Oakley bowed after he finished talking, and then took his leave.

  Gu Mengmeng wearily leaned into Lea’s arms. She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a slight ache in her head.

  Lea gently messaged Gu Mengmeng’s temples and said softly, “Why trouble yourself over such petty matters? Just let Elvis and I handle them?”


  Gu Mengmeng sighed. “Your methods are a bit too harsh…… so if possible, I still want Oakley to be on our side. After all, we used to be friends.”


  Lea kissed the top of Gu Mengmeng’s head. “Silly girl. You are too soft-hearted. That is why people take advantage of you.”


  Gu Mengmeng gazed up into Lea’s eyes. “Lea, I am scared.”


  “What are you scared of?” Lea’s slanted eyes were full of a gentleness which wrapped around Gu Mengmeng’s heart.

  “I am afraid that Cole will snatch away all the people around me one by one, until they are all on his side.” Gu Mengmeng buried her face into Lea’s chest and said in a low voice, “If the enemies I have to face in future all used to be my friends and family, what should I do? Can I bear to attack them? Chixuan alone is enough to stop me in my tracks. And now there is Oakley. Who’s next? Barete or Auretin? Or Sandy and Ian…… or you and Elvis?”


  Lea chuckled. “Mengmeng, you must have confidence in yourself and the people around you, that they cannot be so easily snatched away. At the very least, Elvis and I will never leave you, right?”


  Gu Mengmeng nodded but kept quiet.

  Yes, Elvis and Lea would never leave her.

  But if in the end, she only had them and no one else—what should she do?

  What if Hede and the rest ended up siding with Cole, just like Chixuan—what should she do?

  When Sandy had welcomed her at the city gates before winter started, she had appeared not quite right when faced with Cole. Gu Mengmeng had wanted to ask Sandy about that but couldn’t find the right opportunity to do so. Then winter came and she didn’t have time to ask.

  Her chest constricted and breathing became laborious.

  What if……

  After Chixuan, Sandy also took Cole’s side—what should she do?

  The first hunt led by Elvis ended that afternoon. Needless to say, the Snow fox tribe in Sauder had a long history and many more years of experience in battle and team coordination than the young Saint Nazaire tribe. As a result, the hunt went very well and Elvis enjoyed the opportunity to stretch out his muscles.

  The hunted game offered to the Beast Deity was also of a higher quality and quantity than that offered by Saint Nazaire in the past years.

  As tribe leader, Oakley handled the complicated ceremonial rites, while Gu Mengmeng and Lea returned to the stone castle to wait for Elvis and the three young ones. They planned to prepare a good meal out of the first hunted game in celebration of the new year.

  The excited voices of the three young ones could be heard even before they were seen. Such a rambunctious scene dispelled Gu Mengmeng’s depressed mood and she went to the door to welcome them with a gentle smile.

  As she watched the returning father and sons, Gu Mengmeng’s face held an expression as warm and lingering as the setting sun.

  And what made Gu Mengmeng even happier was the fact that apart from Elvis and the three young ones, Chixuan was also among the returning group.