Chapter 16: The Contract’s Restraint
Su Muyao didn’t dare move a muscle, her hands hovering just above Hua Linye’s fur. It was undeniably beautiful and incredibly soft to the touch—the feel of fox fur was simply divine.
But she wanted to live.
She loved the dense forests and the rich resources of this world. The environment and everything in it was a world away from the apocalypse. But when she thought of the murderous hatred in Hua Linye’s eyes, she wanted to cry but had no tears left.
Sensing her unease, Hua Linye shifted back into his human form, caught her in his arms, and gently set her down on the ground.
“Wife Master, what’s wrong?”
She was looking down, a pitiful expression on her face, as if he had done something to her. He had never seen her like this before. It made him reluctant to even say a harsh word.
Su Muyao stared at the tips of her toes, explaining in a low voice, “I didn’t mean to grab your fur.”
“You were running so fast, I would have fallen off if I didn’t hold on.”
She would never admit she had been stroking his fur. If the snow season came and the world froze over, sleeping while hugging that fur would surely be warm and comfortable.
Realizing what she was thinking, Su Muyao was horrified. Heavens, how could I have such a thought?
She shook her head vigorously, trying to fling the idea from her mind.
Hua Linye looked down at her, finding her current state—a little soft, a little cute—to be a rare sight.
Cute?
The word popped into his head, startling even himself. In that moment, his heartstrings stirred, and he felt himself softening. He had despised her before, yet his instincts were telling him clearly that she was different now.
Hua Linye fought the urge to stroke her hair. The revulsion his body had once felt at her proximity was still there, so he restrained himself. The corners of his magnificent lips moved as he softened his voice. “It’s fine. Hold on however you need to.”
Su Muyao froze, looking up at Hua Linye in surprise. She met his stunning, captivating eyes, which shimmered with a thin, enchanting light, tender and gentle.
He wasn’t going to try and get revenge on her out here?
Su Muyao slowly let out a breath of relief. “Okay!”
It seemed the beastman husband contract was binding enough that he wouldn’t do anything to her. Still, she had to control herself. She couldn’t have them turning around for revenge after the contract was dissolved.
Su Muyao would never believe they truly saw her differently. The original owner had done so many despicable things. If she were in their shoes, she would have wanted to tear her to pieces. So, in a way, she completely understood how they felt.
Hua Linye transformed back into his beast form, then carefully curled his tail around Su Muyao, lifting her onto his back once more.
Just as he was about to move, Su Muyao spotted something nearby. “Wait!” she cried out.
“What is it?”
“Let me down first.”
Hua Linye did as she asked.
After sliding off his back, Su Muyao walked over to a nearby tree.
“Is that a wheat tree?”
The stalk was thicker and taller than any wheat she had seen in the apocalypse, and it was laden with large, golden grains. For a second, Su Muyao thought she was mistaken. But on closer inspection, the grains were definitely wheat.
Such large kernels of wheat! It seemed the crops here were just bigger than the ones from her previous world—three to four times the size.
Hua Linye walked to her side and looked down at her. “What’s wrong?”
“This is food.”
“It’s called wheat!” Su Muyao was so happy and excited that she couldn’t help but share the news with Hua Linye.
He had no idea what wheat was. But looking at the grains, he thought of rice and other foods, guessing it was something similar. The important thing was, with wheat, they could have noodles and bread.
Understanding her meaning, Hua Linye asked, “Does my lady need me to harvest this?”
Su Muyao nodded. “Yes, you can cut the whole thing down. The stalk can be used as kindling.”
Wheat straw could be used to weave hats, fans, mats, and more. This stalk was a bit thick, but it could also be burned to make plant ash.
Because of the wheat discovery, Su Muyao found herself looking at Hua Linye in a much more favorable light. If he hadn’t taken this path, she never would have found it.
“We can make flour-based foods later.”
Hua Linye didn’t know what “flour-based foods” were, only that Su Muyao was very happy at this moment. Although one side of her face was blackened, the smile in her eyes was so real. Her smiling eyes seemed to hold a pool of clear water, so clean and bright.
Hua Linye quickly helped cut down the wheat stalk.
Su Muyao placed it directly into her pocket dimension.
Watching the wheat vanish into thin air, Hua Linye froze.
“A space ability?”
Su Muyao nodded.
Hua Linye’s mind reeled as if struck by a tidal wave. Dual abilities—and both were the exceedingly rare space and healing types. It was unbelievable.
And this was their Wife Master.
Back in the Beast Imperial City, she was known as a useless, bratty, and vicious female. The rumors about her were endless. She had endured the disgust and scorn of countless people. If those people knew she was a dual-ability user, he wondered what they would think.
Or perhaps it was because she had awakened her abilities that her entire personality had changed. Whatever the reason, it was a good change. These past two days, seeing her act like a normal female, they had been shocked, but also afraid that they would wake up one day and she would revert to her old self.
Of course, because they had become her husbands, they had also been mocked and ridiculed in the Beast Imperial City. Their Wife Master couldn’t even soothe the rampaging spiritual sea of her beastmen—the most basic ability a female possessed.
But a healing ability was far more powerful than merely soothing a spiritual sea.
Seeing the complex, deep look in Hua Linye’s foxy eyes, Su Muyao asked, “What is it?”
Hua Linye said calmly, “It’s nothing.”
“Is there anything else my lady needs?” As long as she remained this normal, he would do whatever she asked.
Su Muyao looked around. “Let’s see if there’s any more of this wheat nearby.”
But after a quick search, they found nothing.
“System, have you found anything?”
The System replied, “Host, there is no more wheat within a hundred-meter radius.”
Seeing the disappointed look on Su Muyao’s face, Hua Linye transformed into his beast form and leaped into a tall tree to look into the distance. He activated his fox-eye ability, consuming some of his power, and spotted another wheat plant in a valley several hundred meters away.
Hua Linye jumped down from the tree and looked at Su Muyao. “There’s one more. I’ll take you there.”
Su Muyao’s eyes instantly lit up. “Okay, let’s go.”
Hua Linye placed Su Muyao on his back and leaped over. He quickly cut down the stalk and placed it on the ground, and Su Muyao willed it into her dimension.
Just then, the System’s excited voice rang out. “Host, sixty meters to your right is cabbage! Chinese cabbage!”
Su Muyao’s eyes grew even brighter. She quickly looked in that direction and, sure enough, saw a patch of cabbage. It was all normal-sized, but that was more than enough. With cabbage, she could make dumplings, wontons, savory pies, and more.
Su Muyao pulled out a bone knife and excitedly began to dig up the cabbage.
Hua Linye watched her for a moment before walking over to silently help. “Let me, my lady. You can rest on the side.”
He thought the plant looked like a weed, but seeing Su Muyao’s thrilled expression, he knew it obviously wasn’t.
Could this be food, too?
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