Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Female Master, Punish Me as You Please

Lan Yin grabbed her hand. "Don’t go. What if he tries to do something to you..."

"Don’t badmouth me, you fish," Ao Wu said, displeased. "An’an, I won’t do anything to you without your consent."

Yu An pulled her hand away from Lan Yin’s. "It’s fine. I don’t think he’s that kind of person. Besides, I have this."

She brandished the scale-shaped mark on her wrist, told Lan Yin to get some rest, and opened the door to leave.

Ao Wu had changed into a set of light-brown loungewear. Yu An glanced at him.

’Yep, still not something you’d find on the Beastman Continent.’

Her curiosity about Ao Wu grew. ’Who is he, really? And how does he have modern things?’

Ao Wu gave her a faint smile. "An’an, come with me."

He led Yu An to his room. The layout was more or less the same as hers. "Sit wherever you like. Make yourself at home... Ah, no, this *is* your home."

"Are you hungry? Would you like some fruit? Or something else to eat..."

"I’m not hungry," Yu An said, quickly cutting him off as he started to ramble. "Let’s get down to business."

"I’ll go first. Since you want to be my Beast Husband, you’ll have to accept my house rules."

Ao Wu asked curiously, "What house rules?"

"First, on all major household matters, you listen to me. On minor matters, you can decide for yourself."

"Second, in this household, there are no minor matters."

"Third, if you have any objections, please refer to the first two rules."

Ao Wu: "..."

"I will strictly abide by the house rules set by my Female Master," he said, his previous languid demeanor replaced by a serious one. "If I violate them, my Female Master may punish me however she sees fit."

"Er," Yu An’s mouth twitched. "That’s not really necessary..."

’I just made those rules up on the spot.’

Ao Wu shook his head. "My Female Master has spoken, so the rules must be obeyed. If I ever violate them—"

He suddenly curled his lip into a smile. "Then naturally, my Female Master can punish me however she desires. For example..."

The man’s collar was already loose, and with a casual tug, he exposed a large expanse of skin.

He leaned forward slightly, his collarbones clearly visible, his pectoral muscles faintly outlined—a bewitching sight that seemed to invite a touch...

Yu An thought it, and then she did it. It wasn’t until Ao Wu’s soft chuckle reached her ears that she abruptly snatched her hand back.

The warmth of his skin lingered on her palm, and a blush crept up Yu An’s cheeks.

’But then again,’ she thought, ’what’s the point of being that handsome if not to be touched?’ Her confidence returned.

"We’re talking about serious matters. Don’t interrupt me, and don’t try to seduce me."

Yu An wore an expression of righteous indignation.

"Oh," Ao Wu said, pulling his collar closed with a wronged expression. "An’an, please continue."

"Actually, it’s not much. I should just tell you about my family. In my household, there’s a total of..."

’This is basically a matchmaking session,’ she thought. ’I should be clear about my situation with the potential candidate.’

Because of her "don’t interrupt me" command, he forced himself to hold back a string of questions as she spoke, such as—

"Three Beast Husbands? No, wait, including that Snow Wolf Beastman you mentioned, that’s four. So, does that mean I’d be the fifth?!"

"And three Zaizai... Oh, and one in your belly... Wait! You’re pregnant with another one?"

"An’an, your heart must be completely full. Is there any room left for me?"

"I don’t need much, just a little bit... Don’t tell me there’s no room at all?"

"..."

Yu An comforted him, "Don’t worry. It’s like water in a sponge—there’s always more if you squeeze."

"Of course, if you can’t accept that I have other Beast Husbands and Zaizai, you should cut your losses now."

"Who said I can’t accept it?" Ao Wu’s voice was muffled. "An’an, I’ve already chosen you. From now on, you have to treat me the same as your other Beast Husbands. You can’t play favorites with them just because I’m the newcomer!"

"Don’t worry about that. I’ll be absolutely fair."

Yu "Master of Fair Treatment" An felt that there was no situation she couldn’t balance perfectly.

Of course, if she truly couldn’t keep things balanced, she’d just upend the bowl and treat every Beast Husband with equal chaos.

"Then I’m relieved," Ao Wu said, taking Yu An’s hand. His gaze was so intense it seemed to spin invisible threads between them. "An’an, I’ve given you my body and my heart. You can’t let me down."

’He makes it sound like I’m some heartless woman who toys with men’s bodies and feelings.’

Yu An corrected him with rigorous precision, "I’m not sure if you’ve given me your heart, but you certainly haven’t given me your body, so don’t make things up."

Ao Wu’s eyes burned with intensity. "An’an, if you’re willing, I can give it to you right now!"

"How about this room? Or would you prefer somewhere else? The study, the living room..."

"STOP, STOP, STOP," Yu An said, hastily cutting him off as he grew more and more outrageous. "Let me think. Rushing into this kind of thing isn’t good."

Aside from that one night in the Imperial City with Mo Yan and the other two, the only other two times had been with Mo Yan alone, and both of those times had happened while she was lucid and with mutual consent.

This was her first time meeting Ao Wu, and they had known each other for less than a day. Doing *that kind of intimate thing* so soon was something Yu An found truly... hard to accept.

’But, for the sake of getting home, I guess it doesn’t matter. I can treat it as one of those ’marry first, love later’ situations?’

Yu An took a deep breath, preparing to get it over with quickly. But as she started to unfasten her clothes, Ao Wu grabbed her hand.

"An’an, I hope that when we make love, it will be because we are truly in love with each other."

Guiding the back of her head closer, Ao Wu simply placed a light kiss on her lips.

"This is enough. From now on, I am yours."

Yu An was a bit stunned. "That’s it?"

"Mhm," Ao Wu beamed. "Actually, just accepting that bracelet was enough. We of the Dragon Clan are different from other Beastmen. When a partner accepts our Reverse Scale, the contract is formed."

Yu An’s mouth twitched. "You could have said so earlier."

’You made me go through all that mental preparation, and I was even worried I might be too rough and hurt the little snake Zaizai.’

Ao Wu looked innocent. "You never asked."

Yu An: "..."

"Right, you said before you were from the Dragon Clan?"

Yu An looked amazed. "There are actually Dragon Beastmen? I’ve never heard of them!"

"Well, you’ve met one now," Ao Wu said, unable to resist kissing her again. "As for my family... it’s a bit complicated. An’an, can I sort things out before I tell you about them?"

Yu An was indifferent. "Since we’ve reached an agreement, I’m going to head back now."

Ao Wu wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping her from leaving, an unhappy look on his face. "We’re both your Beast Husbands. Why do you get to spend time with him but not me?"

"He’s injured. You..."

"I’m injured too," he said, shamelessly holding out his pinky finger. "And it’s a very serious injury. I need An’an to take care of me."

Yu An: "..."

’A very serious injury? Does he mean that tiny scrape that’s less than a millimeter long?’

She irritably smacked his hand away, but Ao Wu shamelessly followed her, claiming it was to say hello to his future love rival (crossed out) family member.

Inside the empty room, Lan Yin’s expression was dark. He only looked up when Yu An pushed the door open.

Before anyone could speak, Ao Wu, who was behind her, gently pushed her toward the bathroom. "An’an, why don’t you go take a bath first? We need to talk."

Yu An looked from one to the other and warned, "No fighting."

She really did want a nice, comfortable hot bath.

The moment the bathroom door closed, Ao Wu dropped the act. He got straight to the point. "When we leave here, you’re to leave An’an. I will protect her and the Zaizai."

Lan Yin scoffed. "Order me around? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Ao Wu unhurriedly pulled over a chair. "If I’m not mistaken, that thing inside you is about to break loose, isn’t it?"

"Aren’t you afraid that by staying with An’an and the Zaizai, you’ll lose control one day and hurt them?"