The night was cold and coming to an end. Ming Tao paraded the farm area which was lit up by several torches at the corners of the secluded, planted on land, giving that portion enough light to see the presence of anyone coming from a short distance, but that was only as far as the illumination went.
Beyond that space was the darkened land, still so vast and unwatched. Those were the areas he was examining, mainly towards the outskirts of the clan but also deep within the clan border. Ming Tao realised how easy it would be for soone to make camp here and go unnoticed at such an hour. Soone could also remove every trace of their appearance on these parts so quickly that no one would know they had been there. And this was a distance not a lot of people paraded. He dreaded the thought but it was unbelievably easy to sneak into his clan at midnight, when places like these were unsupervised, and live. As long as whoever did did not stay still the morning the cheetahs awakened, that person could hide well. Ming Tao swallowed, taking in the environnt. He should make use of the vast land in the cheetah clan. For one, so many things could be planted here, so many at could be grood here. And there was enough land to create a safe playground for their young. The more occupied these excess lands are, the lesser the chances of intruders habiting unnoticed.
Ming Tao stopped walking. His body hair stood and his ears twitched at the sudden change of the direction of the wind. The air was way too breezy and loud. Anyone could hide their footsteps in such wind.
Ming Tao’s eyes furrowed as his foot stepped on sothing soft on the grainy ground. Fur. Shedded fur.
He bent to pick it up and felt it in his hand. Jia Hao was right. This was fox’s fur. Ming Tao’s brows narrowed into a frown as he peered his head around. It was either the wind was too strong that it blew fur his way or soone was here. The person he was looking for.
"I already found you. Hiding now is foolish." Ming Tao said. He still could not see anyone but speaking like he did might make a difference. A big might. Hye Yang may just be dumb enough to fall for it.
A throaty chuckle resounded in the windy air, blending with the strong wind. "That’s right, you caught , mighty cheetah. I am in your rcy." Hye Yang said. Ming Tao could not tell where she was because of the wind but he knew she was lurking around.
"Why have you co here, Hye Yang?" Ming Tao asked. He knew why but wanted to buy ti to locate her. He also considered the factor of her not being alone. He has no idea what other beast she could be with but if she had multiple people here with her, he would be foolish to not consider the disadvantage of being outnumbered.
"You an you don’t know? You didn’t miss ? That’s odd, you used to be delighted to see ." Hye Yang’s voice ca as a breathy purr. Her words were laced with sarcasm and with every word, Ming Tao could hear her co closer to him. This made him be on guard.
"Delighted?" Ming Tao sits in disbelief. His jaw clenched and he felt his anger soaring. "That was before you tried to kill my wife." Ming Tao uttered through clenched teeth. He could make sight of Hye Yang’s figure now, she was moving with light steps and followed the wind.
"Your wife?" Hye Yang puffed in disbelief. "Woah-ho-ho. Well, that is an upgrade. Since when did you see her as a being and not a demon?" Hye Yang asked, her tone had a hint of mockery.
Ming Tao followed her dancing silhouette with his gaze, ensuring not to lose sight of her. "That is none of your business." Ming Tao raged.
"Really? It used to be." Hye Yang’s voice was quieter now. The wind still blew harshly so the calm of her tone made it harder to hear her. "You used to co to to talk and lean on." Hye Yang murmured. "I am still your Hye Yang, Ming Tao."
Ming Tao hated that he rembered. He hated that he t himself get so close to Hye Yang in the past. He hated that he trusted her blindly and actually believed that she was a good person. It was not until the day he watched her lie that he knew she had put on a façade all that ti. No one just exhibited evil behaviour, it had to be deeply rooted in who they truly are and she trying to abort the unborn child of her sister was the height of Hye Yang’s evil nature.
No beast man was foolish enough to harm a true born yet this woman had the guts to try. And when it did not work, she chose to kill the witness and her own sister. Everyone hated Mira and wanted her dead, but Hye Yang was the one who preached for no one to bla Mira. She always talked about how it was not her fault and how Mira should not be blad for being irrational. Yet, she did sothing that opposed that entire part of her and worst of all, she lied. So openly you would have believed. It made Ming Tao question how many other tis this woman he trusted before had lied and how many tis he believed.
It also made him question a lot of other things about himself and the people he trusted. If a woman who committed a terrible cri was shown rcy because the sister she tried to harm spoke on her behalf ca back to cause the said sister trouble, it said a whole lot about that woman. Hye Yang was evil to the bone.
Ming Tao let out a breathy chuckle. "How the tis have changed." He worded, responding to her. He could play along with Hye Yang and accommodate her delusion to lure her out but just the thought of it made his skin crawl. Hearing her only made him angrier, it made thoughts resurface in his head that sparked his fury.
"Oh, Ming Tao, I really wanted to have you back as my Ming Ming." Hye Yang whispered. Her silhouette was right in front of Ming Tao but with a reasonable distance. "It would have made everything a lot easier." Hye Yang added. "I really did not want to hurt you." She breathed.
It was then Ming Tao felt a body roam behind him. He wanted to turn but his head collided hard against an object that made him lose his composure.
He was hit. Right at the back of his head with sothing that slt like wood. Ming Tao felt his eyes blur and a hand constrained his hands behind him.
His nose caught on an unfamiliar scent. One that pulled his senses into a complete shut as the fur blocked his nostrils and cut his air flow.
"I really," echoed into Ming Tao’s ears as his consciousness slipped right out of him. "Really, did not want it to go this far." He felt his body fall but he was unaware of where. So many similar figures lood before him that he could not differentiate which from what. "You should never have let her into your heart." Were the final words he heard before coming into a complete black out.
He was hit. Right at the back of his head with sothing that slt like wood. Ming Tao felt his eyes blur and a hand constrained his hands behind him.
His nose caught on an unfamiliar scent. One that pulled his senses into a complete shut as the fur blocked his nostrils and cut his air flow.
"I really," echoed into Ming Tao’s ears as his consciousness slipped right out of him. "Really, did not want it to go this far." He felt his body fall but he was unaware of where. So many similar figures lood before him that he could not differentiate which from what. "You should never have let her into your heart." Were the final words he heard before coming into a complete black out.
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