CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 31 XI QING’S PAST_1

Tai Seng’s Grandfather was not his biological father; his biological father was merely one of his mother’s **Beast Husbands**.

After Tai Seng’s father and his mother became mates, his mother gave birth to three cubs. This meant Tai Seng had two blood brothers, making three siblings in total.

But Tai Seng’s biological father lost both his legs in battle when Tai Seng was still young.

In the **Beast World**, broken legs had to heal naturally. Without proper treatment, the legs healed crooked, and Tai Seng’s father permanently lost his ability to fight.

And the moment his father lost his fighting ability, Tai Seng’s mother did not hesitate to abandon him and his sons.

Males were not valued in the tribe.

At that time, Tai Seng and his two brothers lived with their father in the most remote corner of the **Yanxiang Tribe**, where wild beasts often roamed. Tai Seng’s father did not receive treatment similar to what **Si Yan** had—the privilege of receiving meat free of charge.

Thus, through various misfortunes, Tai Seng’s two brothers successively starved to death or were killed by wild beasts.

And Tai Seng’s father was swept away by floodwaters while trying to save Tai Seng during a major rainy season.

Tai Seng lived alone in the tribe until he grew up and began to show his astonishing talent. Only then was he accepted once more by his mother’s family.

He resented and despised his mother’s family. But in the dangerous and cruel **Beast World**, while he was still growing up, he had no choice but to endure in order to survive.

"This is none of your business, Grandfather," Tai Seng said, his expression cold and emotionless.

Standing majestically behind Tai Seng was the male wolf **Lang Hong**, the village chief’s older brother and his mother’s **Zheng Xiong**.

"**Si Yan** is not worthy of you," **Lang Hong** said, exerting pressure. "**Si Yan**’s family is too small, with too few males. Such a family lacks strength and could easily be wiped out by wild beasts or crushed by other families."

Tai Seng turned around, his own masculine aura equally formidable. He scoffed, "Is Grandfather worried about me? Or are you worried I won’t be able to continue providing the family with beast pelts?"

**Lang Hong** frowned. "**Tai Seng**!"

Tai Seng leapt away, landing in the distance. "Grandfather, you can’t interfere in my affairs."

**Bei Ji** searched throughout the entire tribe for **Xi Qing**, and **Si Yan** also looked everywhere for him. But after a long search, they still couldn’t find him.

Holding on to a glimmer of hope, **Si Yan** returned to the cave. Inside, however, there was only **Dongchi** lying on the bed recovering from his injuries, and **Nan Mo** hiding in a corner, also nursing his wounds.

**Si Yan** glanced around but didn’t see **Xi Qing**. She was about to turn and leave, but then she hesitated and reconsidered.

"**Dongchi**, have you seen **Xi Qing**?"

The cub lying on the stone bed paid her no attention.

**Si Yan** remained silent for a moment, then stepped forward. "Little brat, do you know what happened to **Xi Qing**’s face?"

**Dongchi**’s body tensed on the bed. "You saw **Xi Qing**’s face?"

**Si Yan**, sensing that something was amiss, hummed in acknowledgment.

**Dongchi** fell silent. **Si Yan** waited for his response, but it never came.

Finally, **Dongchi** seemed to grow impatient.

Since **Si Yan** wasn’t getting an answer, she decided not to waste any more time and turned to leave, intending to continue her search for **Xi Qing**. However, just then, **Dongchi** sat up, his gaze cold. "Wait."

"**Xi Qing**’s face. It seems you’ve forgotten."

**Si Yan**’s footsteps paused.

**Dongchi** suddenly let out a few cold laughs. "Forgotten? How lucky you are. To think you can just forget the things you’ve done as if they never happened. Unfortunately, what’s done is done! Like me, like **Nan Mo**, like **Xi Qing**. We won’t forget!"

The emotional wounds were always there; they couldn’t possibly forget their pain and be tearfully grateful just because she had fed them a few full meals.

**Dongchi** clutched his head and sneered, "You hurt us once, you’ll hurt us again. Did you ever stop to think what would happen to us, cold-blooded snake **Beastmen**, if we fell into the hands of other **Beastmen** who hate our kind?"

**Si Yan** slowly clenched her fists.

"Do you hate me?"

"Hate. Probably," **Dongchi** said.

Huddled in the corner, **Nan Mo** hesitated, clearly wanting to come out.

**Dongchi** said, "Don’t you want to know what happened to **Xi Qing**’s face?"

**Dongchi** suddenly gave a light, chilling laugh, tilting his head up. "It was you. You were the one who personally destroyed his face."

**Si Yan** froze.

With a mocking tone, **Dongchi** said, "Out of the four brothers, the one who was most attached to you, most dependent on you, was **Xi Qing**.

"Even when you were raving mad, even when you did nothing but beat and scold us, **Xi Qing** never gave up on you.

"But that day, after a lightning strike, a huge fire broke out in the forest. You ran into the forest in your madness. When **Xi Qing** found you, a massive burning tree branch was falling right behind him. He was terrified and instinctively shifted into his beast form out of fear.

"When he transformed, you completely lost it. You grabbed him and, like a lunatic, shoved his head into the fire... You just kept pressing him into the flames... His face was burned, yet even then, terrified, he reached out to you for help. But you pushed him away. You told him to die."

**Dongchi**’s expression was utterly scornful. He stared unblinkingly at this cruel mother, as if mocking her, and perhaps also mocking some lingering, unnameable hope he still harbored within himself.

**Dongchi**’s words completely stunned **Si Yan**. She couldn’t utter a word. A chill spread through her heart, making it feel like it was being painfully wrenched upwards.

"That’s just **Xi Qing**’s nature. If you have any heart left, you won’t hold this against him," **Dongchi** finished.

Bitterness welled up in **Si Yan**. "How could I possibly be angry with him?" she murmured.

Only today did **Si Yan** finally understand the true source of such deep resentment from that awkward cub.

The original **Si Yan** truly didn’t deserve to be a mother. No wonder she drove her four cubs to such darkness, ultimately leading to her own death by their hands.

**Si Yan** felt that the tentative reconciliation she had managed to build with **Xi Qing** was now plummeting back to rock bottom.

After leaving the cave, **Si Yan** kept replaying **Dongchi**’s words in her mind.

**Xi Qing**, who had once been the most attached to the original **Si Yan**, had transformed into his snake form out of fright. And for that, the crazed original **Si Yan** had shoved him into a raging fire and told him to die.

He saved her, and she told him to die...

No wonder **Xi Qing** was so particular about washing his hair and bathing. No wonder he liked to transform into his snake form to frighten her. No wonder he had reacted so strongly when he saw her accept **Bei Ji** in his snake form.

**Si Yan** heaved a long sigh and looked up, spotting **Tai Seng** sitting in a tree above her.

**Tai Seng** seemed preoccupied, sitting there motionless.

"**Tai Seng**!" **Si Yan** called out.

**Si Yan**’s voice startled **Tai Seng** back to his senses. He immediately jumped down from the tree. "**Si Yan**."

**Si Yan** asked him, "What are you thinking about?"

**Tai Seng** immediately replied, "Nothing."

Then, a hint of the silver wolf’s natural charm flickered in his eyes. "**Si Yan**, what are you doing?"

"I’m looking for **Xi Qing**, but I haven’t found him."

**Tai Seng** rubbed his nose and smiled. "I have a keen sense of smell. I’ll help you find him."