I Rise in the Beast World by Smelling Desires - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When I was brought back to the Inner Circle, every gaze hung on me like a hook.

There was jealousy, scrutiny, and defiance.

And beneath those, something more subtle.

It was a greed forced out by famine.

Here, food was life.

And a female who had suddenly transformed from a useless waste into a “useful person” had become another kind of resource.

Su Zhichuan settled me in a small log cabin next to the Priest’s stone house.

The cabin wasn’t large, but it had a fire pit, beast-hide blankets, and a small jar of rare dried meat.

I almost suspected I was dreaming.

It wasn’t until the door closed, blocking out the cold wind, that my strength finally gave out. I sank to the floor, gasping for breath.

The original owner’s body was in terrible condition.

Thin, cold, with unhealed old wounds, and a stomach so empty it felt like it was being scraped by a knife.

As I was stuffing the dried meat into my mouth, there was a knock at the door.

It was very light.

More like a notification than a request for entry.

I looked up and saw the hem of a white robe stop at the threshold.

Su Zhichuan didn’t come in.

“When you’re finished eating, come see me.”

He left as soon as he spoke, without a single extra word.

But the moment the door closed, I caught a lingering scent in the wind.

Clean and cold.

Yet beneath it hid a woody fragrance scorched by fire.

It wasn’t the scent of churning desire.

It was more like some kind of instinct that had been forcibly incinerated.

A ridiculous guess suddenly popped into my mind.

He was enduring me.

Not enduring the urge to kill me.

But enduring the urge to get close to me.

Half an hour later, wrapped in a thick fur coat, I went to the Priest’s stone house.

The stone house was warm, its walls covered in animal bones and dried herbs.

In the center sat a black stone fire altar, the flames kept low.

Su Zhichuan stood before the altar, washing his hands.

Cold water slid down his long fingers, dripping into a stone basin with a soft, rhythmic sound.

As soon as I entered, he looked up.

“Sit.”

I didn’t move.

“What does the Priest Lord wish to ask?”

He looked at me, his tone calm.

“You said there was a problem with the Sacrificial Well. What is your basis for that?”

I fell silent for a moment.

This ability was too dangerous.

If I explained it too clearly, I would no longer be just useful; I would be an anomaly to be controlled.

But I couldn’t say nothing at all.

After a moment’s thought, I chose the safest explanation.

“I can smell things.”

“People’s emotions, malice, lies, and… abnormalities related to the tribe’s fortune.”

Su Zhichuan’s gaze paused slightly.

“Smell?”

“Yes.”

I looked him in the eye. “For example, right now, I can smell that you haven’t slept well, and I can smell that you’re holding something back.”

The moment those words left my mouth, the air in the stone house seemed to freeze.

I had only intended to test him.

But in the next instant, the scent on Su Zhichuan suddenly surged as if out of control.

Cold snow, white pine, blood, and an extremely sharp, scorching heat.

Like the hot breath exhaled by a tiger just before its teeth sink into soft flesh.

My back went numb instantly.

He, however, merely dried his hands unhurriedly, his tone betraying no emotion.

“Then what do you smell now?”

My throat tightened, and my heart pounded violently.

“I smell that you want to lock me up.”

“Preferably somewhere you can see me.”

“And never let anyone else touch me again.”

The stone house was so quiet that even the crackle of a spark was audible.

Su Zhichuan looked at me, his eyes darkening inch by inch.

I thought I had gambled too much.

But he didn’t get angry, nor did he deny it.

Instead, he suddenly stepped closer, stopping only a pace away from me.

His tall shadow loomed over me, almost completely enveloping me.

“Ning Fuyin.”

“Knowing too much is not a good thing.”

His voice was low, the tail end of his words light, as if brushing against my ear.

I looked up and saw his Adam’s apple roll slowly.

In that moment, a hint of bitterness was added to the scorching heat I smelled.

It wasn’t lust.

It was self-loathing.

I was stunned for a moment.

So he wasn’t just suppressing his instincts.

He loathed himself for having such thoughts about me.

The wariness in my heart inexplicably loosened a fraction.

“Priest Lord,” I lowered my voice, “if you truly wanted to lock me up, you wouldn’t have spared my life on the snow today.”

“You kept me because you also know that the problem with the Northern Wastes Tribe doesn’t lie with me.”

“It’s in the well.”

“It’s in the grain.”

“It’s in someone wanting to use this disaster to turn the entire tribe into their own personal property.”

I said it all in one breath and saw his expression finally change.

It wasn’t surprise.

It was recognition.

He turned, took a beast-hide map from a stone ledge, and spread it out before me.

“These are the locations of the Sacrificial Well and the granary.”

“Three months ago, the first batch of cubs fell ill. Two months ago, the agitation among the males intensified. One month ago, Cen Linxing proposed using Calming Incense to replace the well sacrifices.”

“If you are right, the problem won’t just be in the well.”

I looked down at the map.

The Sacrificial Well was on high ground, but the water veins led to the entire Inner Circle.

The granary and the healing sheds were both downwind.

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

“It’s not just about wanting to control the High-Rank Males.”

I looked up at him. “They want everyone to slowly become dependent on something. Medicine, or rituals.”

“Whoever holds that thing can take over the entire Northern Wastes Tribe.”

Su Zhichuan looked at me and gave a faint “Mm.”

Then he said, “So for the next few days, stay with me.”

“Do not leave my sight.”

I should have been repulsed.

But catching the protective vigilance nearly overflowing from his words, my heart warmed for no reason.

I smiled and asked deliberately, “Is that an order, or protection?”

His gaze lingered on my face for a moment.

“Both.”

It felt as if something had lightly scratched my heart.

This man really knew how to torment someone.

He didn’t say a single direct thing.

Yet every word felt like it was stepping right over a dangerous boundary.

Just as I was about to push him one step further, urgent footsteps sounded outside.

Ming Xingye burst in, his expression cold and grim.

“Priest, three more cubs have collapsed by the west well.”

“Also, the Black Market Snake Merchant has arrived.”

“He says he wants to see Ning Fuyin.”

I frowned.

A Black Market Snake Merchant?

Ming Xingye gave me a cold look.

“He says you owe him a life.”