Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Bad Dragon, Don’t Move...

The night was quiet and still. Yu An lay on her side in bed, her back to the window, silently counting in her mind.

When she reached "nineteen," a slight stir came from the window.

A moment later, the covers were lifted, and a warm body pressed against hers.

Their bodies pressed flush against each other. The man’s arm circled Yu An’s waist as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply.

"You smell so good, An’an..."

Yu An shifted to face Ao Wu. Moonlight streamed through the window, casting an iridescent glow on his dragon horns.

She raised a hand and, as Ao Wu watched, gently pinched his earlobe.

"An’an," Ao Wu shivered slightly, his breathing growing heavier. "Do you want to touch my horns?"

Touching the horns was a signal of courtship. ’He wanted her to so badly...’

"You want me to touch them?"

Instead of answering, Yu An posed a question of her own. Her fingers danced up and down, deliberately avoiding his horns.

"I do," Ao Wu said, his eyes glistening and his voice slightly hoarse. "I really, really want you to."

A small smile played on Yu An’s lips. As he watched with anticipation, she hooked an arm around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

Ao Wu’s pupils dilated, as if he couldn’t believe what Yu An was doing. It wasn’t until he felt a faint sting on his lips that he fully committed to the kiss.

His large hands, not knowing where to rest, began to slide down her smooth skin, only for one to be swiftly caught.

Yu An broke the kiss. "Naughty dragon. No wandering hands. Behave."

Ao Wu pressed against her appeasingly, and only then was the kiss allowed to resume.

After a long moment, they finally separated. Yu An was panting slightly, her chest rising and falling. When Ao Wu inadvertently caught sight of this, he awkwardly averted his gaze.

’Just one kiss and he’d almost lost control. What would happen if she touched his dragon horns?’

Ao Wu didn’t dare to imagine it.

After she had caught her breath, Yu An’s new target was his dragon horns.

The parts that had been somewhat sharp before were now worn smooth. This time, they felt perfectly rounded, and the texture was exquisite.

As his most vital spot was suddenly touched, Ao Wu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his gaze deepened.

Her soft hand stroked and squeezed, alternating between light and heavy pressure, coaxing out the desire buried deep in his heart.

But his Female Master had not given the word, so he couldn’t move.

Yu An drew closer, their breaths mingling, so close that the slightest forward movement would bring their lips together.

"A Wu, do you want to become my Beast Husband?"

The last of Ao Wu’s restraint vanished. He captured her lips in a predatory, possessive kiss, one hand locking around her waist while the other tangled in her hair.

A scorching heat filled the air as their two different scents intertwined.

Her fair, slender fingertips traced a line across the man’s broad back before falling limply to the side of the bed.

It was a sleepless night.

...

Yu An had always considered herself to have great stamina—the kind that could hoist an ox—but after last night, her back was still aching.

She was dead tired, but Lu Lu’s shriek startled her awake.

"An’an! An’an! Wake up, wake up! I’ve found the last shard!"

Roused by the shouting, Yu An realized Ao Wu was no longer beside her.

She could hear the deliberately hushed voices of several males outside. Leaning against the headboard, Yu An asked lazily, "Where is it?"

"It’s inside Ao Wu’s body! It’s just been inside him for so long that I only found it after you two... you know."

Lu Lu extended a vine, adding in a puzzled tone, "But for some reason, the shard inside him is especially difficult to retrieve. It seems like it’s been fused with his body for a long, long time—at least ten years!"

’But it hasn’t even been a year since I transmigrated to the Beastman Continent.’

Yu An couldn’t make sense of it.

"So, can it still be retrieved?"

"Yes, it’s just a bit more difficult than with the others. You just need to spend more time with him, and it’ll work out!"

"That’s good," Yu An breathed a sigh of relief. "With the last shard located, now all that’s left are the ones inside Han Li and Lan Yin."

After retrieving the shard from Feng Xuan’s body a few days ago, she could now upgrade her superpower to Level 6. She just didn’t have enough gold and silver to absorb for the upgrade.

"An’an, I heard that the place with the most gold and silver on the entire Beastman Continent is the vault of the Ping’an Gold Bank. If only we could pay it a visit!"

Lu Lu mused wistfully, "You might be able to jump straight to Level 12! Then we’d be invincible! Hahahaha!"

Yu An was speechless. "In your dreams. Just think about it—a place as important as a vault would obviously be heavily guarded."

"Besides, where did you even hear all this?"

"I overheard people talking! Yesterday, when I was following Housekeeper Han, I heard lots of new and interesting stuff. The bit about the vault, I heard it from Housekeeper Han himself."

"He said he has this get-rich-quick dream where he owns the Ping’an Gold Bank’s vault. He lamented that it’s so close, right under his nose, but he has no way of getting in."

"Wait," Yu An interjected, "He said the vault is right under his nose. Don’t tell me it’s here in Han Ling City?"

The Ping’an Gold Bank had branches in cities all across the Beastman Continent, but no one knew where its main headquarters was located. Even the branch in the Imperial City was managed by a local director.

’Then again, so what if I knew? It’s not like I’m planning to rob a vault.’

Yu An quickly put the matter out of her mind. The firm tofu had finished pressing. She had stored it in her dimensional space, so it was still warm when she took it out.

The males were outside preparing a meal and prepping the ingredients for the food stall, so Yu An decided to make a quick egg and tofu soup.

She fried the eggs until they were golden brown on both sides, then poured in boiling water. Using a spatula, she broke the eggs into pieces before adding the cubed tofu and sliced shiitake mushrooms.

Once it boiled, she seasoned it with salt and pepper. The broth turned a creamy, milky white. It was savory and delicious, and a single large bowl was enough to warm a person from the inside out.

The firm tofu added a new item to her barbecue menu. Yu An cut it into wide strips, put them on skewers, and placed them with the other ingredients.

’It really is great having Beast Husbands,’ she thought. ’They’re strong, capable, and catch on quick. Aside from being the head chef, I don’t have to worry about a thing.’

Yu An didn’t let Mo Yan and Mo Wei go out with them. She took the two inside, gave them a few instructions, then locked the courtyard gate and left.

The ten Beastmen who hadn’t been able to buy barbecue the day before formed one line, and everyone else formed another. When they saw Yu An’s cart approaching, they all hurried forward.

Yu An stopped the cart and called out, "If you’ll please let these ten brothers and sisters buy first! I prepared much more today than the last two days, so I guarantee no one will be left out."

The Beastmen were all understanding. Of course they were. In all of Han Ling City—no, in the entire Beastman Continent—Boss Yu was the only one selling real delicacies. If they angered her and drove her away, there would be no one to hear their cries of regret!

So this was a complete non-issue. As long as Yu An didn’t start murdering people or committing arson, they would stand firmly on her side for the sake of her delicious food!

The line was as lively and peaceful as ever. Just as the Beastmen who missed out yesterday were about to order, a squad of guards in City Lord Mansion uniforms ran up and surrounded the cart without a word.

One of the Beastmen got genuinely angry. "I told you to get in line! You people..."

The Guard Captain in the lead drew his weapon and pressed it coldly against the Beastman’s neck. "Shut up! The City Lord Mansion is conducting official business. Do not interfere!"

The Beastman instantly fell silent. The Guard Captain snorted and turned to look at Yu An.

"Boss Yu, you are a suspect in the kidnapping of the Lady of the City and the Young City Lord. You’ll have to come with us!"