No matter how you looked at him, there was something incredibly wrong with Baal's current state.
Jiang Lijin's scalp tingled. She instinctively took a half-step back, her spine pressing flat against the wall.
Baal sharply caught her retreating movement, as well as the guarded fear in her eyes.
He closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing as he forcefully suppressed the surging agitation within his body. When he opened his eyes again, the darkness in them had largely faded, returning to his usual clarity and restraint. The black scales on his arm vanished.
"I'm sorry." Baal's voice was terribly hoarse and somewhat dry. "I lost my composure."
He loosened his grip. The little black snake, which had been held by its weak spot, let out two aggrieved cries before turning into a wisp of black smoke and diving back into his spiritual sea.
"Thank you for your help. This is extremely important to me." Baal cast his eyes down at Jiang Lijin, his tone steady again, even carrying a hint of gentleness. "Rest early."
With that, he turned around crisply, opened the door, and walked out, closing it behind him.
The corridor was dimly lit. Just as Baal stepped out of the room, he ran head-on into Tinia, who was emerging from the room diagonally across.
He was still holding that vibrant bouquet of red roses. Seeing Baal coming out of Jiang Lijin's room, the smile on Tinia's face instantly froze.
"Why are you coming out of my wife's room?" Tinia narrowed his eyes, his tone extremely hostile, like a little beast protecting its food.
Baal didn't even spare him a glance, walking straight toward his own room.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Tinia blocked his path, gnashing his teeth. "You sneaked off to see my wife behind my back?"
Baal stopped and cast a condescending glance at him, his tone completely flat. "Move aside. She is my mate as well."
Tinia laughed out of sheer anger. He looked at Baal's tightly shut door, then at Jiang Lijin's door, and decisively turned around, marching toward Jiang Lijin's room with the flowers in his arms. If that guy could go in, why couldn't he?
Inside the room, Jiang Lijin was still leaning against the wall, her mind full of Baal's bizarre appearance from moments ago.
'Xiao Yi, what exactly was going on with him just now?' Jiang Lijin called out to the system in her mind. 'Those scales grew out—is he mutating? Or did I use the wrong purification method and make his condition worse?'
Xiao Yi paused for a moment before speaking in a highly subtle tone. 'Host, I just checked the relevant data on the spiritual purification of interstellar males. The conclusion is that you purified too much manic energy for him all at once.'
'And then? Isn't that a good thing?'
'It is a good thing, it's just... he felt too comfortable, so he couldn't control his body's partial beastification reaction.'
Jiang Lijin's face darkened. Why did that sound so weird!
'Watch your words! What do you mean too comfortable? Don't make it sound like I did something inappropriate to him!' Jiang Lijin gritted her teeth.
Xiao Yi hurriedly explained. 'No, Host, think about it. Baal is an SSS-rank; he is constantly on the verge of losing control. It's like someone who has had a boulder pressing down on his back for years, unable to breathe and ready to be crushed at any moment. What you just did instantly removed that boulder and gave him a massage while you were at it. That feeling of relief from suddenly breaking free of extreme agony would make anyone feel incredibly relaxed, even creating the illusion of spiritual ascension.'
Hearing this analogy, Jiang Lijin finally understood.
Interstellar males who suffered from spiritual torment all year round would have this near-uncontrollable reaction when receiving a deep purification from a high-ranking female. Recalling Baal's flushed cheeks and heavy breathing from earlier, the tips of her ears unconsciously grew hot.
'But, Xiao Yi.' Jiang Lijin shook off the messy images in her head and raised a question. 'When I was purifying him, why did it feel completely effortless? Doesn't the Starweb say that purifying a high-ranking male is extremely dangerous and exhausting? How did I so easily solve a problem that SSS-ranks haven't been able to fix for years?'
Xiao Yi's tone became extremely proud. 'Of course! You are the only SSS-rank female in this world! Be confident! Looking across the entire interstellar space, what female could be stronger than you? If it weren't for your unique strength, would the Main Brain give you such great treatment?'
'Furthermore, there is another very important reason.' Xiao Yi continued analyzing. 'Your compatibility with Baal must be very high. High compatibility means your spiritual energies can perfectly align, preventing any rejection reactions during the purification process. Although I can't look up your exact compatibility rate, I estimate it to be around 95 percent!'
Jiang Lijin nodded thoughtfully.
High compatibility?
The figures of the original owner's three ex-husbands couldn't help but surface in her mind. The original owner's compatibility with those three had also been very high, but at that time, she was only a C-rank female. Every time she provided spiritual comfort to them, the original owner would suffer backlash from the massive manic energy, enduring excruciating pain before passing out completely, even suffering severe lingering side effects.
If it were her now, using her SSS-rank status and strength to soothe the spiritual riots of those three ex-husbands...
Jiang Lijin sneered. She figured she could probably cure them completely with just the flick of a finger. It was a pity she didn't even want to spare them a single glance now.
Just as she was thinking this, there was another knock on the door.
Jiang Lijin thought it was Baal returning, having forgotten to mention something. She walked over and pulled the door open.
"What else is..."
Before she could finish, a dazzling flash of golden yellow burst into her line of sight.
Tinia was holding that bouquet of red roses, smiling brightly. Without standing on ceremony, he simply turned sideways and squeezed through the gap between Jiang Lijin and the doorframe, swaggering right into the room.
"Wife, I'm here to bring you flowers."
Tinia walked to the small living room and placed the vibrant, dewy roses squarely in the center of the coffee table.
Jiang Lijin watched his uninvited actions, feeling a bit of a headache coming on. This young master really treated this place like his own home.
After setting down the flowers, Tinia didn't leave immediately. With his hands behind his back, he started strolling around the room. Those blue eyes of his swept over every corner of the room like searchlights.
"This sofa is too hard; sitting on it for too long will hurt your back. My wife is so delicate, how can she sit on such rough fabric?"
"The color of these curtains is too dark, not cozy at all. The blackout effect is terrible too; it'll definitely ruin my wife's ability to sleep in."
"And this carpet, the pile is too short; it's not soft to step on at all. This mattress is no good either. It looks like a cheap, mass-produced item. Sleeping on it long-term is bad for the spine."
Tinia shook his head as he walked, his mouth never stopping its stream of complaints.
Jiang Lijin rolled her eyes as she listened. This was the house specially assigned to her by the Female Protection Center, yet coming from the mouth of this young master from the wealthiest family, how did it suddenly turn into slum trash?
"Enough." Jiang Lijin spoke up to interrupt his lengthy tirade. "I think it's perfectly fine. As long as it's livable, it's enough."
Tinia turned around, looking at her with a face full of disapproval. "Absolutely not! How could I let my wife suffer such indignity?"
He immediately raised his wrist and activated his holo-terminal.
"Hello, Butler Li?" Tinia quickly issued instructions to the screen. "Contact the Stark Consortium's custom home furnishing center immediately. Yes, the one that exclusively supplies the royal family. Have them deliver a top-tier Cloud sofa first thing tomorrow morning. For the curtains, get that smart Nebula gauze that automatically adjusts light and temperature. The carpet should be snow-fluff beast hide from Alpha Star, covering the entire room. Replace the mattress with a suspended therapeutic bed—yes, the absolute highest specs."
Tinia spoke extremely fast, issuing a continuous string of commands without even pausing to take a breath.
Jiang Lijin stood to the side. Hearing the names of these astronomical luxury items she had only ever seen on the Star Network's gossip forums, her eyes lit up.
This wasn't just replacing furniture; this was practically burying someone in Star Coins!
On the surface, however, she maintained her composure and coughed lightly. "There is no need to spend so much..."
Tinia ended the call and turned to look at Jiang Lijin, smiling so widely that his two little canine teeth showed.
"It is not too much." He stepped forward, lowering his head slightly to lean closer to her, his tone completely matter-of-fact. "What is mine belongs to my wife. Isn't the whole point of making money to spend it on you?"
Jiang Lijin was stunned by his deep-pocketed declaration.
This young master truly combined sheer shamelessness with the superpower of wealth flawlessly. With his sweet-talking skills and his relentless willingness to throw money around, even a heart of stone would have a dent smashed into it.
Jiang Lijin completely gave up trying to argue.
"Do whatever you want," Jiang Lijin waved her hand, too tired to bother with him anymore. "As long as you get it sorted."
Seeing that she didn't refuse, the smile on Tinia's face grew even brighter. Pushing his luck, he leaned in further and tried to grab her hand.
Jiang Lijin reacted lightning-fast, dodging to the side and evading his claws.
"It is getting late, and I need to rest." Jiang Lijin pointed at the door, issuing a clear eviction notice. "Take care, I won't see you out."
Tinia wasn't annoyed in the slightest. He smilingly pulled his hand back. "Then get some rest early, wifey. See you tomorrow."
