Chapter 141: The High Price of Friendship

Ren’s face flushed a bright, tomato red. It wasn’t from a fever this time, but from pure, unadulterated mortification.

Her face twisted in disgust at his threat. The idea of Vex chewing up the mushrooms and spitting them into her mouth like a regurgitating pigeon was enough to cure her stubbornness instantly.

“I’ll eat! I’ll eat!” she shrieked, snatching the leaf and the bowl from his hands.

She downed most of the water in one go, the cool liquid soothing her parched, dried throat. Then she shoveled the Snow Mushrooms into her mouth with much gusto, chewing furiously. She hadn’t realized how truly hungry she was until the food hit her tongue.

Vex watched her, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He reached out and patted her head gently.

“Good girl,” he remarked, his tone indistinguishable from an owner praising a stubborn puppy who finally ate its kibble.

Ren glared at him, her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk. She smacked his hand away. Some strength was returning to her limbs, though she still felt ill.

“Whura ith Kael?” she asked, bits of mushroom flying slightly.

The amusement never left Vex’s bright orange eyes. He leaned back on his heels, feigning confusion.

“I cannot hear you, Little Rose,” he teased. “Your mouth is too full.”

Ren narrowed her eyes. She was sure he could hear her just fine; her words were perfectly clear despite the obstruction.

She aggressively swallowed the remaining mushrooms, nearly choking in her haste, and downed the last drop of water. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glared at him again.

“Where. Is. Kael?” she enunciated, her voice raspy but firm.

Ren desperately wanted to ask about the Rite of the Severed Fang, but she bit her tongue. How would she explain knowing that? The System had warned her about the duel mere moments before Vex arrived, but to the fox, she had been unconscious in the cave. If she mentioned a death match possibly happening miles away in the forest, Vex would get suspicious. She doubted she would be able to explain a lie to a fox as cunning and intelligent as Vex.

Maybe Kael had already found Syris and they were already butchering each other. They were not in front of her, so she couldn’t check their stats.

Vex reached out and wiped a stray droplet of water from her bottom lip with his thumb.

“The Tiger King is a grown beastman,” Vex started smoothly, his face a mask of calm assurance. “He likely went out to hunt for food for his mate. You shouldn’t be so worried. You sound like his mother.”

Thump.

Ren’s heart skipped a violent beat at the word “mother.”

She ignored it. She shoved the pregnancy panic into a mental box and locked it tight.

Smack.

She slapped Vex’s hand away from her face again.

’This fox is so touchy,’ she complained internally. ’Does the concept of personal space not exist in the Beast World?’

“I want you to take me to the forest,” Ren demanded, struggling to push herself up. “I need to find Kael and Syris.”

She paused, then added quickly to cover her tracks, “I… I am worried they might run into each other. If they do, they will start fighting to the death. You know how they are.”

Vex raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. A slow smirk spread across his face.

“And what,” Vex asked, his voice dropping to a low, transactional purr, “is in it for me?”

Ren grit her teeth. She didn’t want to owe this fox any more favors. He was a trickster; every deal with him felt like shaking hands with the devil. But in her current condition, she couldn’t even stand without her legs trembling, let alone walk through the dense forest to find them. The food and water had helped, but her head still ached, she was still nauseous, and she still felt like she had been run over by a truck.

She took a deep breath.

“It would be a favor,” Ren said desperately. “From a friend to a friend.”

Vex’s eyes widened slightly. A low chuckle escaped his throat.

“Are you sure, Little Rose?” he asked, his eyes gleaming with a predatory light. “You want to owe a fox two favors?”

Ren felt trapped. She had no choice. She hated making deals with him, but she loved her husbands. She didn’t want either of them to die—especially not by each other’s hands.

She thought about Kael. Had he recovered properly? If he didn’t, he would be at a major disadvantage against Syris. And she knew Syris. The Snake King was cold, ruthless, and vindictive when deceived. After all, the last time she lied to him, he had locked her in a dungeon and turned her into a servant.

“Yes,” Ren declared, her green eyes determined. “I will owe you a favor.”

Ren had no idea what she had just done.

In the Beast World, declaring a “Favor from a friend to a friend” wasn’t a casual social contract. It was a Rite in itself. It was a binding blood oath, similar to the Rite of the Severed Fang in its gravity. The penalty for refusing or failing to return a Friend’s Favor was worse than death in battle; it was a curse. It caused the slow rotting of the heart until death.

To the beasts, a betrayal of friends was the ultimate sin. It was unforgivable.

Vex smirked at Ren. He could see it in the innocence of her tired green eyes—she had absolutely no clue what she had just offered him. She thought she was offering to do his laundry or cook him a meal. In reality, she had just handed him a blank check with her life as collateral.

Vex did not refuse. And being the trickster he was, he intentionally didn’t make Ren any wiser about the weight of her words.

“Accepted,” Vex said, his voice silky.

He stood up, folding his arms across his chest.

“But before we go,” Vex noted, tapping his chin, “you still haven’t made good on your word after I told you how to cure Kael. You never told me how you managed to force a Feral Beast back to his beastman form.”

He looked at her expectantly.

Vex prided himself on knowing things. He was the information hub of the forest. Beasts from far and wide came to him to trade secrets. That was how he earned the title of Fox Shaman. A Shaman in the Beast World wasn’t just a healer; he was one who knew many, many things. He was almost omniscient.

For Vex, knowledge was power. And the more he knew, the closer he would get to his true goal.

Ren sighed, running a hand through her messy hair. She regretted not listening to the System earlier about the cure, but she supposed the fox had been somewhat useful. Without his aphrodisiac root, she might not have survived Kael’s rough mating. She shuddered to think of the pain she would have endured without it.

“I’ll tell you on the way,” Ren promised.

She glanced out the entrance of the hollow. The sky was turning a bruised purple.

’The sun will set soon,’ Ren thought anxiously. ’I need to find them before it gets dark.’

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