004 Something Was Wrong With Her

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So their real intention was to coax her into dripping blood quickly to break the bond. In an instant, Li Yue understood clearly—these beastmen were all eager to rid themselves of the constraints left by the original owner, quite straightforward in their desires. But that was fine; at least it meant they had no other plans for now. Bound by the beast contract mark, they dared not harm her. The earlier worry about poison seemed unnecessary. With this realization, the tension in her shoulders completely loosened.

However, breaking the contract couldn’t be rushed. If she handed over her blood to Chi Yu right now—ten drips, and the beast mark would vanish. Given the vengeful nature of this fox beastman, he would likely turn around and snap her neck immediately. Li Yue lifted her eyes to meet Chi Yu’s cunning gaze and suddenly curved her lips into a meaningful smile. “You think a single roast is enough to exchange for a blood drip?”

Chi Yu’s smile stiffened briefly before turning into a mocking sneer. “Then what do you want?”

Li Yue leisurely waved the piece of roast in her hand. “How about this? You cook me five meals, each as carefully prepared as today’s, and I’ll give you one blood drip. How’s that?”

He had thrown out the condition casually, not expecting Li Yue to actually agree. Five meals for one blood drip, fifty meals to break the contract.

Chi Yu’s eyes instantly sparkled, and after a moment, he cautiously asked, “Is that true? Do you dare swear to the Beast God?”

In this world, the Beast God was supreme and deceit was forbidden; swearing by the Beast God carried binding power.

Li Yue calculated briefly—fifty meals would be more than enough time to find her father. Without hesitation, she raised her right hand and declared loudly, “I, Li Yue, swear by the Beast God that if Chi Yu cooks five meals for me, I will give him one blood drip to break the contract, with no regrets!”

The moment her words fell, a wild joy burst forth in Chi Yu’s eyes.

His smile softened considerably as he extended a green leaf forward. “Eat quickly; it won’t be good if it cools.”

Li Yue finally took a piece of roast and bit into it. The meat was crispy outside and tender within, quite good, but after a couple of chews, she frowned. It had no flavor at all—bland as plain water.

“Why no salt?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Chi Yu’s smile faded slightly, his tone laced with ridicule. “Forgot? All the salt was melted into saltwater to soak the whips, so the lashings would hurt more. Where’s the salt now?”

Li Yue froze suddenly; the original owner’s memories surged back—indeed, such a thing had happened. She frowned deeply. Not only was the salt supply insufficient, but it was even used to soak whips?

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Frowning, she said, “What now? We need strength for the journey; we can’t keep eating unsalted food.”

Chi Yu suddenly lifted his chin, eyes resting on Lan Xi in the wooden barrel, voice tinged with amusement. “Lan Xi is the only one among the sea tribe who can make salt. If there’s no salt, he can make some.”

Li Yue followed Chi Yu’s gaze to the wooden barrel where Lan Xi lay quietly immersed in water. His beautiful eyes, cold as ice, locked onto her. His fish tail gently swayed in the water, the edges of his exposed scales faintly tinged with red.

A heaviness weighed on Li Yue’s heart.

Although Si Qi’s treatment had scabbed the wounds, the scales torn out left shallow pits, and whether they could regrow was uncertain. Among the males, Lan Xi’s hatred was probably the deepest.

But there was no other choice now.

Li Yue took a deep breath and approached the barrel, leaning slightly forward to soften her tone. “Lan Xi, can you help me make salt? I won’t let you work for nothing—I’ll give you blood to break the contract as well.”

Lan Xi’s gaze swept her face silently for a long time, then he didn’t speak. Only his tail moved more vigorously, splashing tiny droplets.

Li Yue’s doubts grew.

Since her father brought her here, Lan Xi hadn’t spoken once. Could it be… he was mute?

She glanced at his arm instinctively. Usually, male beastmen bore beast rings on their arms, with different colors indicating their strength levels. But Lan Xi’s arm was smooth and unmarked.

That was strange.

Though her father cared for her, he wasn’t one to judge by appearances only. Why would he bond her with a male who didn’t even have a beast ring?

Recalling the novel’s plot, Lan Xi later became a major antagonist who could overturn half the continent and had no rivals in the sea. How could he not even have a beast ring now?

Seeing Lan Xi still unresponsive, she thought it futile to insist and turned to leave.

“Is it really true?”

A voice suddenly sounded behind her, clear and pure like jade flowing through a mountain stream, trembling faintly like water ripples. Though a question, it was as gentle as a feather brushing her heart.

They said the merfolk’s singing could enchant, but even their ordinary speech was so beautiful. The faint breath at the tail of his words was more refreshing than the clearest spring water.

“Of course it’s true.” She turned and nodded earnestly, fearing he would doubt her. “If you make the salt, I’ll give you blood immediately. No lies.”

Lan Xi’s eyelashes fluttered, and the icy purple in his eyes seemed to thaw slightly. He stared at Li Yue for a moment, then raised his hand to point at a large dusty ceramic jar in the corner of the cave.

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“There… there’s seawater. Making salt requires seawater.”

Li Yue followed Lan Xi’s gesture and saw a half-human-high ceramic jar in the corner, covered with a piece of tattered beast hide and a thin layer of dust. It was obvious it hadn’t been moved for a long time.

She turned to Chi Yu. “Move that jar over here for Lan Xi.”

Chi Yu immediately put on his seductive smile. “If I help you move it, is there a reward? Like… an early blood drip?”

Li Yue was speechless, annoyed. “You want a reward just for moving a jar?”

She shook her finger, just stopped the bleeding, and her tone made her displeasure clear. “Do you think taking blood doesn’t hurt me?”

Seeing she was genuinely irritated, Chi Yu wisely withdrew his smile.

He hadn’t really expected to exchange this small favor for blood. He just wanted to test her, sensing she wasn’t quite herself today, to see if he could find an opening.

Chi Yu said no more and turned to the corner, lifting the heavy jar.

The seawater inside sloshed with a soft sound as he walked a few steps to set it beside the wooden barrel.

Lan Xi stared at the jar right in front of him, a faint glimmer flashing in his eyes.

With a gentle flick of his tail, he slid out of the wooden barrel and into the ceramic jar beside it.

The seawater just covered his waist and abdomen, shimmering with tiny ripples.

Li Yue stood close and was splashed all over her face by the water sprayed from his tail.

She instinctively wiped her face and leaned forward, eyes sparkling as she watched the movements inside the jar.

She was truly curious—how exactly did the merfolk make salt?

Beside her, Chi Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.

Something was wrong—very wrong.

In the past, if Li Yue had been splashed like this, she would have exploded with anger, at least scolding them for a long time, or worse, picking up a whip to lash out. How could she be so calm now, just wiping her face as if nothing happened?

Today, she seemed like a completely different person.