuqiu, dared to ignore him.

This enraged him further.

—Ruan Qiuqiu hid behind a nearly bald giant tree, catching a glimpse of Lu Ziran's livid face from afar. She was incredibly grateful that she had trusted her instincts and hidden all the things she had gathered today, not carrying a single spirit stone on her.

She had been away from the Wind Lion Tribe for more than ten days. Why was Lu Ziran looking for her?

As Ruan Qiuqiu was pondering this, she heard Lu Ziran's voice, drawing closer to the cave, growing louder. He stopped about three or four meters from the cave entrance, took a deep breath, and shouted into the cave, "Ruan Qiuqiu! Come out, I know you're not dead!"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…??" Of course, she wasn't dead. Was there something wrong with this lion's brain???

Before Ruan Qiuqiu could finish her internal complaints, she saw Lu Ziran, still receiving no response, becoming increasingly agitated.

She watched as Lu Ziran was about to rush directly into the cave. Unaware that Yuan Jue had snuck out to hunt, Ruan Qiuqiu instantly became worried—

Could this scumbag lion be using her as an excuse to deliberately cause trouble for the seriously injured Mr. Big Bad Wolf?

Although Mr. Big Bad Wolf could defeat near third-tier magical beasts, he might not be able to defeat Lu Ziran, who had the Lionheart aura.

If the two demons fought, it would only be detrimental to Mr. Big Bad Wolf.

Thinking of this, Ruan Qiuqiu disregarded everything else, gritted her teeth, and slowly emerged from behind the giant tree.

She lowered her head, gripping her spear tightly, pretending to have just returned from outside, deliberately making her footsteps loud.

Hearing the sound behind him, Lu Ziran immediately stopped just as he was about to step into the cave. He turned around and saw the disheveled Ruan Qiuqiu—

She looked even worse than when she was in the tribe. Already thin, she was now even thinner.

The animal hide clothes she wore were tattered, her face and legs were covered in mud mixed with plant debris, her hair was messy, and there were bloodstains on her face, which, along with the mud, covered half of her face, making her look extremely wretched.

Seeing her in such a sorry state, the anger in Lu Ziran's heart strangely dissipated somewhat.

This was the consequence of leaving the tribe, leaving him.

Judging by Ruan Qiuqiu's appearance, she probably hadn't had a full meal since leaving the tribe.

Lu Ziran noticed her uneven gait, and recalling Xie Yu's words about "being intimate several times," he felt a mix of anger and schadenfreude in his heart—

Hmph, the wolf tribe's thing was even more ferocious than their lion tribe's. That perverted wolf definitely wouldn't be gentle. She was probably injured badly, how pitiful.

But, this was the price of betraying him.

Lu Ziran suppressed his anger and called out to her, "Ruan Qiuqiu!"

Ruan, who didn't even know she was "injured" by Mr. Big Bad Wolf, very pitiful, Qiuqiu pretended to have just heard him call her. She looked up in a daze, feigning a confused expression.

Seeing Ruan Qiuqiu's familiar, somewhat vacant expression, Lu Ziran's anger gradually faded, his expression calming down. He stopped roaring.

Ruan Qiuqiu seized the opportunity to stop, standing five or six meters away from the scumbag lion, gazing at him from afar.

This was the first time Ruan Qiuqiu had seen Lu Ziran clearly while fully conscious. He was taller than she remembered, with the standard male lead build and features. He wore a black animal hide coat that was several times better than Mr. Big Bad Wolf's, his long brown-black hair draped behind him, his eyes deep. Even casually holding a bloody pig's trotter, he exuded a male lead aura, looking carefree and unrestrained.

Tsk, what's so great about having a male lead aura? If she could hunt such good hides and make a new set of clothes for Mr. Big Bad Wolf, even with his disfigured face, his looks would definitely crush Lu Ziran's.

Ruan Qiuqiu looked away from Lu Ziran, pretending not to recognize him. She just lowered her head and shuffled towards the cave, step by unsteady step.

She clutched her spear tightly, praying in her heart that the stinky lion would be sensible, leave quickly, and stay far away from her.

Ruan Qiuqiu's strategy of playing dumb worked to some extent. Seeing her seemingly tormented to the point of losing her mind, the anger in Lu Ziran's heart gradually dissipated, replaced by a hint of pity—

Perhaps Ruan Qiuqiu was forced into "intimacy" by that perverted wolf while she was unconscious.

Back in the Wind Lion Tribe, Ruan Qiuqiu had always been somewhat abnormal.

The deceased former tribe shaman had said that her soul might be incomplete, often remaining in a daze for days before becoming slightly more lucid.

So, the people and demons of the Wind Lion Tribe had grown accustomed to her occasional lucidity and her usual dullness.

The people and demons in the tribe always thought Ruan Qiuqiu liked him, but that wasn't the case.

It was just that he had once shown kindness and helped her when she was rarely somewhat lucid. Ruan Qiuqiu probably remembered him and subconsciously relied on him a little.

She didn't like to go out when she wasn't lucid, and when she was occasionally more aware, she acted rather foolishly. To others, it naturally seemed like she liked him.

Although Lu Ziran knew this, he never explained it and even tolerated Rou Yue Rao's hostility towards her.

Several women liked him; the thrill of them vying for his affection wasn't something a devoted lion could experience.

Moreover, Ruan Qiuqiu had a decent face. Although she had no talent for cultivation, it also meant she posed no threat. Being "liked" by her was something that pleased him without any burden.

Perhaps, Ruan Qiuqiu really was forced.

Thinking of this, Lu Ziran's mood improved slightly.

He called out to her gently, his voice softening. "Qiuqiu, it's me, Lu Ziran. I'm here to save you."

Ruan Qiuqiu "…………" Damn, she was going to be sick.

Hearing Lu Ziran's gentle voice, Ruan Qiuqiu felt like she was about to crack.

Ruan Qiuqiu was just about to crack. Thirty meters away, covered in wounds and bruises, having finally hunted down some food and struggling to return, Mr. Big Bad Wolf, upon hearing Lu Ziran's words "I'm here to save you," felt the wounds from being kicked by the wild bull herd ache even more.

His strength suddenly drained, his large paw slipped, and the carefully prepared, tender first-tier wild calf he had hunted with great difficulty fell into the snow.

The three eggs he had risked being trampled to death to steal from a group of Terror Birds' nests also rolled onto the ground.

Yuan Jue leaned against the roots of a giant tree, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His demonic consciousness uncontrollably spread towards Lu Ziran, his large paw clenching. His narrow, unfocused grayish-blue eyes had turned scarlet at some point, filled with uncontainable killing intent.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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