As long as she acted gentle, generous, and understanding, the other Beast Husbands would contribute some favorability points to her, more or less.
But Xie Xingwen was different.
Chu Xuan had no idea what she needed to do to squeeze even a drop of favorability out of this stingy man.
[New task issued for the host: Stroke Shen Lingjun’s ears. Time limit: Before tomorrow. Task reward: +20 Points, with an additional reward of one storage ring.]
When she first heard the system issue the task, Chu Xuan wanted to curse. But upon hearing that the reward included a storage ring, her eyes lit up:
“I thought your rewards were only those lousy Points?”
System 38: [Hehe, host, I’ve told you before—as long as you complete the tasks properly, the rewards are generous. Surprise rewards may drop at any time.]
.
After leaving Gui Lianjun’s house, Mo Jingxing immediately transformed into his true form and lay on the ground: “Female Master, climb on!”
Just as Chu Xuan was about to move, something furry suddenly wrapped around her waist. The next moment, she was lifted into the air and landed on the back of a snow leopard.
“You carried the Female Master on the way here, so let her ride me on the way back!” the snow leopard spoke in human tongue.
While Chu Xuan was still in a daze, Shen Lingjun had already taken off at a rapid pace with her on his back.
Shen Lingjun was incredibly fast. Chu Xuan, caught off guard and afraid of falling, had no choice but to lean forward and hold onto him to keep from slipping off.
Only when she gradually adjusted did she sit up straight.
Jian Ze watched as the pair—the human and the leopard—disappeared from sight, his gaze dimming slightly.
Shen Lingjun was much faster than Mo Jingxing. Remembering the system’s task, Chu Xuan realized this was the perfect opportunity to complete it.
If she dared to touch a wolf’s tail, what was there to fear about a leopard’s ears?
Her eyes fixed intently on that pair of furry ears, but her mind was preoccupied with the storage ring.
Lost in thought, she reached out and touched the ears.
The moment Chu Xuan’s hand made contact with the leopard’s ears, Shen Lingjun’s body visibly stiffened. However, he said nothing and continued racing forward with Chu Xuan on his back.
When Chu Xuan didn’t hear the notification for the reward in her mind, she grew puzzled. Was a single touch not enough?
Since there was an extra reward this time, perhaps a mere touch wasn’t sufficient.
Having reasoned it out herself, Chu Xuan began pinching and kneading Shen Lingjun’s ears. Today, she was determined to claim that reward.
He had thought Chu Xuan would only touch his ears briefly, but he never expected her to start playing with them.
Did this female even realize she was playing with fire?!
“Female Master, are you having fun?” Shen Lingjun asked through gritted teeth.
Huh?!
Chu Xuan’s hand, which had been toying with the leopard’s ears, paused. Just then, System 38’s belated notification finally arrived.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the task ‘Stroke Shen Lingjun’s ears.’ Reward: +20 Points, with an additional reward of one storage ring. The items have been sent to your system backpack. Please check at your convenience.]
With the reward secured, Chu Xuan relaxed. She carefully straightened the leopard ears she had folded and smoothed down the fur, giving them one last rub before explaining somewhat awkwardly:
“Um, I just thought your ears were really beautiful and couldn’t resist the urge. You… don’t be angry.”
The way she spoke so gently and softly made it impossible for Shen Lingjun to stay angry even if he wanted to.
Besides, Shen Lingjun wasn’t actually angry. It was just that when Chu Xuan touched his ears, for some reason, a tingling sensation spread from his ears all the way to his heart, making him unbearably restless.
It stirred an impulse in him to press this female down and vent his feelings through other means.
Shen Lingjun had always been aloof by nature. Ever since he married into her family, he had never harbored such thoughts toward Chu Xuan. Just now, however, was the first time such an idea had crossed his mind—it was utterly terrifying.
“It’s nothing. Hold on tight.”
Shen Lingjun replied indifferently.
Seeing that he truly wasn’t angry, Chu Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, happily, she opened her system backpack to check her rewards.
This storage ring was bound to Chu Xuan, allowing her to open it directly with her thoughts.
When she saw the storage capacity of the ring, Chu Xuan was utterly stunned.
The space was enormous—several times larger than the courtyard where the six of them currently lived—and could hold a great many things.
【Hehe, anything produced by the system is guaranteed to be top quality,】 System 38 declared proudly. 【Moreover, host, if you store ingredients in this storage ring, they will remain fresh and unspoiled no matter how long they’re kept.】
Chu Xuan absolutely adored this feature.
In the modern era, refrigerators could preserve food, but not for very long. After transmigrating to the Cultivation World, they absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth and no longer needed to eat grains.
Although Chu Xuan struggled with cultivation, her parents had showered her with Natural Treasures, enabling her to achieve a state of inedia.
But what was the point of life without the pleasure of eating?
Chu Xuan was her parents’ most beloved Young Palace Master. Whatever she wanted to eat, her parents would find a way to obtain it for her, using their spiritual power to lock in the freshness and flavor of the food.
Only after arriving in this Beast World, where there were no refrigerators or spiritual power, had storing food become a troublesome issue.
But now, things were different. With this storage ring, she could store food to her heart’s content.
Just as Chu Xuan was happily lost in thought, Shen Lingjun suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Caught off guard, Chu Xuan was thrown forward.
“Ah—!”
Her scream pierced the sky.
However, instead of the expected face-first crash into the mud, the moment she flew forward, Shen Lingjun wrapped his tail around her waist and pulled her back onto his back.
Seated on Shen Lingjun’s back, Chu Xuan patted her chest, her heart still racing with fear. “Phew, that was close. You scared me to death.”
“What are you afraid of? I will protect you and make sure you don’t get hurt.”
Shen Lingjun’s cool voice reached her.
“Shen Lingjun, what’s so great about this useless female that you have to protect her like this?”
A woman’s voice, gritted with anger, suddenly came from ahead. Chu Xuan looked up and saw Lin Qinghui standing not far away, with her Beast Husband, Cheng Xu, beside her.
“You?” Chu Xuan pointed at Lin Qinghui and asked, “Are you insulting me?”
“Wasn’t I clear enough? You are nothing but a good-for-nothing,” Lin Qinghui retorted angrily.
Chu Xuan flared up as well. “Very clear. So apologize to me right now, and I might reluctantly forgive you. Otherwise, don’t blame me for asking Shen Lingjun to teach you a lesson.”
Shen Lingjun: “…”
Hearing this, Lin Qinghui snorted lightly and looked at Chu Xuan with disdain. “If it weren’t for you using your power and influence to pressure him back then, Shen Lingjun would never have married you.”
“But back in the day, I was powerful and influential, and I still married Shen Lingjun. What can you possibly do about it?” Chu Xuan looked at her provocatively.
“You—how shameless!!!”
Lin Qinghui was so furious she gritted her teeth. When did this useless female become so sharp-tongued?
“Lingjun, as long as you kill this useless female, I have a way to help you break free from the contract’s restraints, guarantee your survival, and even help you enhance your strength. Everything I told you before was true—I have always been sincere with you.”
Not wanting to waste more words on Chu Xuan, Lin Qinghui directly shifted her focus to Shen Lingjun.