Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 45 She Is Still Alive
Honghong paused in the middle of swallowing another beast core. Her tiny head slowly lifted, and her golden eyes narrowed suspiciously at Xue Yao. "Master, when you say serve more purpose, why do I feel like you are not talking about fighting?"
Xue Yao blinked innocently. "What else would I be talking about?"
Honghong stared at her for a long moment before lowering her gaze to her own small body. A chill ran across her feathers. "You are thinking about eating me again, aren’t you?"
"Nonsense." Xue Yao immediately denied it with a righteous expression. "How could you suspect your beautiful, kind-hearted, gentle master like that? I was only thinking that if you grow stronger, you can help me beat up those wolves later."
Honghong did not believe a single word. She had seen that look in Xue Yao’s eyes before. It was the same look she had whenever she stared at roasted meat, soup bones, or anything that could enter a pot. Still, the beast cores in front of her were too tempting, so she decided to temporarily forgive this suspicious human and buried her head back into the small pile.
One core after another disappeared into her beak, dissolving into warm spiritual energy that spread through her body. Her dull feathers slowly regained their glow, and the pitiful air around her gradually faded until she looked much livelier than before.
Xue Yao watched her eat, the smile on her face softening without her realizing it. For the past few days, she had tried to act fearless, shameless, and stubborn, but only now that Honghong was sitting in front of her did her chest feel a little less empty.
This little glutton was noisy, cowardly, dramatic, and unreliable when danger came too close, but she was still hers. She was the first creature in this strange world that had truly belonged to her side. Seeing Honghong alive, eating greedily and complaining again, Xue Yao finally felt as if she had taken back a small piece of herself.
Outside the Alpha’s residence, however, the atmosphere was nothing like the lively room inside.
An unusual silence had settled over the inner fortress since morning. Servants still carried trays, buckets, folded cloths, and bundles of herbs through the corridors as they always did, but every movement was slower than usual.
Whenever someone passed near the Alpha’s chamber, their footsteps would unconsciously soften, and their ears would stand straighter, trying to catch even the smallest sound from within. No one dared gather openly, yet the same news had already spread from one corner of the residence to another.
The human was still alive.
At first, many thought it was a mistake. After all, every royal breeder who had entered the Alpha’s chamber before her had met the same fate. Some never survived until midnight, while others barely lasted until dawn before their bodies finally gave out beneath the pressure of the Alpha’s beast blood.
Over time, everyone in the White Moon Wolf Clan had quietly accepted that becoming the Alpha’s royal breeder was both an honour and a death sentence. The elders had never stopped trying because the clan needed an heir, but the servants had long grown used to seeing the maids enter the chamber before sunrise with pale faces and lowered heads.
But this morning, no corpse had been carried out. There had been no order to clean blood from the room, no healer rushing in, no elder sighing about another failed attempt. Instead, the Alpha himself had walked out of the chamber alone and personally ordered that no one should wake or disturb the human inside, and he even personally brought her companion to her.
Those actions made the entire matter even more incomprehensible. If she had truly survived the night, then what kind of body did that human possess? If she had not been touched at all, then why would the Alpha protect her from being disturbed?
Neither possibility made any sense.
If the human had endured the Alpha, then she was far more dangerous than anyone had imagined. If the Alpha had rejected her, then she had failed the only purpose a royal breeder existed for. According to clan tradition, such a breeder would either be stripped of her status or handed over to the elders for punishment.
Yet the Alpha’s attitude made everyone hesitate. No one could understand what had truly happened inside that chamber, and the mystery pressed down on the entire residence like a dark cloud.
It was in the middle of this strange tension that a click-clack sound echoed through the hallway.
The guards and servants nearby immediately lowered their heads.
The figure walked slowly, dressed in a soft pale-white robe that hugged her curvy body. Her long black hair fell smoothly down her back, and a pair of strawberry-orange wolf ears rested neatly on top of her head. Behind her, a fluffy tail of the same warm colour swayed gently with each step.
Her beauty radiated like the sun, turning every head towards her.
"Miss Ruo Shuo," the guards greeted respectfully.
Ruo Shuo gave a faint nod, but her amber eyes remained fixed on the closed chamber door. She had heard the rumours. She had also heard that Lie Lang had personally ordered everyone not to disturb the human. That piece of news stayed in her chest like a small thorn.
She knew Lie Lang better than most people in the clan. He was not someone who showed casual tenderness, nor was he someone who would allow the elders to push him around without reason. If he had truly let that human remain in his chamber until morning, then something must have happened.
Lan Shu and Hei Yue stood near the door with lowered heads, neither daring to meet her gaze.
Ruo Shuo’s eyes swept over them quietly before she asked, "Is she awake?"
Lan Shu hesitated for a brief moment before answering, "We do not know. The Alpha ordered that no one disturb her."
Ruo Shuo’s fingers tightened slightly beneath her sleeve. Her face remained gentle, but the light in her eyes dimmed by a fraction. "So it is true, he said that himself?"
"Yes," Hei Yue replied.
For a few breaths, no one spoke. The corridor was so quiet that even the faint sound of wind passing through the open window could be heard.
Then Ruo Shuo stepped forward and placed her hand on the door. "I will only take a look."
