Chapter 81: I Have a Female

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: I Have a Female

Feng Si didn’t even bother looking at the 999+ friend requests she received every day.

She reached out and, with a single tap, rejected them all.

「Elsewhere.」

Soaking alone in an immense hot spring, Chi Jie gazed toward the far end. The spring was perched high on a mountain, commanding an unobstructed view. In the distance was a sheer cliff face where a waterfall cascaded down like starlight, meandering through the valley below to form a river.

He was now the sole master of the Southern Wilderness Imperial Palace. Without his permission, no living creature would dare defy him by approaching or spying on this semi-open-air hot spring.

Most of the attendants here in the Imperial Palace had inherited their positions, their families having served the Imperial Palace for generations.

As attendants of the Imperial Palace, they were loyal, yet timid and meek. They were especially terrified and awed by the brutal New Beast King, who had seized the throne by killing his own brothers, and never dared to disobey any of his commands.

The entire continent groveled at his feet.

But the black-haired male beast, sovereign over all others, lowered his head to stare at the message that had just popped up.

—You have been rejected.

The shimmering surface of the water was reflected in his golden pupils. At that moment, a small, stunned crack appeared on Chi Jie’s usually nonchalant face, betraying the young Beast King’s complete lack of experience in dealing with females and sub-females.

With a sudden movement, he stood up and strode out of the hot spring.

As he walked, water droplets slid like diamonds from his perfect muscles. His bare back looked like a sharp weapon forged from fresh blood, emanating a murderous aura.

And Chi Jie considered himself to be just that—a sharp weapon forged from blood. A weapon’s only purpose was to kill. That was normal.

There was nothing to deny.

Chi Jie walked out of the hot spring and into the dressing room, where he selected a set of casual clothes. Under the cover of night, he left the Imperial Palace.

As he passed the southern edge of the forest, a Forbidden Army Soldier beside Mang Changbai gasped in a low voice, "The King... is he going out all by himself?"

Mang Changbai glanced at the massive, dark shadow that flashed past and cursed in an equally low voice, "That’s called prying into the King’s affairs. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

...

「In the bathroom.」

Feng Si had just rejected all the friend requests with a single tap, but in the next second, a red notification dot with "99+" appeared again.

A quick scroll down revealed they were all Beastmen wanting to add her as a friend to buy her pickled cabbage.

[Add me! I’ll pay a fortune—one million green leaves—for your pickled cabbage.]

[I’m Ran Chi, ranked second in the Pantian City Beast Fighting Arena. Sell me a bite of your pickled cabbage!]

[If I can’t buy any pickled cabbage, I’m warning you, I’ll have your stream shut down.]

[Xiao Si? I know you. It’s been a long time! I have something important to tell you. Add me, quick!]

—Beastmen trying to add her through all sorts of means: deception, threats, exorbitant offers, and so on.

Feng Si felt not a single ripple of emotion as she read them.

’After experiencing all the bizarre and sophisticated scams of the modern world, these Beastmen’s simple online interactions seemed like child’s play.’

At the same time, she was grateful that on this network, you couldn’t send private messages unless you were mutual friends.

’Otherwise, her inbox would crash from all the messages she’d receive daily.’

Watching the number continue to climb, Feng Si tapped the "Reject All" button again. Then, she simply changed her settings to refuse all friend requests.

The red dot vanished. Yun Chi, floating in the warm water, tilted his head, watching his mother’s slender fingers move away from the light screen in front of him.

Letting the camera orb play with Yun Duo in the water, Feng Si took a moment to dry a blue ball with a towel. She then took out a ball of yarn, intending to make a few new small yarn balls for Yun Duo.

...

「North of the giant-tree forest outside the Imperial Palace.」

A complex of villas, hidden in the wetlands, was arranged in an orderly fashion, perfectly integrated with the surrounding waterways.

"Who is it? Who dares disturb my time with my wife!"

The Southern Wilderness Prime Minister, Lip Fei, emerged slowly from the bedroom, a loose, gray silk robe draped over his shoulders. As he walked, he shrugged off the robe and put on a brown one. A servant followed behind him with head bowed, heading toward the main hall used for receiving guests.

He was a Beastman from the Giant Lizard Clan. His bronze-colored hair was spiked up, and his ice-blue eyes held the characteristic coldness of a cold-blooded creature.

Lip Fei said with an arrogant expression, "You bunch of good-for-nothings. Can’t you just have the guards throw him out?"

As he rounded the corner, a figure appeared in the spacious hall ahead. Lip Fei’s pupils contracted.

A black suit outlined a tall, slender figure. The King, not dressed in his Emperor Beast attire, was sitting right in the middle of the hall!

’It’s the King!’

Chi Jie’s black hair was still damp. His handsome features betrayed no emotion, but his thin, crimson lips were curled into a slight smile, and the indifference in his eyes was cold enough to freeze a Beastman to death.

’Oh my god.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Lip Fei shivered and immediately broke into a trot, running toward the hall. He glanced around frantically.

’Wait... this is my house, isn’t it?’

’Then why would the King suddenly condescend to visit my home?!’

The servant bowed and withdrew. Lip Fei smoothed the wrinkles on his robe and hurried to the entrance of the hall, where he stopped. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

Chi Jie, seated in the host’s seat in the hall, raised a hand and beckoned to Lip Fei, who was bowing at the entrance.

"King, you honor my humble abode. Do you have an important command for me?" Having been summoned, a reverent Lip Fei walked into the hall and stopped two meters away from Chi Jie.

Chi Jie’s gaze fell upon the Prime Minister before him.

The man was no older than forty. Not only had he reached the position of Prime Minister of the South Desolate Continent through his own abilities, but more importantly—

—he had successfully courted a Special-level Female.

He had been young when that Special-level Female came of age, but he’d heard about it. It had caused quite a sensation across the continent. At the time, his father, the Emperor, had even considered saving that Special-level Female for Chi Shou, to arrange a Contract once he was grown.

Unexpectedly, despite the power of the Imperial Palace, in just one short year, that Special-level Female had given up on a member of the Imperial Palace and chosen Lip Fei as her mate.

Afterward, by some unknown means, he had managed to avoid his father the Emperor’s blame and anger, and had steadily risen through the official ranks.

Being scrutinized, Lip Fei grew fearful. ’?’

’D-Did I make some mistake during the morning court session?’

Finally, after once again confirming that Lip Fei was an intelligent male beast with high emotional intelligence, Chi Jie asked, "When I see a certain person, I get a strange, indescribable feeling inside. What do you think that is?"

Lip Fei stood respectfully to one side. He glanced up at the King’s profile and asked cautiously, "May I ask... who is the female you’re referring to?"

A flicker of displeasure flashed in Chi Jie’s golden eyes. "You only need to answer my question. Do not ask questions or pry without my permission."

Lip Fei: "...Yes."

Under the other’s terrifying gaze, he thought carefully about how this King had spent all his time on the battlefield and was now well past the age for a Contract.

"King, the following is merely my personal opinion. I beg the King not to find me guilty of any offense." Lip Fei made a gesture of pleading for forgiveness.

Chi Jie: "Speak."

Lip Fei summoned his courage and began speaking slowly, testing the waters. "This strange feeling you’re experiencing might be... affection for a member of the opposite sex. I..."

Chi Jie frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. He cut him off, denying it. "It’s not affection. I... already have a female."