Feng Qi seemed unfazed by the situation. He glanced sideways at Jiang Zheyu. "Let’s go. To the next house."

Jiang Zheyu stood rooted to the spot, neither speaking nor moving. Her lips were pressed into a thin, straight line.

’System, is my spiritual power different from the other females here?’ Jiang Zheyu asked the system in her mind. Even as she asked, she already suspected the answer. According to the original owner’s memories, purifying a Beastification Value required complete trust between both parties. Alternatively, if the Male Beastman’s spiritual power was stronger than the female’s, he could force her to perform a Spiritual Purification.

But she hadn’t needed Su Yan’s trust at all, nor had she felt any sense of coercion during the purification. She had performed it entirely of her own volition.

"That is correct, Host," the system replied. "You can enter a Beastman’s Spiritual Domain without needing their trust. Your spiritual power is also different. Not only can you purify their Beastification Value, but you can also heal severely damaged spiritual bodies."

After its explanation, the system added a friendly reminder. "Although you can freely enter a Beastman’s Spiritual Domain, it’s on the condition that they won’t attack you. Otherwise, if the spiritual body discovers an intruder, it might retaliate and damage your own spiritual body."

’So I *can* heal the Beastman inside whose spiritual body was damaged.’

’But if I do that, I’ll definitely attract the Empire’s attention. Besides, now that I’ve purified Su Yan, I’m afraid the Empire has already noticed me.’

’Having a high Spiritual Power Level is one thing, but if I can also heal spiritual bodies, I’m afraid I won’t just attract the Empire’s attention, but that of other illicit factions as well.’

’Being special means being valuable, and being valuable means everyone will be scrambling to get their hands on you.’

’The protagonist of the original story was fought over just for developing a reagent that could purify Beastification Value.’

’All sorts of factions began fighting to possess her, and then the leaders of those factions gradually fell in love with her after capturing her.’

Thinking of those lunatics, Jiang Zheyu decided it was better to hide her abilities and just be an ordinary female.

’If I reveal my ability to heal spiritual bodies, the Empire would certainly protect me, but I’d also have to bear more responsibility and worry about being fought over by the lunatics from every major faction.’

’So, I have to hide my abilities while continuously increasing my spiritual power until I reach the highest S+++ level. I’ll become the number one strongest in spiritual power. That way, I’ll have the ability to protect myself and the capital to negotiate.’

"You want to go in and see?" Su Yan asked, noticing her long, dazed silence. He reached out and took her somewhat cold hand.

"Yeah, we came to pay our respects anyway," Feng Qi said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can go in and see if you’re worried."

They both assumed her long silence was due to guilt.

Jiang Zheyu gave a faint, bitter smile and slowly shook her head. "There’s no need. It would be useless for me to go in. I might just stir up his memories and cause him even more pain."

With that, she turned away and said softly, "Let’s go to the next house."

Su Yan sensed that her mood had soured. He simply walked forward and took her hand in his, his large palm seeming to lend her strength. Jiang Zheyu noticed and glanced back, giving him a small smile.

"The past is in the past. Just focus on the present," Su Yan said, giving Jiang Zheyu’s small hand a gentle squeeze.

Jiang Zheyu nodded slightly. "Mm."

Feng Qi also walked over to her side but said nothing.

By a little after nine in the evening, they had finished visiting and apologizing to fourteen families. Now, only one remained.

The attitude of the dozen or so families Jiang Zheyu had visited was much the same as the first: they would accept the compensation but not the apology. And because she wasn’t the one who had directly brought ruin to their families, they didn’t welcome her, but they also didn’t fly into a rage and try to kill her.

However, the circumstances of these families were dire. The Beastmen who had survived Bai Ruo’s torture were either left with permanent disabilities, had their spiritual power severely damaged, or both. They were condemned to a lifetime of being cared for by others, bedridden and tormented by their spiritual injuries.

For those who hadn’t survived, only the elderly and children remained, scraping by on the Star Citizen relief fund.

Jiang Zheyu’s long-term compensation would allow the elderly to live more comfortably and let the children return to their studies.

These were only the reported cases. The number of Male Beastmen Bai Ruo had tortured, murdered, and the families she had destroyed was surely greater than just this dozen or so. But only these few, who were struggling to survive, had accepted Jiang Zheyu’s offer of long-term compensation.

"Let’s go. Last one," Feng Qi said, scrolling through the information on his Light Brain.

The three of them arrived in front of a dilapidated apartment building.

Jiang Zheyu noticed that all these people lived in the outer city.

Unlike the glittering prosperity of the Imperial Capital Star’s inner city, the buildings of the outer city were crowded and oppressive.

The entrance to this shabby little apartment was barely wide enough for one and a half people, and it required a key card for entry.

The three of them stood outside the door, unable to get in without a card. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"I’ll call the landlord’s Light Brain," Feng Qi said, operating his own device.

Soon, the connection went through.

Feng Qi stated simply, "Come to Apartment Building Four."

The landlord hastily agreed. "Ah, yes, yes, of course!"

Soon, an Old Beastman who was the landlord walked over, carrying a large ring of keys. He asked with concern, "Captain Qi, I’m not harboring any criminals here. What brings the patrol all the way out to this place? Don’t tell me a big fish has turned up in my little pond?"

"Cut the crap. This isn’t a patrol," Feng Qi said, giving the Old Beastman a careless glance. "Which room is Yin Feng’s family in? Take us there."

The Old Beastman paused at the name Yin Feng, then seemed to have a moment of realization. "Ah, so Captain Qi is here to supervise the female as she carries out her punishment?"

"Mm," Feng Qi simply nodded.

The Old Beastman saw Jiang Zheyu but didn’t dare confirm it at first. ’Is this *that* Jiang Zheyu?’

"Commander Su, what brings you here as well?" the Old Beastman asked, surprised to see Su Yan.

"I’m here with my Female Master," Su Yan explained succinctly.

The Old Beastman looked from Jiang Zheyu to Su Yan, his shock deepening.

’Commander Su’s Female Master is that vicious female, Jiang Zheyu?!’

He didn’t dare ask any more questions. Unlocking the small apartment gate, he led the way. "That fellow Yin Feng, he’s only got two younger brothers left here. They’re living in the stairwell now. It’s not that I want to mistreat them, but they really couldn’t afford the rent. I can’t run a losing business, can I? So I let them stay in the stairwell. I only charge them fifty Star Coins a month."

The Old Beastman led them to the first-floor stairwell, where there was a small door that only came up to a person’s waist. One would have to stoop to enter.