Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World

Chapter 146: The Snake King’s Burden

Qing Lin had dreamed of this moment.

For twenty days and twenty nights, he had dreamed of finding her. Of holding her. Of hearing her voice say his name.

Not like this.

She looked at him with empty eyes. No recognition. No warmth. There was only the polite confusion of a stranger who had been cornered by a crying man.

"Who are you?" she had asked.

The words still rattled inside his skull.

Who are you?

He was the one who had held her when she trembled. The one who had marked her as his own. The one who had venom in his fangs and her name on his tongue.

And she didn’t know him. She didn’t remember him. His face wasn’t even enough for her to remember.

"We returned," Qing Lin said. His voice was hoarse. He hadn’t used it much lately. There had been no one to talk to. "The portal closed. You were gone. The white light swallowed you, and then there was nothing. You have been missing since then."

He closed his remaining eye.

"And then we searched. For days. For weeks. We tore through the forest like mad things. Hei Yan lost his voice from calling your name. Sha Chen walked until his feet bled."

He opened his eye. Looked at her.

"Nothing. You were just...gone."

Xin Yi shifted uncomfortably as the leaf dress was falling apart. Her feet were bleeding, and she was rathercold.

But she didn’t move away.

"What happened to your eye?" she asked quietly.

Qing Lin’s hand went to the patch. The scarred skin around it itched.

"A red-eye," he said. "A wolf. I didn’t see it coming."

"And the goddess? Mán Shū?" Xin Yi had heard them talking about it in hushed tones.

"No one has heard from her. She is—" He stopped briefly. "She is gone. Like you were."

The silence stretched between them.

Xiao Long had been pulled away by Kuan Tie, crying, reaching for her. The hyenas had formed a perimeter, growling at anyone who came too close. The camp watched from a distance, pretending not to stare.

Qing Lin looked at the woman in front of him.

The woman who had kissed him in the moonlight. Who had fought for him and guided him.

Now she looked at him like she would rather be anywhere else.

He swallowed the pain.

"Come with me," he said.

"Where?"

"I need to show you something. Someone." He glanced toward the far end of the camp. "Sha Chen. The wolf. He’s been—" He stopped. "He needs to see you."

Xin Yi hesitated, taking a glance at the hyenas.

Gou Sheng shrugged. "Boss decides. We follow."

"Okay," she said softly. "Lead the way."

~

The camp was larger than Xin Yi had thought. Tents and fires stretched into the darkness, people huddled in groups, sharpening weapons, mending clothes, staring at the trees with frightened eyes.

"So," Xin Yi said, stepping over a root. "We were mates."

Qing Lin flinched.

"Yes."

"Like...together? Together?"

"We were—" He stopped. Found the right words. "You were mine. I was yours. There were others, but—"

"Others?"

"The panther. Hei Yan. The wolf, Sha Chen." He said their names like they hurt. "You had not chosen yet. But you had chosen me of your free will first."

Xin Yi frowned. "That sounds complicated."

"It was."

"And you were okay with that? Sharing?"

Qing Lin’s jaw tightened. "No. I was not okay with it. I am a snake. We do not share."

"Then why—"

"Because you were worth it." The words came out raw. "You were worth the jealousy. The anger. The waiting."

Xin Yi didn’t know what to say to that. Suddenly, she spotted something.

"EEK!"

She jumped back. A beetle the size of her palm was crawling across the path. Its legs were too long. Its shell was too shiny. It looked at her with too many eyes.

"What is that?!" she shrieked, wagging a finger at it.

Qing Lin stared at the beetle, then at her.

Then he laughed. It felt strange, because he hadn’t laughed in a long time. Since it happened.

"It is a beetle," he said. "They are harmless."

"That thing is NOT harmless. That thing is a MONSTER."

"It is a beetle."

"IT HAS TOO MANY LEGS."

Qing Lin’s chest ached. This was her. This was really her. Screaming at insects. Complaining about leaves. Being ridiculous in exactly the way he had missed.

"Come on," he said, offering his hand. "I will protect you from the terrifying beetle."

Xin Yi looked at his hand. At his scarred face. At his one remaining eye, soft despite everything.

She didn’t take his hand.

But she walked closer to him.

And that was enough.

They reached the wolf encampment.

The wolves were different from the other survivors. Organized. Disciplined. They had set up their tents in a perfect circle, fires at regular intervals, guards at every entrance.

They watched Qing Lin approach with cold eyes. Then they saw Xin Yi.

The guards tensed, and one of them ran into the largest tent.

Moments later, a figure emerged.

White hair. Pale eyes. A face that might have been handsome if it wasn’t twisted with grief and exhaustion.

Sha Chen.

His eyes landed on Xin Yi.

His face went white. No, this was a trick.

"Stay away from her," he snarled. His hand went to his spear. "Snake, step back. Now."

"Sha Chen—" Qing Lin started, stepping in front of Xin Yi.

"I said STAY BACK." The spear was raised and then pointed at Xin Yi. "This is a trick. I don’t know who is doing this, but I know this is not her. Qing Lin stay away from her."

"It is her, you lunatic. Look at her. Really look."

Sha Chen’s pale eyes scanned Xin Yi’s face. Her hair. Her leaf dress. The way she was leaning away from him, confused and frightened. She looked and acted way too much like the Xin Yi he knew.

"She doesn’t remember," Sha Chen whispered. "Does she?"

"No."

"Then it’s not her."

He lunged.

The spear struck—

BONK.

Sha Chen crumpled.

Behind him stood Feng Huang, holding a large wooden spoon. The once haughty tiger looked exhausted. His golden hair was matted, and his striped clothes were torn. But he was smiling.

"Silly wolf," Feng Huang said. "That’s the third person you have attacked this month. When will you learn?"

Then he looked at Xin Yi.

Really looked.

The spoon dropped from his trembling hand.

"Xin Yi?" His voice cracked. "Xin Yi!"

His eyes rolled back.

He fainted.

THUD.

Xin Yi held back a snickers, or tried to. Tried and failed was more accurate. Thiswas so hilarious. Qing Lin stared at the unconscious tiger. Then at the groaning wolf. Then at Xin Yi, who was covering her mouth.

She was laughing hard.

"This is your life?" she asked. "This is what you deal with every day?"

"Yes," Qing Lin said. "Every day."

"That’s terrible."

"Yes."

She was still laughing.

Qing Lin’s chest hurt in a different way now.

He had missed that sound.

"Well," Qing Lin said, stepping over Feng Huang’s unconscious body. "You need to sleep. We have much to discuss in the morning."

Xin Yi looked at the chaos around her.

"I don’t know if I can sleep," she admitted.

"You will try." Qing Lin gestured toward a small tent near the edge of camp. "That one is empty. The hyenas can guard the entrance."

"What about you?"

Qing Lin looked at her. At her empty eyes. At her careful distance.

"I will be nearby," he said. "Watching. As I always have."

He turned away before she could see his face crumble.

"Qing Lin," she said.

He stopped. Didn’t turn around.

"Thank you," she said. "For not...for not pushing. For being patient."

He swallowed.

"Rest well, Xin Yi."

He walked into the darkness.