002 I will dissolve the contract with you.

Youli and Jinye went out to find Lanxi, while Chiyu and Siqi waited in the cave.

Li Yue felt awkward. Turning her back to them, she began to survey the cave. Living conditions in this primitive society were hardly ideal; the entrance had been reinforced with thick tree trunks and vines to block out the worst of the cold wind. The cave walls were polished relatively flat, and the floor was covered in thick, dry grass layered with seven or eight different types of animal hides.

This was all the work of her father. Although that Purple-rank rogue beast spent most of his time wandering, he took meticulous care of his only daughter. One side of the cave was stacked with over twenty treated hides, and the stone shelves were filled with an abundance of food: dried meat hung across half the wall, and wild fruits in bamboo baskets still glistened with dew.

Li Yue walked over to a clay pot filled with clear water. Looking at her reflection, she couldn't help but sigh. The female in the reflection had long, slightly wavy purple hair and exquisite, beautiful features. Her black eyes were so bright they seemed filled with stars. Li Yue hadn't expected this body to be so stunning, forming a sharp contrast with its sadistic personality.

She had already made up her mind. These beast-husbands were all ruthless villains from the book. Being with them meant she never knew when she might be killed, so she decided to seek out her father. Only he loved her unconditionally, and since he was already a Purple-rank, she could save her own life by finding him before he encountered any danger and then dissolving her contracts with these beast-husbands.

However, this was a savage world where fierce beasts roamed and the environment was harsh. Without the protection of strong males, a female without combat ability or a beast form could not survive on her own. In this world, males far outnumbered females—the ratio was about 100 to 1—so a female typically had many beast-husbands. Only by joining forces could several powerful males protect a fragile, vulnerable female.

"Are you plotting some new game?" Chiyu's voice suddenly cut through the air, his pleasant tone laced with mockery.

Li Yue turned around to see him rubbing the scar on his face with his finger, his pale green eyes icy in the firelight. Beside him, Siqi kept his eyes lowered, his long, silky silver hair obscuring most of his face. Only his knuckles, white from gripping his hands, betrayed his emotions. Clearly, they all assumed she was planning another way to torment them.

Li Yue's voice held a hint of helplessness. "You'll see in a moment."

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed at the entrance. Youli and Jinye returned, carrying a half-man-high wooden barrel between them. Inside, submerged in the clear water they had brought from the creek, was Lanxi.

Li Yue's breath hitched. The merman in the barrel had slightly wavy, light blue hair that clung wetly to his cheeks and neck, making his skin look as pale as translucent jade. His amethyst-like eyes were half-open, water droplets hanging from his long lashes, yet his gaze was terrifyingly hollow. Most shocking of all was his fish tail; where there should have been fine, dense scales, the flesh was now a mangled, bloody mess. The blood slowly bled into the clear water, like a shattered painting.

Even after suffering such torture, his features remained stunning—a high-bridge nose, full lips, and a beautifully defined jawline. Together, they were more striking than any female's. Yet, this beauty was now veiled in a deathly stillness born of agony and despair.

Li Yue's heart felt as if it had been struck by a blunt object. She finally understood why these five males would rather risk death from the backlash of the beast-mark than remain her companions. The original owner's day-after-day torment hadn't just destroyed their bodies; it had crushed their pride.

Youli set down the barrel, his tone devoid of warmth. "Satisfied? Seeing him like this, do you think it's more fun than burning me with a wooden stick yesterday?"

Jinye stood nearby, his ice-blue eyes churning with fury, yet he was unable to act due to the constraints of the contract. His fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and old scars on his arms split open from the pressure, seeping new beads of blood.

Siqi's eyelashes trembled. Beneath his long silver hair, his amber eyes revealed, for the first time, clear, painful pity. He and Lanxi were the closest, and both were primary targets of the original owner's "attention." Seeing Lanxi, the mockery on Chiyu's face froze as well; his fingertips unconsciously traced the scar on his face as he looked at the barrel with complex eyes.

Li Yue took a deep breath, suppressing the tightness in her throat. "I know you hate me. Forcing a contract with you wasn't my intention, and I will break these contracts with you."

Youli sneered, his dark red eyes fixed on her. "Do you think we still believe you?"

Li Yue said, "However, I have conditions for breaking the contracts. I want to find my father before the rainy season. You will protect me along the way, and whoever performs the best will receive a drop of my blood."

Li Yue's words exploded in the cave like a thunderclap. All five males froze simultaneously, their pupils contracting.

"You said... a drop of blood?"

There was an incredulous tremor in Youli's voice, his dark red eyes locked onto her face. He subconsciously reached up to press the scorpion beast-mark on his chest—the mark of his bond with Li Yue.

The abnormal ratio of males to females in this beast world made the female's status absolutely supreme, and becoming a companion required two steps. The first was the blood contract, where the female dripped her blood onto the male's forehead, leaving a beast-mark on his body. Although females had no beast form, the mark displayed the beast form carried in their genes. Li Yue's father was a scorpion-beast, so her mark was also a scorpion.

The second step was the physical union, at which point the male's beast-mark would appear on the female, signifying a true bond. The original owner hadn't liked these beast-husbands her father had brought her, so she had only completed the first step.

To break the contract, the female had to drip her blood onto the companion beast-mark on the male ten times, at which point the mark would disappear. But because females were afraid of the pain of cutting their fingers, and because it required the female to be completely willing, it was rare for a female to ever break a contract this way.

Moreover, as long as the contract existed—at either stage—the male could do no harm to the female; otherwise, the beast-mark would make his life a living hell. Some males had tried to gouge out the mark to escape the torment, but the survival rate was extremely low.

Even so, males had to seek out females. Once a male reached adulthood, he experienced a rut every year. Without a female to soothe him during this time, the violent factors within him would drive him into a frenzy, eventually leading to death by internal rupture if left uncalmed.