I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!

”Let’s just exchange jackets,” Luan said as he took off his undamaged jacket.

At first, Roxanna wanted to refuse him. But when she saw how serious he looked, she knew he wouldn’t give up. Even if she said no, he would still force her to wear it.

”Then... if you get cold later, we can switch again,” Roxanna said softly as she took the jacket from his hands.

Luan carefully pulled the jacket closer around her shoulders. ”Don’t worry about me,” he said. Then he looked at her again and asked, ”But... are you really sure you want to leave now?”

Roxanna turned to look at Cyrus. She slowly checked him from head to toe, making sure there were no more wounds on his body. But that wasn’t the only reason she was staring at him.

She wanted Cyrus to decide because after all, he was the one who had been hurt the most.

”I think we should leave as soon as possible,” Cyrus said at last. His voice was low and serious. ”I don’t feel good about that hole closing by itself.”

”Me too,” Roxanna replied. She lifted her head and looked up at the ground above them, which had suddenly sealed shut. ”Do you think... this mountain is trying to trap us here? Like... it thinks we’re not good enough to go higher?”

Maybe the reason no one questioned or judged their worthiness was because the golden mountain itself was doing that task.

Roxanna pointed her flashlight around and was taken aback when she saw a bunch of skeletons not far from where they were standing.

Some of them were even stuck inside the rocky walls and the ground beneath their feet, as if they had become part of the mountain.

”That stupid healer...” Luan muttered angrily. ”Just how special is he? Why do we have to suffer this much just to meet him?”

He couldn’t help but want to punch the stone wall beside him, realizing that the golden mountain would do everything to stop them from climbing higher.

”Maybe... I really should climb this mountain alone,” Roxanna whispered. ”If you keep following me, the mountain might keep trying to kill you both...”

Calen was already dying, and the last thing Roxanna wanted was to watch her other husbands die right in front of her too.

”I don’t think that’s true,” Cyrus said calmly. ”Maybe the mountain isn’t choosing who is a healer and who isn’t. Maybe it’s testing who can take care of themselves and keep going until the top.”

”This mountain is testing how strong we are,” he continued. ”Not whether we can heal others.” He looked straight at Roxanna. ”So even if you go alone, I don’t think these dangers will disappear.”

”What if something bad happens to you when you’re by yourself?” Luan said quickly as he reached for her hand. His grip was warm and tight. ”What if you get trapped and no one is there to help you?”

He shook his head. ”No. We can’t let that happen. No matter what happens, we’re staying together. Alright?”

Roxanna looked at her husbands one by one, and she couldn’t help feeling touched because there were people who cared about her like that.

After a moment, she nodded. ”Alright... alright. We’ll stay together.”

Before they started walking, Cyrus spoke again, his voice firm but gentle. ”This climb is still very long,” he said. ”So unless we’re really about to die, don’t use your blood to heal us. Do you understand?”

He gave her a serious look. ”We just don’t want you to run out of strength too soon.”

Roxanna wanted to argue, but she decided to just nod, because she knew her husbands would definitely feel guilty if she kept using her blood on them.

”Alright, let’s get going now,” Cyrus said. Then he walked ahead first, followed by Roxanna, with Luan at the very back.

With this formation, Cyrus could protect her from the front, and Luan could protect her from behind. No matter where danger came from, they would be ready.

Sometimes, in the middle of their steps, they would suddenly hear strange sounds in the dark. It was hard to tell where they were coming from, and that made their hearts grow more tense with every step.

”Maybe... it’s just the sound of the wind,” Roxanna said softly. But deep down, she knew she was only trying to calm herself.

Her heart was beating fast. She reached out and tightly held the back of Cyrus’s clothes because she didn’t want to get separated from her husbands, not even by accident.

After all, she didn’t want to be alone in this dark place.

”If it really is the wind, then there must be a way out,” Luan said from behind her.

He sounded very calm, probably because he wasn’t afraid of the dark at all. Honestly, Roxanna wasn’t very afraid of darkness either, but she was afraid of whatever might be hiding beneath it.

”I can hear the sound of flowing water getting closer,” Cyrus said. He stopped for a moment, then he slowly moved his flashlight around, shining it in every direction, trying to find where the sound was coming from.

”There is... a cliff ahead?” Cyrus said, frowning deeply because he wasn’t completely sure.

He took a careful step forward and shone the flashlight toward the ground. The light revealed a sudden drop not far in front of them.

A deep, dark gap split the path in two. They couldn’t see the bottom, but they could hear the sound of rushing water echoing from below, growing louder with every second.

Roxanna held her breath. ”So... that sound is coming from down there?” she muttered.

Cyrus nodded. ”Yes. There’s probably an underground river.”

At first, they thought it was only the sound of a spring, but who would have thought it was actually the sound of an underground river?

But the good news was that a river would always have a way to flow out, which meant there had to be another path somewhere nearby.

”Then... there must be a way around this,” Roxanna said softly, hope flickering in her eyes.

Cyrus nodded again. ”Yes. We just have to find where the water goes.”

He slowly moved his flashlight along the edge of the cliff, carefully checking every crack and shadow.

Luan also leaned closer, keeping one hand on Roxanna’s shoulder while looking ahead. ”Be careful,” he warned. ”The ground here looks unstable.”

Small stones rolled down when Cyrus stepped forward, disappearing into the darkness below. They waited for a moment, but it took a long time before they finally heard the stones hit the water below.

”That’s... really deep,” Roxanna whispered.

”Yes,” Cyrus said. He then stood up and handed the flashlight to Luan. ”I’ll try to find a way out. You two stay here and don’t move carelessly.”

Roxanna reached for his hand. ”But we don’t know what’s down there. What if something bad happens to you?”

”I’ll be alright.” Cyrus gently patted the back of Roxanna’s hand a few times. ”I can fly quickly, so don’t worry.”

Besides, they didn’t have any other choice. It was better for Cyrus to look for a way out first than for all of them to go down together and still fail to find an exit.

Roxanna bit her lip, still unwilling to let go of Cyrus’s hand.

”Please... be careful,” she said softly. Cyrus smiled at her. ”I will,” he replied. ”I’ll come back soon.”

He took a step back, then slowly moved closer to the edge. The rushing sound of water grew louder beneath his feet.

Luan tightened his grip on the flashlight, his eyes never leaving Cyrus’s figure. ”Don’t push yourself,” he called out. ”If it’s too dangerous, come back.”

Cyrus raised one hand without turning around. ”I know.”

Without saying anything else, Cyrus then transformed into a small bird. He flew quickly downward, but Roxanna could still see him faintly because of his red feathers.

She and Luan then sat at the edge of the cliff. Both of them kept looking around, trying to find anything other than skeletons.

”Just how many people have tried to climb this mountain?” Roxanna muttered.

”I’m not sure, but I think many people have been trying to climb this mountain for thousands of years,” Luan said.

”Maybe some of them also came here with the hope of meeting someone who could heal their loved ones,” Roxanna said softly.

”Maybe...” Luan added bitterly, ”but my brother once heard that some people came here because they wanted to take the horns of the deer beastkins, because rumors say that their horns can make someone immortal.”

Roxanna was silent for a moment after hearing that. ”Immortal?” she repeated softly.

Luan nodded. ”Yes. They believe that if they get those horns, they’ll never grow old. They’ll never die.”

If that was truly the case, then the reason this mountain kept trying its best to kill the people who climbed to the top might not be because it was evil, but because it wanted to protect the people at the peak.