Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Long black hair hung down, concealing all emotion in Yuan Jue's gloomy eyes.

His dark eyelashes trembled slightly. The tip of his tongue pressed against his clenched teeth, and his pale, slender fingers dug deeply into the tree trunk. The bloodstains at the corner of his lips had not yet spread when his chest was pierced again, as if by a knife, filling with the metallic tang of congested blood.

He suppressed his savage killing intent with all his might, his demonic awareness lingering around Lu Ziran. Countless dark thoughts, too complex to articulate, arose in his heart—

What right did an old lion, not even at the fourth rank and more than ten years older than him, have to speak of saving her? Saving his little wife?

How dare he use the word "save"?

Ruan Qiuqiu was also wondering how Lu Ziran could be so brazen, uttering such irritating words about "saving" her.

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't bear it any longer. She subconsciously moved closer to the cave entrance and glanced at Lu Ziran with an indescribable look. "Hero Lu… Have you misunderstood something?"

She wondered if Lu Ziran was truly ill. Wasn't the beautiful and delicate female lead fragrant enough? Why was he pestering her, a disheveled and "foolish" supporting character?

This thought crossed her mind, and combined with her original fate of dying tragically in the beast tide, Ruan Qiuqiu almost instantly understood something.

—Originally, according to the plot, she would be pushed into the beast tide by a hostile lion demon, conveniently blocking a monster's attack for the Lion Pride's hero. Now that she had escaped, was the plotline self-correcting, prompting Lu Ziran to seek her out?

Moreover, how did Lu Ziran know where she lived now? Did the Flame Wolf Tribe tell him?

At this possibility, a chill ran down Ruan Qiuqiu's spine, and fear filled her heart.

She gripped her spear tightly and said as calmly as possible, "I'm living very well. I don't need you to save me."

Her voice was soft yet firm as always. It fell upon the furry ears of Mr. Big Gray Wolf, who was in his half-demon form under the distant giant tree. Like a gentle breeze filled with sunlight, her words captured his attention, smoothing the furrow in his brow.

However, the same words sounded jarring to the Lion Pride's hero.

Lu Ziran suppressed his anger. "You call this living well? Tell me, did that useless wolf force you? With me here, don't be afraid. I will help you seek justice."

Ruan Qiuqiu "…??"

What did Mr. Big Gray Wolf force her to do? Force her to live in his cave? Force her to use his furniture, sleep in his bed, and pluck his fur?

If anything, she was the one forcing Mr. Big Gray Wolf.

She looked at Lu Ziran speechlessly. "What are you talking about?"

Lu Ziran assumed that the lucid Ruan Qiuqiu didn't know what the "foolish" her had been coerced into doing by that wolf. He immediately seized upon this as if it were incriminating evidence against Mr. Big Gray Wolf and said through gritted teeth, "The Flame Wolf Tribe told me. Were you forced to be intimate with him?"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…………"

Mr. Big Gray Wolf, whose blood was screaming to smash the annoying Lu Ziran's lion head, "…………"

His intact pointed ears perked up, and his handsome face gradually flushed—

He had also been curious about this matter.

If secretly holding her hand at night and fantasizing about how her soft waist would feel in his grip counted as coercion…

Then he might, perhaps, possibly, have coerced her many, many times.

The wolf demons likely misunderstood because she was covered in his scent.

Would she mind?

Although he wanted to know, what was Lu Ziran, a mere nothing, to ask his wife such a private question?

Damn it.

Cold sweat trickled down Yuan Jue's forehead. The mixture of anxiety and killing intent towards Lu Ziran made him restless.

Hearing Lu Ziran's words, Ruan Qiuqiu finally understood why the lion had charged over with an iron-blue face, looking as if he wanted to interrogate her.

This lion's logic was utterly absurd. Did he think that because he had once shown her kindness, she was now his possession for life? Destined to die for him, without any personal agency or freedom?

Was he kidding? She and Mr. Big Gray Wolf were mates. Even if they hadn't done anything yet, even if they had, it was none of Lu Ziran's business.

Ruan Qiuqiu felt like she was talking to a retarded scumbag with a protagonist halo. "My husband didn't force me. I was willing."

"You were willing???" Lu Ziran's voice rose sharply, his anger flaring up again.

Although Ruan Qiuqiu had been foolish before, she had never allowed him to get too close. He hadn't even touched her hand. Now she was telling him that she was willing to be intimate with that big wolf?

What a joke!

"If you have nothing else to say, I'll go back to the cave. My husband is waiting for me." Lu Ziran's face was grim, but Ruan Qiuqiu didn't want to say another word to him. "Please, do as you please."

—Willing, my husband is waiting for me.

These simple words restored some strength to Mr. Big Gray Wolf, who had been enduring pain and eavesdropping shamelessly.

He didn't know why, but the corners of his lips suddenly curled upwards. His large tail swayed gently, and even his perpetually cold eyes revealed uncontainable joy.

His narrow, beautiful eyes, like two dim stars in the abyss, suddenly lit up with a faint light.

As expected, he knew Ruan Qiuqiu felt differently about him.

She had even hinted at him to do something to her last time.

Thinking of Ruan Qiuqiu mentioning bathing that day, Yuan Jue's cheeks gradually flushed.

He was a very clean big gray wolf. Even in winter, he would often transform into his demon form and roll in the snow to clean his fur, much better than that lion who smelled foul from afar.

It was just that he had been hunting today and still had the scent of blood on him. He hadn't had time to wash…

Although his thoughts drifted far away, Yuan Jue hadn't forgotten the annoying scumbag lion who wouldn't stop talking.

He wanted to avoid using demonic energy as much as possible, mobilizing the few remaining strands of demonic power to support his movement. He turned around, wanting to emerge from behind the giant tree and give the lion a good beating.

But before he could take a step, Lu Ziran's voice came from afar—

"Ruan Qiuqiu, look at yourself. Do you think you're living well? Not at all."

The words 'not at all' were like a basin of cold water poured over Mr. Big Gray Wolf's heart, extinguishing all his joy, and the stars in his eyes dimmed.

Lu Ziran continued, "Your hands and feet are covered in frostbite, your face has lost so much weight, and you're covered in injuries. Isn't that fur you're wearing the one you received from the Wind Lion Tribe two winters ago?"

"Your previous cave, although not well-located, wasn't this remote or dangerous, and it even had a fur curtain. Honestly, I'm surprised you're still alive."

"Even if that crippled wolf didn't force you, he's useless. What kind of life can he give you? You're quite beautiful, with lovely long hair, and now you don't even have a single ornament."

"Not a single ornament."

Lu Ziran's words pierced Yuan Jue's chest like countless sharp knives.

He was right. What kind of life could he, a disabled wolf demon, give her?

A cold cave, infrequent tender beef, or thick furs he couldn't hunt?

A dull ache throbbed in his chest, and the wound from the wild bull's kick became more unbearable.

Realizing this was a precursor to a coughing fit, Mr. Big Gray Wolf covered his lips with his right hand, an uncontrollable itch in his throat. Blood seeped through the gaps between his bony fingers.

He subconsciously raised his left hand to wipe it away, but in a moment of sharp pain, he forgot he was holding a wildflower he had found in a crevice between rocks.

The flower was inconspicuous, small, buried under the snow in the crevice, its petals slightly unfurled.

An hour ago, he had carefully brushed away the snow and picked the light blue flower, still half-budded, perfect for her hair.

He knew that although she didn't say it, she liked these little things.

He had intended to give it to her.

But now, that light blue flower, due to his carelessness,

Was splattered with his blood,

Ruined.

Yuan Jue didn't know why his eyes felt sore. He quickly moved his left hand away, his right hand clutching his throat, claws leaving bloody marks on his skin. He forcefully swallowed the blood, thick with the taste of rust.

He tried to mobilize his demonic power, his hand shaking as he tried to pull off the blood-stained petal.

But he couldn't control his strength. No matter how careful he was, the flower was completely torn apart.

The petals fell into the pool of his blood on the snow, utterly ruined.

Looking at the petals spreading in the melting snow, Yuan Jue blinked his sore eyes, feeling a deep sense of irony.

He curled his lips, laughing silently.

The laugh was very soft, yet he suddenly fell into a strange state, more terrifying than anything.

Lu Ziran was right. As a disabled wolf demon, he couldn't give her a good life.

But…

Who said he could only be a crippled wolf demon?

The demonic energy in his blood surged, obediently at his command.

Strands of dark demonic energy swirled, merging into the wound on his abdomen under Yuan Jue's conscious control. In just two breaths, it healed completely.

Another strand merged into the stump below his left knee, easing the intense pain.

Power filled his body, and two fragments of his shattered demon core crumbled into dust as the demonic energy dispersed.

Yuan Jue's demonic awareness spread, no longer suppressing the scarlet killing intent in his eyes.

He leaned against the giant tree as before, demonic energy seeping from his bloodstained palm, gathering slowly and steadily in his grasp.

—And Lu Ziran, with his strength below the fourth rank, was clearly unable to detect the deliberately concealed Mr. Big Gray Wolf. He was still prattling on.

"Ruan Qiuqiu, be realistic, okay?"

Ruan Qiuqiu laughed in exasperation. "Haha, what business is it of yours what kind of life my husband can give me? You have time to worry about me, you might as well go back quickly. Rou Yuerao might be worried about you."

To her surprise, Lu Ziran's expression not only didn't show any anger, but softened visibly. "Qiuqiu, I knew it. You're jealous. What you said about being willing was all a lie, right?"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…" Fuck!

She realized that humans couldn't communicate with self-righteous idiots. Lu Ziran probably wanted her to go back and die. This matter couldn't be resolved peacefully today.

Rather than being continuously disgusted by him and dragging Mr. Big Gray Wolf down with her later, she might as well fight him while running. Although her strength wasn't strong, only a little over the first rank, Lu Ziran didn't know she had supernatural abilities.

She wasn't sure she could defeat him.

Crippling his manhood, making him a eunuch lion for life, she was very confident in that.

Thinking this, Ruan Qiuqiu decided not to hold back any longer. She held her spear across her chest, no longer hiding the disgust in her eyes, glaring at him disdainfully. "Get lost!"

But whatever she said, in the eyes of Lu Ziran, who thought she was jealous, was just her acting coy.

So her "get lost" not only didn't anger him, but amused him. He raised his hand, wanting to grab Ruan Qiuqiu's arm. "Don't be coy, Qiuqiu. Come with me. I'll give you a good life with plenty of food and warm clothes. At worst, I'll just love you a little more…"

Before he could finish the word "more" or touch Ruan Qiuqiu, Lu Ziran was struck by a sudden, intense pain, his mouth open but unable to speak.

He felt a burning pain in his dantian and suddenly lost consciousness.

Ruan Qiuqiu looked on in astonishment as Lu Ziran suddenly vomited blood and collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

Lu Ziran clutched his dantian, realizing with alarm that his cultivation was being rapidly devoured and regressing. He instinctively sealed his meridians, letting out a low, pained roar.

Why would there be a demon in the Flame Wolf Tribe capable of ambushing him without him noticing? It shouldn't be possible. There was no such indication in the "dream."

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