Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?! - Chapter 314

Chapter 314: 314- the last Saberfang [1]
Fang Chen hurried off, his figure fading into the garden’s archway and leaving only the quiet hum of the wind behind.

Fang Yuan turned to Lin Zhaoyue. Her eyes were still wide from the news, her face caught between both curiosity and confusion.

He reached out, resting a hand gently atop her head and ruffling her hair with an affectionate ease.

“Are you excited?” he asked.

She blinked up, puzzled.

“Excited…? What for?” Fang Yuan coughed into his fist, trying to reclaim some gravity.

“Right. Ahem.” He straightened. “I did say I’d teach you how to communicate with beasts, didn’t I?”

Her expression lit up instantly.

“Mm! I remember!”Fang Yuan’s lips curved. “Good. Because the creature we’re going to see, the Saberfang—” he tapped a finger against her forehead, “—is one of your beasts before you lost your memory, we’ll practice with that.”

Zhaoyue’s mouth fell open. “Really? I had a… Saberfang?”

She paused. “…What’s a Saberfang?”

A quiet laugh escaped Fang Yuan’s. He smoothed her hair again, warmth glinting in his eyes.

“Instead of telling you,” he murmured, taking her hand, “let me show you.”

Before Xiao Pei could even process those words, his face paled. “BROTHER FANG! BROTHER FANG—WAIT—!”

But he was too late. Fang Yuan tightened his hold on Lin Zhaoyue’s hand, and the two vanished in a shimmer of rippling qi. Blossoms scattered in their wake.

For a heartbeat, Xiao Pei stood still. Then he dropped to his knees with a tragic wail.

“Aaaaahh! I got dumped…”He tilted his head toward the heavens.

A chill voice cut him off.

“Who got dumped?”

Xiao Pei’s blood froze as he turned slowly.

Du Juan stood there, arms folded, her gaze sharp.”Didn’t I tell you,” she said icily, “to wait?”

“W-Wait, Du Juan! My love! Dearest—mer—”

“Don’t ‘dear’ me!”She lunged.

Xiao Pei bolted but it didn’t didn’t help.

Compared to an enraged Nascent Soul cultivator, his speed was closer to a crawling turtle. Du Juan caught him before his next breath.

***

A shimmer of distortion opened above a desolate street and both Fang Yuan and Lin Zhaoyue stepped out from the void, boots settling on cracked stone.

Around them, Coldwind City’s ruins whispered quietly in the wind. Zhaoyue stood frozen, staring ahead with an empty gaze.

Her breathing came shallow, face pale and unreadable. Fang Yuan watched her closely.

Maybe she remembers something… He stepped closer.

“Zhaoyue?”Her body swayed.

“Ah—”She clutched his sleeve and doubled over, retching violently.

The sound echoed across the empty street.

Fang Yuan stopped mid-motion.

“…Ah.”

Not memories, then. Just motion sickness.

She wiped her mouth weakly, still wobbling. “Uuuu… Patriarch Fang… the world is spinning… I feel sick…”

She crouched down and hugged her stomach.

“I think my soul left my body,” she moaned.

“I don’t want to walk out of any more void doors…”

Crouching beside her, Fang Yuan sighed and rubbed her back in small, soothing circles.

“Breathe slowly. It’ll pass.”A pitiful groan answered him. “So dizzy… Patriarch Fang, I think I died a little…”

“No,” he said mildly, “if you died, you wouldn’t be talking this much.”

“…That’s mean.”But she didn’t let go of his sleeve.

Her breathing evened out gradually, the trembling in her fingers fading as she leaned quietly against his arm.

Fang Yuan’s hand moved in slow, steady rhythms.

But at that moment a heavy step echoed from the ruins.

Crunch!

Fang Yuan stilled as he heard another step followed. Then another, methodical and unhurried.

He stood up smoothly, gaze fixed on the collapsed alleyway ahead as a massive shadow stirred there, it’s broad shoulders shifting beneath its fur, it’s eyes glowing faint in the dim light.

A great tail swept dust into the air as the Saberfang emerged, limping.

The beast’s movements were tentative, almost gentle, as though uncertain of what it saw.

It crept closer. One step. Two. Then a breath long enough for its warm exhale to brush their clothes.

Fang Yuan did not make a move and instead simply watched the Saberfang circled him once, then stopped before Lin Zhaoyue.

Zhaoyue looked up, terror flickering to life. “P-Patriarch Fang…!”

His hand settled calmly on her shoulder. “It’s alright. I’m here.”

“But—but—why isn’t it attacking? Why—”She stopped mid-sentence.

Her ears twitched.The Saberfang wasn’t growling.

It was making a low, trembling sound, soft and plaintive. And then lowered its head to the ground…. Zhaoyue’s finger trembled as she pointed at it.

“P–Patriarch Fang… why is that beast… calling me mother?!”

Lin Zhaoyue’s voice echoed thinly in the empty street. The Saberfang’s low call lingered, rumbling through the dust until it faded into silence.

For a long moment, no one moved. Fang Yuan’s eyes softened almost imperceptibly.

So… it remembers her.

Zhaoyue was frozen, her hand gripping his sleeve so tight her knuckles paled.

“Patriarch Fang,” she whispered hoarsely, “what—what’s happening? Why does it think I’m—”

The Saberfang shifted its weight, tail sweeping softly across the cracked stone.

Then, as if sensing her fear, it lowered its massive frame and pressed its head against the ground.

A quiet, broken whine rolled from its throat. Zhaoyue’s breath caught.

Fang Yuan’s gaze flickered between them and then he responded, “This beast recognised your qi. Perhaps some deep imprint of the bond still exists within it.”

“My… qi?” she stammered. “But I don’t remember—”

“You may not,” he said gently, “but a beast never forgets. Guess this big boy is your one hope to recover your memories.”

He stepped aside, letting her stand before the creature unshielded. For a heartbeat, she looked like she might run.

But then, hesitantly, she drew a breath and took a single step forward.The beast exhaled softly, its breath warm against her face.

Up close, the scar along its side was visible—a deep, half-healed mark that shimmered faintly with residual spirit light.

Without fully intending to, Zhaoyue reached out. Her hand trembled as her fingers brushed the Saberfang’s fur.

Coarse, warm, and alive. The moment her touch met its skin, a faint pulse rippled outward, soft blue light weaving between them for the briefest instant.