Day Three in the Azure Scale territory began with a humidity level that made Xin Yi feel like a stead dumpling. She sat on the edge of her designated "sleeping slab," which was surprisingly comfortable thanks to a thick layer of moss, and stared at the blue screen hovering in her peripheral vision.
[DING! (✿◠‿◠)]
[Good morning, Host! Rise and shine! The sun is up, the snakes are shedding, and the drama is brewing! Ready for your daily dose of civilization building?]
I’m ready for a vacation, Xin Yi thought, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. What’s on the nu today, you digital nace?
[NEW ADDITIONAL QUEST: SQUAD GOALS!]
[Objective: Make three (3) genuine female friends within the Snake Tribe.]
[Reward: 300 Social Points, 1x ’Gossip Specialist’ Passive Buff (allows you to overhear secrets more easily), and 1x Box of Modern Tea Bags (Peppermint!)]
Xin Yi scoffed. Friends? I’m a high-ranking hostage, System! They treat like I’m made of glass and ancient magic. How am I supposed to be ’one of the girls’ with people who bow every ti I sneeze?
[The Host underestimates the power of shared labor and a good vent session! Get to it!]
Sighing, Xin Yi dragged herself to the stone pavilion. Today was supposed to be the day they perfected the soap-making process. The warriors from yesterday were already there, but they were quickly shooed away by a group of female snake beastn who had apparently heard about the "magic bubbles" and decided they weren’t letting the n have all the fun.
The atmosphere was.....awkward.
As Xin Yi approached, the five won imdiately dropped to their knees, their long, colorful tails coiling neatly behind them. "Goddess!" they chid in unison.
"Okay, first of all, stop that," Xin Yi said, waving her hands frantically. "My na is Xin Yi. Not Goddess. Not ’The Great Emulsifier.’ Just Xin Yi."
The girls looked at each other, their slitted pupils blinking in confusion. One girl, who had striking coral-colored scales along her neck and arms, looked up shyly. "But.....the King said you are a ssenger from the heavens."
"The King says a lot of things to make himself sound important," Xin Yi muttered, reaching for a bowl of rendered fat. "Co here. If we’re going to make this batch work, I need hands, not worshippers. You, coral-neck. What’s your na?"
"I am Su Lan," the girl whispered, crawling closer.
"Great. Su Lan, you’re on stirring duty. You two, start crushing the dried citrus peel. We’re making ’Morning Zest’ today."
It took about two hours of clumsy stirring and accidental splashes for the tension to break. It happened when Su Lan accidentally got a dollop of soap paste on her nose and looked so horrified that Xin Yi couldn’t help but laugh.
"It’s not lava, Su Lan! Just wipe it off!"
Su Lan giggled nervously, and soon, the pavilion was filled with the sounds of stirring and actual conversation. As it turned out, beastn females were just as prone to gossiping as any modern woman. They wanted to know if her skin was always that soft, what the "Great Panther" was really like, and if she knew any spells to make their hair grow faster.
By noon, the "Squad Goals" counter in her head sat at 2/3.
"Is it true?" Su Lan asked, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as they sat waiting for the soap to set. "That you were marked by the Black Panther Alpha? The one currently turning the border into a mud pit?"
"Yes," Xin Yi sighed, thinking of Hei Yan. "He’s.....a lot. Very possessive. Very loud."
"He would be," another girl nad i hissed softly. "The Panther people have always been brutes. That is why our King hates them so much."
Xin Yi’s ears perked up. Gossip Specialist buff, don’t fail now. "I know they’re different species, but Qing Lin seems to have a very personal grudge. I figured it was just typical Alpha territory stuff."
i shook her head, her expression turning somber. "It is more than territory, Xin Yi. The history between the Azure Scale and the Black Panther lineage is written in blood. The King’s hatred isn’t just about borders or hunting grounds. It’s about—"
"If the Little Female wants to know the history of my house," a cold voice interrupted, "perhaps she should ask the master of the house."
The girls shrieked, instantly hitting the floor in a flurry of scales and submissive gestures.
Qing Lin was standing at the entrance of the pavilion, his arms crossed over his pale chest. He wasn’t smiling today. His erald eyes were dark, a scowl deepening the elegant lines of his face.
"Leave us," he commanded.
The girls didn’t need to be told twice. They vanished into the greenery faster than Xin Yi could say ’wait.’
Xin Yi swallowed hard, her heart thumping again. "You have a habit of lurking, you know that?"
"And you have a habit of digging into things that do not concern you," Qing Lin countered, stepping into the pavilion. He didn’t stop until he was looming over her. "Do you truly wish to know why I look at your ’husband’ and see nothing but a beast to be slaughtered?"
Xin Yi t his gaze, refusing to back down. The System was winking at her in the corner of her eye, but she ignored it. "Yes. If I’m supposed to civilize this world, I need to know where the bodies are buried. Why do you hate him so much?"
Qing Lin searched her face for a long mont. Then, he reached out, his long fingers tangling in a stray lock of her hair, smoothing it back behind her ear. The gesture was surprisingly tender, contrasting sharply with the coldness in his eyes.
"Follow ," he said.
"Wait, what? You want to just... follow you into the dark, mysterious woods?"
"I want to show you the truth." He didn’t wait for an answer. He reached out and grabbed her hand, his grip firm and cool. With a sharp yank, he pulled her toward the center of the village, leading her toward his private quarters, a massive, elevated structure built into the oldest tree in the swamp.
He led her inside. He pointed to a low, silk-covered bench and waited for her to sit. Once she did, he sat beside her, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he continued to stroke her hair, his touch almost hypnotic.
"You think Hei Yan is a ’big baby,’" Qing Lin began. "You see his loyalty and you think it is noble. But blood follows blood, Xin Yi."
He leaned in closer, his breath cold against her ear.
"Twenty winters ago, there was a treaty. A eting between the Panther King and the Snake King. My father brought his eldest daughter, my sister, as a gesture of peace."
His hand tightened slightly in her hair, and his eyes clouded with a dark rage.
"The Panther King was Hei Yan’s father. And that ’honest’ panther you love so much.....his father is the reason my sister never ca ho. His father is responsible for the death of my older sister."
The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush the lungs. Xin Yi stared at him, her breath hitching in her throat as the realization hit her.
"Qing Lin......" she whispered, her hand moving instinctively toward his.
He looked at her, a bitter, jagged smile twisting his lips. "Now tell , Little Female.....do you still think I am the villain for wanting to take everything he loves?"
[DING! (○_○)]
[ALERT! PLOT TWIST DETECTED!]
[Current Relationship Status with Qing Lin: It’s Complicated.....and Lethal!]
Xin Yi opened her mouth to speak, but no words ca out.
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