Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World

Chapter 132: Qing Lin Hates Everything Now

The wet grunt echoed through the silent oasis. It didn’t sound like a lion. It didn’t sound like a wolf, a snake, or a hyena.

Xin Yi froze.

She slowly tilted her head back, looking up at the top of the rock formation directly above where they were resting.

Two glowing, blood-red eyes stared down at them from the darkness.

"Hei Yan," Xin Yi breathed, her voice barely a squeak.

Hei Yan didn’t hesitate. The romantic, goofy puppy completely vanished, replaced instantly by the Shadow Claw Alpha. He shoved Xin Yi firmly behind his broad back, shifting his arms into massive, fur-covered panther paws.

"Show yourself!" Hei Yan roared. He dropped into a predatory crouch, completely ready to tear whatever was up there into shreds.

The glowing red eyes blinked.

Then, instead of pouncing, the massive shadow flinched.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Heavy, earth-shaking footsteps immediately began to retreat. The creature turned and bolted into the deep savanna, moving with terrifying speed despite its obvious size. Branches snapped and rocks tumbled as it fled the angry panther.

Silence slowly returned to the watering hole.

"What... what was that?" Xin Yi gasped, clutching the edge of Hei Yan’s arm. "Who was that?!"

Hei Yan immediately scaled the rock formation, his claws digging into the smooth stone. He reached the top in two leaps, his purple eyes scanning the dark horizon. He dropped to his knees, sniffing the dirt where the creature had just been standing.

He frowned, his panther ears twitching in absolute confusion.

He jumped back down, landing silently next to her.

"I do not know," Hei Yan muttered, his brow furrowed deeply. "The scent is... strange. It smells like dry dust, old bones. But it is gone now."

[Ding!]

[(⁠⊙⁠_⁠⊙⁠) System Notice: Unidentified Entity Detected!]

[Scanning... Scanning... Error! Target is out of range!]

[Host, please be careful! The savanna is full of weirdos who don’t understand the concept of privacy! Let’s head back to camp before the peeping tom returns!]

"Agreed," Xin Yi shivered, quickly grabbing her clothes. "The mood is officially dead. Take me back, Hei Yan."

~

The next morning

"More rocks over there! We need a solid foundation for the fire pits!" Xin Yi shouted, wiping sweat from her forehead as she pointed the glowing Bone of Discipline toward the center of the camp.

"You heard the Boss!" Gou Sheng barked, standing on a boulder with his paws on his hips. "Move the rocks, lazy cats! We bite the ankles of the slow ones!"

To their credit, the Golden Mane Lions were working. Wan Ning was currently carrying a boulder the size of a small car on her shoulder, completely terrified of making eye contact with Xin Yi.

But while the camp was busy building, the atmosphere near the Chief’s tent was freezing cold.

Qing Lin was sitting on a carved wooden stool, looking like deeply depressed, and violently angry. His eyes were narrowed into venomous, vertical slits, glaring daggers at Hei Yan, who was currently hauling timber with a painfully smug smile on his face.

Qing Lin could smell it.

The entire camp could probably smell it. The fresh, undeniable scent of the Panther Alpha radiating off Xin Yi’s skin, mixing with his own faded scent.

"If I bite his head off, she will be angry," Qing Lin muttered to himself, his fangs grazing his lower lip. "But if I don’t bite his head off, he will keep smiling like an idiot. What a dilemma."

"You look pathetic, Snake."

Sha Chen strolled over, leaning his broad shoulder against the wooden post of the tent. He crossed his arms, an infuriatingly arrogant smirk playing on his lips.

"What is it?" Sha Chen scoffed, looking down at Qing Lin. "Jealous your female mated with the overgrown cat last night?"

Qing Lin’s jaw clenched so hard a sharp crack echoed in the air. "Do not speak to me, Wolf. I am currently deciding which of his limbs to sever first."

Sha Chen let out a chuckle. "Should you not be happy that she is yours at all? Before the Neutral Zone, you were rotting in a swamp. Now you have the Chief Architect of the continent warming your bed. So she took the panther again. It changes nothing."

Qing Lin shot up from his stool. His hand lashed out, grabbing the thick leather collar of Sha Chen’s tunic.

"It changes everything," Qing Lin hissed, his face mere inches from the wolf’s. "She is my light. I do not share well. And you......you keep hovering."

Qing Lin’s eyes narrowed, a sudden, horrifying realization dawning on him. "You meant it. Back in the dining hall. When you suggested the harem pact. You intend to mate with her too?"

Sha Chen didn’t flinch. He didn’t push Qing Lin away.

Instead, the Arctic Wolf just smirked, his eyes drifting over to where Xin Yi was currently scolding a massive lion for dropping a rock on his own foot.

"She is a remarkable female," Sha Chen stated simply, his voice serious beneath the mockery. "She builds cities. She tames hyenas. She commands apex predators without a shred of fear. Why would I fight to the death over her when I can simply share the strongest mate in the world?"

Sha Chen looked back at Qing Lin. "I am a patient wolf, Snake. I can wait my turn."

"Grrrr," Qing Lin growled. "I will murder you in your sleep."

"What are you two doing?"

A tiny, squeaky voice suddenly interrupted the lethal tension.

Qing Lin and Sha Chen both froze, looking down.

Standing right at their feet was a tiny, chubby golden lion cub. He couldn’t have been more than four years old. He had round, golden eyes, a messy mane of fluffy hair, and a tiny lion tail swishing behind him.

"Are you fighting?" another squeaky voice asked.

A second cub, identical to the first, popped out from behind a basket. Twins.

"Mao Mao! Qiu Qiu! Come back here and carry pebbles!" A female lion yelled from across the camp, waving at the cubs.

The twins completely ignored their older brother. They stared up at Qing Lin, completely fascinated by his pale skin and dark green robes.

"Go away, tiny felines," Qing Lin sneered, releasing Sha Chen’s shirt and swatting his hand at the cubs like they were annoying flies. "I despise children. Go play in the dirt."

"You are very pretty!" Mao Mao cheered, his little tail wagging.

"You look like a giant green string bean!" Qiu Qiu giggled.

Before Qing Lin could even process the insult, Mao Mao let out a tiny, high-pitched roar. The chubby cub leaped into the air, completely bypassing Qing Lin’s defenses, and pounced directly onto the Snake King’s face.

"Gah!" Qing Lin shouted, stumbling backward as tiny claws tangled hopelessly into his perfectly styled dark hair.

"Snake toy! Snake toy!" Mao Mao giggled wildly, climbing Qing Lin’s head like a jungle gym.

"Get this feral furball off me!" Qing Lin panicked, waving his hands blindly as Qiu Qiu immediately grabbed his leg, trying to bite his silk robes.

Sha Chen burst into a fit of deep, booming laughter, completely abandoning the Snake King to the wrath of the toddlers.

"I hate you!" Qing Lin yelled, his voice muffled by a face full of golden fluff. "I hate this entire place!"