Mingye and Noah stood at the city gate, gazing in the direction Su Yaoyao had gone. Their eyes were filled with loss, reluctance, and endless longing.

Tears streamed down Noah’s face as he spoke, his voice choked with sobs and filled with resentment and indignation. "I can’t accept this. They just stole her from us."

His heart was filled with anguish and rage, but he was powerless, able to do nothing but watch as Su Yaoyao disappeared from his life. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Mingye recalled the blissful smile that bloomed on Su Yaoyao’s face when she saw her Beast Husbands. It was a look of contentment and joy he had never seen from her in the city.

He gave a self-deprecating laugh, one laced with bitterness and resignation. His voice low, he said, "We were the villains who prevented their happy reunion."

Noah froze, the words striking the softest part of his heart. As if struck by lightning, he lowered his head in anguish, tacitly accepting the cruel truth. His heart filled with self-reproach and remorse.

Mingye led his soldiers back into the city. Hearing that the commotion had ceased, the beastmen inside cautiously emerged from their safe houses.

Seeing Lord Ming’s dejected expression, as if he had lost his most precious possession, filled them with confusion and concern.

"Did we lose?" a timid beastman whispered, his voice tinged with fear and anxiety.

Mingye shook his head, his voice low and hoarse. "The Empire has retreated, but Snake Scale City is no longer safe. You should all leave as soon as possible."

He was filled with exhaustion and resignation. He knew that the peaceful life in Snake Scale City was gone forever, and that unknown dangers likely awaited them.

"We’re not leaving. You’ve taken care of us all these years, my Lord. We will stand with you through thick and thin," a burly minotaur-like beastman declared, his eyes full of loyalty and gratitude.

"Will Miss Su be back? She promised she’d open the Yao Yao Healing Clinic on the street again tomorrow to give me my calming treatment."

His eyes were filled with anticipation, hoping to see the kind and gentle Miss Su again. He hadn’t even had a chance to thank her.

Mingye fell silent for a moment, a sharp pain piercing his heart. He said slowly, "She’s not coming back."

His words struck the beastmen like a sledgehammer. Expressions of loss and reluctance crossed their faces, as if they had lost all hope for the future.

Aboard the Flying Ship, Su Yaoyao gazed back at Snake Scale City, her heart a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.

She closed her eyes, pressed her palms together in prayer, and a ball of golden light slowly emerged from her chest. The light was soft and warm, carrying her blessings and concern.

She raised a hand and sent the light flying toward Snake Scale City, an invisible tether connecting her to the beastmen she left behind.

Mingye walked toward the ancient fortress, his figure utterly desolate. Each step was heavy and slow, as if he were dragging an immense weight.

The moonlight cast a long shadow behind him, making him appear all the more solitary and forlorn.

Then a speck of starlight, like a firefly on a summer night, gently landed on his lips. It carried a warmth that slowly seeped into his body—it was Su Yaoyao’s spiritual power.

He snapped his head up toward the sky, only to see countless motes of spiritual power falling like a shower of brilliant starlight. They gently landed on the beastmen of the city, bringing them a spiritual calm.

"Are those stars?" a young beastman asked curiously, his eyes shining with innocence.

"No, it’s spiritual power," an elderly beastman said, his voice trembling with emotion as tears welled in his eyes. "It’s Miss Su’s spiritual power."

All the beastmen slowly knelt, bowing in the direction the Flying Ship had vanished. Their eyes filled with gratitude and reverence, they said in unison, "Thank you, Holy Female."

The sound echoed long into the night sky, filled with their gratitude for Su Yaoyao and their sorrow at her departure, as if telling a story of their endless longing and blessings for her.

Noah raised a hand to touch a mote of the starlike spiritual power, his expression softening.

’This spiritual power... it’s so warm.’ It made him feel an incredible attachment, as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

A powerful thought surged through him. ’How could I ever give up on her?’

"Mingye, I have to go home," he said, his voice laced with a new determination.

The purple octopus brooch flashed, completing the communication.

Then, Noah followed the current of the water, his figure gradually vanishing into the night as he headed toward an unknown destination.

Aboard the Flying Ship, she found herself surrounded by three male beastmen.

Pani had already washed off his disguise potion. His lively pink eyes, full of concern, were fixed on her. "Yaoyao, are you all right?"

Bai Lian’s brow was furrowed. "How could you use so much spiritual power at once? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" His voice was low and hoarse, filled with endless worry and lingering fear.

"You need to rest. Now." With unquestionable authority, Reg swept Su Yaoyao firmly into his arms and carried her toward the lounge on the Flying Ship.

They were terrified. The consequences of her overusing her spiritual power in the past were still vivid in their memories.

Su Yaoyao laughed at their series of anxious and urgent actions. "I’ve been training hard lately. I won’t faint that easily anymore."

Though she said that, she was, in fact, quite tired. She just didn’t want them to worry so much.

Roland stood to the side, silently observing the warm, affectionate scene. His brow was deeply furrowed. ’Am I the only one worried about how to report back to His Majesty?’

Once they reached the room, Reg gently placed her on the bed.

Although he knew he should let Su Yaoyao rest peacefully, they had been apart for so long, and he missed Yaoyao desperately.

The moment their eyes met, his body moved faster than his mind. Filled with deep longing, he leaned in and kissed her, the touch both gentle and fiery.

Bai Lian scowled. "If anyone’s kissing her, it should be me. I’m Yaoyao’s first Beast Husband."

With that, he grabbed the back of Reg’s collar and yanked him away.

Furious at the interruption, Reg snapped, "So what if you were first? I love Yaoyao just as much as you do."

The two of them were like a pair of children vying for favor, neither willing to back down.

While they were arguing, Pani had already transformed into a little pink rabbit. His ears twitched gently, his fluffy body like a small pink ball of fluff, as he obediently snuggled into Su Yaoyao’s arms.

"Yaoyao, let’s sleep together."

Bai Lian and Reg watched this, both thinking the same thing: ’What a sly rabbit.’

Then, as if by silent agreement, they both transformed into their cub forms—a little White Lion and a Little Black Panther—and pounced toward Su Yaoyao.

A blissful smile spread across Su Yaoyao’s face as she gave each of them kisses and hugs, lifting them high in the air. It had been too long since she’d gotten to pet their fluffy fur.

But the more she looked, the more something felt off. ’Why do they look so much like the pets from the base?’

"Wait a minute... The fluffy things that have been sleeping with me every night... that was you guys?!"