At these words, the expressions on the faces of the male Beastmen, who had been terrified moments before, instantly changed. Their gazes toward Mingye now held a new level of admiration.

"As expected of our Lord, he can even tame a female to be his servant." A few low murmurs of praise rose from the crowd.

"Go on about your business," Mingye said, his voice still flat as he waved a dismissive hand.

Hearing this, the Beastmen cautiously emerged from their hiding spots as if they’d been granted a reprieve.

The street gradually returned to some of its previous bustle, though a few furtive glances, filled with fear and curiosity, were still cast toward Su Yaoyao.

Mingye bent down to pick up the outer robe from the ground, tossing it casually onto Su Yaoyao. His tone was brief but left no room for argument. "Put it on."

"Oh," Su Yaoyao responded, taking the robe and draping it loosely over her body.

The two of them walked further down the street, the surrounding clamor fading into background noise.

Mingye suddenly spoke up. "How are you feeling?"

"Feeling?" Su Yaoyao paused for a moment before realizing that Mingye had actually believed her claim about her mood affecting her spiritual power.

She gave a dry laugh, the smile on her face looking a bit unnatural. "Much better than being in a birdcage."

Afraid he would press the issue, she quickly changed the subject. "But I want to know, why was everyone so afraid of a female just now?" Her tone was laced with genuine curiosity, and her wide eyes shone with a desire for knowledge.

"It has nothing to do with you." Mingye’s reply was short and sharp, completely unequivocal, as if the question was a taboo he was unwilling to touch.

A barely perceptible shadow flickered in his eyes, and his steps faltered for a moment.

Hearing this, Su Yaoyao immediately pouted. She crossed her arms and deliberately put on an angry look. "If you don’t tell me, I’ll be in a very bad mood."

Her voice carried a hint of a wheedling complaint, but her eyes were fixed on Mingye, trying to find a crack in his composure.

Mingye was silent for a moment, then his voice turned icy. "Don’t push your luck."

His gaze held a clear warning, as if telling Su Yaoyao she had just crossed a line.

Unexpectedly, Su Yaoyao was startled by this sudden severity, and tears instantly welled in her eyes. "Why are you being so mean..." she choked out, starting to cry.

This time, she wasn’t acting. Like a helpless child, she let out all the grievances she had been holding in.

Ever since meeting Mingye, she had been living in constant fear, worried for her life at every moment. ’If Bai Lian and the others were still with me, would I be suffering like this?’

’Bai Lian, Reg, Pani... I miss them so much.’ She longed for those peaceful, happy days back at the base when everyone was together. ’I never should have suggested going to the Imperial City. Now their fates are unknown, and it’s all my fault.’

This self-reproach and guilt was a heavy shackle, crushing her until she could barely breathe.

"You... Don’t cry." Mingye was at a complete loss, managing to squeeze out those few words only after a long, awkward pause.

His voice was laced with a hint of panic; he clearly had no experience dealing with a situation like this.

In his world, crying was a sign of weakness, and he had never seen such a fragile female.

But the more Su Yaoyao thought, the more heartbroken she became. Her tears flowed like a bursting dam, impossible to stop.

Her shoulders trembled violently as she sank into an abyss of sorrow, unable to pull herself out.

Mingye sighed helplessly, his tone filled with confusion and bewilderment. "What kind of female acts like you?"

In his experience, females were cruel and vicious. This delicate Su Yaoyao before him was completely upending his entire worldview.

"Then how is a female supposed to act?!" Su Yaoyao had thrown all caution to the wind, shouting back with a sob in her voice.

But her voice was hoarse from crying, making the question sound less like a threat and more like a helpless, powerless cry.

Mingye looked at her tear-reddened eyes and her cheeks, flushed red with anger and grievance, and a complex mix of emotions stirred within him.

He had never seen such a simple, artless female. In his past experiences, females were like terrifying demons.

"Vicious." Mingye suddenly spat out the word, his voice low and cold, like a whisper from Hell.

That single word struck Su Yaoyao’s heart like a heavy hammer.

"Vicious?" Su Yaoyao froze, her torrential tears stopping in an instant.

She hastily wiped the tears from her face and looked up, staring at Mingye with eyes full of shock and confusion.

"Those females, they use the Female Protection Laws to their advantage. After taking a male as their Beast Husband, they do whatever they please."

"At the slightest displeasure, they’ll beat and curse their males, even abuse them to death, without facing any consequences."

Mingye’s voice was filled with anger and pain, each word seeming to be ground out through clenched teeth. "Females are too rare and precious. The Empire has no laws to punish them."

"But... not all females are like that, right?" Su Yaoyao retorted quietly. "I haven’t met any other females, but people can be good or evil. How can you generalize about all of them?" A stubborn light shone in her eyes as she tried to defend her gender.

"Heh." Mingye gave a cold laugh, a flash of pain in his eyes. "My father died full of hatred because he trusted a female too much. His wife cut off his tail and tortured him endlessly until his death."

His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands. It was as if he had returned to that dark childhood, forced to witness his father’s brutal abuse.

That was a wound in his heart that would never heal, and the very reason why, after growing up and becoming strong, he had resolutely established his own territory to resist the injustice of the Empire.

"Most of the male Beastmen here have suffered abuse from females. They fled here only when they could no longer endure it."

Mingye’s gaze grew deep and heavy, as if recalling those unbearable memories. "That’s why they’re so terrified of females."

As Su Yaoyao listened to Mingye’s story, shock washed over her heart in wave after relentless wave.

She had never imagined that in this world, females could exist as such terrifying figures.

Gazing at Mingye’s face, shrouded in painful memories, she opened her mouth to speak, but her throat felt blocked. For a long while, she couldn’t say a word.

After a long time, Su Yaoyao finally found her voice. She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and declared loudly, her eyes filled with determination and defiance:

"Not all females are like that! I’ll prove it to you!"

Mingye gazed at Su Yaoyao. Seeing the determination in the little female’s eyes, a strange feeling stirred within him, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, sending ripples spreading across the surface.