"Cough it out, Huahua," Mu Qingyi said, his voice low and steady, though the tightness under it was so clear that even Lin Huahua could hear it through the ringing in her ears. "Do not swallow it. Breathe slowly. I am here. Baiyu is here. You are out now."

Lin Huahua tried to nod, but another cough tore out of her throat, and more water came up.

Hu Baiyu made a broken sound.

It was not a word, because he could not speak, but it came from so deep in his chest that Lin Huahua felt it against her cheek. It sounded like a wounded beast trying not to roar. His arms tightened by mistake for one second, then loosened at once when he realized she was already struggling to breathe. His eyes went wide with panic, and he looked at Mu Qingyi as if asking what do I do, what do I do, why is she still coughing, why is she still shaking.

Mu Qingyi understood him immediately. "Hold her up a little. Not too tight."

Hu Baiyu obeyed at once. He shifted Lin Huahua carefully, lifting her small body higher against his chest so her head rested near his shoulder and the water could leave more easily. His hands were trembling, which was something Lin Huahua had never seen before. This huge white lion who could fight underwater, who had charged at a merman like a storm, whose full beast form could make other males step back, was now trembling because she had coughed.

Feng Yiren arrived a breath later, and he looked terrible. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Not because of the water.

Not because of the fading bee marks from yesterday.

But because his face was almost frightening.

The fox beastman’s red hair was wet and wild, his red fox ears were sharp and high, and his eyes were so bright with fear and fury that they almost looked like they were burning. His lean muscular chest rose and fell quickly, his hide beast skirt clung wetly to his hips, and his red tail lashed behind him in hard, sharp movements that showed every bit of fear he did not want to admit.

He crouched beside them, reached for Lin Huahua’s face, and then stopped himself half an inch away as if afraid that touching her too suddenly would hurt her.

"Lin Huahua," he said, voice rough.

Lin Huahua lifted her wet lashes and tried to look at him. Her face was pale, her lips were trembling, and because she was still trying to breathe properly, her voice came out hoarse and small. "I am fine."

Feng Yiren’s expression changed instantly.

"Fine?" he repeated.

Lin Huahua blinked.

That tone was not good.

"I am fine," she said again, weaker this time, because she felt that if she did not say it quickly, the three of them might panic so badly they would carry her home and stuff her inside a fur pile forever.

Unfortunately, saying she was fine made Feng Yiren look even angrier.

"You are fine?" His red fox ears flattened slightly, and his voice rose with every word because fear, anger, jealousy, and guilt were all tangled together inside him so tightly that even he did not know which one was speaking first. "You were dragged under the water by a merman. A merman, Lin Huahua. Do you know what that means? Do you know how rare it is for merpeople to come near the surface? They do not crawl out of deep water for fun. They do not show themselves to land females unless they want something. He wanted you. He almost took you."

Lin Huahua flinched at the last sentence.

Hu Baiyu reacted even faster. His head lowered, and he pressed his wet cheek against her hair, a silent desperate gesture that said no, no, no, she was not taken, she is here, she is mine, she is safe. His lion tail, soaked and heavy, curled around them on the stone like it wanted to wrap her whole body inside it.

Mu Qingyi’s hand on Lin Huahua’s back paused, then resumed stroking slowly. His eyes moved toward the deeper river, where the water had already smoothed over like nothing had happened. That calm surface made his expression colder.

"Merpeople rarely approach shallow rivers," Mu Qingyi said quietly, and because his voice was calm again, it only made the danger feel heavier. "They stay in deeper water. If one came this close, and if he used fish to lure her, then he had already been watching."

Feng Yiren’s jaw tightened so hard that a muscle moved in his cheek. "For how long."

Lin Huahua’s fingers clutched Hu Baiyu’s shoulder.

That made all three males look back at her.

She swallowed and tried to make her voice steadier. "He said he had been watching me since yesterday."

For one moment, none of them spoke.

The river sounded louder.

A bird cried somewhere in the trees.

The reeds moved in the breeze.

Then Hu Baiyu’s chest rumbled.

A real growl.

Low, deep, and full of such killing intent that Lin Huahua’s ears twitched despite how tired she was. She looked up at him and saw that his blue eyes were no longer soft. They were fixed on the water with a look that made him seem far less like the sweet lion who nuzzled her hair and far more like the predator he truly was.

Mu Qingyi’s eyes darkened too. "Then we are not only watching the forest for the snake beastman."

Feng Yiren laughed once, but there was no humor in it. "Now we watch the water too. Wonderful. One four-striped snake in the forest and one deranged fish male in the river. Should we also ask the sky if it wants to drop a bird beastman on her next?"

Lin Huahua would have laughed if her throat did not still ache.

Instead, she coughed again, smaller this time.

At once all anger disappeared from their faces, replaced by panic again.