Chapter Sixteen: Blatant Seduction

“You’re my younger brother, I’m just helping you,” Leng Xiuping said calmly. “Just because I told you the names of those females doesn’t mean I agree with you punishing them in this way.”

Throwing venomous snakes where the females pass—doesn’t he fear causing a fatal accident?

Yun Li still lives in the tribe. If other orcs find out those females died because they had bullied Yun Li before, how could she possibly stay in the tribe?

Couldn’t Leng Xiao think before acting?

“So, what do you suggest? Don’t tell me you went to the gathering team and went to all that trouble just for me, your little brother. Do you really think I’d believe that?”

If he wanted to inquire, wouldn’t he do it himself?

Thinking of him holding meat and asking the females protecting the gathering team about Yun Li’s past, only to receive a meaningful look in return, Leng Xiao felt a surge of irritation.

If his brother had the ability to do these things, couldn’t he just admit it?

“You’re my brother. Even if you fancy Yun Li, that’s perfect. We’ll join forces to court her. I don’t believe Mu Qing can win her over as the only male,” he said.

“Not yet,” Leng Xiuping lowered his gaze. “She won’t give in so easily. Mu Qing appeared when she was most bullied and needed someone. For now, the only male in her eyes is Mu Qing.”

He had already learned about Yun Li’s past from the gathering team, and her life could only be described as hardship.

Years of malnutrition made her a burden to the gathering team. She rarely spoke or drew attention to herself, always trying to minimize her presence. Wherever the gathering team went, she followed.

If she was slow and didn’t gather enough food for the day, she wouldn’t let the other females wait for her. If injured, she wouldn’t complain and would tend to herself before catching up with the group.

When females quarreled, the loser would vent their anger on Yun Li. She dared not retort, lacking the spirit and energy she displayed beside Mu Qing.

And this was only part of what A Mei knew. In other places, Yun Li might have suffered even more grievances unseen by them.

Otherwise, how could she have reached adulthood over a year ago without pairing with any male in the tribe? Surely she must have liked males before.

“So what do we do?” Leng Xiao, knowing his brother well, could tell he had a plan upon hearing this.

“Tell me quickly, what’s the plan?”

Ignoring his brother’s urging, Leng Xiuping bent down to work on some clothes. “No need to rush. Let Mu Qing go hunting a few more times.”

Mu Qing, a Blue-rank orc, could venture out hunting repeatedly at midnight, but others could not.

They only needed to wait for the moment when Mu Qing, the orc who looked after Yun Li, found himself overwhelmed.

That would be the perfect opportunity for them to step in.

...

“Ah!”

A sharp, urgent scream shattered the calm of the mid-rest in the forest.

The leader, Lu, annoyed but worried about the group, walked over to ask what happened.

She saw the group of greengrass females huddled together in terror, pointing at something as their voices grew shriller.

“A snake! A snake!”

“Where is the snake?!”

Having been falsely alarmed multiple times on the journey, Lu was impatient. Seeing them trembling and trying to hide behind her, she flung a sharp stone tool from her waist into the grass.

Something darted swiftly from the undergrowth. The greengrass females screamed but, perhaps due to their strong constitutions, none fainted or collapsed; they quickly took cover behind Lu.

No one noticed Lu’s expression darken.

When the greengrass females whispered behind her back, “The snake ran away,” “Thank goodness it didn’t bite us,” Lu turned and slapped each of them sharply.

“That’s a long-tailed rabbit, a common beast even a two-year-old cub could catch easily. I’m the one who’s snake-cursed here!”

The crisp slaps echoed loudly through the forest.

Hidden in the shadows, a male’s expression softened upon hearing the slaps. He glanced at the sky; noon was approaching, and he needed to return to prepare a meal for his female.

What he never expected was, upon returning home, he found other males had come to cook for his female.

“Ah Qing, you’re back!” Yun Li rushed forward as soon as she saw Mu Qing return.

She knew Mu Qing’s solo hunt today was a ruse to vent her anger, but Leng Xiuping and Leng Xiao somehow found out and forcibly came in using this as an excuse.

After a few awkward exchanges, Leng Xiao, citing the nonsensical excuse of not letting the tribe’s females starve, lit a fire in the yard and started roasting meat.

Yun Li encountered forced feeding like this for the first time.

Fortunately, Mu Qing came back early. Otherwise, she wouldn’t know if she’d have to eat meat from these two brothers every day and see them constantly.

Actually, it wouldn’t matter to see them often, but one of them looked at her with such burning intensity it felt like she was being scorched alive; the other’s calm gaze, though seemingly normal, was extraordinarily sensitive to her actions. Whenever she tried to find an excuse to enter or leave the house to avoid them, the cold and stern male would immediately see through it.

She was so furious!

What kind of males are these? Don’t they know courting a female requires her consent?

Who just barges in like this?

“They suddenly showed up and scared me,” Yun Li complained to Mu Qing. “I never told them to do this. They lit the fire themselves and started roasting meat.”

Leng Xiao, standing by the bonfire, admitted outright, “Yes, we started roasting because it was nearly mealtime and you hadn’t returned. We were afraid you’d be hungry.”

“Now that you’re back, my brother and I will leave.”

He waved to Yun Li. “If you ever need help, you can find me or my brother. We’re leaving now—don’t waste the meat.”

Even though Mu Qing wouldn’t let Yun Li eat the meat they made, if not this time, what about next time, or the time after?

Could Mu Qing always stop them from coming to cook for Yun Li?

They weren’t like other males who’d back off after being beaten by Mu Qing.

They had all the time in the world to wear Mu Qing down.

“My brother Leng Xiao and I live just a left turn from the exit, in the first stone house near the small woods. We’ll be waiting for you there.”

Leng Xiuping’s low voice reached their ears. Mu Qing’s fists clenched tightly, and Yun Li looked up in surprise.

In orc culture, whether male or female, giving your home address to the opposite sex meant, “If you’re lonely, you can come find us.”

This was truly… a blatant seduction of her and a direct provocation toward Mu Qing!