Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Poisonous Female
Ashley nodded. “She was. She helped clean up the blood.”
“Did she talk to Rona?” Su Yan pressed.
“Of course.” Ashley’s mouth tightened. “She kept trying to calm Rona down, telling her not to get too emotional. I said the same. None of it worked. In the end, she still shouted that line—calling your name.”
Su Yan’s fingers curled against her own palm. “Think again. While Jia Lian was taking care of Rona, did she do anything else?”
Ashley’s expression sharpened. “What are you implying?”
“I’m suspicious,” Su Yan said bluntly. “The first time Jia Lian appeared, Rona suddenly started bleeding heavily. And when Rona died—are you sure Jia Lian didn’t do anything?”
Ashley replayed the scene, eyes unfocused. “Grandmother and I stepped out of the birthing room once to discuss how to save her. Not long. But… Jia Lian was alone with Rona during that time.”
“That’s long enough,” Su Yan said quietly. “If she wanted to do something.”
Ashley’s face went tight with disbelief. “But why would she hurt Rona? What would she gain? Just… to get the clan chief to keep her?”
“I think the wandering beastman is suspicious too,” Su Yan said. “Check whether he ever had contact with Jia Lian. In Breeding Den, it’s easy for her to meet people like that.” Su Yan’s gaze turned cold. “And the victory feast wasn’t something anyone could slip into. Without an invitation leaf token, the guards wouldn’t let them near the Beast God Temple.”
Ashley’s jaw clenched. “All right. I’ll have La Ge ask around. It’s easier for males to get information at Breeding Den.”
Su Yan’s eyes narrowed. “La Ge? He’s one of Jia Lian’s regulars.”
Ashley froze. “What?”
“Zulu told me,” Su Yan said. “When males are hunting devil beasts in the Beast Forest, they talk. La Ge said Jia Lian is desperate to get pregnant. If a male has strong talent, he doesn’t have to pay—he can just use her.”
Ashley’s face blanched with disgust. “Is she insane? No. I’m going to investigate properly. Wait for my word.”
“Don’t let her notice,” Su Yan warned. “Jia Lian isn’t as simple as she looks.”
“If she really is a poisonous female…” Ashley’s voice turned hard. “I won’t tolerate her.”
“I just want the truth before we move to the rabbit clan,” Su Yan said. “Rona screamed my name. Whether I like it or not, I’m tied to this now.”
Ashley didn’t waste another moment. She left in a hurry, footsteps quick and sharp, as if she were chasing something that might vanish if she slowed down.
Su Yan rested a hand on her belly, feeling the quiet weight of it. “Jia Lian… what are you trying to do?”
Little Luo came in carrying a bowl of freshly made double-skin milk pudding. The surface trembled like pale silk. “Ashley, try some from my house—huh? Where’d she go?”
“She had something urgent,” Su Yan said. “Where’s Zulu?”
“Brother Zulu went to the rabbit clan. Before he left, he told me not to let you go outside. He said you’re to stay home and rest.”
Su Yan gave a flat look. “…”
He and the Childbearing System really were on the same side. All that fuss—just because of the cub.
Su Yan lowered her gaze to her belly. “System,” she asked inside her head, “how long until the baby’s born?”
Little Mei took its sweet time answering. Then the reply arrived, crisp and mechanical: “Ten days, seven hours, thirty-four minutes, fifty-three seconds.”
Su Yan exhaled. “You don’t need to be that detailed.”
Ten days.
In ten days, she’d find out what kind of “thing” Zulu really was.
…
The next day, Ashley returned.
This time she brought a basket of bird eggs—supposedly to nourish Su Yan. But with the dark circles under Ashley’s eyes, she looked like the one who needed saving.
Su Yan poured her a cup of tea brewed from seven-star scarlet fruit roots. Steam curled upward with a faint, strange sweetness that warmed the throat before it even touched the tongue.
Ashley drank it, and her shoulders loosened as if someone had cut the ropes off. “This tea is good.”
“It’s made with seven-star scarlet fruit,” Su Yan said. “Hard to gather.”
She handed Ashley a dried stalk.
Ashley frowned. “Isn’t this poisonous?”
“The poison fades when the fruit turns red,” Su Yan explained. “That’s when it’s safe to pick.”
“So that’s how it works…” Ashley turned it in her fingers. “Next time I see one, I won’t let it go.”
“These plants look harmless,” Su Yan said, “but they know how to protect themselves. They hide behind poison. When they mature—when it’s time to spread and reproduce—they draw the poison back. That way beasts will eat them, or the wind will carry them.”
Ashley stared at her, impressed. “You really know everything.”
Su Yan smiled. “Not everything.”
Ashley hesitated, then asked softly, “Can’t you stay?”
“I’m the mistress of the household,” Su Yan said with a light shrug, “but the Old Masters make the decisions. I go where they decide.”
“What a pity,” Ashley murmured. “I wanted to keep you company.”
“The rabbit clan isn’t far,” Su Yan reassured her. “One mountain, and you’re there.”
Ashley nodded slowly. “Tribal shamans visit each other often. I’ll be going to the rabbit clan too. When I do, I’ll come find you.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
After the small talk, Ashley’s expression sharpened into something grim.
“You were right,” she said. “Jia Lian knows that wandering beastman. Breeding Den didn’t want to talk at first. But a female who doesn’t get along with Jia Lian said the beastman went looking for her twice.”
Su Yan’s gaze didn’t waver. “On the day of the victory feast, Jia Lian didn’t go, right?”
“Right. They said she felt unwell and went home.”
“And she had a leaf token for the feast?”
Ashley’s lips parted. For a second she looked like she couldn’t force the word out. Then she swallowed. “…Yes.”
The air in the room turned cold.
“I’m going to have Grandmother arrest her,” Ashley said, voice shaking with fury. “A poisonous female like that can’t be kept.”
“The wandering beastman is dead,” Su Yan said. “Without evidence, it’s all words. And if Jia Lian planned this, she probably covered her tracks.”
“Then what do we do?”
Su Yan’s eyes lifted, calm as ice. “Make her confess.”
Ashley stared. “She won’t.”
Su Yan rubbed her belly, a slow, thoughtful motion. “We’ll see.”
…
Zulu came back from the Beast Forest with two live deer slung over his shoulder and four purple cloud fruit tucked against his chest. The deer kicked weakly, hooves scraping, while the fruit gleamed like something that didn’t belong in ordinary hands.
Su Yan had been eating one purple cloud fruit every other day to feed the cub’s talent needs.
It was a rare treasure. Hard to find. Zulu had been living in the Beast Forest because of it.
Oro took the deer with a satisfied nod. “Good timing. We were out of fresh meat. Yan Er had a huge appetite this morning—ate a whole bucket of meat and one of the purple cloud fruit you brought. He’s asleep now.”
Zulu’s eyes softened. “Mm. I’ll go check.”
He walked in with that gentle smile of his—handsome, steady, almost too composed.
Then he saw the bed.
Under the quilt was a large pillow, shaped like a body.
No Su Yan.
The warmth vanished from his face, replaced by pure frost.
In the next instant, the space where he’d been was empty, like the air had swallowed him whole.
…
Grom was in an unusually good mood when Su Yan arrived. She brought her a cup of milk as if Su Yan were her own child. The cup was warm against Su Yan’s hands, the scent creamy and comforting. “Drink more. It’s good for you and the cub.”
Su Yan started to rise, but Grom stopped her with a look.
“Thank you, Tribal Shaman,” Su Yan said quickly. “I’m just here to talk with Ashley. Nothing else.”
“She’s checking a pregnant female,” Grom said. “She’ll be here soon.”
A tribe member stepped in and spoke to Grom. “Tribal Shaman, the clan chief’s wife is here. Her headaches are acting up. She wants you to take a look.”
“I’m coming.”
Su Yan waved her off. “Go. I’ll wait.”
“All right. If you need anything, call someone. There are people outside.”
“Yes, Tribal Shaman.”
Once Grom left, Su Yan sat with her milk and waited. The quiet was thin, the kind that made every small sound feel sharp.
The door opened again.
Su Yan smiled, expecting Ashley. “You’re done al—”
Her voice caught.
It wasn’t Ashley.
It was Jia Lian.
Jia Lian wore a bright red, fine-cotton dress cut low at the chest and cinched at the waist. Against the pale, exposed curve of her breasts, even her plain face looked sharper—more striking, more dangerous. The color made her look like a flame that had learned how to smile.