Yin Zhi had been injured previously and was unable to shapeshift. He finally regained the ability yesterday, and the very first thing he did was leave a mark on the back of Wen Qian's neck.
He hadn't expected the mark to last only a single day before Gu Mian covered it up...
"Wasn't she bitten by a cat?" Gu Mian curled his lip. Seeing Yin Zhi's expression turn increasingly ugly, he added with a faint smile, "Young Master should know that Blue Star is not the Beast World. Even if we must follow the rules, they aren't the rules of the Beast World."
The implication was clear: as long as they weren't in the Beast World, he could acknowledge this matter if he wanted to, or simply brush it off with a few careless words if he didn't.
"Is that so?" The light of the streetlamp cast a quiet glow at the man's feet. Yin Zhi's tone carried a hint of forced restraint. After a moment, he suddenly smiled. "I know. Over here, proximity is everything."
Since he didn't plan to acknowledge the custom, Yin Zhi couldn't force him to. Regardless, the mark had been left, and there were plenty of Beastmen in City A who would recognize it.
Adopting the mindset of fending off rivals one by one, Yin Zhi's expression softened slightly. Thinking about how he was the one spending every waking moment with Wen Qian and sharing her bed... his anger subsided.
Catching Yin Zhi's underlying meaning, Gu Mian wasn't annoyed either. He gave a nonchalant smile. "So what? Young Master should be well aware of the divorce rate on Blue Star."
So what if Yin Zhi had the advantage of proximity? Gu Mian was confident he could draw her back to him. He was never the type to be oblivious to his own good looks, and he knew Wen Qian always looked stunned by his appearance when she saw him... Since that was the case, he didn't mind making good use of it.
Besides, breaking up and getting back together was commonplace on Blue Star. As long as he was patient enough, even if she chose Yin Zhi right now, she would eventually be his.
At this thought, a quote suddenly popped into Gu Mian's mind: "When strangers are homewreckers, it's shameless. When friends are homewreckers, they better not get caught. But when I'm the homewrecker... it's an epic romance."
He thought about it carefully; he had seen this phrase on the university forum. It was a comment left by a stranger on that post featuring a photo of him and Wen Qian. Gu Mian had found it amusing and memorized it at a glance, never expecting it to come in handy so soon.
"Could it be that Mr. Gu wants to be the other man?" Catching the implication in his words, Yin Zhi sneered.
Completely unbothered by the provocation, Gu Mian turned his back and let out a low chuckle. "Heh. The unloved one is the actual third party."
Staring at the man's retreating back, Yin Zhi gritted his teeth. The disdain in his eyes faded, replaced by a faint touch of solemnity. He had assumed that beating everyone to the punch and leaving his mark on Wen Qian would prevent any mishaps. He never expected her to be targeted by a Beastman so quickly.
And the one who had his eyes on her was a Beastman from the Gu Family.
The Gu Family was a powerful and influential force in the Beast World. Although they remained hidden in the valleys year-round, they were the most well-informed of all the clans. Furthermore, their family leader ruled over the entire Snake Clan. While it was unknown what status Gu Mian held within the Gu Family, judging by his aura, he was certainly no small fry.
Yin Zhi concluded that his beast form was either a Yanhong or a Ju Mo.
"Young Master." Only after Gu Mian had gone far away did a man in a black suit step out from the shadows.
If Yin Zhi had known earlier that the person was from the Gu Family, he wouldn't have bothered hiding his subordinate. That man had surely sensed Ling Xuan's presence long ago, and by not calling him out... it most likely meant he simply didn't take him seriously.
Yin Zhi stared at the spot where Gu Mian had disappeared, his gaze growing ever darker. After a long while, he spoke in a cold voice, "Ling Xuan, find someone to look into his background."
"Yes, Young Master." Ling Xuan's expression was grave. A long moment later, he asked, "Does Young Master think the Gu Family is connected to the Critical Stone?"
The Critical Stone was the Guardian Stone of the Beast World, of vital importance to their realm. Its existence not only protected the Beast World but was also inherently tied to all living beings within it.
However, exactly twenty years ago, the Critical Stone had suddenly shattered for an unknown reason. The entire Beast World and its adjacent realms had plunged into turmoil as space warped and merged, unexpectedly creating a rift. Countless Beastmen fell through this rift onto Blue Star, turning into what humans referred to as lower animals.
At the same time, the beast forms of many clans were severely affected. Upon falling to Blue Star, they shrank by dozens or even hundreds of times in size. This was why, even though Yin Zhi's true form was a Silver Tiger, he could only take on the appearance of a "silver gradient" cat.
The Beastmen's bodies were compromised by the shift in space and environment. Coupled with the lack of the Critical Stone's empowerment, the larger their physique, the harder it was to maintain their original appearance. Only their shadows would occasionally reveal their true size.
Therefore, the Beastmen discovered on Blue Star weren't the result of animal genetic mutations, but rather a tear in space-time that caused Beastmen to fall into this dimension. As for why the Beastmen didn't shapeshift all at the same time, that was something Yin Zhi had only recently figured out...
After falling into this world, their powers had been weakened, and even shapeshifting had become uncontrollable. Many Beastmen went to their graves without ever successfully taking human form.
In the Beast World, untroubled by these limiting factors, they could naturally transform. But on Blue Star, they needed to borrow the power of the Critical Stone to achieve a physical breakthrough.
Yin Zhi had discovered that out of all of City A, this specific residential area had the highest number of successfully transformed Beastmen. Moreover, the closer he got to Unit 11, the more clearly he could sense the power of the Critical Stone...
To prevent more Beastmen from falling onto Blue Star, and to bring the trapped Beastmen back home, he had to find the Critical Stone to repair the tear in their world.
However, from what Yin Zhi knew, the Critical Stone had already shattered into pieces when it fell to Blue Star. Finding it... would be no easy task. His perception of the Critical Stone was limited, so he needed the help of the Inspection Envoy. The Inspection Envoy was the heaven-chosen guardian, capable of accurately pinpointing the Critical Stone's location under any circumstances, even if it was just a tiny fragment.
"Not exactly." Even though Yin Zhi disliked Gu Mian, he wouldn't go as far as making him shoulder such a massive accusation.
Ling Xuan's expression turned a bit peculiar. "Could it be..."
"Stop guessing," Yin Zhi narrowed his eyes. After a pause, he said, "He's trying to steal my woman."
Why the Critical Stone shattered was for the people currently in the Beast World to investigate. His primary mission was simply to find the Critical Stone and separate the two worlds.
Ling Xuan was dumbfounded. Setting aside when his Young Master had ever gotten a woman, the women of Blue Star were not to be loved so easily!
A Wolf Beastman who had fallen to Blue Star at the exact same time as him had listened to the sweet talk of a Blue Star woman. Not only was he tricked out of his body and his heart, but he was ultimately sold to an underground venue for people's amusement... It was absolutely tragic!
That woman was definitely the same! She was bullying their Young Master because he lacked romantic experience and was too pure in every way!
"Young Master, whatever you do, you absolutely cannot fall in love with a human from Blue Star!" Ling Xuan had a breakdown. He still remembered that when he rescued the Wolf Beastman, the man's face was like death itself, the light completely gone from his eyes.
This was all the fault of human females!!