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"Why... why does my stomach feel all warm...?"

The sudden confession caught Yuebai off guard. Before she could process it, her body seemed to understand the intent behind those words before her brain did.

As she stood dumbfounded, her lower belly began to glow with a pink pattern linked to the runes on her feet and her tenth tail. Her breathing and heartbeat accelerated, affecting even her tiny chest.

This was the difference between a small mark and a full-blown mark.

Currently, Yuebai was likely the most lethally protected by Yino.

"Is this... another strange spell?"

It seems Liuli was right - these spirit rune infusions do have special effects.

Observing this, Yino smirked evilly, moving close to Yuebai’s ear, whispering softly: "Yuebai, I really love you, which is why I did this. Can you forgive me?"

"--?!?"

His heartfelt words filled her ears, making her body tremble. Yuebai bit back a whimper as her limbs went weak, forcing herself into Yino’s arms to catch her breath - unconscious with little gasps.

"I... I forgive you, Master..."

"Yino... Stop whispering in my ear... The marks feel like they’re electric... The more you talk... the weirder it feels... and you... you don’t really love me..." She murmured, her voice trembling with the strain of maintaining her last bit of resistance.

Yuebai didn’t understand what was happening, but it scared her. If Yino kept whispering love, he wouldn’t even have to touch her for the pent-up spiritual energy inside her to burst forth, overwhelming her.

And... with each whispered confession, Yuebai felt an itch in her heart, her thoughts fuzzying over again, yearning to hear more despite knowing better. If Yino had bombarded her with love confessions while doing the deal with her the previous night, she couldn’t fathom the girl she’d become today! Find your next read on Lokepub

From this angle, Yuebai now realized Yino had gone easy on her last night.

"Scared?"

"With the righteous elders or Xumo arriving soon, just lie quiet and don’t make noise. Best not to have any clever ideas! You’d rather keep your free will, right? Instead of me forcibly altering your mind?"

Yino watched as Yuebai hugged her head in terror, but he didn’t tease her for long, speaking bluntly. He’d never intended to turn Yuebai into someone with multiple personalities from the beginning. It would mess with the gameline, and the mind was too delicate - once shattered, there was no coming back.

So he held back. He believed Yuebai was smart enough to be compliant without needing brainwashing. But if she truly refused to bend, he’d have no choice but to reshape her personality...

That’s why he’d tested the command Liuli had mentioned. Now proven effective, if Yuebai didn’t listen, he’d use the command to stimulate her desires.

"It’s getting late - time to leave," Yino announced, organizing their escape strategy. "Liuli, you’re the mastermind behind the ancient tree demon’s recent theatrics. So you’re in the most danger now. Take Jin Jie and Lily, and leave this place first."

"We’ll stay behind to deal with the elders when they arrive."

As the team regrouped and hatched new plans, Liuli - one of the secret realm’s biggest gainers - was more than happy to escape with her sister.

But as everyone thought the situation was resolved, the tree spirit girl, cradled in her sister’s arms, suddenly turned, looking pleadingly at Yino-- "Brother Yino, if Lily leaves, what will happen to the animals in the Azure Forest?!"

"Shit, how could I have forgotten that...?"

Yino’s head throbbed painfully. While he was busy with Yuebai, so many loose ends had accumulated!

He’d just assured Jin Jie, but now Lily’s mention of the forest’s fate was a far bigger headache.

If Lily, the forest’s guardian, left, who would provide the ecosystem with nourishment?

This soul-searching question left Yino truly speechless. Ultimately, his lack of foresight was to blame - he’d only planned to mooch some treasures from the secret realm’s depths. Who knew Liuli had such grand plans? Who knew Yuebai would make it even harder?

Now, after all the chaos, Yino had focused on adding Yuebai and Liuli to his inner circle and completely overlooked the captive tree spirit girl who probably didn’t even want saving!

Lily’s heart was as simple as Wangxue’s - she just wanted to protect her sanctuary. This was the same major problem Liuli faced when trying to flee to the Western Region with her.

Another migraine seized Yino. Time waits for no one - the elders were almost here, so Jin Jie was unimportant, but Liuli and Lily desperately needed to get out of the Azure Forest.

"Lily, do you trust me or the righteous elders?"

"Trust Brother Yino..."

"If you trust me, leave with your sister for now. I’ll guarantee the Azure Forest’s future, OK?"

"OK!"

Lily, good as gold, was not the type to throw tantrums. Seeing the worry and urgency in Yino’s eyes, she nodded solemnly, then waved her little branch from her sister’s embrace before vanishing deeper into the Azure Forest.

With Lily’s situation temporarily settled, Yino finally exhaled in relief. He signaled Ruoning and Jinyue to get into position according to the original plan. But then, a certain golden deer nudged his butt--

"Master, you’re not tricking the littlegirl , are you...?"

"Tsk, what trickery? That’s a silly way to put it."

"But if the guardian’s gone, who’ll protect the Azure Forest?"

Wangxue, eyebrows raised in skepticism, continued to eye Yino with doubt.

Yino almost activated the spiritual mark out of habit, but then he remembered Wangxue wasn’t Yuebai; she had every right to speak her mind. He pondered for a moment, glancing towards the distant path, ensuring the elders were still minutes from the ancient palace, and sighed deeply. "You just don’t understand humanity."

"Humanity?"

"Doesn’t the Azure Forest, hosting an annual secret realm, produce countless gifted cultivators for the major sects and the Great Dragon Dynasty?"

Yino held up a finger, mimicking the pose of a wise scholar. "If the Azure Forest starts to wither from lack of nutrients, those sect elders will care far more than Lily ever would."

"Ah..."

"So, you see, the market has an invisible hand. If the newbie village collapses, someone will step in to keep the Azure Forest running, whether it’s the Great Dragon Dynasty, the Immortal Alliance, or the sects themselves paying out of pocket..."

As he concluded, Yino gave a cold chuckle and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Ohhh..."

Wangxue, mouth agape, nodded in understanding. But seeing butterflies flutter by, she was immediately distracted, chasing after the colorful insects.

"Wangxue, this is the great Hakeem’s theory, understand now?" Yino glanced back, speaking evenly, but his gaze fell upon the golden fawn, now lying on the ground, catching butterflies.

"I am not that smart to comprehend."

The fawn captured a butterfly, crunched it with satisfaction, and swallowed it down with a grin.

Yino watched her innocent smile - untouched by knowledge - and could only offer a gentle laugh. Sensing Xumo’s presence nearby, he deduced the elders must’ve reached the ancient palace.

Yino smiled knowingly. He patted the deer’s head, speaking solemnly, "Little deer, you just ate one of Lily’s animal friends. I’ll tell Lily when we leave the Azure Forest."

"Ahh--!"

Wangxue looked up in horror, her face draining of color as if caught in wrongdoing. She clutched Yino’s leg, pleading, "Please master, don’t! It’s not easy for me to make a friend..."

"This is leverage. If you don’t want Lily to know, behave around outsiders. Praise your master more, don’t go telling people he does stupid things that make him lose face."

"Got it! Wangxue will help master boast from now on!"

Yino continued confidently forward.

The fawn, tears in her eyes, followed behind. Seeing her repentance, Yino finally scooped her up.

"We’ll go claim some credit from those righteous elders."

"As a matter of fact..." Yino paused midstep. "With all these distractions, I almost forgot something huge."

In his arms, the girl with nine-colored deer horns on her head puffed her baby-fat cheeks, blinking. "Did you forget to praise Wangxue’s achievement for calming Lily?"

"No..."

"What I forgot was that Ruoning still hasn’t paid back a bet from ten years ago! Her amazing obedience and cuteness almost made me forget the old debt!"

Yino glanced back toward the ancient palace, a grin spreading across his face. "Let’s go grab some glory and remind her about her debt."