Lu Ya even gave him a knowing grin. "My female can come along too. She can keep your wife company!"

Si Shuo and Ji Xiao Cheng Liang exchanged a look, a glint flashing through their eyes. ’The fish has taken the bait.’

Ji Xiao Cheng Liang chuckled. "Sounds good. My wife doesn’t get to spend much time with me, so I’ll take this chance to get a little perk for myself.

Little Shushu, will you come out with me tonight?"

Lu Ya chimed in, trying to persuade her. "Lady Si Shuo, we’re all from the team that ran with Lord Ji Liang as traders. We’re brothers who’ve been through life and death together.

Since you care so much for Lord Ji Liang, you should come have fun with him. We’ll definitely treat you with the utmost hospitality and make sure you eat well and have a great time!

Oh, and the brothers got some good stuff while trading that we wanted to give to Lord Ji Liang and you as a congratulatory gift..."

Si Shuo smiled and nodded in agreement. ’They’ve played the emotional card and dangled a material incentive. I can’t really refuse.’

After looking around for a while, they went home to eat. When Si Shuo woke up from her nap in the afternoon, Ji Xiao Cheng Liang once again transformed into an exceptionally conspicuous red-bellied Black Python and carried her out of the house in a grand display.

Meanwhile, Ji Liang and Yin Jiang, feeling uneasy, followed them.

They weren’t meeting at the Central Square, but in a rather remote and quiet courtyard just inside the city gates.

"This is a relative’s house. They went to Nanye City and asked us to look after it. No one has lived here for a long time, so it’s a bit dirty and messy, but the upside is it’s large and quiet—perfect for our group to have a lively get-together," Lu Ya said with a smile. He then introduced the female beside him, his eyes filled with adoration. "This is my female, Shantao. She’s a bit shy around strangers. I had to do a lot of convincing to get her to come along."

The young female had delicate features and was indeed very shy. Her face flushed red before she even said a word, and she kept her head down, remaining silent.

Si Shuo smiled, linking her arm through Ji Xiao Cheng Liang’s, and put on an appropriate show of being scared of the others, refusing to let go of him.

This thrilled Ji Xiao Cheng Liang so much that he let out a HISS from time to time. If he weren’t trying his absolute best to restrain himself, he would have been shaking his snake tail like a rattlesnake!

Zhi Le, who had been keeping an eye on Ying Lan and Miao Juan for the past two days, silently sidled up to Si Shuo and slowly began tracing words on her back with his hand.

Si Shuo’s body trembled slightly before she relaxed, leaning back into the embrace of the almost-imperceptible Zhi Le and concentrating on the words he was tracing.

It turned out that Lu Ya’s young female, Shantao, was no longer herself; she had become a puppet of Ying Lan. The original Shantao had been lively, adorable, kind, and a sweet-talker. Lu Ya had fallen for her and left the Traveling Merchant Team to stay with her.

But later, after Shantao hit her head, she became somewhat mentally slow, with only occasional moments of clarity.

In reality, however, those moments of clarity were when a clone of Ying Lan took residence in her body. Right now, Ying Lan’s clone was inhabiting Shantao.

What Zhi Le didn’t tell her was that Shantao was like a second body and home for Ying Lan, allowing her to relive her youth and sample the taste of young males from time to time. She had been sweet-talking Lu Ya for a long time before feeding him the information she’d "overheard," guiding him to invite Ji Liang and Si Shuo to this gathering—and even providing the venue for it!

The group was thrilled by Ji Liang’s arrival, constantly raising their cups and plying him with Monkey Wine. They feasted on large chunks of meat and gulped down wine, singing and dancing around the bonfire. It was just like the lively, relaxed scenes from their days in the Traveling Merchant Team, whenever they reached a Beast City and could finally rest and regroup.

Even the females they had brought along gradually shed their initial inhibitions and joined in the singing and dancing.

Shantao handed over a piece of roasted meat and asked with a smile, "Si Shuo Divine Female, everyone says Ji Liang is incredibly capable. He founded the famous Dark Crow Trading Team on the Southern Continent. Who doesn’t know of the great Lord Ji Liang?

How did you manage to take him as one of your Beast Husbands?"

Si Shuo felt Ji Xiao Cheng Liang’s hand tighten slightly around her wrist. She smiled, squeezed his hand back, and gazed at the bonfire, the corners of her lips curling. "It wasn’t me who took him as a Beast Husband. He’s the one who latched onto me and forced himself into the position..."

As she said this, the soft flesh of her waist was tickled. The startling, intensely ticklish sensation almost made Si Shuo leap up and burst out laughing.

She forced herself to cough a few times, but the male, dissatisfied with her answer, tickled her again.

She quickly added, "Of course, it was obviously me who used my charm on him and waited for him to take the bait!"

Sure enough, hearing her say that, the male stopped tickling her. Instead, his hand came to rest lightly on her waist, carrying a clear threat: if she said the wrong thing, she’d soon be held tight and tickled mercilessly.

"Lord Ji Liang is so handsome, dashing, smart, and capable—who wouldn’t admire him? I’m just an ordinary woman, and a terribly ambitious one at that. The very first time I saw Lord Ji Liang, I just knew there had to be a place for him among my Beast Husbands!"

Shantao couldn’t help but gasp. ’This... this young female is nothing like what I’ve heard! Everyone said the Si Shuo Divine Female was beautiful, with a delicate and gentle personality. How could she be this sort of brazen woman who talks so boldly?’

"I heard that back then, the Si Shuo Divine Female was just an ordinary female, and you couldn’t even hear. And Lord Ji Liang agreed to it, even with that?"

Si Shuo nodded, her chin tilted up slightly. "Of course! Once the males hand over their Beast Mark, aren’t they just putty in our hands? Use a few little tricks when you need to, and getting them is a piece of cake, isn’t it?

You can make anyone you want your Beast Husband, right?"

This proud, brazen little female, who could so audaciously twist the truth, both amused and endeared her to the four males—one in the open and three in the shadows. ’Whose female could be like ours,’ they thought, ’so lively, mischievous, kind-hearted, hardworking, and yet so principled?’

’She has so many captivating qualities. It’s a good thing there are only seven males in the family; otherwise, they’d surely be fighting constantly over who gets to monopolize her time!’

"Lord Ji Liang, is that really how it was?" Shantao asked, looking curiously at Ji Xiao Cheng Liang.

Ji Xiao Cheng Liang didn’t have the real Ji Liang’s tolerance for alcohol. He was struggling to stay awake, and he turned his head a beat too slow to look at Shantao, his eyes starting to glaze over.

Shantao smiled, her lips curling. "Lord Ji Liang, are you really willing to be her follower?"

Ji Xiao Cheng Liang nodded, his eyes growing even hazier, as if he might fall asleep at any moment.

"I’m so envious of you two," Shantao said with a meaningful smile, holding out a bamboo cup. "Lord Ji Liang, I wonder if I might have the honor of proposing a toast?"

Ji Xiao Cheng Liang reached out and took it. Even when Shantao deliberately brushed the back of his hand, he seemed not to notice at all. He raised the cup and downed it in one go. GLUG GLUG.

"Si Shuo Divine Female, it looks like your Lord Ji Liang has had too much to drink. There are plenty of empty rooms in the courtyard. Why don’t I show you to one so you can rest? You can leave after Lord Ji Liang sobers up," Shantao offered enthusiastically.

Si Shuo looked with feigned concern at Ji Xiao Cheng Liang, who was now hugging her waist with his head on her shoulder, using her as a human crutch. She nodded helplessly. "Sorry to trouble you, Shantao. I had no idea his tolerance for alcohol was so poor. If I had known, I would’ve brought a few more of my Beast Husbands."