Yue Ying searched around and found the cat in the eastern corner of the house.

It was splayed out on the ground, motionless, looking as if it were dead. Blood was faintly seeping from its wound.

He bent down, roughly picked up the cub, and checked for breath. He said regretfully, "What a pity. It’s not dead yet."

He was not a kind-hearted person. Anything that drew his wife’s attention away from him was no good.

’It’d be best if this cat died. Then I could dig a hole, bury it, and be done with the trouble.’

Yue Ying tossed the half-dead kitten back into its nest, then went to wash his hands. Just as he was about to go check on Su Mo’s room, he happened to run into Mo Xiao and Fei Yan, who were also just coming out of their doors.

The three of them locked eyes, their intentions written plainly on their faces.

Fei Yan, feigning composure, asked, "Did something happen?"

Yue Ying calmly replied, "Nothing. Are you two also out to relieve yourselves?"

Fei Yan frowned but said nothing.

Mo Xiao, also feeling guilty, remained silent.

Yue Ying gave a small smile, his expression one of someone who saw through everything.

Adult beastmen didn’t just have uncontrollable urges during their mating season; they also had them at other times.

However, outside of mating season, they could usually control themselves, but that was only possible if there wasn’t a female nearby.

For them, living with their future wife all day long was always an ordeal.

The three "door gods" stood awkwardly in the courtyard for a while before returning to their respective rooms.

Then, holding their breath, they listened for any sound from each other’s rooms, each afraid the others would sneak into Su Mo’s room when they weren’t paying attention.

In the corner, the white cat opened its azure eyes and looked toward the three men’s doors. Its feline eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of inexplicable disdain glinting within them.

「The next day」

Su Mo woke up early. Holding a packet of river snail noodles and two ham sausages, she tiptoed into the kitchen.

’Sneaking food is, after all, something to feel a little guilty about.’

The water boiled. She put the noodles in the pot and began to stir.

The thought of finally tasting that long-missed flavor made Su Mo’s entire body tremble with excitement.

’Heaven knows how much I’ve missed that taste! Woo... I’m finally going to eat it! Slurp, slurp it all up!!!’

’I’d better be quick. It won’t be good if those guys see me.’

The three men, who had been sleeping groggily, suddenly heard two sentences echo in their minds.

Yue Ying shot up in bed. ’The wife is up so early today?!’

’Something’s wrong. This is very wrong!’

He quickly threw on some clothes and dashed straight to Long Yan’s room.

’He’s not here?’

Yue Ying breathed a sigh of relief. As he came out, he bumped right into Fei Yan and Mo Xiao, who had also gotten up in a hurry.

Fei Yan frowned. "Do you guys smell something strange?"

Yue Ying sniffed the air. "Is the wife in the kitchen?"

With that, the three of them hurried toward the kitchen.

Su Mo was squatting there, holding a bowl and eating her fragrant river snail noodles.

’Delicious! So tasty!’

She looked up and suddenly saw three "door gods" at the entrance. Su Mo froze on the spot, a half-eaten noodle still dangling from the corner of her mouth.

The expression was both a little cute and comical.

’What’s going on? Why are they up so early today too?!’

Yue Ying found the smell incredibly potent, though he couldn’t quite describe the sensation.

He couldn’t help but step forward, squat down in front of Su Mo, and glance at the contents of her bowl.

Inside the bowl were white strands emitting a strange odor. There were also two pale pink things—he had no idea what they were.

"Wife, what is this you’re eating?"

Su Mo quietly tried to hide the bowl to the side, her eyes narrowing. "It’s a type of food that you... probably won’t like."

Seeing how protective she was of her food, Yue Ying said deliberately, "Not necessarily. How would you know we don’t like it if you’ve never let us try? Hiding here to eat all by yourself so early in the morning... that’s not right, you know."

"Did you know that in our Beast World, getting caught eating alone is a punishable offense? You could be paraded through the streets!"

Su Mo frowned. ’The Beast World novels I read never mentioned this rule! He’s trying to trick me, isn’t he? Foxes are the most cunning of all.’

Fei Yan cleared his throat and continued with a calm expression, "It’s true. Because food isn’t abundant, good things must be shared with everyone. Sneaking food to eat alone is forbidden."

Mo Xiao watched her in silence, his deep eyes filled with a faint, gentle smile.

Su Mo was speechless. ’It’s just a bowl of river snail noodles! If I get paraded through the streets for this, wouldn’t that be a huge embarrassment? And what about all the goodwill I’ve worked so hard to build up with the locals? Wouldn’t that be lost too?!’

She gritted her teeth and held out the bowl. "Fine, do you want some?"

Yue Ying’s eyes narrowed as he reached out to take it. "I wasn’t finished. If you’re caught, but you admit your mistake and are willing to change, you can receive a lighter punishment from within the family."

"I’m sharing it with you, and I still have to be punished?"

Yue Ying nodded. "A lighter punishment! Don’t worry, we won’t make things difficult for our wife. Each of us will just make one small request, and all you have to do is agree."

As Yue Ying said this, the expressions of Fei Yan and Mo Xiao, standing behind him, became visibly joyful.

He himself was so excited he almost let his fox tail show. After all these days, he’d finally found an opportunity!

Su Mo looked at him suspiciously. ’I suspect he’s setting a trap for me! That damn fox has a thousand tricks up his sleeve, and he’s using them all on me!!!’

"If our wife really doesn’t believe me, you can go out and ask around. You’ll know as soon as you do."

Su Mo frowned. ’Go ask the neighbors just to verify something like this? How embarrassing!’

’Forget it, forget it. It’s not like he can turn the world upside down!’

"You’re not going to make any outrageous requests, are you?" Su Mo subconsciously pulled her clothes tighter around herself.

Yue Ying chuckled at her gesture. "Don’t be so nervous. We’re not going to... sleep with you. With that small frame of yours, you wouldn’t be able to handle it, right?"

’He’d love to make that kind of request, but the time just isn’t right.’

’Their wife wasn’t like the others. If they scared her, she would only hide even further away.’

’Yue Ying had it all figured out now. Since she had no interest in him, he just had to find a way to make her interested!’

’He refused to believe that a dashing and charming fox like himself couldn’t win her over if he put his mind to it.’

"..."

’What does he mean by that? Is he looking down on me?! How dare he look down on me! That’s really going too far!’

Little Nine’s voice chimed in at the perfect moment: "A warrior can be killed, but not insulted! Host, right here, right now, tell him, ’I can handle it! You’re the one who can’t!’"

Su Mo: "Shut up, you scammer!"

Hearing this, the three men’s expressions flickered slightly, but they quickly returned to normal.

Yue Ying looked at Su Mo’s defensive gaze and said softly, "We won’t ask you to kill anyone or set any fires. I guarantee it will be something our wife is capable of. It might just be asking for a small favor."

Mo Xiao and Fei Yan added, "The same goes for us."

Su Mo considered it for a moment. It didn’t sound like anything too outrageous, so she nodded. "Fine, we’ll leave it at that for now."

Then she stood up and walked out.

’Next time, I’ll definitely send them away before I sneak any more food! Sob... my poor river snail noodles...’

After she left, Fei Yan also came over and tried a mouthful of the river snail noodles.

’The taste is a bit strange, but it’s not bad.’

Mo Xiao also tried a mouthful.

His assessment was the same as Fei Yan’s.

’So this stuff is called river snail noodles?’

Yue Ying raised an eyebrow. "I’ve secured the opportunity for you all. From here on out, it’s every man for himself!"

With that, he slurped up a noodle with a SLURP, chewed it thoughtfully, and walked out.

His mind was already churning, plotting how to best use this opportunity to close the distance between them.

He refused to believe there was anyone in this world his Fox Immortal Lord self couldn’t successfully woo.