"Qinglan, I have to go speak with the head hunter about the fixed spears before the Wolf Clan returns tomorrow. Mu Lei will stay right outside, but don't step foot beyond the vines. Not even for fresh air. Si Yuan might still be lurking, and the forest isn't safe for a girl like you."
Elder Shen's voice was heavy with exhaustion as he adjusted the strap of his small hide pouch. He gave her one last worried look, the kind that said he knew more than he was letting on, then slipped out of the cave. Mu Lei's broad shadow immediately filled the entrance, the leopard beastman settling into his usual guard stance with a low rumble.
"Won't be long, little female," Mu Lei called softly. "Rest easy. I've got ears on the whole clearing."
Qinglan waited until the elder's footsteps faded and Mu Lei's breathing evened out into that watchful quiet he always fell into. Her heart was already racing. The mate bond in her chest tugged insistently toward the distant Wolf Clan territories, stronger today, like golden eyes were drawing closer with every hour. She couldn't wait any longer.
She needed real medicine. Not the weak broths and dried roots the village offered. Her frail body was still too thin, too slow to heal, and tomorrow the patrols would drag her away if she didn't get stronger. In her past life she had memorized every survival article during those long, sleepless nights building her company—plants, dosages, what could boost strength without anyone noticing.
This was the gamble.
She moved like a ghost, wrapping the fur cloak tight and sliding the bone needle and thread she had secretly made into the small pouch she had stitched yesterday. At the back of the cave, behind a loose stone, she had hidden a tiny woven basket. Empty for now. She slipped it under the cloak, then crept to the vines and waited for Mu Lei's shadow to shift just a few paces left—his usual patrol loop around the cave.
The second he moved, she darted out.
The forest edge was only twenty steps away. She kept low, bare feet silent on the moss, eyes scanning for the herbs she remembered from the merged memories and her old knowledge. Feverfew for strength. Wild ginger for the stomach. Broadleaf plantain to stop bleeding if things went wrong. They grew in the shaded spots near the river, just beyond the village boundary but still close enough that she could run back if needed.
Every rustle made her freeze. A distant growl—probably a night watch beastman shifting forms. The faint slither of scales somewhere to her left—Si Yuan? She didn't stop. Her fingers worked fast, plucking only the healthiest leaves and roots, tying them neatly with thin vine so they wouldn't bruise. In her mind she was already planning the poultice: crush the feverfew with a little water, mix in ginger for warmth, wrap it in a clean hide scrap. No one would know it wasn't village medicine if she brewed it slowly at night.
The mate bond flared hot, almost like a warning. Closer now. Too close.
She had just tucked the last root into her basket when heavy footsteps crunched on the path ahead—too heavy for a villager. Wolf Clan scent on the wind. One of the earlier scouts, circling back early.
Qinglan dropped flat behind a fallen log, heart slamming so hard she was sure it would give her away. The scout passed within ten paces, nostrils flaring, muttering to himself about "that human female's strange scent growing stronger." He didn't see her. Barely.
The second he disappeared around the bend she was up and running—light, desperate, cloak flapping. The cave came into view. Mu Lei's shadow was turning back toward the entrance.
She dove through the vines and collapsed onto the furs, basket shoved deep under the pile just as Mu Lei stepped inside.
"Little female? You alright? You smell… like the forest. Did you go out?"
Qinglan forced her breathing to slow, making it sound weak and sleepy. "Just… a bad dream. I'm fine. Really."
Mu Lei crouched beside her, golden eyes searching her face with that fiery protectiveness. His hand brushed her cloak, and for one terrifying second she thought he would feel the dirt on the hem. But he only tucked the fur higher around her shoulders.
"Rest then. I'll stay closer tonight. No one gets near you."
He moved back to the entrance, but his gaze lingered a moment longer—curious, worried, almost like he could sense the secret she was hiding.
Qinglan lay perfectly still until his shadow settled. Only then did she let her fingers brush the hidden basket under the furs. The herbs were there. Real medicine. A dangerous gamble that could make her stronger by morning without anyone knowing.
But as the mate bond gave another sharp, insistent tug—closer, colder, more commanding—she knew the real risk wasn't the herbs.
It was how long she could keep playing the frail orphan before someone like Si Yuan, or Mu Lei, or the Alpha himself saw through every single lie.
The Wolf Clan patrol would be back at dawn.
And she had just given herself one last night to prepare.