Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

Ye Tang's lips twitched. She looked down at the tail feather she couldn't put back in her hand, then at the large red bird crying its eyes out. She wanted to say something, but found that any reasoning was futile in the face of this firebird's tear ducts.

"Please stop crying, okay? I haven't even started crying yet."

"Waaah, little warden, it's okay, I'll protect you from now on," Chi Heng sobbed, every word soaked in tears, yet carrying an undeniable certainty, "I'll take you out to play, and if anyone dares to bully you again, I'll burn down their whole family's door."

"Your tail feathers..."

"If I give it to you, it's yours." Chi Heng clenched his fist, making a firm decision, his tone resolute. "It doesn't matter if you don't agree now, I've already set my sights on you." Then he sniffed and added in a matter-of-fact tone a sentence that shocked Ye Tang to her core, "If you don't accept it, I'll die right here."

"..."

Ye Tang opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. This bird's logic—burning down the gate, crying, and then threatening suicide—was completely unpredictable; she couldn't keep up with his thought process at all. Of all the people she knew in her past and present lives combined, none were as difficult as Chi Heng.

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open.

Lu Yu walked in, carrying the review documents from the security department. His uniform was impeccably tailored, his antlers gleaming a warm, ivory-white in the morning light, and his expression behind his gold-rimmed glasses remained consistently calm and restrained. He entered the living room and paused at the sight before him—Ye Tang leaned back in her chair, holding a crimson tail feather, her face utterly dejected; Chi Heng sat opposite her, his eyes red-rimmed, tears still clinging to his eyelashes, a half-eaten bowl of wontons and an untouched strawberry ice cream in front of him.

Lu Yu paused for a second, deciding not to press for the story behind the scene. He coughed lightly and placed the review documents on the dining table.

"Young Clan Chief Chiheng. The Security Department has officially opened an investigation into last night's events."

Chi Heng turned his head, his eyes still red and tear tracks still wet, but his gaze had already switched to a completely indifferent mode: "Let them come. I did it, so what?"

A vein throbbed almost imperceptibly on Lu Yu's forehead. He knew this would happen. He had prepared his speech beforehand, and began to state his points one by one:

"You have left the prison without authorization. The Security Department questions the significant flaws in our management procedures and demands a review of the inmates' surveillance records. If the review results are unfavorable to the prison, the Imperial Military has the authority to suspend the prison's autonomy—"

"Are you done?" Chi Heng listened to the long list of consequences without showing any emotion. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and his crimson eyes were filled with "So what?"

He is the young patriarch of the Vermilion Bird Clan. He has caused more trouble than he has eaten since he was a child. The security department's review documents are like bills to him—he reads them and forgets them, then continues to cause trouble.

Lu Yu looked at his nonchalant expression and remained silent for a moment. Then he unleashed his trump card.

His tone was calm and precise, each word seemingly carefully chosen for its perfect placement: "As the warden, Warden Ye bears direct responsibility for the inmates' escape attempts. If the security department determines she has neglected her duties, the minimum penalty is dismissal. In serious cases, legal action will be taken."

The air in the living room froze instantly.

Chi Heng's "so what?" expression vanished completely. He stood up abruptly, the chair behind him sliding back quite a distance with a screeching sound. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, and his voice seemed to be squeezed from the depths of his throat: "Who dares to touch her?"

Lu Yu adjusted his glasses without changing his expression. Of course, he didn't really want Ye Tang to take any responsibility; he just knew all too well the firebird's weakness.

Chi Heng may not care how much trouble he causes, he may not care about the Security Department's investigation, and he may even not care about the reprimands from the Vermilion Bird Clan elders, but he could never care about Ye Tang.

Like a trapped beast whose tail had been stepped on, Chi Heng was furious but dared not retaliate. He glanced at Ye Tang, then at Lu Yu, and took a deep breath: "I'll go and explain to the security department myself. It has nothing to do with her." He took another step forward, shielding Ye Tang behind him, his tone filled with a resolute determination: "If you have a problem, come at me. Don't make things difficult for her."

Seeing Chi Heng's protective mother hen-like demeanor, Lu Yu finally felt a slight relief, the tension that had been building up since morning eased a little. He put away the review documents, his tone softening and taking on a more earnest, persuasive tone: "For now, just obediently return to the observation area and pretend nothing happened. If the security department comes to question you, just play dumb and insist you know nothing."

"Is it that simple?" Chi Heng's eyebrows furrowed, clearly not believing that such a big thing could be gotten away with by pretending to be stupid.

"Mm." Lu Yu nodded.

"Alright then." Chi Heng patted off non-existent dust from his clothes, unusually not haggling over the price.

Seeing his rare cooperation, Lu Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned to give Ye Tang a few words of advice. Ye Tang's identity was different from these big shots; she didn't have a prominent family background, and the Ministry of Security's investigation was no small matter for her. He needed to coordinate his response with her.

However, before he could speak, Ye Tang had already picked up the empty bowl and stood up, waving her hand at him with a calm tone as if she had dealt with countless more troublesome situations: "No need to say anything, boss, I understand."

Lu Yu was slightly taken aback. He glanced at Ye Tang and noticed that her face only showed an almost instinctive composure when facing trouble. He adjusted his glasses but said nothing.

Chi Heng walked to the door, then suddenly stopped. He turned around, looked at the silver-gray giant wolf lying in the corner of the living room, and his expression underwent a subtle change.

The nonchalant "I'll take care of this if I have to" attitude he had when facing Lu Yu was gone, replaced by an unusual seriousness. He looked at You Lie, his lips moved as if he was organizing his thoughts, and finally he uttered a long string of instructions that were completely unlike his usual style.

"You Hunter, the young warden's safety is in your hands. You must protect her well—although this is Zero Prison, which should be relatively safe, what if? What if those bastards from the Wild Family come looking for trouble? You'd better keep a close eye on her. Also, you have to follow her when she goes out; don't let her walk alone, understand? If she gets hungry in the middle of the night and goes to the kitchen to find something to eat, you have to follow her too; what if she falls…?"

Youlie, having just been threatening to kill himself to become his "boss," was finally losing his temper as the firebird continued to nag him about protecting Yetang. He raised his wolf head, his grey-blue eyes coldly fixed on Chiheng, and spoke directly in human language: "She is my female, it's none of your business."