Chapter 124 - 77: Ding! A Message from My Dear Wife

"I don’t know either. All I know is that whenever you speak, I can hear it."

Yan Chen tossed aside the roasted rabbit in his hand and replied nonchalantly.

’Perhaps when my consciousness first awakened, I unintentionally devoured some kind of ability.’

Listening to the exchange between the System and Yan Chen, Jiang Yunnuan was completely lost. A strange feeling welled up inside her.

’Now that my secret is out, what am I supposed to do?’

’Yan Chen knows I have to win him over. He’s bound to be resistant and defensive. Can I still pull it off?’

’He’s not going to make a preemptive strike and get rid of me right now, is he?’

[Sigh, how could this have happened?]

[There must be a bug in the System. Host, just hang in there! I’m going to find the bug and fix this malfunction right away.]

The System, mired in deep self-doubt, went offline the very second it finished speaking.

Jiang Yunnuan was speechless.

"Er... so, even though you’re our fifth target, we definitely won’t do anything to you. How about we just stay out of each other’s way?"

Since she couldn’t hide it any longer, she had to bite the bullet and admit he was one of her targets.

His dark eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "But I seem to recall you saying that when it came to winning me over, you had your own pace and told the System not to worry."

Jiang Yunnuan was at a loss for words.

At this point, there was no sense in denying it. She decided she might as well throw caution to the wind.

"Fine. What do you want?"

The man spoke slowly. "This ’winning over’ you keep mentioning... what exactly is it?"

’Is that something I can even talk about?’

’But if I don’t tell him, he definitely won’t let this go.’

Jiang Yunnuan sighed, a headache already forming. ’What have I done to deserve this? How did I get saddled with a target who can hear my conversations with the System?’

"I can’t tell you that. But if you want to find out, why don’t you come with me? You can hear the System’s voice anyway. If you stick with me, I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon enough."

’Whatever. Since he won’t let it go, I might as well get him on my side first and figure out the rest later.’

"Very well. But I have three conditions."

"Oh? I’m listening."

She had only said it on a whim and was stunned that he had actually agreed.

"First, open the Innate Spiritual Land and let my true form inside. Second, cook me lots of food every day, using ingredients from the Innate Spiritual Land or the System. Third, be my pet."

Her consciousness was bound to an Innate Spiritual Land, a place teeming with Spiritual Power that would be of immeasurable benefit to his evolution.

’Innate Spiritual Land?’

Jiang Yunnuan froze. ’Is he talking about the farm?’

’This guy... he can even see the farm?’

Suppressing her astonishment, she collected herself and said, "The first two are fine, but as for the third, I refuse."

’I have no idea why this guy is so obsessed with making me his pet.’

"Be my pet, and I can protect you."

Hearing this, Jiang Yunnuan’s eyes lit up. "Does that involve a contract? If not, then I might consider it."

’He wants to be my master. If we formed a contract, it would surely be a master-servant one. I absolutely cannot agree to a contract.’

"We don’t have to form a contract. But you have to wear this."

Yan Chen held out his hand, and a greenish branch Collar appeared. It had a few tender leaves sprouting from it and looked surprisingly beautiful.

Jiang Yunnuan’s expression darkened.

For some reason, the Collar reminded her of a dog leash, and she immediately refused.

"No way! I’m not wearing that!"

"Hah. I’m afraid that’s not for you to decide."

The man’s eyes, cold as the moon, curved slightly. With a flick of his wrist, the Collar transformed into a streak of green light that wrapped around her neck before reforming into the branch Collar.

Furious, Jiang Yunnuan reached up and yanked at it.

The branches didn’t prick her skin at all; in fact, they felt quite soft. But no matter how hard she pulled, she couldn’t get it off. It was as if it had been branded onto her.

She shot him a furious glare, screaming, "Take it off! Get this stupid thing off me right now! I said I wouldn’t wear it, are you deaf?"

Yan Chen paid no mind to her outburst, his dark eyes gazing with satisfaction at the Collar around her neck.

’A pet should bear its master’s mark, after all.’

*

「Leon Empire.」

「Uguria City.」

A burly Bear Beastman knocked on the door, reporting respectfully to the woman who sat in the darkness.

"Master, the Nine Spirits Essence has been completely absorbed by that Fox Beastman. I fear it’s impossible to retrieve it now. What’s more, the Fox Beastman went berserk again and injured more than a dozen of the Beastman guards. Our losses are substantial this time. I’m afraid it won’t be easy to report this to the Lord."

"Oh, is that so?" a voice purred from the shadows. "That Fox Beastman managed to completely absorb my Nine Spirits Essence so quickly?"