The tiger tribe beastman lifted up by Yumu is named Jinyang. He's in his early twenties and is a young white tiger who just reached adulthood a few years ago. Jinyang had poor health as a child, and his beastly power cultivation was slow, making him quite inconspicuous in the tribe. However, after moving to the city near the temple where various tribes coexist last year, his health suddenly improved, and his cultivation of beastly power began to advance rapidly, like riding a rocket.
"I've also noticed this Jinyang," Ye Zhizhou said, looking through the investigation materials handed over by Yumu, with a slight frown. "But his improved health came after he started taking the improved pills I distributed for free at the temple... It's only natural that his health improved, and his cultivation speed increased. I've observed him for any changes in personality or anomalies, but I haven't found anything. Although his cultivation speed is fast, it's still within the normal range of improvement."
"But starting about half a month ago, he began frequenting interactions with outstanding members of several major tribes, especially those from the four tribes with atavistic bloodlines," Yumu insisted on her theory, continuing, "And he also approached Jiajia, but he frightened her, and she hasn't talked to him since."
"Jiajia?" Ye Zhizhou's expression turned unpleasant, and he focused on the information about the tiger, affirming, "Then, let's pay special attention to this Jinyang for now, and don't relax your observations on others."
"Yes," Yumu respectfully saluted and then took her leave.
Dongfang Shu came to life from his background state, reached out to pinch the back of Ye Zhizhou's neck, and forced him back into his beast form, pulling him into his embrace. "You don't think it's this Jinyang?"
"Yeah," Ye Zhizhou rolled in his embrace and used his now much larger horn to rub against Dongfang Shu's back, "Although I'm very concerned about those few prompts that appeared in Tongtian's closed consciousness, sometimes I also wonder if those prompts might be the reason for Tongtian's attack."
Dongfang Shu nodded, his fingers playing with Ye Zhizhou's horn, as he continued to make notes on the formation book. "Go on."
"Soul Flag wants to mislead us," Ye Zhizhou bit down on his finger and ground his teeth, continuing vaguely, "Since the previous world, Soul Flag has been trying various ways to lead us astray. After Tongtian was attacked, I wasn't calm for a while, so I didn't think it through. I've been following the few hints left by Tongtian. But now I have some doubts that those hints left by Tongtian before the attack might have been disguised by Soul Flag."
Dongfang Shu finally shifted his gaze onto him and put down his pen. "What are your thoughts?"
He didn't answer, but he suddenly asked while letting go of Dongfang's finger, "Dongfang, have you been waiting for me for a long time?"
Dongfang Shu held his tail and remained silent.
"I've heard from Yumu that you've always been the chief of the Feather tribe. Dongfang, did something go wrong with my soul projection, which is why you arrived in this world ahead of me?" The lifespan of beastmen was at most over two hundred years, and the shortest was less than a hundred. But Dongfang Shu was different. His body had phoenix blood, so he never died; he only went through rebirth. Yumu had mentioned that Dongfang had been the chief since his grandfather's generation, and the lifespan of Feather tribe beastmen was generally over two hundred years. Before, when he had been asleep for a hundred years, all the other beastmen had aged, but Dongfang still looked as young as the first time he had seen him. He could only think of one possibility: Dongfang had gone through rebirth again while he was asleep.
"Why ask this all of a sudden?" Dongfang Shu withdrew his gaze and picked up his pen again. "I did arrive a little earlier than you. Your soul projection was interfered with by Soul Flag, and you slept for a while. These are minor issues."
Ye Zhizhou turned back into his human form, pinched his face, and looked serious. "Don't brush it off vaguely. Tell me, why did I sleep for a hundred years? Don't tell me it's because of the bloodline of this body. I won't believe it."
Dongfang Shu looked helpless as he was being scrutinized and finally conceded, "Soul Flag was attacking you."
Ye Zhizhou furrowed his brow.
"It's trying to erase your soul, and I couldn't do anything about it, so everything has been on Tongtian's shoulders," Dongfang Shu said as he pressed down on the furrowed brow between Ye Zhizhou's eyes, gently smoothing it. "Your hundred-year slumber was due to both the bloodline of this body and the attack from Soul Flag. Hibernation was one of Tongtian's ways to protect you."
Ye Zhizhou pursed his lips, and his gaze dimmed. Although he had guessed this reason early on, he still felt sorrowful. It was his own incompetence that had led to Tongtian's current state. After a brief moment of dejection, he quickly pulled himself together. Soul Flag was still at work, Tongtian hadn't returned yet, and he needed to stay focused, get stronger, and protect the people and things he cared about.
"Soul Flag is changing its target of attack," he cleared away the negative emotions by shaking his head and analyzed further, "It has been trying to separate us since it started misleading you to other worlds, but it failed. Later, it attempted to eliminate all of us, but that didn't work either. Up until now, its attacks have been clearly directed at us, first to eliminate me and then to divert your attention or use the protagonist to win you over. But in this world, it has started focusing solely on attacking me, from soul projection to my recent hibernation; it has directed all its efforts at me."
Dongfang Shu caressed his now beautifully serious eyes and sneakily placed his hand on Ye Zhizhou's back.
Ye Zhizhou was unaware of it and continued, "Assuming that Soul Flag's goal in this world is still to eliminate me, then the commotion on Xuan Yuanhong's side is most likely a distraction created by Soul Flag to divert your attention. Throughout, Soul Flag has been attacking me, especially after Xuan Yuanhong was dealt with; I went into my second hibernation directly."
Dongfang Shu nodded, his arm encircling Ye Zhizhou's waist. "So?"
"It targeted me because I thwarted its harem plan, but the reason I was able to ruin one harem after another was because of Tongtian's help," Ye Zhizhou furrowed his brow again and said, "So I suspect that Soul Flag's attacks on me might be a diversion, and its true target is actually Tongtian. With the first hibernation during soul projection, Tongtian would have been particularly vigilant about my safety. The fact that my second hibernation time was shortened suggests that Tongtian increased his protective measures on me..."
Dongfang Shu's restless hand came to a halt as he leaned in to comfort Ye Zhizhou with a kiss. "Xiaozhou, don't overthink it."
"It's not overthinking; it's a reasonable guess," Ye Zhizhou forcibly lifted his spirits, which had dropped once again, and continued, "Then Soul Flag took advantage of Tongtian's least guarded moment during my awakening from hibernation to attack Tongtian... My golden finger is gone, and Soul Flag can deceive me as much as it wants."
Dongfang Shu reached up to stroke his hair.
"So, that's why I suspect the last hints left by Tongtian were fabricated by Soul Flag to mislead me. Thinking further, perhaps Soul Flag's purpose in all this is to attack Tongtian and take his place. Tongtian is my golden finger. If Tongtian is controlled by Soul Flag, then it would be the perfect tool to drag me into hell. Maybe Tongtian realized this and sealed his own consciousness to prevent Soul Flag from seizing an opportunity."
Dongfang Shu furrowed his brows slightly and lowered his eyes in deep thought. With his broader knowledge, he hadn't initially considered this angle. Now, with Xiaozhou's analysis, the movements of Soul Flag in this world did indeed appear peculiar.
Ye Zhizhou didn't notice his contemplation. After some thought, he continued, "Tongtian's self-seclusion doesn't mean that Soul Flag has no loopholes to exploit. Those few hints are the most suitable starting point to work on. Now, without Tongtian's help, I'll definitely cast a wide net and focus on the harem. As long as Soul Flag creates a fake protagonist at this point and adds some drama to lure me in to kill him... If Jinyang is just a decoy and I believe he's the new protagonist, combining Tongtian's old grudge with Jinyang's new feud with Jiajia, if I'm not a little calmer and rush over to kill him..."
A cold glint flashed in Dongfang Shu's eyes as he picked up Ye Zhizhou's words, "Without Tongtian's protection, external forces could easily eliminate the natives, and you could very well be directly erased by the Heavenly Dao."
"Exactly," Ye Zhizhou nodded, then smiled again, "But the protagonist has finally emerged. There's definitely Soul Flag's involvement in Jinyang's strangeness. Even if Jinyang isn't the one, he must be related to the new protagonist. Let's set a trap around him. We can be sure the new protagonist won't resist."
Dongfang Shu, looking at the curve of Ye Zhizhou's lips, settled his restless hand for a moment before it moved again, caressing his back, and then slipping under his clothes. "Alright, I'll have someone keep an eye on it."
When a sensitive spot was touched, Ye Zhizhou was momentarily stunned and then glanced at his lover with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing in broad daylight?"
"You've been studying formations recently," with a tearing sound, the clothes were discarded, "Now that the mission has a lead, let's celebrate."
Ye Zhizhou pounded him in frustration. "I haven't finished my analysis yet; you owe me a new outfit!"
"We'll continue your analysis later," Dongfang Shu held his hand and leaned in, silencing him with a kiss.
As the sun began to set, Ye Zhizhou took a bite of grilled meat and mumbled, "Soul Flag will definitely cause trouble while I'm in hibernation. So, I suspect the new protagonist appeared during my sleep. Based on the fact that Soul Flag transferred to blood relatives, the new protagonist should be in the age range of Yumu and Jiajia. But Yumu is already quite mature now, while the suspicious Jinyang is only in his twenties, so the new protagonist should be from Yumu's generation, around the same age as Jiajia... When I think about it this way, isn't Yumu's marriage a bit late? How does he act like the big boss? And as for Jiajia, why does he seem a bit off? Is it because the rabbit tribe has a short lifespan and reproduces quickly? No, I'm getting off track. Let me think again... Oh, right, assuming the new protagonist has grown to Jiajia's age, then his disguise skills must be excellent. Either very low-key or very high-profile but harmless-looking, completely unsuspecting. So, based on these conditions, we can narrow down the selection of beastmen of roughly the same age."
Dongfang Shu helped him fasten the buttons on his clothes and nodded, "I'll instruct someone to handle it."
"Also, Jiajia is definitely going to be the new protagonist's primary target. He's close to us, timid, and easily deceived. I have such a big weakness that Soul Flag will surely exploit. We need to pay attention to Jiajia's safety and prevent him from running around randomly," Ye Zhizhou added.
Dongfang Shu's hands, which had been tidying up Ye Zhizhou's clothes, paused for a moment, and he furrowed his brows slightly.
Ye Zhizhou took a sip of juice and wiped his mouth, "We also need to inform Yayi and Jinqiu to be more cautious around the people they're close to, especially those who seem harmless but have a close relationship. Of course, we need to be cautious too, as the protagonist is very interested in our atavistic bloodlines."
Dongfang Shu stared at him in silence for a while, then reached out to stroke his hair.
"When we catch the new protagonist, everyone can finally live a peaceful life," Ye Zhizhou turned to him with a hopeful and cheerful look in his eyes, "By then, Tongtian should be waking up too. In this world, our lifespans are not short, so we can be together for a long time. How about it, are you happy?"
Dongfang Shu hugged him and lowered his head to hide his emotions. "Yes, I'm happy, as long as I have you by my side."
"But I have to work a bit harder. After I finish studying formations, I'll go learn alchemy," Ye Zhizhou mumbled while nestled in his embrace, then said earnestly, "Your body in this world is not in great shape, Tongtian is injured, and there's Yayi, Jinqiu, Jiajia, and others... Don't worry, I'll protect all of you. Soul Flag won't harm you!"
"Alright," Dongfang Shu buried his head in Ye Zhizhou's neck and slowly tightened his arms.
"Loosen up, loosen up a bit. You're holding on too tight after eating so much," Ye Zhizhou patted him and then turned his head in the direction of the temple's entrance, his tone tinged with concern, "But why hasn't Jiajia returned yet? Yayi's treasure maps are usually not too complicated. Could he have gotten lost?"
"Yumu has already gone to look for him," Dongfang Shu gently patted his back, his pupils darkening as if tainted by blood, "Don't worry, he'll come back safely." Ye Zhizhou, such a soft-hearted person... Damn Soul Flag.