Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

Chi Heng stood in front of the newly renovated kitchen, looking at the brand-new stove, the neatly arranged ingredients, and the exterior wall without a trace of scorch marks. The gratitude he felt lasted for less than three seconds before being replaced by a renewed fighting spirit.

He turned his head, his bright red eyes staring intently at Youlie, and solemnly declared, "Although you helped me, I will not give up being the warden's beast-lover."

Youlie was squatting on the ground packing his toolbox when he heard this. He paused, looked up, and gave Chiheng a look that was hard to describe. What was this silly bird doing, making all these vows as if his word was law? The imperial law clearly stipulated the marriage system, stating that the female had absolute say.

He wanted to be Ye Tang's husband, but it wasn't up to him, nor was it up to You Lie—Ye Tang could marry whomever she wanted. At most, these male beasts would just compete for her affections and wag their tails a few more times in front of her.

As an active-duty soldier of the Empire, he knew the laws and regulations by heart; from marriage law to military regulations, there wasn't a single loophole he could exploit. It was utterly impossible for him to monopolize Ye Tang's affections. However, even knowing it was impossible, he still had to shoo away the flies that were trying to seduce him.

"Eat more walnuts to nourish your brain," Youlie concluded.

Chi Heng frowned and thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out what the connection was between eating walnuts and improving brain function. So he simply gave up on thinking about it and changed the subject: "I'm going to sleep on the warden's floor tonight!" He had curled up on the living room sofa all night, and he was determined to take back ownership of the bedroom floor bed today.

Ghost Hunter pushed his toolbox aside, stood up, and stretched his wrists. "Fine, beat me."

Upon hearing this, Chi Heng rolled up his sleeves and pounced. The wolf and the bird began to wrestle again in the yard, their silver-gray fur and crimson feathers fluttering in the setting sun.

Chi Heng was in unusually good condition today—perhaps stimulated by the nutrient solution, perhaps because he was holding back his anger after being doused by Cang Ming, or perhaps because he had been accumulating energy while watching You Lie repair the kitchen and had nowhere to vent it.

He fought fiercely, even more so than last night, his wings flapping so loudly they created a whooshing sound, his tail lashing out with a crisp crackling sound. Although he still couldn't win, he refused to admit defeat, turning over and pouncing again when pinned to the ground, rolling around and rushing back even when thrown out.

Such scenes of men frolicking in the courtyard were commonplace in the living quarters of Prison Zero. Imperial law was indeed quite comprehensive regarding the marriage system—females had absolute choice and decision-making power, and males could not force, threaten, or coerce females into accepting them by any means.

But the law is the law, and tradition is tradition. In the instincts ingrained in the bones of beastmen for thousands of years, the most primitive and direct way to compete for the attention of females is to fight.

Winning a fight doesn't guarantee you'll get a female, but if you don't even dare to fight, you deserve to be eliminated. Even if you win one fight, there will always be another; there's never true "exclusivity," so you still have to fight.

This is the instinct of male animals, a competitive spirit written in their genes. They can work together, arm in arm, to fix the kitchen during the day, but at night they will fight tooth and nail over the ownership of the rug in the bedroom.

Bird feathers and wolf fur flew everywhere in the yard. Chi Heng was pinned to the ground with his wings clipped behind his back by You Lie, his cheek pressed against the grass, his long, crimson hair scattered all over the ground, making him look like a roast duck that had been slapped on a board.

The hunter placed one claw on his back, while the other precisely pressed down on his thrashing head, its voice cold and composed: "Still want to fight?"

"I refuse to accept this!" Chi Heng's face was pressed into the grass, his voice muffled, but his momentum remained undiminished.

"A defeated opponent." Youlie uttered four words indifferently.

Just then, Youlie's ears twitched slightly—his keen hearing caught the footsteps coming from the entrance of the living area, light and rhythmic; it was Yetang returning.

A faint glint flashed in his grey-blue eyes, and then without warning, he released all his pressure on Chi Heng.

As Chi Heng struggled upwards, a sudden lightness lifted his back, propelling him to the ground. He had no time to think; only one thought occupied his mind—his chance had arrived!

He pounced on the wolf, opening his beak and pecking at the wolf's shoulder and arm several times. Each peck precisely targeted the thickest part of the wolf's fur, making him look extremely fierce, but in reality, he didn't even break the skin.

Youlie dodged "awkwardly," his steps unsteady, his body swaying. Each time, he "barely" avoided Chiheng's beak just as it was about to touch him, and "just happened" to let Chiheng's wingtip brush against him. His ears were always tracking Yetang's footsteps—five, four, three, two, one.

The courtyard gate was pushed open.

As Ye Tang stepped into the courtyard carrying the new ingredient list she had obtained from Lu Yu, she saw Chi Heng chasing You Lie with outstretched wings, pecking at him fiercely.

The large, silver-gray wolf was in retreat, its fur ruffled and several noticeable red marks on its shoulders. It turned back to look at the doorway with a restrained and aggrieved gaze. Meanwhile, the firebird pressed its advantage, flapping its wings powerfully and shouting, "Let's see how arrogant you are!"

"Little Firebird! You're bullying my Ghost Hunter again!" Wild Tang grabbed a broom from the corner of the wall and chased after Chi Heng, hitting him.

"Warden, no—" Chi Heng hurriedly folded his wings and jumped back, dodging the oncoming broom head and the broom tail that swept back. "Let me explain! He started it—"

"You burned down my kitchen during the day, and now you're bullying him!" Ye Tang didn't give him a chance to explain, swinging the broom with great force.

"I don't--"

"I'll teach you to bully him! I'll teach you to bully him!" Ye Tang chased Chi Heng around the yard several times, the broom landing precisely on Chi Heng's back, shoulders, and buttocks, each blow landing solidly.

Standing on the outskirts of the battlefield, Youlie raised his front paw at the opportune moment, his voice low and restrained: "Tangtang, it's alright, it doesn't hurt..." Although he said it didn't hurt, the red marks on his arm from his fingernails were particularly conspicuous in the sunlight.

Chi Heng nearly coughed up blood upon hearing this. "It's nothing?!" He only pecked at the wolf's fur a few times, didn't even touch its skin! What's there to feel pain about! Even an SS-level Azure Wolf wouldn't necessarily cry out in pain if stabbed with a knife, but you think it hurts after hitting it twice with a broom?

"Aaaaaah! You Hunter! You shameless!" Chi Heng roared at You Hunter while dodging the broom, his voice cracking.

"Shut up!" Ye Tang smacked Chi Heng on the back with a broom, interrupting his accusation. "You haven't had any cake for the past few days!"

"Little warden, you..." Chi Heng looked at Ye Tang, then at a scheming wolf in the distance who was still pretending to be pitiful. His lips moved several times, but he couldn't say anything, even though he had a lot of excuses stuck in his throat.

He finally understood what it meant to be unable to defend himself—he really did strike first this time, but it was Youlie who loosened his grip first to let him hit him!

It's true that he burned down the kitchen, and it's also true that he pecked at Youlie. He's covered in indelible stains, yet Youlie is pretending to be magnanimous despite his "scars." What can he use to overturn the verdict?