Mingye’s expression was as dark as a sky before a storm. He slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes burning as they fixed on Su Yaoyao. "Are you sure you want to go?" he asked, his voice low.

He was on the verge of going mad with jealousy. The tumultuous emotions churned within him, a storm he could barely contain.

Su Yaoyao shivered, frightened by his sinister gaze. She truly didn’t understand what was so wrong with going to see her own Beast Husbands.

Forcing a calm expression, she nodded slightly. "Yes, I miss them. Besides, with me gone, no one will be here to bother you. You can think about the negotiations in peace."

She tried to make her tone sound natural, attempting to defuse the tense atmosphere.

"I don’t find you noisy," Mingye said hastily, as if terrified Su Yaoyao would misunderstand. His eyes were filled with anxiety and longing. "I like being with you."

The moment the words left his lips, it was as if the emotions he had long suppressed had finally shattered the floodgates of his reason.

Hearing this, a blush instantly spread across Su Yaoyao’s cheeks, and a ripple went through her heart.

But the memory of the strange, vivid dreams from the past two nights made her resolve to keep her distance from Mingye for now.

Her gaze flickered away, not daring to meet Mingye’s eyes. "I’m finished eating," she said hastily. "Breakfast was delicious, thank you for your hospitality." With that, she scrambled to her feet to leave.

However, Su Yaoyao had just risen to her feet and hadn’t taken a single step when a powerful, familiar force coiled around her entire body.

She looked down and saw Mingye’s Spiritual Body—the green snake. It had appeared without a sound, wrapping itself tightly around her with astonishing strength, rendering her completely immobile.

"Mingye, what are you doing? Let me go!" Su Yaoyao cried in a panic.

She struggled, but her resistance was utterly insignificant against the green snake’s immense power.

The green snake seemed to ignore Su Yaoyao’s cries. It opened its mouth and sank its fangs into her neck.

A sharp pain shot through Su Yaoyao’s neck. Her vision blackened, and her consciousness began to fade.

The moment before she collapsed, Mingye surged forward, catching her slumping body and pulling her tightly against his chest, as if trying to merge her into his very being.

"You are mine," Mingye whispered in Su Yaoyao’s ear. His voice was low and firm, filled with an undeniable possessiveness.

A fanatical light gleamed in his eyes, as if he would lose the most important thing in his life the moment Su Yaoyao left him.

He swept Su Yaoyao up into his arms and carried her, step by step, toward the dark dungeon.

「Su Yaoyao’s consciousness slowly returned.」

She could clearly feel the green snake’s venom spreading silently through her body. It was like countless tiny vines binding every inch of her skin and every bone, leaving her completely paralyzed.

Even a simple act like opening her eyes now felt impossibly difficult, as if a crushing weight was pressing down on her eyelids.

Trapped within her motionless body, she could only rely on her heightened senses to feel Mingye’s presence and touch.

Mingye stared at Su Yaoyao like a man possessed, a feverish fire burning in his eyes—a flame of deep affection mingled with madness and obsession.

"Yaoyao, do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?" His voice was low and hoarse, a cry torn from the depths of his soul, filled with endless longing and desire.

"I don’t even know when it happened, but you quietly took over my heart. When I mistakenly believed you were going to break our promise and leave me for good, the pain was like a knife twisting in my gut."

"In that moment, I told myself I had to bury these feelings deep inside, to restrain them, to lock them away in an airtight box."

"But then, when I learned it was all a misunderstanding—that you hadn’t intended to leave me—the sense of relief was simply indescribable."

"At the time, I thought you were willing to stay by my side, too. Right?"

Mingye lowered his head and whispered in Su Yaoyao’s ear, his eyes holding a hint of apprehension and hope.

"Stay with me, won’t you? Why do you have to go find Bai Lian and the others? Am I not good enough? Just say the word, and I’ll give you anything you want without a moment’s hesitation."

"Yaoyao, I ask for nothing else. I just want you to love me. Don’t leave me. Don’t go looking for them again."

"In your heart... could you save a small place for me? Please?"

Mingye’s voice grew softer, almost pleading.

Su Yaoyao’s mind raced with anxiety. She wanted to open her mouth and respond to Mingye, to tell him of the complex feelings in her heart, but the venom had paralyzed her. Her body was like a puppet, completely unresponsive.

Mingye looked at Su Yaoyao, and a bitter, self-mocking smile twisted his lips.

"But why would you agree? It was foolish of me to even hope. You don’t love me at all. Your heart is completely filled with those Beast Husbands of yours."

His gaze gradually turned sinister, his tone laced with a sense of grim finality and madness.

"Rather than watch you fall into another man’s arms, I’d rather make you completely and utterly mine."

"Only then will you stay with me obediently, keep me company forever, and never think of leaving again."

The dark possessiveness in Mingye’s words washed over Su Yaoyao like a surging tide, sending her into a state of utter panic.

She wanted to struggle, to escape, but her body remained frozen, unable to move an inch.

Yet, amid her extreme fear and helplessness, Su Yaoyao finally saw with clarity the truth of Mingye’s feelings for her.

The love and desire he had so carefully hidden and painstakingly restrained for so long erupted like a volcano, pouring out without reservation.

"Yaoyao, love me..." Mingye whispered, almost pleading. He slowly raised a hand, his long fingers gently gripping Su Yaoyao’s jaw. With a slight pressure, he easily parted her lips.

Then, he leaned down impatiently and kissed her, his mouth covering hers in a deep, passionate frenzy as their tongues intertwined.

His kiss was fervent and desperate, as if trying to pour all his emotions, all his longing, into Su Yaoyao through that single act.

His tongue explored her mouth wantonly, taking from her with a desperate greed, as if he wanted to consume her, to make her part of himself.

Trapped in the fervent kiss, Su Yaoyao felt the scorching heat of Mingye’s love as tears slid uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes. She remained powerless to resist.

But she was slowly realizing that deep down, she didn’t resist his touch. More than anything, she was afraid of this new, unhinged version of Mingye.