Wounded Pride (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

As the Griffon Sea Eagle slowly descended in front of the Small Wooden House, Xia Chujian looked up at the lit windows and suddenly understood what home meant.

Home was probably a place with lights on and someone waiting for you...

"I'm back!" Xia Chujian pushed open the door and caught the distinctive aroma of Black Truffle Wild Rhino Pig.

They were actually still eating the dishes she had made before. There had been so much that they had been eating them for a week.

Hadn't these people gotten sick of it yet?

Apparently not.

Because Li Fu and Song Mingqian were fiercely fighting over the last roasted Wild Rhinoceros Pig rib.

Ping Qiong held a huge bowl and was completely absorbed in eating Stewed Wild Rhinoceros Pig Meat with Red Lion Morels.

Only Ye Shijie lay on the Small Wooden House's sole wooden bed, staring toward the door.

Only after seeing her enter did he withdraw his gaze and say coolly, "You're back. No need to shout about it."

Xia Chujian smiled at him. "Ye Dui, are you feeling better? Are your injuries serious? Should you go back with them first and have an Association physician take a look?"

Only then did Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong lift their heads from their bowls. They looked at Xia Chujian by the door, then at Ye Shijie on the bed, unsure what to say.

Ye Shijie frowned and said to Xia Chujian, "Come in first. It's freezing outside. Why are you keeping the door open?"

Xia Chujian turned around and looked outside.

The Pig-head Humanoid San Zong had already found a corner beneath the eaves by the cabin door, huddling there side by side with the Griffon Sea Eagle.

The Griffon Sea Eagle was one thing. It was native to the Exotic Beast Forest, and sleeping out in the open was its instinct and habit.

But San Zong was different.

After hesitating for a long while, Xia Chujian turned back to Ye Shijie and said, "Ye Dui, it's too cold outside. Let San Zong and Small Dog come in."

She hesitated because she knew that, in the eyes of normal humans in the Beichen Empire, Humanoids were not considered human. They were Untouchables, slaves.

Ye Shijie closed his eyes and said flatly, "Humanoid bodies are different from human bodies. You don't need to worry about them."

"How are they different?" Xia Chujian bit her lip. "They're people too, just like us."

"Humanoid Lowly People and slaves aren't normal humans." Looking as though he did not want to argue, Ye Shijie stated what everyone considered common knowledge.

"Gene Evolvers aren't normal humans either." Xia Chujian could not stop herself from blurting it out.

She regretted it the moment she said it.

It was something Aunt occasionally muttered at home.

Xia Chujian had heard it so often growing up that it slipped out before she could stop herself.

Aunt had actually warned her not to speak carelessly outside.

For example, saying Gene Evolvers were not normal humans was practically treasonous in the Beichen Empire.

To people of the Beichen Empire, it was equivalent to saying that Gene Evolvers, who stood above ordinary people, were on the same level as lowly Humanoids.

Ye Shijie snapped his eyes open, the chill in them undisguised. "Xia Chujian, watch your mouth! Don't let me hear you say something like that again! Otherwise, leave the Dark Night Hunter Association immediately!"

Was he driving her away? Xia Chujian regretted saying the wrong thing, but Ye Shijie's scolding hurt her pride too badly.

Anger rose in her, and she sneered. "Fine. You don't need to drive me away. I'll leave right now!"

With that, she slammed the door of the Small Wooden House shut and did not go inside at all.

Turning to stand outside the Small Wooden House, Xia Chujian was hit head-on by the frigid cold and could not help shivering.

San Zong, the Pig-head Humanoid by the cabin door, opened his mouth wide and stared at her blankly.

His pig face should have looked ugly and awkward, yet in the night, it did not seem quite so unpleasant.

Clutching Small Dog tightly, he stood up trembling and said in a low voice, "Female Sire doesn't need to speak up for San Zong... San Zong can leave. It isn't cold. San Zong is a Humanoid Slave, San Zong isn't afraid of the cold... When San Zong followed that bad man before, San Zong always slept in the snow. It was fine..."

Holding Small Dog firmly against his chest, San Zong got up and walked away.

Small Dog was held upright in his arms, its little head resting over San Zong's shoulder.

Seeing itself getting farther and farther from Xia Chujian, it could not help crying, "Wuerfu, wuerfu," at her.

Its tiny black-bean eyes were filled with huge confusion, as if it could not understand why it had to leave.

A strong wave of pity rose in Xia Chujian's heart, and she hurriedly called out, "San Zong! Don't you and Small Dog leave! We'll spend the night by the Flying Vehicle!"

Hearing this from inside, the veins on Ye Shijie's forehead throbbed again and again. He shouted angrily, "That's the Association's Flying Vehicle! Humanoids... can't go aboard!"

It took great effort for him not to say the word "slaves."

Inside the Small Wooden House, Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong finally realized things had become serious.

Li Fu pulled out a tissue, wiped his greasy mouth, and quietly tried to persuade Ye Shijie. "Ye Dui, it's only for one night... If Little Chujian can't stay in the Flying Vehicle, where can she stay...? It's so cold outside. She's not a Gene Evolver. She can't take it..."

Song Mingqian and Ping Qiong nodded together and cautiously said, "Ye Dui, Little Chujian is young. She's still underage and in high school. It's normal for her to have some strange ideas..."

The "strange ideas" they meant were naturally ideas like saying Gene Evolvers were not normal humans.

As for letting Humanoids into the cabin, compared to that statement, it was hardly worth mentioning.

But this time, Ye Shijie refused to compromise no matter what.

He said coldly, "I told you long ago not to indulge her! It's only here, in front of our team, that she can spout nonsense and we can excuse it because she's young, ignorant, and we didn't hear it!"

"But what if she gets used to it and says such things recklessly in front of others after we go back? Do you know what the consequences will be?!"

Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong exchanged looks, then lowered their heads in unspoken agreement.

With a dark expression, Ye Shijie continued, "More than ten years ago, a scholar merely brushed against the subject at some conference. He only said that Humanoids might also be one direction of Gene Evolution, and he stirred up a hornet's nest!"

"Do you know where that scholar is now?"

Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong all shook their heads.

"...He's dead. He was sentenced to death and executed that same year." Ye Shijie closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath.

That year, he had only been ten.

He did not continue, because that man—the scholar who had been executed—was his father, his biological father.

He had never told his team members that his family had originally been Citizens of the Beichen Empire, living in the middle districts of Beichen Star Imperial City.

Because of that one offhand remark from his father, his family lost everything.

His father was executed, their property confiscated, and he and his mother were demoted to Commoners and exiled to Guiyuan Star, the most remote and backward planet in the Beichen Empire.

A few years later, his mother died of grief.

He struggled alone in Mulan City on Guiyuan Star. Fortunately, several years later, he underwent a genetic mutation and became a Gene Evolver, allowing him to return to the Citizen Class.

But because of his father, he would never be able to hold a position in any government institution of the Beichen Empire for the rest of his life. He could only scrape by in civilian organizations like the Dark Night Hunter Association.

"Things like this must not only never be said, you can't even entertain such thoughts in your heart! Because once you have those thoughts, you'll say them... You won't even know when you'll say them! The moment you say them, it'll be a catastrophe! No one will be able to save her!"

"You're still indulging her? Do you want to watch her die?! Say something!"

Ye Shijie pounded the bed and shouted himself hoarse.

Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong hunched their necks, scarcely daring to breathe.

They felt Ye Shijie was overreacting somewhat, but he was still the captain. His accumulated authority over the years was enough to keep them in line.

Only after seeing that they had all fallen silent did Ye Shijie take a deep breath and say to Li Fu, "You go! Stay in the Flying Vehicle, and don't let her in tonight! Not unless she admits she was wrong!"

Li Fu no longer dared speak up for Xia Chujian. Silently, he stood, pulled on his brown-black Long Fur Coat that made him look like a Brown Bear, and went out.

Xia Chujian was still standing not far from the door. She had clearly heard what Ye Shijie said inside the Small Wooden House.

She did not continue toward the Flying Vehicle. Instead, she turned to Li Fu and said, "Fu Ye, can I just go to the Flying Vehicle and get my things?"

According to Ye Shijie's intentions, the answer was definitely no.

But Li Fu could not bear to be harsh with Xia Chujian.

Deep down, he believed Ye Shijie was right. Xia Chujian should be disciplined more strictly.

But emotionally, he still felt Xia Chujian was a little girl—the girl who had dared to pretend to be seventeen when she was fourteen to join the Dark Night Hunter Association, working desperately to support her family.

He was filled with sympathy and gratitude toward her.

"Go ahead. Take whatever you want." Li Fu quietly added, "You can take one Small Controlled Nuclear Fusion Generator..."

Xia Chujian had only intended to take some weapons and ammunition, but Li Fu's words suddenly gave her an idea.

Xia Chujian jumped into the Combat Aircraft, first taking out the four Pig Kidneys she had stored in her small refrigerator and hanging them directly from the belt outside Big Tooth, ensuring they remained frozen.

Then she took out the eight Big Tooth she had hidden and stuffed them into the Gun case.

Next, she moved a Small Controlled Nuclear Fusion Generator, a crate of Submachine Gun bullets, and ten magazines of Sniper Rifle ammunition from the Flying Vehicle, securing them all to the Griffon Sea Eagle's back.

She also brought along the Alien Beast fur coat she had received from the Association.

She planned to use it as a blanket if it got cold at night.

Li Fu had wanted her to take a crate of Advanced Nutrient Solution too, but she refused.

That belonged to Ye Shijie. Xia Chujian did not want to take it.

"Little Chujian, don't be angry. There's no need to spite Ye Dui either... Ye Dui is doing this for your own good..." Li Fu earnestly tried to persuade her, almost wanting to grab her and stop her from leaving. "Just go apologize, and it'll be fine. Really, Ye Dui is doing it for your own good."

"I know. I'm not angry, and I'm not acting out of spite." Xia Chujian smiled calmly, looked away, and said, "I'm just not used to the way he talks."

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