"SPLASH!"

A violent sound of water breaking the surface echoed.

The next instant,

before Yu Lan could even react,

a lean, powerful arm—muscles clearly defined, exuding masculine strength—wrapped tightly around her waist.

Then, with a rapid flick of a tail fin, they shot away, putting hundreds of miles between them and the people on the Starship, like Huo Zhanting, in the blink of an eye.

"Lanlan!"

Amidst the violent splashing,

Yu Lan could only vaguely hear the worried calls of Huo Zhanting and the others behind her. She wanted to tell her men that she was okay,

but the moment she opened her mouth, a torrent of water rushed in, choking her.

"Cough, cough-cough-cough, cough!"

Yu Lan choked until tears streamed from her eyes.

Her beautiful little face was glistening and dewy from the water, her thin eyelids and the pert tip of her nose flushed red.

The next second,

the person who had been dragging her through the water at high speed finally came to a stop.

The water’s surface was now silent, the air deathly still.

Huo Zhanting, Jun Lin Yuan, and the others were nowhere to be seen.

Viewed from tens of thousands of miles above, Yu Lan was now in the very center of the deep sea. An invisible pressure bore down on her from all directions.

A strange sense of thalassophobia welled up from the depths of her heart.

Yu Lan could feel the gaze of the man who had inexplicably appeared and abducted her, sizing her up without missing a single detail.

Holding her breath, Yu Lan already had a few suspicions about the man’s identity.

Just as she was about to say something,

a voice, dripping with icy sarcasm, spoke.

"An Imperial Person!"

"Tch!"

The soft scoff was laden with thick mockery and unconcealed disgust.

Yu Lan instantly realized this was bad.

’Pei Shiyi hates Imperial People?’

’Why?’

’No report or piece of intel ever mentioned this.’

’Otherwise, Jun Lin Yuan would never have suggested coming to Pei Shiyi for help.’

The moment she realized Pei Shiyi’s attitude was hostile, Yu Lan turned to leave.

But where was she?

The deep sea.

And beside her was the Lord of the Deep Sea, the current patriarch of the Merfolk Clan, Pei Shiyi—a natural master of the ocean, with the power of the entire sea at his command.

Yu Lan had only managed to swim a short distance with her arms

when she suddenly discovered something was wrong.

The once soft, formless water quickly grew heavy and viscous, making her feel as if she were trapped in a swamp.

The water pressure surged from all sides.

The more Yu Lan struggled to swim away, the greater the pressure became, gradually binding her until she could barely move. The air in her lungs dwindled, as if an invisible hand was squeezing her throat.

Just as Yu Lan was about to suffocate, her eyes fluttering shut,

the sound of flowing water was heard.

Pei Shiyi manipulated the currents, forcibly spinning Yu Lan around to face him.

Their eyes met.

It was then that Yu Lan got a clear look at Pei Shiyi’s face.

He had long, dark blue hair, a handsome face with a cold, pale complexion, and eyes the color of the deepest, darkest blue, hinting at an abyss within.

The man currently had his arms crossed, calmly observing Yu Lan’s useless struggles.

’If I don’t do something, I’m going to die right here.’

"Pei... Pei Shiyi..."

Yu Lan forced out his name, fighting the feeling of suffocation.

As her voice faded, the suffocating pressure that had been wrapped tightly around her, slowly cutting off her breath, eased slightly, giving her a chance to breathe.

Yu Lan gasped, gulping down mouthfuls of fresh air.

Meanwhile,

Pei Shiyi’s brows furrowed slightly as he watched Yu Lan thoughtfully.

His voice, cold and ruthless yet laced with a hint of confusion, rang out.

"You know me?"

"You know my name."

"In that case, you should also know my rules."

"To dare trespass in my domain... you’re courting death!"

The man’s eyes flashed with severity. The aura of a top-tier 3S-level powerhouse erupted without hesitation, making the very air grow heavy.

The calm sea began to churn, the sky turned dark, and gust after gust of cold wind blew directly at Yu Lan, sending the pretty little female’s thick, seaweed-like black hair flying.

Pei Shiyi coldly tilted up Yu Lan’s chin, looking down to scrutinize the pretty little female’s face.

"So, you thought that just because you’re a female, you have special privileges and can act so recklessly?"

The pads of his fingers were calloused, and as they pinched her firm chin, a red mark quickly appeared on her fair skin.

At this point, Yu Lan couldn’t be bothered with the pain.

’I have to explain why I’m here as quickly as possible. I can’t let him misunderstand me.’

"That’s not it."

"I came to see you on official business."

"A massive plague has suddenly broken out on the Garbage Star, and almost no one has been spared."

"The Empire has no stockpile of the necessary medicinal herbs. I heard from Jun Lin Yuan that I could come to you to borrow them."

"The ocean’s resources are abundant. If you can help the Garbage Star overcome this crisis, your demands can be..."

"What happens to the Garbage Star has nothing to do with me."

Yu Lan hadn’t even finished speaking before the man cut her off sharply.

Yu Lan froze completely.

She stood stunned, staring at Pei Shiyi’s frigid, unwavering expression. A sudden shiver ran through her as she felt an extreme chill.

’If I can’t get the herbs from Pei Shiyi, how much longer will all those people suffering on the Garbage Star have to wait?’

In her desperation,

Yu Lan revealed her identity directly.

"Pei Shiyi, I am Yu Lan."

"Oh?!"

A slight smirk played on Pei Shiyi’s thin lips, his eyes darkening for a moment as he looked at Yu Lan with a hint of mockery.

"The useless female famous throughout the Empire for having no Healing Power."

’The humiliation Queen Belina deliberately bestowed upon him.’

"What, since demanding didn’t work, you’re now planning to use your status as my Female Master to take them by force?"

Beneath the surface of the sea, Pei Shiyi’s massive, five-to-six-meter-long tail fin was slowly moving, gathering power.

At its master’s whim, it could instantly smash the female before him into a bloody pulp.

Sensing the hidden rage in Pei Shiyi’s tone,

Yu Lan hurriedly tried to explain.

"No, no, no, that’s not it."

"I didn’t mean it like that."

"If you’re not willing, we can just dissolve the engagement contract directly."

"As a show of my sincerity, would that be acceptable?"

"I’m not borrowing the medicinal herbs for myself. You can make any demands you want, and I’ll do my best to satisfy them."

"If you also need these herbs, once we’ve dealt with this urgent crisis on the Garbage Star, I’ll have people cultivate them in large quantities and return them to you in the shortest possible time."

"Is that okay? Please, can you help?"

A hint of pleading crept into Yu Lan’s voice.

The pretty little female looked at him pitifully.

She really did look sincere.

The corner of Pei Shiyi’s mouth twitched up as he coldly pointed out a fact.

"What engagement? What fiancée? No one can force me to honor it. Understand?"

’So even this isn’t enough to move him?’

Yu Lan’s face instantly fell with disappointment.

For some reason, seeing this, a strange sense of irritation stirred in Pei Shiyi’s heart.

’A face that beautiful should always be happy and smiling. It brightens one’s mood just looking at it. It shouldn’t be downcast and smileless.’

"However, it’s not entirely out of the question."

Pei Shiyi’s gaze fixed on Yu Lan as he emphasized,

"You just said you could agree to any demand."