Chapter 59: Caring for the Snake

The message Tang Luo Ke had someone bring her...

Hearing this, Yu Zhizhi couldn’t help but become nervous.

She looked at the white-haired young man before her. His ruby-like wolf eyes were filled with an obvious smile, yet he deliberately lowered his voice.

"Don’t. Let. Me. Catch. You."

He imitated it word for word, even reproducing the laugh at the end.

"Hee hee."

Yu Zhizhi suddenly shivered, nearly dropping the painting she was holding.

Donner’s expression returned to normal, and he smiled warmly at her. "Whenever you want to come back, just come back. We’ll always welcome you."

’Rabbits are timid. They have to be treated gently.’

’Right now, the other factions in the Empire are getting restless...’

’Everyone wants a shot at becoming the Beast Husband of the S-Class female from the Rabbit Clan.’

Yu Zhizhi straightened her drawing board and forced a smile.

’As long as Tang Luo Ke is there, I don’t dare go back.’

’Besides, I still don’t know what the fourth main quest is.’

Donner sat back in his seat. He picked up his tea and blew on it lightly. "The events of last night have already spread throughout the entire Empire."

As he mentioned it, Donner’s expression grew uncharacteristically cold.

"Count Gray is utterly disgraced. The White Snake Clan has struck him from their family records. His headless body was thrown into a mass grave to be devoured by vultures, and no Beastman is permitted to give him a water burial."

On the Beast World Planet, it was customary for Beastmen to receive a water burial after they died.

Their belief was—

All things come from the ocean.

And after death, their souls should also return to the undersea.

For a Beastman, being denied a water burial was equivalent to falling into Abi Hell, their soul never finding peace.

Donner continued, "His fans, who had been deceived by his facade all this time, wish they could burn his mansion to the ground."

"There are also some who are crying their eyes out, unable to accept their idol’s downfall."

In any case, Count Gray losing his reputation overnight was quite satisfying to the Beastmen.

Many of the Beastmen present that night spared no effort in posting online about what had happened.

In their words, they were filled with admiration for the Rabbit Clan female who tore off his hypocritical mask.

After all, the little female had been in a very precarious situation at the time.

The vast majority of Beastmen had doubted her—

Who would believe that the gentle and humble Count Gray would have murderous intentions toward the Empire’s revered S-Class female?

But the evidence proved she wasn’t lying.

Yu Zhizhi quietly hugged her drawing board. Count Gray had received the punishment he deserved, and that was good. The thirteen bodies hidden in the ice cellar could now rest in peace.

’To think I was also deceived by Count Gray’s facade...’

Yu Zhizhi had genuinely felt that he was warm and affable, and being around him was very comfortable. Since she was getting nowhere with the Duke, she had really placed her last hopes on Count Gray.

’Thank goodness...’

’I didn’t foolishly go off with him.’

Seeing the little rabbit’s pale face, Donner knew she hadn’t recovered from last night’s events.

"I have nothing more to say. If Ms. Zhi Zhi didn’t sleep well, you can go back and get some more rest."

Yu Zhizhi stood up. "Alright, I’ll head back to my room then."

"Mhm."

On the way back, Yu Zhizhi walked very slowly. The soreness in her body hadn’t faded, and she felt she hadn’t slept well at all. Right now, she wished she could just fly back to the study and sleep for three whole days and nights.

The Hamster maid followed beside her and took the drawing board from her hands.

She stared at it for a long while.

She couldn’t understand its contents.

It was just too abstract—black, red, and white all smeared together. She had no idea what the artist was thinking.

But there was a white blob with two ears that looked like a rabbit.

As Yu Zhizhi returned, a guard outside the courtyard said softly,

"Ms. Zhi Zhi, please be quiet. The Duke... is sleeping."

After hearing this, the Hamster maid did not enter the courtyard.

Yu Zhizhi nodded.

She stepped over the threshold and followed the corridor along the edge of the pond to the study door.

She took off her shoes and walked slowly and quietly into the room.

It had already been evening when she woke up.

Now, the sky had just darkened, and no lamps were lit in the study.

On the desk was a pot of freshly boiled tea, bubbling quietly.

Yu Zhizhi didn’t see the Duke.

She walked behind a screen and found the man’s figure. He hadn’t changed his clothes yet and was still wearing the dark blue formal attire he’d worn out. He was leaning against the door, seemingly taking a nap.

Beside his hand lay a long, slender smoking pipe.

In the dim light of evening, the man’s features looked refined and handsome. He seemed less lazy and wicked than during the day, and more gentle and easygoing.

Drawing closer, she realized he must be truly exhausted.

He hadn’t slept at all last night.

He had left in a hurry early in the morning and was now taking a rare moment to rest with his eyes closed.

However, a light sheen of sweat had formed on his forehead.

Yu Zhizhi couldn’t resist taking out her handkerchief to gently wipe it away.

The dozing Duke slowly woke up. A flash of pain crossed his golden, slitted pupils. Smelling the faint scent of jasmine and milk in front of him, he looked over and saw the little female, who had returned from the reception hall, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Yu Zhizhi asked softly.

"Yeah."

He undid a metal button on his chest, letting the evening breeze flow into his clothes. He was covered in too much sweat; it was uncomfortable.

Yu Zhizhi finished wiping the sweat from his forehead.

’The Duke always likes to hold me,’ she thought. ’Perhaps it’s because he has nightmares so often.’

After a moment’s hesitation, she knelt on both knees, straightened her upper body, and hugged the man sitting before her.

Just like...

...he used to hold her. She embraced him gently, stroking his head with her palm, again and again, as if to soothe him.

The Duke’s golden, slitted pupils widened slightly in surprise.

’The little female is hugging me.’

’She’s comforting me.’

Perhaps due to his childhood experiences, he desperately craved physical contact, but his aversion to other clans meant he couldn’t accept any female who wasn’t from the Snake Clan.

’But snakes are cold-blooded animals.’

’They have no warmth.’

’I don’t like that.’

But this rabbit in front of him... she was so soft, and her scent—a mix of jasmine and faint milk—was becoming more and more distinct.

He was growing more and more addicted to her scent.

The Duke buried his face against her and couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

’So fragrant, so soft. Her slender waist feels as if it would snap with the slightest pressure.’

’I want to fatten her up a bit.’

’But she eats so little.’

’I’ll have to think of something...’

"Does this help you feel a little better?" Yu Zhizhi asked in a soft voice.

The Duke couldn’t help but laugh.

"How could it?"

’I was just getting some sleep, but then the little female came and stirred the desire deep inside me.’

’Once certain things break through the constraints of the heart, they become unrestrained. It’s either zero times or countless times; there is no middle ground.’

However...

The Duke slowly released her. He patted the little female’s head and had her sit down beside him.

He leaned against the door, enjoying the evening breeze as he lit the long, slender pipe that was beside him.

Yu Zhizhi rested quietly against him.

"There’s something I have to tell you in advance."

The Duke’s voice was slightly hoarse and carried a rare seriousness. "I’m sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

Yu Zhizhi stared at him blankly.

’Why is the Duke suddenly apologizing?’