TVFW 61

Chapter – 61

Has the Female Leader Fallen for Him?

Jiang Xi: “……”

On the other side, Kauber looked shaken, fear still lingering on his face.

He turned to Yi Yuexi and expressed his thanks. “Thank you.”

Yi Yuexi smiled amiably and said it was nothing, then glanced at his female leader, as if to say: other people’s beast husbands can be beaten too.

Jiang Xi didn’t want to argue with him about that. She tried to pull her hand away, but it was held tightly—she couldn’t pull free at all!

At that moment, Lu Liufeng’s voice drifted through the wind and snow, coming from afar and echoing above them.

“The curse has contaminated the ice-river black fish! Do not eat it! Do not eat it!”

As the voice rang out, heavy footsteps sounded from within the snowstorm.

Yi Yuexi instantly became alert, but soon relaxed again.

A white lion emerged from the wind and snow.

On the lion’s back sat the chief female.

Before Jiang Xi could look for them, the chief female and the chief had already arrived.

Clearly, in the face of an emergency, no one had the presence of mind to care about the rule forbidding beast-form movement within the tribe.

The white lion crouched low. After the chief female jumped down, it turned and disappeared back into the snowstorm. Soon after, the chief—dressed in beast skins—walked out of the storm.

This time, both the chief female and the chief were much more respectful, slightly bowing to Jiang Xi.

“Envoy Lady.”

Jiang Xi waved her hand. “No need for formalities.”

She then led them to look at the two fish baskets—one filled with black water, the other emitting a strange fragrance.

She gave a brief explanation so they wouldn’t be confused.

“After I released healing spiritual power, the black fish turned into black water. But when Yi Yuexi used his Snowflake Blade to cut open the fish, it instead released a strange fragrance and even tempted Kauber to want to eat it.”

From this, it was clear that there might already be beastmen in the tribe who had eaten the black fish.

Upon hearing this, both the chief female and the chief’s expressions grew grave.

The chief female said, “Before leaving, I already sent my beast husbands and children to notify the elders and every household. I hope we’re still in time.”

Marie stood to the side, her face full of relief.

Relief that she and her beast husbands hadn’t eaten the black fish—otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

But thinking of this, she couldn’t help looking at Jiang Xi.

She subconsciously wanted to call out her name, but then suddenly remembered that Jiang Xi was a Holy-Favored Female Envoy. She quickly corrected herself and asked cautiously:

“Since the Envoy Lady discovered that the black fish was contaminated… does that mean you might also be able to treat beastmen who’ve been contaminated?”

As soon as she said this, the chief female and the chief both looked at Jiang Xi, their eyes filled with hope.

The Lion’s Roar Tribe had never had a Holy-Favored Female.

Everything they knew about Holy-Favored Females came from exiled females and beastmen—fragmentary and unclear.

Although the chief female herself had also been exiled to the Cursed Land, the tribe she lived in during her youth was a backward one and had no Holy-Favored Female.

After settling down in the Lion’s Roar Tribe, she stopped obsessing over leaving. After becoming chief female, it was even more impossible for her to go.

Over the years, she had seen Holy-Favored Females in the Giant Wood Forest.

But Holy-Favored Females were treasures—completely disdainful of associating with females from the Cursed Land. Even though she was a chief female, she had never been able to speak with one.

As for Marie, she had only ever heard of Holy-Favored Females and had never seen one.

So she couldn’t help but feel curious.

Everyone knew that Holy-Favored Females could manifest spiritual power and heal external injuries, but beyond that, the details were unclear.

Jiang Xi was curious as well.

She pressed her lips together and gently shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I can try.”

“However…” Her voice paused before continuing.

“When I treated Little Di this morning, my spiritual power was completely depleted. Right now, I only have a very thin layer left—enough to detect the black fish, but if there really are beastmen who ate it and were contaminated, even if I truly can heal them, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do so today.”

Even so, the chief female and the chief’s eyes lit up.

Jiang Xi’s lips moved slightly, but in the end, she said nothing more.

She was afraid of giving them too much hope—and also afraid of giving them none at all.

Even in the Cursed Land, females and beastmen needed hope in order to survive.

Soon, sounds came again from the wind and snow. This time, it was Lu Liufeng and a tall, middle-aged beastman.

The middle-aged beastman was named Hong, an Osprey-bird clan beastman and one of the chief female’s beast husbands.

The Gaxi that Chief Rupert had wanted to introduce to Jiang Xi at the tribe gate was his son.

Lu Liufeng walked straight toward his female leader.

Hong, meanwhile, reported to the chief female and the chief.

“All households have been notified. The black fish have been sent to the wall altar. So far, no beastmen have been found to have eaten them.”

After centuries, the beastmen of the Cursed Land had become well-versed in dealing with curse contamination.

Anything contaminated was sent to the altar atop the wall and burned to ashes.

The wind would then scatter the ashes across the Cursed Land.

Even in death, one could only “rest” within the Cursed Land.

Although black fish were not beastmen, since they had been contaminated by the curse, they naturally had to be handled at the wall altar as well.

As Hong spoke, his peripheral vision caught sight of the black water in the courtyard, and his pupils tightened slightly.

Originally, he had harbored doubts, feeling that the chief female was blindly trusting the Holy-Favored Female identity.

After all, given Jiang Xi’s past reputation in the tribe, even if she had regained manifested spiritual power and her Holy-Favored status, it would only make the females and beastmen more fearful.

According to all sorts of rumors, her several beast husbands had all been forcibly taken back using her Holy-Saint mother’s influence and her Holy-Favored status.

That was why, when Rupert told him he wanted Gaxi to marry her, his first reaction had been refusal.

At the time, the female leader was present and agreed, so he hadn’t dared to reject outright.

But in private, he told Gaxi his true thoughts—he didn’t want his son to marry her and suffer.

That was why Gaxi dared to refuse so resolutely, even after being scolded by his mother upon returning home.

But now, seeing one basket of black water and another of fragrant black fish in the courtyard, a faint sense of regret rose in Hong’s heart.

Perhaps… he had been wrong.

He wondered… was there still any chance?

But then, Lu Liufeng entered his line of sight.

Hong smiled bitterly. Even if he had agreed from the beginning, with someone like Lu Liufeng—a sky-dominating beastman with ancestral eagle blood—around, the Envoy Lady would never have looked at Gaxi.

Lu Liufeng slowly walked toward his female leader.

But soon, his gaze was drawn to the hands tightly clasped together—hers and Yi Yuexi’s.

He stopped in front of her, his amber eyes lowering to stare at their intertwined hands. A sudden hollowness and unease welled up in his heart.

Had the female leader… fallen for Yi Yuexi?

Lu Liufeng smiled bitterly to himself.

He should have known. With Yi Yuexi’s looks, if he wished, no female could resist the fox clan’s allure.

Not even a female leader from another world.

He only hoped that even with Yi Yuexi now by her side, the female leader’s gaze could linger on him for just a moment longer.

Lu Liufeng lifted his eyes and looked gently at her, forcing a smile as he said:

“Female leader, I’m back.”