I Got Cheated On and Ended Up in A Beast World

Chapter 170: Chapter 170

The night passed in complete silence.

Moonlight filtered through the enchanted crystal ceiling, casting pale silver patterns across the vast chamber like a fractured cage.

Outside, the twelve Shadow Guards remained as motionless as statues, their sharp eyes scanning every shadow in the corridor leading toward the king’s private residence.

Not even a mouse could have slipped past them.

Inside, Cassian had not left, He sat beside the bed in a carved chair of black jade, one elbow resting against the armrest, his golden eyes unblinking, never straying far from the sleeping Female, several times during the long hours, she stirred restlessly.

A soft, pained frown would crease her brows.

Her breathing would grow ragged and uneven.

Tiny beads of cold sweat gathered along her forehead despite the cool air of the room.

"...No..."

Her voice was barely a breath.

"...Wei Xiang..."

Cassian’s gaze darkened, his posture freezing.

"...Don’t...Run..."

Her fingers tightened around the silk blanket, clutching it desperately as though grasping someone else’s hand.

Then came another broken, whimpering whisper.

"...Please....don’t hurt him..."

The room fell deathly, suffocatingly still.

Cassian slowly closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling in a silent, heavy breath.

His mind drifted back to the riverbank.

The way she had thrown herself violently against his chest. Not to embrace him...

But to shield another male from his wrath.

She had threatened her own life for Wei Xiang, She had looked at that human cultivator with absolute, unwavering trust.

Yet every time she looked at him... There was only terror.

A strange, unfamiliar ache settled heavily within his chest,He did not understand it, Nor did he wish to.

Before the first hint of dawn broke, he finally rose from the jade chair, Without making a sound, his large frame drifted toward the edge of the bed.

His gaze lingered on the blanket that had slipped halfway down her pale, bruised shoulder during the night.

The chamber was growing cold, He reached down.

Slowly and Carefully... He pulled the heavy blanket back over her skin.

His movements were awkward, hesitant.

Almost completely unfamiliar to a hand meant for slaughter, Just as he straightened, Lin Wan suddenly trembled beneath the sheets.

Her eyes remained tightly closed, yet warm tears slowly squeezed from beneath her dark lashes, tracing a path down her cheek.

"...Mama..."

The tiny, fragile word froze him where he stood.

Then another broken whisper followed.

"...Don’t leave me..."

Cassian stared down at her for a long, silent moment.

He knew almost nothing about her past.

Only fragments. She rarely spoke to him.

And when she did...

It was usually only to beg him to let her go.

This was the first time he had ever heard her call out for someone else in her sleep.

Something tightened painfully inside his chest.

He reached toward her wet face again, his hand moving automatically.

This time...

His thick fingertips stopped just a millimeter short of brushing away the tear resting against her cheek.

He paused, then slowly withdrew his hand.

Turning silently, his long robes dragging against the floor, he walked toward the chamber doors.

As the heavy golden barriers parted, the Shadow Guards immediately dropped to one knee, their armor clinking in unison.

"Your Majesty."

His voice was calm once more, coated in its usual absolute authority.

"No one enters without my permission."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"And..."

The guards lifted their heads slightly, waiting.

"The Female is not to leave this chamber."

"Understood."

The doors closed behind him with a heavy, echoing boom, The moment the sound faded, the room became utterly quiet once again.

Several minutes passed.

Then....

Lin Wan’s eyelashes fluttered.

A soft, raspy groan escaped her lips as consciousness slowly, painfully returned.

Her entire body felt symbols of lead, unbearably heavy.

Every muscle ached from the frantic chase through the forest, Even breathing sent a dull, throbbing pain through her chest.

She slowly forced her eyes open, An unfamiliar ceiling of flawless white jade greeted her view.

Golden formation carvings stretched across the walls, Soft silk curtains hung from every corner.

For one brief...

Foolish, hopeful moment... She thought she had actually escaped, Then her gaze shifted toward the sealed crystal windows. There was no balcony.

No open sky, Only shimmering, suffocating layers of transparent spiritual barriers.

Her heart dropped into an abyss.

"No..."

She pushed herself upright too quickly, panic seizing her lungs, A sharp wave of dizziness crashed over her mind.

The room spun violently, She grabbed the edge of the mattress, her fingers clawing into the jade frame to steady herself.

"...No..."

Her breathing became frantic, shallow.

She swung her legs over the bed and stumbled blindly toward the nearest window.

Her reflection stared back at her through the transparent barrier.

Pale. Exhausted and Utterly hopeless.

Beyond the thick glass... She could still see the distant, snow-capped mountains.

They looked so close. Yet they might as well have belonged to another world.

Lin Wan slowly lifted a trembling hand.

Her fingertips touched the cold surface of the window.

Ripples of sharp, golden light immediately spread across its surface like a disturbed spiderweb, An instant later. A violent, repelling force threw her backward.

"Ah!"

She crashed onto the polished floor, landing hard on her injured shoulder. A sharp, white-hot pain shot through her arm.

Before she could even gather her breath to recover— The chamber doors burst open.

Several maids hurried inside, their footsteps clicking against the stone.

Their eyes immediately landed on the fragile Female sitting on the floor before the sealed window, clutching her arm.

No one rushed forward to help her up.

They simply stood there in a row, watching.

Their expressions unreadable, cold, For several long moments, neither side spoke..

Lin Wan slowly pushed herself upright, one hand braced against the freezing jade floor. A dull ache spread through her shoulder where the barrier had violently rejected her, but she paid it little attention.

Her eyes moved slowly from one maid to another.

There were eight of them.

Each was dressed in elegant palace uniforms of deep crimson and black, their hair pinned neatly beneath silver ornaments bearing the royal crest of the Manticore Sovereign.

Not one stepped forward to offer a hand.

The eldest among them finally stepped forward, offering a perfunctory bow.

"This servant greets the Female."

Her tone was perfectly respectful.

Her eyes were not.

The younger maids followed suit with stiff, shallow bows.

"Greetings, Lady Lin."

Lin Wan lowered her gaze, her shoulders slumping.

"...Thank you."

She bent down, her fingers brushing the floor to pick up the torn corner of the gray servant’s cloak that had fallen beside the bed.

One of the younger maids spoke up sharply before she could straighten.

"That cloak has been discarded."

Lin Wan stopped, looking up through the strands of her hair.

"The King ordered new garments."

Another maid walked forward, carrying folded robes of pale gold silk embroidered with delicate black manticores.

"They are worthy of someone residing in His Majesty’s private chambers."

Lin Wan stared at the luxurious gold silk for a long moment.

Then, she quietly shook her head, tightening her grip on the old wool.

"I’ll keep mine."

A faint, sharp scoff escaped one of the younger servants in the back.

"As you wish."

She did not even bother to hide the disdain dripping from her tone.

"It is only a filthy old servant’s cloak, after all."

Another maid muttered just loudly enough for the words to echo against the jade walls,

"Perhaps it reminds her of the man she ran away with."

A few lips curved into cruel, faint smiles.

Lin Wan’s fingers tightened around the worn fabric until her knuckles turned white.

She remained silent, absorbing the blows.

The eldest maid shot the gossiping younger woman a sharp, warning glance.

"Enough."

She stepped forward and placed a heavy silver tray upon a nearby table.

"Breakfast has been prepared."

Fresh, spiritual fruit, Warm porridge, Nourishing medicinal soup and Steamed buns. Everything was arranged beautifully, steaming lightly. The rich aroma filled the closed room.

Lin Wan looked at the feast without a single flicker of expression. "...I’m not hungry."

"The royal physician explicitly instructed that you eat."

She gently shook her head, her voice hollow.

"I can’t."

One maid folded her arms across her chest, tilting her chin up.

"You could run across mountains and valleys for another man, yet you cannot even lift a spoon for yourself?"

Another added coldly, stepping into her space,

"What a delicate, noble appetite."

The eldest maid frowned deeply, but she did not interrupt this time.

The thick resentment within the room had already become impossible to suppress.

Captain Jarek had been deeply respected by nearly every guard and servant in the citadel.

His brutal execution had left a bleeding wound that the palace had not even begun to heal from.

And the human Female standing before them... Whether intentionally or not... Had become the living face of that wound.

Lin Wan slowly walked toward the table, her knees trembling beneath her torn dress.

For a brief moment, the younger maids thought she had finally submitted and changed her mind.

Instead... She reached out and picked up only a small porcelain cup of warm water.

Her hands shook slightly as she raised it to her lips, taking two careful sips.

The moment the water reached her stomach—

A violent, agonizing wave of nausea surged upward.

She immediately covered her mouth with both hands.

Her face turned deathly pale, stripped of all color.

The cup slipped from her weak fingers.

Crash!

The fine porcelain shattered into a dozen pieces across the jade floor.

Lin Wan stumbled backward, one hand pressed tightly against her trembling lips, her chest heaving. She barely reached the nearby brass wash basin before retching violently.

Nothing came up except bitter gastric water.

Her stomach twisted into painful knots, causing her to double over. She remained bent over the basin, her fingers gripping the metallic rim, breathing heavily in ragged gasps.

Behind her... The younger maids exchanged looks of pure irritation.

One clicked her tongue loudly.

"So dramatic."

Another whispered, rolling her eyes.

"His Majesty shows her a little kindness and now she refuses to touch palace food."

"I heard humans often behave this way to gain sympathy from their captors."

"We don’t even know what weak tribe she belongs to."

"Whatever she is..."

"...Captain Jarek still died because of her."

Lin Wan heard every single word, each one piercing straight through her.

She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as a tear spilled over.

The image of Jarek smiling warmly as he secretly pressed the heavy escape key into her palm flashed vividly through her mind.

’Run.’

’Don’t let His Majesty find you, little one.’

A sharp, suffocating pain squeezed her chest.

"...I’m sorry..."

The apology escaped her lips so softly, so brokenly, that only she could hear it over her own ragged breathing.

The eldest maid sighed quietly, the tension in her shoulders dropping slightly.

She looked at the untouched breakfast before turning back toward the other servants.

"Clean this up."

"As for the medicine..."

She glanced at Lin Wan’s pale, trembling figure still leaning heavily against the basin.

"Leave it on the table."

"If she wishes to recover, she will drink it herself."

The maids bowed and immediately began sweeping away the shattered porcelain pieces.

As they worked, their eyes glued to the floor, none of them noticed the faint, protective movement beneath Lin Wan’s loose, torn sleeve.

Her fingers had unconsciously drifted down to her lower abdomen.

She rested her palm there, pressing gently against her stomach for only a single, terrified heartbeat... Before quietly pulling her hand away and hiding it.

Outside the chamber... A pair of burning golden eyes watched everything through the slightly opened doorway.

Cassian had returned.

And he had heard every single word.