The Night Raid Continues (Third Update—Please Bookmark and Vote)

Ye Qing was still conflicted. He envied Xu Xian a little; at least before meeting Fa Hai, Xu Xian had lived a good life, with a harmonious marriage and no need to think about all this chaotic nonsense.

The simplest solution right now would be to have a thorough, intimate exchange with Xiao Qing in bed. Once they talked it out, she would no longer be in this state. But he could not do that.

The one who tied the knot had to untie it, and matters of the heart needed to be treated at their root. He could roughly grasp Xiao Qing's state of mind. Without realizing it, she had developed a deep dependence on him, and that dependence had evolved into possessiveness.

Ever since she had been reborn here with Ye Qing, she had eaten well, lived well, and no Spirit Beast dared threaten her safety—though they could not have threatened it anyway. On top of that, Ye Qing had been the first person she saw, and those strange books had influenced Xiao Qing as well. Gradually, her temperament had begun to change, much like that of a human girl going through puberty.

Ye Qing had not noticed these little problems. Or rather, he liked this Xiao Qing who depended on him, so he had let things develop naturally. He had thought that once he could undergo Shape Transformation and become human, all these issues would be resolved. That was why they had gradually piled up.

Ah Rou's appearance had been a coincidence, and the fact that her daughter was Xiao Wu had been an enormous coincidence. At the time, Ye Qing had simply been excited, because Xiao Wu would be the key to unlocking Self-Discipline No. 3. After all, aside from Xiao Wu, the other major plot characters were not even fertilized eggs yet. No one even knew where their ancestors were.

But Xiao Qing did not know that. She did not know about Ye Qing's system, nor did she know how Xiao Wu's existence affected him, much less that Self-Discipline Points existed. So Ah Rou and Xiao Wu moving in had been like a tiny spark. She would not oppose what Ye Qing did, but she worried about other things. After all, judging by appearances alone, Ye Qing was not that different from a Soft Bone Rabbit. When he hid his claws and fangs, he was just a Rabbit.

Under those circumstances, Xiao Qing made her choice. She wanted to give herself to Ye Qing.

The best solution was not an option. There was a second method: let Xiao Qing know that such a system existed. But just as that thought crossed his mind, Self-Discipline No. 3 appeared.

"The system cannot be revealed to others..."

"Then give me some advice?" Based on what he knew of the system, if it said no, then it meant no. There was no way he could tell Xiao Qing.

"According to the system's calculations, accepting her would be the optimal solution."

"Go to hell... How about you loan me the method for Shape Transformation?"

"This system does not provide loan services. Loans carry risks. Exercise caution with online lending. Self-Discipline No. 3 reminds you to cherish Life and stay away from online loan traps..."

"Alright, you can leave now. No need to see yourself out."

"Lie to her? No. One lie would require a hundred more lies to cover it up. Even if a cleaver could not kill me, it would still hurt my feelings."

"Damn it, I've been single since birth. I've never run into anything like this before."

"First of all, this isn't your problem. This body of mine is meant for combat. Can we wait until I can become human before talking about this?"

"But we're all Spirit Beasts. What difference does that make...? Besides, you're already a seven-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, so why haven't you undergone Shape Transformation yet? What if you can never transform? And besides, I don't care what form you take."

"Look, say that Diamond Willow outside fell in love with the Golden-Clawed Squirrel in its branches. Wouldn't both Spirit Beasts have to become human first?" Ye Qing tried to use this as an example, but Xiao Qing was not affected by it at all.

"That's a plant-type and an animal-type. We're different. I know your lifestyle is similar to that of humans, but among humans, Emperor Beifeng's partners are often all kinds of animals."

"...That's Beifeng—Beifeng?!"

"Yes, my lord. What's wrong? I learned that half-human, half-snake-tail form from a book with pictures. The people there seemed to really like that appearance, and there were some special positions too." As she spoke, she wiggled the tail exposed outside the blanket.

"Pictures? Has it already started spawning comics? And Monster Girl ones at that? This system's tastes are getting stranger and stranger..."

Ye Qing felt that something was off. Beifeng, pictures, the seductive movements Xiao Qing had learned from who knew where, and those special positions she had mentioned...

"Could some bizarre erotic comics have spawned too? No, Xiao Qing. I hereby declare that you'll have your own private study from now on. The things in my study aren't suitable for you. Let's continue discussing the original issue. Do you know why you're called Xiao Qing?"

"Because I'm green? Or because I'm a Green Serpent?"

"Cough, cough." Ye Qing did not want to admit that Xiao Qing had guessed correctly. Back then, she had been a green snake, which had made him think of Legend of the White Snake, so he had given her that name. But since he was asking now, he naturally had a new explanation.

"No, no, no. How could it be that casual? You're Xiao Qing, and I'm Ye Qing. We both have the character 'Qing' in our names. It means you're the person closest to me, understand? This is your one-of-a-kind name."

"But it sounds like a name you came up with on the spot... Just like Ah Rou and Xiao Wu."

"Then today, I'll give you a proper name too, a full name like mine. How about it?"

"Alright."

"How about Cen Biqing? That'll be your official name." After thinking for a long time, Ye Qing, terminally afflicted with naming syndrome, gave up on other ideas and still felt this name suited her best.

"Alright, but you're not allowed to give anyone else a second name from now on."

Ye Qing readily agreed. Looking at the especially happy Xiao Qing, he felt that he should clear up one issue.

"Xiao Qing, hypothetically speaking, if I become close with other women in the future, what would you do?"

"Would you abandon Xiao Qing, my lord?"

"No. I promise we'll be together forever."

"Then there's no problem. You're so strong, my lord. It's normal for you to have many mates."

Only then did Ye Qing realize he had fallen into a blind spot. This was not Earth. Not only was it unimaginably far removed from modern society in time, but his species was no longer human either. For Spirit Beasts, it was perfectly normal for powerful individuals to have multiple mates. What Xiao Qing feared was not that there were others in his heart, but that there was no place for her in it.

"Good, everyone's happy. Go back to sleep. I'll still drag you out for morning training tomorrow."

"I want to sleep here."

"...Today is an exception. But put your clothes on properly, and don't do anything strange. Nothing at all."

"Can I hug you?"

"...That's the final boundary."

He even suspected that some bizarre scenes had been in the books Xiao Qing had read—things like, "I won't cross the line, I'll just hug you," or "I'll just touch you, I won't do anything," or "I won't move..." But with him, the roles had been reversed. Fortunately, he had the physical advantage, and Xiao Qing was weaker than him. Otherwise, he felt that something sealed away might have happened.

Just when Ye Qing thought it was all over, some subtle changes occurred within the Castle. He could never have imagined what kind of shock would greet him when he woke up the next morning.

Please bookmark, vote, and send monthly tickets. I seem to have run into a bug—I can't see who sent the monthly tickets.