Chapter 19 – Stay Behind
By the time Hua Mian finished putting on the wig she had carefully prepared, night had already fallen.
She cleared her throat and spoke coldly,
“Tom, I don’t like them. Drive them all out. Filthy and lowly creatures.”
As the sentence went on, her voice and tone became almost identical to Sophia’s.
Yan An’s eyes widened, and even Chu Fufeng beside him hadn’t expected Hua Mian to imitate so well.
Hua Mian smiled.
“Well?”
“Very similar. You nailed that irritating, condescending tone perfectly!”
Hua Mian couldn’t help but laugh.
Chu Fufeng turned his head slightly. Under the lamp, Yan An looked much livelier, his eyes shining like melted sunlight as he watched Hua Mian.
Meanwhile, Chu Fufeng stood in a shadowed corner—completely out of place.
“Yan An, go tell Chen Xueji and the others to create chaos outside. Get Shen Yan’s people drawn away. After you deliver the message, hide in the woods behind the building and wait to receive us.”
“Got it.”
Turning to Chu Fufeng, Hua Mian continued,
“You go and locate Sophia. Then disguise yourself as Shen Yan and help me take Chi Rui away from that shopkeeper.”
“Yes.”
Then came the long wait.
BOOM!
A massive explosion and a towering mushroom cloud suddenly erupted, almost taking out the entire temporary power grid of the camp.
“Our turn.” Hua Mian smoothed the ends of her wig.
She wore the blue puff skirt Yan An had altered at the last minute, while Chu Fufeng was dressed in a black vest, black cargo pants, and a black cap.
The two went downstairs one after the other.
Chu Fufeng was tall and long-limbed, with striking proportions. Dressed in all black, he looked incredibly cool.
“Tom!” Hua Mian’s heels clicked as she walked toward the counter and called out.
“Lady Sophia, my uncle is not in the store at the moment. Is there anything I may assist you with?”
Neil greeted respectfully, and upon noticing “Shen Yan” beside her, didn’t dare get too close.
“Drag out that damned dog beastman,” Hua Mian said, perfectly mimicking Sophia’s arrogant tone.
Neil froze.
“This… may I ask what you intend—”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.” Chu Fufeng forced his voice lower, body tense, afraid he might slip and give himself away.
Neil glanced up at “Shen Yan” and saw a man wound tight like a bowstring, voice hoarse and chilling. Neil instinctively shrank back.
“Low dogs are only fit to be used as a sacrifice.” Hua Mian snapped. “Hurry up.”
While obeying, Neil took the chance to glance at “Sophia” again and caught sight of beautiful golden hair beneath the dim light.
“Yes, my Lady.” Neil hurried toward the kitchen, then suddenly turned back.
“If you keep staring, I’ll dig your eyes out.”
The icy warning from “Shen Yan,” the way he stepped forward protectively and crossed his arms—Neil’s earlier suspicion quickly faded.
No wonder they called Shen Yan Sophia’s vicious pet snake.
Neil rushed into the kitchen and knocked rhythmically on a specific spot on the wall.
A metal panel slid open, revealing a hidden door. Behind it was a dark, lightless passage.
Hua Mian’s wrist device blinked—it was a message from Yan An.
“Sophia has returned with her four beast husbands!”
Hua Mian and Chu Fufeng both froze.
Chu Fufeng instinctively stepped forward to go intercept them, but Hua Mian grabbed his wrist.
Even though he knew she meant “don’t act rashly,” the warmth and softness of her fingers still stirred an inappropriate flicker of secret joy inside him.
Neil soon dragged Chi Rui out.
Chu Fufeng couldn’t help staring for several seconds.
Chi Rui looked terrible—barely conscious, face pale, and his left arm and right leg were twisted unnaturally, clearly broken by force.
Neil noticed “Shen Yan’s” gaze and that uneasy feeling crept up again.
Just then Chi Rui’s shattered leg bumped into the counter. The pain forced him awake a little.
He struggled to open his eyes—and saw “Shen Yan.”
“Pah! Shen Yan, you rootless bastard!”
Hua Mian reacted instantly.
“Still mouthing off? Go break the other leg.”
Chu Fufeng snapped back to attention, strode forward, and stomped down—shattering Chi Rui’s left calf.
Cold sweat poured down Chi Rui’s face, but he gritted his teeth and swallowed the scream. His eyes turned bloodshot, making him look like a demon crawling straight out of hell.
“I think you’re the beast,” Chu Fufeng growled viciously.
Rumors said that Shen Yan had been injured in his youth “down there” and couldn’t stand being insulted about it.
And Chu Fufeng knew it was true—because the one who secretly crippled Shen Yan back then was none other than Chen Xueji. Shen Yan never learned who had done it, and by the time he reacted, the rumor had spread everywhere.
Only in recent years, after gaining strength and resources through underhanded means, did people stop mentioning it openly.
Chi Rui’s cruelty today had partly been Shen Yan venting his old humiliation.
Seeing “Sophia” defending “Shen Yan” so fiercely, Neil felt a bit envious. And watching “Shen Yan” ruthlessly stomp through the beastman’s leg, he went pale and retreated respectfully to the side.
“Two nameless weaklings, and you let yourselves be beaten like this? Aren’t you ashamed?”
A sharp female voice snapped from the entrance.
The voice was unforgettable—because it was the very voice Hua Mian was imitating.
They were a step too late.
Chu Fufeng didn’t hesitate. He hauled Chi Rui up, slung him over his shoulder, wrapped an arm around Hua Mian, kicked open a window, and leapt out.
CRASH!
The shattering glass snapped Neil back to his senses.
“Catch them! Someone has taken the dog beastman!”
Outside, Chu Fufeng shifted mid-air into a massive golden lion, carrying Hua Mian and Chi Rui as he sprinted away like a streak of golden lightning.
Chi Rui was stunned into silence, completely blank.
“Madam…?” he tried to speak—only to gulp a lungful of cold air that stung his eyes.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Madam and Chu Fufeng would rescue him so dramatically.
“Save your strength,” Hua Mian leaned close to his ear and said.
Soon, Yan An appeared ahead of them.
Hua Mian moved over onto Yan An’s back.
A golden lion and a black-and-white panda charged through the forest, while a massive wave of pursuers chased relentlessly behind them.
“Yan An, take Chi Rui.”
Then came the sentence that froze Chu Fufeng’s blood.
“Chu Fufeng, you stay.”
His heart clenched. He turned sharply toward Hua Mian—her expression calm and indifferent.
Only then did he fully realize:
In her eyes, he was expendable.
Yan An panicked,
“Madam?!”
Hua Mian ignored him, staring only at Chu Fufeng.
“Survive. Your reward… will be becoming my real beast husband.”
Chu Fufeng’s shattered, fragile gaze began to refocus. His claws dug deep into the earth, a desperate madness igniting in his eyes.
“Wait for me.”
“Go!” Hua Mian slapped Yan An’s back.
Of course she had noticed the scorching hunger and yearning in Chu Fufeng’s stolen glances.
How could she not?
