Chapter 9: This Really Isn’t My Harem

Wu Qingsong tried every means to pull the cloth curtain used to cover the cage into it, and he managed, turning it into a relatively soft cushion for her. Simultaneously, it could also be used as a curtain to shield each other when either of them needed privacy.

Awkwardness was, of course, inevitable for both of them. Yet, it was precisely because of Wu Qingsong’s attentiveness, patience, and actions over the past few days completely eased the young beastwoman’s guard and apprehensions.

“When he comes in later, cover yourself with this curtain,” Wu Qingsong told her.

Although she didn’t understand why, the beastwoman complied. So, when Kleine brought in the food, what he saw was a head shivering beneath the curtain and Wu Qingsong standing beside her.

Kleine sneered in the shadows, placing the plate of food and the cup of water inside the cage as usual.

“When can I leave?” Wu Qingsong asked at that moment.

Kleine was slightly irritated. He had just provided a source of relief, and now there were more demands.

“Very soon,” he responded. “Just be a little patient.”

In a sense, he wasn’t entirely lying. Although it was much later than expected, Lieutenant Commander Vals made a sudden decision that morning to lead his personal guards and four other squads to capture the Moon Maiden. Meanwhile, Kleine’s newly formed squad, along with two other understaffed squads, stayed behind as the defense forces.

Kleine was certain that the chances of success for this operation were zero. If the wolfwoman Nina Lams, with whom he had clashed, still remained in that place after so many days and could be caught by their slow and conspicuous troop movements, then she wasn’t really worth all that bounty.

However, Commander Vals’ opinions and other squadron leaders were remarkably aligned. The appearances of several slave traders from Rem City were also notably active, making Kleine immediately realize that their true intention was actually to use this as a pretext to conduct legalized raids and massacres in that region.

Such situations were not uncommon. Due to the limitations of technology, transportation, and communication, the empire could not possibly exercise strict control over every piece of land. Instead, they managed the vast empire through towns, fortresses, ports, and checkpoints on major routes.

Generally speaking, villages that were close to towns and fortresses and strictly adhered to their tax and labor duties would be considered loyal subjects of the empire and thus receive a certain level of protection. However, those villages scattered throughout forests, mountains, and wildernesses often required military force to ensure their compliance. These villages often sympathized with the rebels and were potential allies. For elves and half-elves, periodically raiding some villages was not only a way to profit but also a standard tactic to suppress the rebels and maintain order.

Given the beastkin’s impressive reproductive capabilities and rapid growth rate, killing was always deemed the most reliable policy.

Perhaps their delay of a few days was intentional, giving the Moon Maiden ample time to evacuate, hoping to avoid unexpectedly running into tough resistance during the raid. After all, with the loss of one unit, the entire city force has dwindled to fewer than a thousand men. Based on Kleine’s report, he was suddenly ambushed by nearly 1,500 rebels, which forced him to abandon his squad for his survival.

In his efforts to deflect blame, Kleine never anticipated the extent of Vals’ timidity. With each passing day, the very thought of serving under such a half-elf gnawed at him. 

It was such a disgrace!

As a result, Kleine began placing more hope in Wu Qingsong, even managing to muster a smile when facing him.

A foreign half-elf would definitely attract attention in an isolated place like Rem City. However, if Commander Vals and his team left Rem City, there would be hardly anyone left with the authority to hinder Kleine’s plans. The remaining civil officials were hardly a concern.

Raiding and looting those villages would take them at least a month. By the time they return, the news he has been waiting for should arrive. At that point, he wouldn’t have any reason to stay in this hellhole any longer.

“Just be patient a little longer. Perhaps in two or three days, you can come out,” he said to Wu Qingsong.

Such an assurance, however, took Wu Qingsong by surprise.

Nobody knew the true truth of the so-called Karazhan better than him. He was also well aware of what Kleine wanted to get from him. Given these circumstances, there was no way Kleine would let him move freely.

Unless… the person he had dispatched for information was about to return.

The mere thought set a flutter of unease in Wu Qingsong’s heart.

He could foresee the madness that would ensue once his lies were exposed, and how an enraged Kleine would act on his wrath. The only reason he had an upper hand in their psychological battle was entirely due to Kleine’s greed. Once Kleine realized that he was just been bluffing, the consequences were obvious.

Would he truly be forced to wait underground for several decades or even a century, hoping for someone to eventually discover him? He might be immune to harm, but could he age?

Such a death was far from dignified.

What should he do?

How should he escape?

Wu Qingsong pondered over this problem the entire night, and even in slumber, he dreamt of such a scene.

“See you in a thousand years,” Kleine coldly declared in the dream, binding him tightly before cramming him into a small box, then casting it into a deep pit, followed by pouring loads of cement over it.

“Ah!” Wu Qingsong cried out, jolting awake, only to find himself nestled in the beastwoman’s embrace.

“I’m sorry,” he immediately said.

In the quiet darkness, the young beastwoman shook her head and spoke softly with a pleasant voice, “You kept crying out. I wanted to make you a bit more comfortable.”

So it wasn’t him who had nestled into her embrace in his sleep?

This made Wu Qingsong feel slightly relieved.

“Thank you!” he said.

The beastwoman shook her head.

Wu Qingsong thought she would fall silent as she did before, but after a moment, she spoke softly, “My name is Ling, I’m… truly sorry about earlier.”

In fact, on the second day after being locked up, she gradually calmed down after hearing Wu Qingsong’s song.

She wasn’t truly irrational. It’s just that everything she had been through, combined with Kleine’s words, made it hard for her to trust Wu Qingsong at first, let alone stay calm. Especially considering that Wu Qingsong was clearly a half-elf.

For races like hers, who rely on elves and half-elves for survival, their presence represented hope for their continued existence. But many times, it also meant disaster, death, a life stripped of freedom, and becoming slaves.

“Ling?” Wu Qingsong softly repeated the name, then asked, “How were you captured and brought here?”

The young beastwoman silently shook her head, and even in the darkness, Wu Qingsong could sense her tears. After a brief hesitation, he offered his shoulder for her to lean on.

She stiffened for a moment, but soon, a large portion of Wu Qingsong’s clothes were soaked with her tears.

“I’m sorry…” she murmured.

“It’s alright, really,” Wu Qingsong replied.

She was of mixed blood. Of course, Wu Qingsong didn’t fully understand what being of mixed lineage meant among beastkin, but he could infer some things from Ling’s words.

Her father was once a soldier in the Rem City, and her mother was his spoils of war, a wolfwoman who had been captured. Such pairings were not uncommon among the lower-ranking warriors, typically made up of mastiffmen. 

Due to profligacy, alcoholism, compulsive gambling, or other vices leading to their impoverishment, they often couldn’t afford to marry women of their own race. They resorted to such methods to address their desires.

Children born of such unions often faced exceptionally tragic destinies.

A mixed blood offspring would usually have deformities, with the vast majority being abandoned or directly killed shortly after birth. Even the few mixed blood children fortunate enough to be born without evident physical defects, most were infertile. They had been regarded since ancient times as impure beings, cursed due to the sullying of pure bloodlines. From birth, they were treated as outcasts or lowly citizens, and their inevitable fate was slavery. Men were relegated to mining or farm labor, while women often ended up as prostitutes or the lowest of servants.

With inadequate clothing and food, shouldering the heaviest, most dangerous, and dirtiest work, the majority of mixed race beast folk often didn’t live past thirty years old.

In fact, in bygone eras, half-elves faced similar fates, if not more dire.

In most cases, the birth of a half-elf was typically accompanied by scandal or unusual circumstances. Often they were the result of an elf’s indiscretion, either drunk or caught up in a moment of passion. Most traditional elf families, valuing their lineage, would even go to the lengths of killing any offspring that, in their eyes, contaminated their sacred bloodline. Their typical method involved burning the pregnant beastwoman alive, thereby purifying the tainted bloodline.

During those dark times, beastwomen impregnated by elves often had to go to great lengths to conceal their pregnancies. They resorted to various methods to terminate their pregnancies, with many losing their lives in the process. However, some managed to escape, secretly giving birth to their children away from the condemning eyes of society.

The vast majority of half-elves were born with severe defects, but a portion of them had features strikingly similar to elves and even inherited powerful talents from their fathers. As the old-school and traditional elves gradually faded away and, simultaneously, as more and more half-elves secretly survived and demonstrated promising abilities, the practice of burning pregnant beastwomen slowly ceased. 

On the other hand, being infertile and having no inheritance rights, yet possessing a natural connection with elves and commendable talents, half-elves quickly became a reliable addition to the empire’s grassroots administrative and military foundations. As more elves grew tired of their long-held responsibilities and shirked their noble duties, they began letting half-elves handle the arduous tasks of governance, maintaining local peace, and suppressing unrest. Over time, this became an accepted and highly effective practice.

Considering that the vast majority of elves intensely disliked contact with beast folk, whom they viewed as ugly and filthy, employing half-elves as grassroots officials and officers directly overseeing beastfolk auxiliary troops soon became an unofficial yet widely implemented state policy of the empire. Against this backdrop, the half-elves, a group once cursed and persecuted,  finally found a place in the sun. They increasingly became a vital link between elven rulers and the subjugated beast folk. They were even used as a solution to the elves’ low fertility rate, being intentionally and purposefully produced.

They ascended the imperial hierarchy, positioned only beneath the pure elves, turning into oppressors. Meanwhile, the mixed blood beastfolk, who were essentially no different from half-elves, continued to face their grim, dark, and fleeting destinies.

Ling’s mother succumbed to an epidemic six years prior, and not long after, her father perished in a rather modest skirmish. Following their death, she was taken in by her uncle, a low-ranking soldier from Rem City.

However, rather than saying she was taken in, it was more accurate to say she became his maid and slave. The only advantage was that she wouldn’t be taken away as an ownerless slave, and she had a roof over her head. In fact, her uncle was a crude and lewd mastiffman. If he didn’t think that a virgin might fetch a higher price, she might have already fallen prey to his lewd intentions.

But even such protection came to an end not long ago. Serving under Kleine, her uncle and others met their end in a remote mountain village. Ling hid at home for many days, but after all the food ran out, she had to muster the courage to step outside. Soon, with her mixed blood features clearly visible and no master nearby, she caught the attention of a slave trader who planned to capture her as an ownerless slave and sell her off. As she desperately struggled, her uncle’s creditor suddenly appeared, joining the fray.

Both parties claimed their legal right over the orphaned girl. Just then, Klein, having lost all his subordinates and now seeking to recruit new ones in the commoner’s quarters, happened to pass by. After understanding the situation, he quickly realized she was the kin of one of his previous subordinates. Yet, this revelation stirred no unease in him, for he believed that he was already magnanimous by not venting his frustrations on them after his disgraceful defeat.

Kleine initially intended to steer clear of the spectacle. However, a fleeting glance at Ling made him change his mind. He promptly used his whip to chase both disputing parties away and took Ling, subsequently tossing her into a cage as a means to appease Wu Qingsong.

“That beast!” Wu Qingsong couldn’t help but curse.

But Ling, unfamiliar with the expression, was puzzled, prompting him to simply shake his head.

“I will find a way to protect you,” he assured Ling. Even though he himself was in a precarious situation, he couldn’t stand by and let such things happen around him. “Rest assured, I will get you out of here to a place where such horrors don’t exist.”

In the darkness, he couldn’t discern the expression on the mixed blood beastwoman’s face. But as he spoke, he felt her claws instinctively grip his clothes. Panicking, she quickly released him and retreated to her previous corner.