Last night before bed, Yunyang uploaded the files of her five beast-husbands into the databases of Stewards One, Two, and Three, just in case any of them moved in while she wasn’t home.
Now that Steward One had informed her of who was outside, her mind automatically pulled up Xuan Yu’s file.
Name: Xuan Yu
Age: 21
Height: 192 cm
Beast form: Frost Wolf
Ability: Ice-type
Ability level: S-rank
Occupation: Unknown
Genetic compatibility: 96%
“001, let him in.”
Steward One received the command and quickly operated the smart system to open the door.
Outside stood a male about the same height as Qin Mo.
Unlike Qin Mo’s initial nervousness, this one strode straight into the villa after being scanned by the robot butler, his steps carrying him directly toward Yunyang on the sofa.
His presence felt completely opposite to Qin Mo’s. As he walked, dark black strands of hair fell diagonally across his forehead, partially concealing a hint of coldness between his brows.
When those brown eyes landed on her, Yunyang suddenly felt as if everything about her had been seen through.
This male was dangerous.
That was Yunyang’s first impression.
But then, Xuan Yu stopped in front of her, pressed his left hand to his chest, cradled her hand with his right, and dropped to one knee before her.
A smile curved at the corners of his lips, and in that instant, the sharpness between his brows vanished entirely. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mistress.”
“I was held up by some trivial matters yesterday and couldn’t come see you right away. If that made you unhappy, please feel free to punish me as you see fit.”
Yunyang: “...”
Could the contrast be any bigger?
She’d just had the illusion that this man was walking over to kill her, and then he pulls this?
But honestly, that opening line was way too formal.
Yunyang had never been treated like this before, and she awkwardly pulled her hand back. “Um, get up first.”
Xuan Yu complied and stood, then unceremoniously took a seat on the right side of Yunyang.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on Qin Mo on the other side.
Qin Mo had clenched his fists at some point, and his voice was clearly grinding through his teeth: “Xuan Yu, you’re actually one of Mistress’s beast-husbands too!”
This little wolf brat—what kind of luck did he have!
Xuan Yu raised an eyebrow. “Deputy Qin seems to have quite a bit of hostility toward me?”
Qin Mo let out a cold snort. “You know exactly why.”
The atmosphere grew tense, like swords drawn and bows bent.
Yunyang looked at Qin Mo, then at Xuan Yu. Her two beast-husbands clearly knew each other, and judging by the looks of it, they had some kind of grudge.
Were these two going to fight?
Worried that her guess might come true, Yunyang quickly spoke up: “Xuan Yu, do you know what it means for an ability to test as unknown?”
That question successfully diverted both males’ attention.
Xuan Yu glanced at the detection device still sitting on the coffee table. “If it’s confirmed that she has an ability, then perhaps it’s one not recorded in the Federation’s registry.”
“It’s rare, but not impossible. Since the Federation was founded, the insect race has been launching wars from time to time, and many beast-people who awakened abilities died in those wars before ever being tested.”
“The Federation has registered dozens of ability types. Anything outside those dozens can be called an unknown ability.”
Yunyang continued: “Then if I don’t go to the Federation’s Ability Testing Center, is there any other way to determine what the ability actually is?”
At that, Qin Mo’s hostility toward Xuan Yu eased slightly, and he looked at him with the same question.
Xuan Yu: “Ability manifestation.”
Ability manifestation?
Yunyang had never even heard of that term. She stared at Xuan Yu blankly.
Qin Mo, however, caught on quickly and inwardly cursed himself.
How could he have forgotten that? Now this wolf brat had gotten one over on him!
No way—he couldn’t let Mistress think he was inferior to Xuan Yu.
Before Xuan Yu could explain, Qin Mo cut in first: “Aside from special abilities, almost all others can be manifested externally. Like mine—” As he spoke, Qin Mo raised his hand, and a piece of metal gleaming with fine light condensed in his palm.
Xuan Yu made the same motion, but what appeared in his palm was an ice sculpture shaped like a wolf’s head, taking up only half his palm.
“Without relying on any external force, channeling your ability outward and solidifying it—that is ability manifestation.” Xuan Yu took Yunyang’s hand and gently placed the ice sculpture into her palm.
He used his ability to block out the cold, so Yunyang couldn’t feel the chill, but she was certain the ice in her hand was no different from what she’d made with a freezer in her past life.
Seeing his rival’s move, Qin Mo refused to be outdone and also shoved the rose-shaped metal piece into Yunyang’s hand.
So, whatever she could manifest would correspond to her type of ability?
Holding the metal and the ice, Yunyang tried to channel that faint energy inside her outward, just like she did when projecting her mental power.
She could vaguely sense that she had successfully released something, but no matter how hard she tried, the energy wouldn’t solidify.
Both Qin Mo and Xuan Yu were S-rank ability users and could easily detect the energy fluctuations around Yunyang.
But that energy didn’t solidify.
A special ability.
The same word surfaced in both Qin Mo’s and Xuan Yu’s minds, but neither could determine exactly what kind of special ability it was.
“Mistress, try using your ability on us.”
Yunyang’s hand trembled. “That’s not a good idea, is it?”
What if she hurt Qin Mo and Xuan Yu?
Qin Mo looked at her in silence.
Yunyang immediately realized—with her F-rank ability, even going all out, she’d probably have trouble harming these two.
Ugh. Annoying.
Annoyed as she was, Yunyang still tried applying her ability to both Qin Mo and Xuan Yu.
The two males patiently waited for the effect of Yunyang’s ability, but after a full two minutes, neither felt the slightest bit of discomfort.
Yunyang noticed this too.
She fell into deep thought.
So her ability was completely useless?
Seeing her expression, Qin Mo hurriedly said: “Mistress, don’t be disappointed. At least you have an ability—that’s already rare among females.”
Sure, it was F-rank, and sure, it seemed to have no effect at the moment, but at least she had one, right?
Yunyang: “...”
Thanks, that’s somewhat reassuring.
What was the difference between having this ability and not having it?
“Mistress.” Xuan Yu suddenly grabbed her hand and leaned in extremely close. “Try one more time.”
Qin Mo: !!!
This wolf brat had grabbed Mistress’s hand more times in this short span than he had in the entire two days!
No way—he had to hold her hand too!
Qin Mo also edged closer and quietly took Yunyang’s other hand.
Yunyang didn’t pay attention to his little move. She stared at Xuan Yu, who was now right in front of her, and felt a brief distraction.
Xuan Yu’s eyes really were beautiful. Unlike Qin Mo, with his hair and pupil color, Xuan Yu was closer to the people of the Flowering Nation back on Blue Star.
And people from the Flowering Nation naturally felt a fondness for that kind of hair and eye color.
“Mistress? Are you feeling unwell?”
Xuan Yu’s voice pulled Yunyang’s thoughts back.
She instinctively straightened her posture and shook her head repeatedly. “No, I’m fine. Were you saying I should try again?”
