"Listen to me, sir."
Xue Yunxue wrenched her hand free from Yun Wu's grip and staggered backward several steps. Her voice trembled, yet she forced herself to stand straight, even though her legs felt weak.
"Even if you really are my beast husband… I have no relationship with you at all. I truly don't know you."
Yun Wu's body stiffened instantly.
His fury thickened, crushing the air around them until it felt suffocating. Breathing became difficult for Xue Yunxue.
"Hah."
He let out a short, cold laugh full of mockery.
"You think I'll believe that nonsense?"
His amber eyes hardened, turning vicious.
"You are the most vile and disgusting creature I've ever met."
The words slammed into Xue Yunxue's chest. Anger and indignation surged—not because she felt guilty, but because she was being punished for sins she had never committed.
"You forced a marriage I never agreed to," Yun Wu continued, his voice a low snarl, every word dripping with hatred.
"You treated us like slaves and tortured us endlessly."
He stepped forward.
"You even deceived us," his voice sharpened further.
"Pretending to be kidnapped by the rebels. You forced us—your husbands—to come rescue you…"
His eyes burned with madness.
"…only to hand us over to them!"
Xue Yunxue froze.
"And when your plan failed," Yun Wu's voice dropped, cold and threatening,
"you pretended to go insane."
He moved closer. Wolf fangs protruded from his mouth, gleaming sharply under the sunlight streaming through the inn window.
"And now what?"
His gaze narrowed.
"You want to atone for your sins with a fake death?"
His hand rose. His nails lengthened, sharp as blades.
"Perhaps I should be the one to personally send you to the afterlife."
Panic surged through Xue Yunxue.
Without thinking, a faint light burst from her body—and in the blink of an eye, her human form vanished, replaced by a small black fox, scarcely different from an ordinary one.
She shot through the window.
"Damn it!" Yun Wu roared.
His body expanded rapidly. Bones shifted with terrifying sounds, muscles swelling as he transformed into a massive jet-black wolf.
He gave chase.
Two black shadows streaked beneath the sunlight like racing phantoms, tearing through bushes and rocks at terrifying speed, until they burst into a damp, muddy swamp.
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
With a single long leap, Yun Wu caught up.
His massive claw slammed the small fox to the muddy ground, pinning her down. The wolf's weight crushed the air from Xue Yunxue's lungs. His claw pressed into her back, nearly piercing her skin.
Pain and terror fused into one.
Moa… please help me…
Her desperate cry echoed in her heart.
"Calm down, Sister Xue," Moa's voice answered swiftly and firmly in her mind.
"I will help you."
"You will die today, Hu Shui!"
Yun Wu roared, raising his claw to finish her.
But—
The ground beneath them suddenly shook violently.
A gigantic vine burst from the earth, whipping like a living serpent and coiling tightly around the black wolf's legs. It tightened with terrifying force, locking Yun Wu firmly in place.
The wolf snarled and struggled savagely—but his body remained bound, unable to move even an inch.
Xue Yunxue gasped for breath, her small body trembling as the pressure on her back slowly lifted.
And for the first time since their meeting—
Yun Wu showed shock.
"I'll say this one more time," Xue Yunxue's voice came out hoarse, low, yet unwavering.
"I am not Hu Shui. And I don't know you."
She steadied her breathing, her chest rising and falling painfully.
"I helped you last night because I pitied you. Nothing more."
She looked straight at the black wolf, her eyes dark yet clear—without hatred, without deception.
"If I could," she continued softly but firmly,
"I would sever my soul from yours, so that we would no longer share the bond of husband and wife."
Slowly, Xue Yunxue rose to her feet.
Her skin was scratched by branches and thorns from her escape, dark bruises blooming across her arms and legs. Yet she stood tall, her back straight despite her trembling body.
"If we meet again," she said through the pain,
"pretend we have no relationship at all."
She looked at Yun Wu one last time.
"I am Xue Yunxue," she said firmly.
"Not Hu Shui."
She turned away, then added in a voice so soft it nearly vanished into the wind—
"I'm only… borrowing her body."
The words were almost lost to the night breeze.
But to Yun Wu—who possessed a wolf's hearing—they were perfectly clear.
He froze.
Before he could react, Xue Yunxue was already running. Her small form vanished swiftly into the towering trees, leaving behind only faint traces and his restrained breath.
"Hu Shui—!" Yun Wu roared in frustration.
"I'll find you and kill you if we ever meet again!"
An hour later, the massive vine binding Yun Wu's legs slowly loosened.
With a powerful jerk, he broke free. His body shrank, reverting to human form. He opened his storage space, pulled out clothing, and dressed quickly.
Yun Wu stood still, trying to process what had just happened.
Something… wasn't right.
He was certain that woman was Hu Shui—the soul bond never lied. And yet everything he had seen and felt contradicted his memories.
Hu Shui possessed strength at least at level fifty. She could fight Yun Wu evenly.
But that woman—her level was abysmally low, not even reaching level twenty. Her spiritual energy barely shimmered, faint to the point of insignificance.
Moreover, Hu Shui was mad, cruel, and uncontrollable. Her appearance was eccentric and chaotic, never neat. Yet that woman had been calm, rational, tidy, simple, and pure. Her hair was neatly combed—utterly different from Hu Shui, who never once brushed her hair, something known to the entire kingdom.
That woman had even been injured while fleeing. If it were Hu Shui, she would have gone berserk over even a tiny scratch.
And the most disturbing thing—
Her voice.
Gentle. Honest. Without falsehood.
Hadn't he heard it clearly?
I'm only borrowing her body.
The sentence echoed endlessly in Yun Wu's mind, pricking him like a thorn he couldn't pull out.
What did it mean? How could someone "borrow" another person's body?
A seed of doubt appeared—tiny, almost meaningless.
But to Yun Wu, it felt revolting.
Tch.
He laughed bitterly at himself.
Of course it was an act.
Hu Shui was a demonic woman, the most deceitful creature he had ever known. For years, she had twisted reality, distorted truth, and toyed with him like a broken puppet.
There was no way she could change. No way.
Yun Wu collapsed onto a large rock. His body felt unbearably heavy. Every breath sent stabbing pain through his chest. His wounds reopened, warm blood seeping and sliding down his skin.
Yet… it wasn't as severe as he expected.
He looked down at the bandages and traces of medicine on his body. His heart sank.
Had that cruel woman… really treated his wounds?
His jaw tightened. Anger and confusion tangled together, suffocating his chest. Dark memories dragged him back—ten years into the past.
He had been fourteen, imprisoned in a slave market. A place where the value of life was determined by muscles, fangs, and how long one could survive.
Yun Wu stood there, skinny, filthy, covered in wounds, his eyes sharp with the vigilance of a beast ready to die at any moment.
Then Hu Shui appeared.
Expressionless. Hesitationless. She pointed at him and bought him simply because he was a rare black wolf beast-man.
From that day on, Yun Wu stopped being human—he became her possession.
Hu Shui turned him into a toy.
He was forced to fight slaves far larger, stronger, and more brutal than himself. Every victory was paid in blood. Every defeat was paid in torture.
If he refused—he was thrown into a dark, narrow cell, beaten, left bleeding and near death again and again.
Hu Shui was an eccentric, cruel princess—cold and heartless.
And Yun Wu—he was the first man she bound through marriage. But that bond was not honor.
It was a shackle.
He was called a husband, yet treated worse than a slave.
She never once allowed him to touch her—not out of chastity, but out of disgust.
To her, Yun Wu was unworthy.
In fact, among her five husbands, not a single one had ever touched her.
Even the King and Queen were powerless. Their daughter was too wild, too vicious, too dangerous to control. Their distaste was evident even at Hu Shui's funeral—it felt more like a celebration than mourning.
Two years ago—
Hu Shui was "kidnapped" by the rebels and sent out a distress signal.
For ten days, they fought without rest, cutting through danger to save her.
But when they finally arrived—
Reality struck harder than any blade.
It wasn't a rescue.
It was an exchange.
Hu Shui handed over her five beast husbands to the rebels as the price for her own safety—without hesitation, without regret.
Yet even that betrayal failed completely.
She went mad.
Her five beast husbands—each with strength between level sixty and seventy—broke through the encirclement of thousands of rebel soldiers, their bodies nearly destroyed.
Lu Yan, the merfolk husband, had to return to the depths of the sea, entering a long cultivation slumber to recover his nearly exhausted strength.
Yun Wu clenched his fists until they trembled.
All of that pain was real. All of that suffering was real.
All of it… because of Hu Shui.
Last year, Princess Hu Shui was reported dead.
He had truly hoped she had fallen into hell—so he could follow and take revenge.
And now that deceitful woman appeared again, alive?
Did the King and Queen know?
And that woman just now—
Borrowing her body…
It was the most absurd excuse he had ever heard.
Surely… it was just another lie.