Chapter 4 — Changed the entire Inheritance Lineage to Choose the Wolf King

The night before the holiday, Yen Chi could not sleep.

She sat by the window, looking at the crescent moon hanging over Son Lang peak, her heart filled with hundreds of worries. Tomorrow, when the sun rises, she will have to stand before the entire Storm Wolf Clan, performing the ritual that her ancestors have planned for generations. And she made up her mind—she wouldn't choose any of her five brothers.

But that decision, even though it had been cherished for a long time, now that the moment of implementation was approaching, made her heart heavier than ever. Because she knew, this action would be like a slap in the face to the entire clan, to her adoptive father's honor, and perhaps, to the very brothers she once truly loved - even though they have now become strange shadows.

She remembered her childhood years, when her five brothers were still hanging around her like a pack of wolf cubs sharing a den. Thiet Phong, when he was only twelve years old, carried her on his back across a fast-flowing stream during the flood season, just because she was afraid of water. Second brother used to stay up all night by her bed when she was seriously ill when she was ten years old, using the warmth of his wolf body to reduce her fever the way wolf people do for each other. Third brother, despite his hot temper, was always the first to stand up for her whenever another child in the clan teased her about her adopted status. The fourth brother was quieter, but every year he personally made her a small gift, even if it was just a braided bracelet made from reed grass. And Fifth Brother, the youngest brother, always followed her like a little tail, calling her name hundreds of times every day.

All those memories now seem to belong to another life, distant and untouchable. She wondered if tomorrow, when she stood on the stone pedestal and announced her refusal to all five people, would they still remember anything about those years, or if it had all been completely erased by Tieu Yen's mist.

A soft knock on the door rang out, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she replied, thinking it was Dinh Thi Le coming to visit as usual.

But the person who walked in was Thiet Phong.

He stood in the doorway for a moment, a hesitant expression rarely seen on his eldest brother, who was always calm and decisive. "Yen Chi, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course." She sat up straight and signaled him to come into the room.

Thiet Phong walked over, sat down on the opposite chair, clasped his hands together, his eyes looked at the floor as if trying to arrange his words. "I... I want to ask you something. And I want you to answer honestly."

"Just ask."

"Do you still trust us? Me, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother?"

The question made Yen Chi stunned. She looked straight into his eyes, trying to use her intuition to sense what was behind that question — and this time, there was no fog to hinder. Thiet Phong is completely sincere.

"I trust you," she replied slowly. "But I'm not sure about the other four. Something's going on with them, brother. Something's not right."

Thiet Phong's shoulders trembled slightly. "I feel the same way. But I can't put my finger on what it is. These past few months, I've seen you guys become more and more... obsessed with Tieu Yen. Not the usual type of infatuation that a young man might have with a beautiful girl. It's like..."

"It's like being controlled," Yen Chi continued, her voice trembling slightly.

Thiet Phong looked up at her, surprised. "Do you think so too?"

"I've suspected it for a long time, but my intuition can't penetrate the strange scent around her. Nanny Le also said the same thing — there's a certain scent that's not for beauty, but to hide."

A long silence covered the room. Thiet Phong stood up, walked to the window, looking out at the crescent moon.

"I will investigate this," he said, his voice firm. "After tomorrow's ceremony, no matter the outcome, I will find out the truth about Tieu Yen. I owe my sister, my father, and all four of my younger siblings an explanation."

Yen Chi felt a warm ray of hope spread in her heart — for the first time in many months, she was not alone in this silent battle.

"Thank you," she said, her voice choked. "I... I'm afraid I imagined it all."

"I can't imagine." Thiet Phong turned back to look at her, his eyes determined. "I am your eldest brother. No matter who you choose tomorrow, no matter the result of the Mate Selection ceremony, I will still stand on the side of truth."

He left the room immediately afterward, leaving Yen Chi with a heart that was both heavy and strangely relieved. She didn't know where this conversation would lead, but at least, she knew she wasn't completely alone.

However, that hope did not last long.

Less than an hour later, a soft sound rang out the window. Yen Chi opened it and saw a familiar eagle landing, carrying a small piece of paper.

*"Yen Chi, I have come close to your territory. I will be waiting at the edge of the eastern forest, about half a mile from the chief's palace, when the sun rises tomorrow. If you need me to appear at the ceremony, send a signal — at any time, I will be there. You are not alone in this, Yen Chi. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will be there for you."*

She hugged the piece of paper tightly to her chest, feeling as if a new flow of strength was being transmitted into her body. Tomorrow, she will not be alone.

But just a few minutes after folding the letter, the sound of rapid footsteps rang out in the hallway, accompanied by Ngu brother's panicked call.

"Sister Yen Chi! Sister Yen Chi, come here quickly!"

She quickly ran out and saw all four of her younger siblings gathered in the front yard, looking confused. And standing between them, was Thiet Phong - who had just left her room less than an hour ago - but now, his eyes were completely different. Empty. Strange.

"Thiet Phong?" she called, her heart sinking.

He turned to look at her, and in a painful moment, Yen Chi clearly saw the familiar fog covering his eyes - the fog she had seen on her four younger siblings for many months.

"Yen Chi," he said, his voice flat, lacking any warmth from the conversation just now. "Tieu Yen just told me important news. She said... you have been secretly contacting outsiders for the past year. Is that true?"

Yen Chi was dumbfounded. She looked at Tieu Yen, who had just appeared behind Thiet Phong with a gentle smile, her hands still covered with amber aromatic dust.

"Big brother just came to see me a short while ago when he smelled the herbal scent I just mixed to help him sleep better," Tieu Yen said, her voice light as if she were telling a harmless story. "Maybe that's why he overheard this news from one of the night watchmen. Sister, is it true that you have been secretly contacting a strange man for the past year?"

All four brothers simultaneously turned to look at Yen Chi, their eyes full of doubt. And worst of all, Thiet Phong - who had just sworn to stand for the truth less than an hour ago - now looked at her with those strange eyes, as if the sincere conversation just now had never happened.

Yen Chi stood there, in the cold front yard under the waning moonlight, clearly feeling how perfectly the trap had fallen. Tieu Yen used Thiet Phong's moment of weakness - perhaps lurking outside the window to eavesdrop on their conversation - to turn it into a weapon, and at the same time finished controlling the last conscious boy.

Tomorrow is holiday. And now, she is truly alone.

She looked at each face standing in front of her in turn — faces she had known by heart since childhood, now so strange that it was painful. There was a part of her that wanted to scream, to remind them of the stream during the flood season, the night of high fever, the reed grass bracelet, the times they defended each other in front of the children in the clan. But she knew that amid the thick fog covering their minds right now, any reminder would be meaningless, and could even be used by Tieu Yen to distort it into a pitiful begging trick.

So she chose to stay silent, letting her pride as a wolf girl do the talking.

Not far from there, standing hidden in the darkness of the hallway, Dinh Thi Le witnessed that heartbreaking scene without daring to speak. She was old, no longer strong enough to directly confront the invisible power that Tieu Yen held in her hands, but she swore to herself that, even if she had to wait until the last day, she would still find a way to bring the truth to light, to give justice to the child she had carried with her own hands since the first days she set foot in the patriarch's palace.

"Yes," she replied, holding her head high, her voice not shaking even though her heart was breaking. "I have been in contact with someone for the past year. And tomorrow, you will know who that person is."