Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

As soon as Qi Xuan saw the destination, he loosened his grip, and You Lie fell from mid-air.

He adjusted his posture in the air and landed steadily, but the fatigue from days of fighting, coupled with being carried by Qi Xuan for thousands of miles, caused his knees to bend slightly when he landed, and he almost lost his balance.

His military uniform was wrinkled, and his long, silver-gray hair was disheveled by the wind, with several stray strands falling across his forehead and obscuring half of his eyes. He was noticeably thinner than when he left, his jawline was more defined, and the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced.

Ye Tang was watering the scallion seedlings in the yard when she saw You Lie fall from the sky and almost trip. She threw down the watering can and rushed over, scooping You Lie into her arms and checking him over to make sure he wasn't hurt. Then she turned and glared at Qi Xuan fiercely: "Old gecko, how dare you bully You Lie like this?!"

"I—no, I didn't bully him. I just saw he was too tired, so I kindly flew him back to make it faster." Qi Xuan quickly waved his hand.

"You threw him! From that height! He almost tripped and fell, did you see?! He works overtime every day in the North, that dead cat Jingyao treats him like a donkey, and he finally comes back, and you throw him at our doorstep!"

Ye Tang shielded You Lie behind her, raising her hand to check if he had sprained his ankle. Qi Xuan opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He had indeed thrown it, but that was at a normal landing altitude. Combat power above S-rank wouldn't be hurt even at that altitude, let alone several times higher. But Ye Tang didn't give him a chance to explain, her dark eyes filled with extreme favoritism and protectiveness.

"No, Tangtang. The God of War didn't bully me." Youlie lowered his head, his voice very soft, like the night breeze rustling through the treetops in the forest. He raised his hand, his slender fingers gently gathering the stray strands of hair that had been blown about by the wind, tucking one unruly strand behind her ear. His grey-blue eyes drooped slightly, his eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath his eyelids.

"Youlie, you're good in every way, except you're too honest. You don't even say anything when you're being bullied." Ye Tang didn't believe it at all. She had seen with her own eyes how Qi Xuan threw him down; as soon as his grip loosened, he fell from mid-air.

Qi Xuan's lips twitched violently. This wolf cub is honest? He has lived for over five hundred years, and this wolf has been roasting him over a fire for days with just one sentence, "If Tangtang likes you, I won't object," making him work like a slave to quell the beast tide.

Now Ye Tang says he's too honest? Qi Xuan has seen through her; this little female is biased, protective, and unreasonable! She especially favors the round-haired one!

Chi Heng leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, secretly delighted to see Qi Xuan's discomfiture. Even the old gecko had his day; Little Tangtang had pointed her finger at him and berated him, leaving him speechless.

"Little Tangtang, see what I told you? That dead cat has really exploited Youlie." Chiheng chimed in at the right moment, but that was all. There was no need to contradict Youlie, after all, he still owed Youlie several favors.

"Tangtang, I'm really alright." Youlie watched as Yetang anxiously checked him over to see if he was injured, and then looked at Qixuan standing beside him, looking utterly helpless and frustrated. A warm feeling welled up in his heart. He reached out and pulled Yetang into his arms, gently resting his chin on the top of her head, before slowly letting go after a moment.

"Tangtang, I'm dirty. I haven't changed my uniform for days, it's covered in blood and mud. I'm going to take a shower." His hand was still on Ye Tang's shoulder, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the fabric of her shoulder.

"Okay, I'll make you something delicious." Ye Tang reluctantly let go of his hand. Her adorable little wolf was back, and he'd lost so much weight; he needed to be well-nourished. She turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Qi Xuan stood there, his mind replaying the scene from just now: Ye Tang holding You Lie and calling him "Old Gecko." Just a few days ago, when he was in his cub form, she had called him "Little Qi Xuan" so sweetly, feeding him, giving him a bath, kissing him, hugging him, and lifting him up high.

He only used the Ghost Hunter skill briefly in a hurry, and now he's been demoted from "Little Qi Xuan" to "Old Gecko." His treatment has declined far too quickly.

But now is not the time to dwell on that. Youlie has already given his consent; the next hurdle is to overcome. He turned around, his long, frosty-white hair drawing a sharp arc in the air, his icy-blue vertical pupils locking onto Chiheng, who was leaning against the doorframe eating sunflower seeds. "Redhead, the little wolf cub has agreed to let me in. What do you say?"

"I don't believe it." Chi Heng leaned against the door frame and slowly shook his head. You Lie was definitely playing coy, saying something like "If Tangtang likes it, that's fine," but this old gecko was treating it like a royal decree.

"Lord War God, don't think I'm easy to fool just because I'm young. That cunning wolf, Ghost Hunter, is a master at making his words sound perfectly safe."

"Little Red Hair!" Qi Xuan took a step forward, his icy blue vertical pupils narrowing slightly.

"Are you yelling at me?" Chi Heng tossed the sunflower seed shells aside, dusted off his hands, and said, "I'm going to tell on you." He turned and made a move to walk towards the kitchen.

"I, I didn't. Brother Chiheng, the most handsome little redhead." Qi Xuan grabbed Chiheng's sleeve, his domineering CEO expression instantly switching to a fawning little brother, his tone softening considerably.

Youlie's original words were, "If Tangtang likes me, I have no objection." This dead bird is not as good at playing the game as Youlie. If he really runs to Yetang to complain, he can forget about ever getting a foot in the door again.

"God of War, if you really go through with this, your ex-fiancée won't let Xiao Tangtang off the hook." Chi Heng gathered the sunflower seed shells aside, his playful demeanor unusually serious.

"Look at her, Tangtang is weak and easily bullied, with no family to rely on, and her mental strength is only FF level. Her only support is this little world of Zero Prison and us beast husbands. Your ex-fiancée is arrogant and domineering, and has a royal background. Tangtang hates trouble the most. If you drag her into the royal struggle, I will be the first to disagree."

"Don't tell me you're going to chop her up." Chi Heng held up two fingers and wagged them. "If you chop her up, the Empire will hunt down Xiao Tangtang, and we'll all become stray beasts. You're over five hundred years old, so it doesn't matter, but Xiao Tangtang is only eighteen. Do you want her to spend the rest of her life on the run?"

Qi Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing the red-feathered firebird before him. Chi Heng, who usually seemed reckless and impulsive, suddenly became remarkably sharp-witted when faced with Ye Tang's questions.

"Little Red Hair, what you said makes some sense. However, it's not a big problem for this God of War." Qi Xuan thought for a moment and already had an idea. "Leave me some food, I'll be right back."