The little Qilin’s eyes widened instantly, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
He poked his head out of the dark clouds and tilted it to look at Yunyang, his round eyes blinking rapidly.
Unfortunately, Yunyang had no intention of repeating herself. When the little Qilin failed to react, she raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t nod, I’ll take that as a no and head back.”
She never forced anyone.
The little Qilin heard her loud and clear.
Afraid that Yunyang might really leave, he immediately shook off the dark clouds and pounced toward her, wagging his tail wildly as he nodded over and over again.
He was willing. More than willing.
Although Cang Zhuonian had remained on the Frontier Star all this time, he had still kept an eye on what was happening across the stellar network.
The moment he saw Lady Yunyang’s picture online, he had been irresistibly drawn to her. It was just that he had never had the chance to return from the Frontier Star.
He followed every piece of news about Lady Yunyang and had even tried to reserve a purification appointment with her, but his luck had been terrible. He had never managed to get a slot.
This time, he had secretly gone to the battlefield to help without informing his commander. He had done it not only to lighten the burden on his comrades, but also because he knew his contamination level would skyrocket once the battle ended.
Once a person’s contamination level exceeded ninety-five, they would be sent to a purification tower.
His commander would never abandon him. There was also a good chance that the commander would contact Deputy Jenkins and ask Lady Yunyang or Lord Yulu for help.
From the stellar network, he knew that Lady Yunyang and Lord Yulu were close. So regardless of which one the commander asked for assistance, Cang Zhuonian would have a chance to get close to Lady Yunyang.
And that was exactly what had happened.
What came afterward had been completely beyond his expectations. He had never imagined that his contamination would lose control a second time.
Cang Zhuonian had absolutely no regrets about stepping forward to deal with those two Zerg. He only felt a little regretful that he had not even had the chance to confess his feelings to Lady Yunyang before he was about to become a mindless beast.
He had never expected to receive such an unexpected reward.
How could he possibly refuse to become Lady Yunyang’s beast-husband?
During his previous bouts of restlessness, he had managed to endure them by… thinking about Lady Yunyang.
Naturally, he couldn’t say that out loud, so the little Qilin simply stared earnestly at Yunyang, proving with his eyes that he truly was willing.
That was all that mattered.
Yunyang temporarily withdrew from the Qilin’s mental landscape, then reached out and curled her index finger against Fu Shiyi’s palm.
“You all need to leave first.”
Although the Qilin could currently only exist as a spiritual form, Yunyang still wasn’t used to having other people nearby during moments like this—not even her other beast-husbands.
Fu Shiyi’s eyes darkened.
As expected, their female lord wanted to save this Qilin.
The other seven beast-husbands didn’t understand at first, but they quickly grasped the deeper meaning behind her words.
Aside from using spiritual power to cleanse him, there was only one way to disregard the difference in rank between a female and a male and drastically reduce a male’s contamination level.
Their female lord was going to…
Damn it. They were about to gain another love rival!
This Qilin’s ability rank was higher than all of theirs. His figure and appearance were also in no way inferior to theirs. Would their female lord end up favoring him exclusively in the future?
The beast-husbands suddenly grew anxious.
They had never even considered stopping Yunyang. They were only worried about their place in her heart afterward.
Jenkins understood as well. That little brat Zhuonian really was lucky. Even an old man like him couldn’t help feeling envious.
He hadn’t been bad-looking when he was young, either. So why had no lady ever taken a fancy to him?
Envious as he was, Jenkins still led the group of supervisors out of the observation room.
Once the outsiders had left, Yunyang turned toward her eight beast-husbands.
Fu Shiyi crouched down, took her hand, and pressed it against his cheek. There was a hint of pleading in his eyes behind his glasses.
“Female lord, I want to stay with you.”
“…Would that really be a good idea?”
Although no one outside could see what was happening inside the mental landscape, would it really be appropriate to have her own beast-husbands stay nearby at a time like this?
Fu Shiyi shook his head gently. “Female lord, I’m worried about you.”
The other seven beast-husbands echoed Fu Shiyi’s words. They could accept gaining another love rival, but they didn’t want to leave their female lord alone here.
That dead Qilin’s contamination level was so high. What if he lost control and hurt her?
Yunyang: “…”
Honestly, did they really have to make themselves suffer like this?
The eight beast-husbands behaved perfectly in front of her, but Yunyang had long since noticed that every one of them was fiercely possessive.
Whenever she took a new beast-husband, whichever one accompanied her that night would become especially insatiable.
She could figure out what was going on without even using her toes.
They were jealous.
Although Yunyang had never interfered with whether her beast-husbands felt jealous, would they really be able to endure staying here under the circumstances?
Yunyang asked again, “Are you all sure you want to stay?”
The eight beast-husbands nodded in perfect unison.
Fine, then.
Since they didn’t mind, Yunyang wouldn’t stop them.
“Fuyuan, go recover your abilities.”
Yunyang handed the pale-faced Fuyuan two Zerg cores, then approached the Qilin. Her spiritual power entered his mental landscape once more.
The moment Yunyang appeared, the little Qilin transformed into human form.
He wore the uniform of a federal soldier. With his left hand pressed over his heart, he bent at the waist and bowed.
“F-Female lord, my name is Cang Zhuonian.”
He had rehearsed the words female lord countless times in his heart. At last, he could call Lady Yunyang that to her face.
Yunyang didn’t waste any time. After confirming that Cang Zhuonian’s spiritual form had not been swallowed by the contamination and that he still retained his sanity, she crooked a finger at him.
As far as the eye could see, the clouds were pitch-black, and the mountains beneath the sky were collapsing bit by bit.
Cang Zhuonian’s mental landscape was disintegrating piece by piece, yet his heart was filled with boundless joy. Like a dog happily trotting toward its owner when called, he eagerly walked toward Yunyang.
He was about the same height as Fu Shiyi, so Yunyang had to tilt her head up to see his face clearly.
Realizing this, Cang Zhuonian knelt down without hesitation, though his eyes never left Yunyang.
Yunyang was very pleased by how perceptive he was. She leaned down and moved close, stopping less than a centimeter from his lips. Her breath brushed softly against him.
“Cang Zhuonian.”
“Female lord, I’m here.”
Cang Zhuonian quietly clenched his right hand, doing his best not to appear too nervous.
Yunyang curved her lips and gave him an order.
“Kiss me.”
Cang Zhuonian’s entire body stiffened, but he still obeyed his instincts. He raised his head with care and tentatively captured Yunyang’s lips.
She was standing while he was kneeling.
Neither of them found the position particularly comfortable.
Cang Zhuonian tentatively reached out his hand. When Yunyang showed no objection, he gathered his courage.
Yunyang fell back onto the clouds.
The clouds around them were all pitch-black, but the ones beneath her were now pure white, completely untouched by the contamination.
Lying on the clouds felt strange. It was like sinking into a mass of cotton, except she didn’t fall through.
She just didn’t know whether the clouds could withstand any particularly vigorous movement.
Yunyang had only just thought of that when Cang Zhuonian kissed her lips again.
Males seemed to possess a natural talent for this sort of thing. Even though he had never done it before, Cang Zhuonian quickly mastered the art of kissing.
