Help! The Villainess Trapped in the Beast World's Drama!-Chapter 505 - 488: Orphan

The autumn air was so thick you could almost touch it, and the trees in the yard had long since turned yellow, with leaves swirling down at the slightest breeze.

The palace attendants swept from morning till evening, and even after clearing the ground, it was soon covered in a golden carpet once more.

Shen Tang was lying by the window watching the falling leaves when she suddenly sneezed, "Ah-choo—"

She rubbed her reddened nose and muttered, "Who’s talking about me behind my back..."

Xue Yinzhou was tidying up things in the inner room. Without turning his head at the sound, his silver tail deftly wrapped around her waist, effortlessly pulling her into his embrace.

With a "snap," the snake tail shut the window neatly. He wrapped her in a coat, "Caught a cold?"

"No, just caught a bit of the breeze~" Shen Tang naturally wrapped her arms around his waist and tipped her head up to kiss his chin.

The tip of the silver snake tail swayed happily. Xue Yinzhou lowered his head to return the kiss on her lips, his voice softening, "It’s getting colder these days, and in just over a month, it’ll snow. Stay in the palace and don’t always think about running outside."

Shen Tang’s body stiffened, her heart wailing in frustration—ever since the Beast Husbands learned she could teleport, they watched her like a hawk, even more closely than if guarding a prisoner! Wherever she went, there was a tail following, reacting to any noise as if facing an enemy.

Not even prisoners are guarded like this!

Shen Tang also knew the Beast Husbands meant well, so she could only endure this helpless happiness.

After a while of cozying up, Xue Yinzhou gazed at the increasingly desolate autumn scenery outside the window and softly sighed, "Another year is about to pass."

Shen Tang nodded, "I remember when we first arrived in Kongdu City, it was the dead of winter, and not long after I ascended the throne... now it’s almost winter again, so it’s been exactly a year."

Recalling the journey, she buried her face in his chest, her voice full of happiness, "Thank you for always being with me. We’ll spend many more years together, year after year, never to be apart!"

The system interrupted at the wrong moment, [Host, haven’t you always wanted to go back? Once you complete the task, aren’t you planning to return home?]

Shen Tang responded calmly, "The past is the past, and the present is the present. I wanted to go back initially because I couldn’t accept this strange and ugly body, let alone being thrown into a completely unfamiliar world. Who would want to stay?"

She smiled contentedly, "But now it’s different. Here I have a new identity, a new mission, and someone I want to be with. This place is no longer a dangerous and foreign world to me, but home."

[Don’t you miss your original world, host?]

Shen Tang paused for a moment and then softly said, "I’m an orphan."

[I’m sorry, host.] The system honestly wasn’t aware of this!

"It’s fine, I got used to it a long time ago." She gave a lazy smile, "I grew up in an orphanage, never knew who my parents were, nor did any relatives ever visit me. I grew up alone, but it wasn’t so bad."

She didn’t think herself as pitiful compared to Xiao Jin and Xue Yinzhou, the former growing up scavenging and wandering, the latter constantly hunted and fearing for his life. The orphanage director and teachers were kind to her, and she had a few close playmates. Shen Tang never felt different from ordinary children.

If there was one regret, it’s probably never experiencing true familial love!

But now things are different. That world doesn’t hold much attachment, and the memories are fading.

Now her emotions and sense of belonging are rooted in the Beast World, with these people who love her.

Oh, speaking of family.

Shen Tang thought of her only true "relative" in the Beast World.

The original protagonist Shen Qingli.

Since her escape half a year ago, this sister seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth, never causing trouble again, not a single trace.

Shen Tang even wondered if she’d died in some corner, or was she hiding in the shadows, brewing some conspiracy?

"System, do you know where Shen Qingli is now?"

The system replied helplessly, [She has system protection as well, and that damn system enabled shielding, so I can’t detect the signal right now. But since the system competition isn’t over, the original heroine is definitely still alive.]

"Didn’t you say you’re stronger than the protagonist’s system?"

The system fumed, [That dumb system upgraded to the latest version, and now we’re on the same version, so there’s no advantage.]

Shen Tang was silent for a moment, then looked into the distance, "I’ve always had a question, why did the main system deploy two systems? Making the two systems adversaries, a competitive relationship to the death, is cooperation not possible?"

[No, it’s not possible.]

"Why not?"

The system couldn’t quite explain either, hesitating for a long before stammering, [That was the initial setup, the main system only needs the best, failure means being a defective product, and defective products need to be dealt with.]

"Well, that makes sense." Shen Tang didn’t press further.

...

In the remote, desolate northern mountains, resources were scarce, and the place was isolated from the world.

No cities had formed here, only scattered tribal villages, each housing several dozen to a hundred Beastmen.

By the small river beside the village, a few Beastmen were washing clothes, mostly males or elderly females, among whom a young female stood out quite starkly.

Wearing coarse linen, her graceful figure couldn’t be concealed.

Approaching winter, the river water was getting colder, and she squatted by the river scrubbing clothes, her hands turning red from the cold, even developing chilblains.

Normally, any single male Beast passing by would rush over to help.

But now those Beastmen avoided her like the plague, not a single person came forward to assist.

These small villages bound by blood ties were very exclusive, but it was mostly because this outsider female looked very "ugly."

She was dirty all over, with black skin, and her face was half-covered with hideous, centipede-like scars, as if her face was ruined!

If Shen Tang were present, she would definitely be shocked.

This female looked completely different from her memory, but you could faintly see the familiar brows and eyes, undoubtedly Shen Qingli, unmistakably!

Seeing the disdainful gazes of those Beastmen, Shen Qingli was also indignant, yet she merely kept her head down, silently doing her chores.

Of course, her face wasn’t genuinely ruined; she’d smeared black powder all over herself, deliberately disguising herself as disfigured to hide her identity and escape capture.

Seven or eight Beastmen ran over to the village entrance, all robust males of the village, part of the village’s Hunting Team.

"Ah Li, I’m back!"

A young Beastman wearing coarse linen and animal skin ran out from the team, took the basket of clothes from Shen Qingli, and put it on his back. Grabbing her frostbitten hand, he reproached with affection, "I told you, leave these chores to me when I get back. Look, your hands are frostbitten."

Shen Qingli smiled gently, "I was just worried about you working too hard, going out hunting every day, I wanted to help share the burden."

"Ah Li, you’re so good, being with you is the greatest blessing of my life!" The young male smiled joyfully, feeling as if he had stumbled upon amazing luck.

Ah Li was someone he’d brought back from the road half a year ago during a hunting trip.

Though half her face was ruined in a fire, she was kindhearted and gentle, promising to have only him as her mate for life.

Rong Tu was just a Beastman of ordinary talent, not particularly outstanding among the younger generation in the tribe, likely to end up lonely like most males.

But now, he had a female all to himself, and he felt like the happiest male Beast in the world!