Even in the dim glow of the oil lamp, the blush on Ram's face was vividly apparent.
Wu Qingsong couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Despite how provocatively Ram had acted around him before, often intentionally teasing him, this tiny detail exposed her true self. If she were genuinely a woman of flirtatious nature, she wouldn't be showing this kind of vulnerability.
A faint tremor ran through Ram's body, but she did her best to maintain an air of indifference.
To Wu Qingsong, she seemed far more captivating now than when she had previously tried to seduce him.
"Could we perhaps try this from behind?" he suggested.
Wu Qingsong wasn't the type to exploit a situation to take advantage of a woman. To him, there was nothing shameful about being attracted to women. However, seizing sneaky opportunities for inappropriate touches would be downright sleazy.
If he liked a girl, he'd declare it openly and unabashedly.
Given the urgency of the previous situation and the youthfulness of Liuli, it had been a different context. But now, he felt a tad uneasy about placing his hands on Ram's chest.
Ram seemed to consider turning around but hesitated. She had always taken a wicked delight in teasing Wu Qingsong since they met. The current awkwardness threatened to shatter the facade she had carefully built, like a wave ready to topple a sandcastle.
She finally said, somewhat tersely, "Let's not. If we're experimenting, just proceed as you did successfully before."
Wu Qingsong felt moisture accumulating in his palms. As he hesitated before approaching Ram, she shot him a glare. "Why the delay?"
'You brought this upon yourself,' Wu Qingsong silently remarked to himself.
Casting aside his reservations, he extended his hands. Overlapping his palms, he gently pressed them against the soft contour of her chest, as if performing CPR. The sensation of warmth, softness, and elasticity that met his touch sent a sudden rigidity through his inexperienced frame.
Right at that moment, Ling softly exclaimed, "Ah!" Color immediately rose in both Wu Qingsong and Ram's faces.
In a self-deceptive act, Ram closed her eyes. This sudden move filled Wu Qingsong with an overwhelming sense of guilt. As a result, he forced himself to focus, striving to detect Ram's heartbeat.
'Her heart is racing,' was his immediate thought.
Then, a torrent of sensations washed over him, the soft brush of her fur against his palms, the warmth radiating from her body, each one sending his mind into a whirl of distracting thoughts. Out of fear that Ram would misconstrue his actions as taking advantage, he didn't dare to press further. His palms remained fully open, resisting any urge to grip. All of this shattered his concentration, making any semblance of the connection he'd once established with Liuli unattainable.
After what seemed like an eternity, Harold finally gave in and coughed. The tension had drained Wu Qingsong, and the sound of the cough made him involuntarily lean forward, pressing heavily against Ram.
Unable to maintain her facade any longer, Ram's eyes flicked open, a note of irritation coloring her voice.
"Well? What's the outcome?"
Wu Qingsong quickly pulled his hands back and shook his head.
With cheeks flushed to the tips of her ears, Ram sat up, avoiding eye contact with both Harold and Ling. She announced loudly, "It's getting late. We need to rest."
"Oh... I’m sorry," Wu Qingsong said hurriedly, exiting the room with Harold.
Though Harold's expression was unreadable, Wu Qingsong suspected he was suppressing a laugh. Unsure of what else to say, he could only rub his forehead and sigh deeply.
They ended up sharing a room with a group of wolfmen for the night.
As dawn broke and they were just waking up, Ling burst into the room, announcing, "Liuli is awake!"
The catgirl, clearly terrified, was huddled against the wall next to the bed. As soon as she saw Wu Qingsong, she sprang into his arms, hiding her face in his chest.
"It's alright, you're safe now. Everything is fine," Wu Qingsong reassured her as he hugged her tightly, a response that puzzled everyone in the room.
"Do you not remember anything at all?" Ram asked once Liuli had settled down and started eating breakfast.
Liuli shook her head emphatically.
"What's the last thing you do remember?" Ram persisted.
Casting nervous glances at Wu Qingsong and Ling, Liuli whispered, "Lord... Lord Kleine captured me and brought me to Wu..." Her body suddenly tensed, likely reliving the harrowing moments before her near-death experience. Tears began to flow down her cheeks.
Wu Qingsong felt compelled to hold her tightly once more. "It's over now. Everything's over. Kleine is dead. He can never hurt you again."
It was clear that the conversation couldn't proceed any further. With a sense of regret, Ram left the room, soon followed by Harold.
"What do you think is really happening here? Does she genuinely not remember anything?" Ram asked Harold, unable to contain her curiosity.
"Who can say? This is uncharted territory for us. We'll have to be patient, these things take time," Harold responded, shaking his head.
Ram remained silent, her gaze fixed on the distant mountain ranges.
"Who did your clan serve in the past?" she finally broke the silence. "Silver Moon? Norwei? Or Haldorgis?"
"I'm a commoner, without a clan," Harold answered.
"Is that so?" Ram gave him a scrutinizing look. "Every wolfkin has a liege they swear allegiance to, without exception."
"The kingdoms you mentioned have been extinct for over a hundred years, and Haldorgis has been gone for over five hundred years. Discussing them now holds no meaning," Harold concluded.
"Meaningless, you say?" Ram let out a forlorn sigh. "Maybe you're right. It's becoming a common sentiment, this giving up, this acceptance of our harsh reality. The elves are a force too formidable to reckon with. The Kingdom of Silver Moon has been under their yoke for 120 years. How many will stand by it in another decade? Will anyone even remember it exists a century from now?"
Harold chose silence as his response, so she pressed on, "But should we truly resign ourselves to this life? The elves don't regard us as their own people. If not for the wealth the beastkin funnel into their coffers, helping their luxurious lives built on our suffering, they'd have wiped us out by now. The burden of taxation grows heavier every day. Farmers slave away for a whole year and can't even feed their own families. Merchants surrender most of their earnings to these bandits, who are insatiable in their greed. As we spiral downwards, conditions will only deteriorate further. But consider this, if a seemingly fragile catgirl can suddenly become a force capable of annihilating twenty warriors in an instant, what might a naturally strong individual with royal blood achieve? When you know such potential exists, don't you feel a renewed sense of vitality? Doesn't it reignite a spark of hope?”
"Padamia is home to at least fifty thousand elves, each one capable of slaughtering those twenty mastiffmen with ease," Harold finally spoke up. "A single powerful individual, or even a handful, won't tip the scales. In fact, it might draw unwanted attention from the elves. Imagine the consequences. The entire Tecks mountain range could be reduced to wasteland. The Silver Moon Clan would face swifter extinction, and countless innocent lives would be lost in the process."
"So, because we're afraid, we should just resign ourselves to this horrific fate? Should we passively watch as they murder infants year after year, infants who could've been geniuses? As they plunder the wealth of our people, incinerate villages one after the other, and massacre and violate our own?" A quiver of indignation threaded through Ram's otherwise restrained voice. "I've heard of you, the 'Son of the White Night,' but you're not the man legends made you out to be. Have you truly forgotten the ideals and convictions you held in your youth?"
"Those who once shared my ideals are all dead now. I'm old and broken," Harold responded. "Discussing this with me is futile. I won't deter you younger ones from pursuing what you believe is right. But reality has its own brutal rules. The sooner you grasp that, the fewer setbacks you'll face, and the more you can accomplish. Your dreams are pipe dreams, Ram. You underestimate the monstrosity you're up against. If you're in need of counsel, here it is. Either pull back to the barren lands in the north, seize territory from the barbarians, and establish a kingdom for however long you can hold it. Or stay here, keep a low profile, continue rallying support, and build something within the shadows. But never, under any circumstances challenge the elves' rule. Making waves will bring no good to anyone."
His words stoked a fire rage within Ram. She had hoped to enlist Harold, a wolfman, to her cause, thereby strengthening Wu Qingsong's position. But it was clear Harold had already seen through her motives, and he was shutting her down.
He was a wolfman whose courage had been broken, whose glory had been stripped away.
Unable to even look at him, Ram turned without another word and retreated back into the room.
