Chapter 17: His Place to Belong
"If that happens, I’ll just carry you there, so relax."
Even when he said it confidently, it did not make Qiong Xing feel even a little bit relieved.
More than that, Qiong Xing wanted him to actually listen to what people were saying.
"If you’re really worried about me, then let go right now and explain."
When Qiong Xing asked what the earlier question meant, the man explained that in this country, beastmen were seen as failed humans and they are all cursed beings abandoned by the gods.
Even so, because beastmen were stronger and had more stamina than humans, they were "used effectively," which really meant being treated as slaves.
Most of them were treated terribly.
If they got sick, they were abandoned.
If they died, they were simply replaced.
They were forced to work from morning to night and told they were allowed to live only because of humans.
Even in death, they were not given graves, but were thrown away in the forest.
Some beastmen who are afraid of humans, built settlements far away from human towns, but even then, kidnappings and abductions were common, just like what had happened with the bandits earlier.
"That’s why it’s you. You helped that snake. You felt sad when you saw it bleeding. You took the egg and told it everything would be fine. When I saw that, I thought... maybe."
"Maybe what?"
"That snake earlier was my foster parent. When I was small and wandering through the forest, it took me in and raised me, even though I’m a lion beastman and it was a snake. Other beastmen were scared of me because I was raised by beasts. I couldn’t fully become a beast, and my own kind feared me. Humans wouldn’t accept me either. I had no place to belong. I thought I would be alone forever. But then you appeared. You became my place to belong."
"......."
It was heavy.
Too heavy.
For the man, this was probably something emotional and meaningful, but for Qiong Xing, it was nothing but troublesome.
Being suddenly told, You are my everything, meant absolutely nothing to him.
He helped the snake because he wanted to help it and honestly, he hadn’t even done much.
As for the man in front of him, Qiong Xing had no memory of helping him at all.
If anything, he felt more like getting angry at the rude behavior and constant physical contact.
This was all far too much.
"I’m really not something that important. Before long, a clean and beautiful woman who truly suits you will surely appear. There’s no need to choose someone like me so easily in a place like this."
He meant to say, without directly saying it, please give up and go look for someone else.
But...
"There’s no way there’s anyone other than you. And what do you mean by clean and beautiful? If you’re saying that because you’re praising my looks, then sure, I’m happy, but I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful than you. You’ve got such pretty silver hair, clear golden eyes, and skin as white as snow."