Chapter 37

Ye Baizhi looked at her older brother and could fully understand him. After all, for a male beastman, strength was of great importance.

She smiled and said, “Of course it’s real.”

At that moment, Xue Youchen took out the gifted bone from his dimensional ring.

Ye Chuan immediately sensed it—that was his gifted bone. His body could feel it. His eyes reddened as he held back tears and said, “Your Highness, thank you!”

As he spoke, he began to kneel. But Xue Youchen held him up, preventing him. “Brother, we’re family. There’s no need for that.”

Even so, both Ye Lu and Ye Chuan were deeply grateful to him.

Though Xue Youchen was the Snow Wolf King, he didn’t carry himself with the airs of someone in power. On the contrary, he was approachable and kind. Despite his calm and aloof appearance, he was actually a warm and genuine person.

Ye Lu saw him as someone with a cold exterior and a warm heart—gentle and kind to the people he cared about.

Ye Chuan silently made up his mind: One day, I’ll become strong enough to protect my sister.

With a motion of his finger, Xue Youchen took out a few medicinal herbs from his dimensional ring. He explained, “To restore the gifted bone, we’ll need these herbs. I brought them.”

“Big Brother, first take a few days to restore your health, and then we’ll do the grafting.”

“When it comes time to reattach the bone, we’ll need a doctor to perform the procedure.”

Even with his ninth-tier strength, Xue Youchen wasn’t a healer. He couldn’t take the place of a tribal doctor.

“If needed, I can summon one from the Snow Wolf Tribe.”

Ye Lu quickly said, “No, no need for all that trouble. We Rabbit Tribe have a doctor of our own, and they’re quite skilled.”

“It was our doctor who saved Ye Chuan’s life before.”

“He’s familiar with Ye Chuan’s condition—helping reattach the gifted bone shouldn’t be a problem.”

She was genuinely afraid that the Snow Wolf King might call for the Snow Wolf Tribe’s doctor. That would attract far too much attention.

Everyone would know that the Snow Wolf King had done something reckless and improper for the sake of a low-status female from the Rabbit Tribe. She didn’t want people scrutinizing her daughter’s every move, scheming against her, or finding ways to cause trouble. Just the thought of it made Ye Lu go pale.

Ye Chuan nodded and added, “Yes, Snow Wolf King. Our tribe’s doctor is excellent.”

Xue Youchen didn’t know who the Rabbit Tribe’s doctor was, but since one existed, they could handle the bone reattachment.

Ye Baizhi, on the other hand, thought of Ye Wulan—and, for some reason, felt hesitant to accept. But seeing her mother’s and brother’s expressions, she swallowed the words that had been on the tip of her tongue.

Ye Lu continued with a sigh, “Our current tribal doctor is more powerful than any of the previous ones. Very capable. Ye Chuan, tomorrow, find a chance to ask the doctor if they can help reattach your gifted bone.”

As if something just came to mind, she added, “Right, don’t go empty-handed. Bring some food as a gift.”

Since Ye Lu had made up her mind, Ye Baizhi had no reason to object. In any case, helping her brother restore his gifted bone was most important.

…

After dinner, Ye Baizhi and Xue Youchen headed to the nearby cave where they rested. Both of them extremely loved cleanliness, so they started by washing up and bathing.

Xue Youchen tended to Ye Baizhi first.

Once she was seated in the water jar, he stepped forward, gently gathering her long hair from the bucket and said softly, “Let me take care of you, Ah Zhi.”

It felt like the most natural thing in the world—yet Ye Baizhi’s face turned bright red. She knew that, in the Beast Continent, beast husbands were supposed to care for their wives like this. But she wasn’t used to it. She had never been doted on this way.

Although the moonlight outside wasn’t very bright, a faint beam still filtered into the cave. If Xue Youchen could see everything clearly, she would simply die of embarrassment.

Ye Baizhi could feel Xue Youchen’s presence surrounding the bathtub, his aura enveloping her. Her heartstrings trembled.

“Xue… Xue Youchen, I… I can manage on my own!”

The Snow Wolf Tribe had excellent night vision, especially at night—he could likely see everything clearly.

Xue Youchen’s gaze darkened slightly. Seeing the redness on her delicate cheeks, he understood her shyness and said gently, “Alright. I’ll stay nearby. If you need anything, just call me.”

“Okay.” Ye Baizhi quickly finished washing up. Seeing her damp hair, Xue Youchen stepped forward to dry it for her.

“You don’t have to. If I just towel it enough, it’ll dry naturally.”

“You’re not a fire-type—you drying my hair like this might harm your ice-type powers.”

Xue Youchen ignored her concerns. “It’s fine.” He didn’t care about that. As a beast husband, what mattered most to him was being able to take care of his Ah Zhi.

Still, when she brought up fire-type abilities, the thought of Ye Baizhi one day having a fire-type beast husband drying her hair and doing these things for her made him feel borderline unhinged.

Suppressing the stirring emotions in his chest, Xue Youchen focused on what he was doing. After carefully drying her hair, he gently combed it for her. Her hair was as silky as a waterfall of satin—just a light touch was enough to make him reluctant to let go.

Only after making sure Ye Baizhi was well taken care of did Xue Youchen go to wash up.

Ye Baizhi lay on the bed, a little dazed and distracted. Thinking about what might happen soon, remembering that night she once shared with Xue Youchen, her heart began to race, and she felt parched, her mouth dry.

Once Xue Youchen lay down beside her, his scent filled her senses—clean, pleasant, intoxicating.

“Ah Zhi!”

“Mm.”

“Come here.”

Ye Baizhi was lying on the farthest side of the bed, as if wishing she could disappear into it. But when she heard Xue Youchen’s cool, mesmerizing voice, she instinctively shifted a little closer to him.

Seeing the distance still between them, Xue Youchen let out a helpless sigh, then reached over and pulled her into his arms.

Lowering his head to look at her, he gently traced her lips with his fingers and whispered by her ear, “Ah Zhi, why are you lying so far away? What are you afraid of?”

“N-no… nothing!”

“I’m not scared at all.”

Xue Youchen looked at her, curled up like a quail, and chuckled softly. He didn’t call her out, only said lazily, “So that means you’re not afraid.”

“But last time, Ah Zhi, you were rather bold.”

In her heart, Ye Baizhi couldn’t help but scream—Ahhh, she didn’t know, stop asking her!

That night in the cave, the day she first crossed over, she’d thought it was all just a dream—that’s why she’d been so fearless. Now, though, she felt like her whole body was burning.

Xue Youchen lifted the blanket and rolled over. With one leg braced on either side of her and one hand beside her head, the other slowly began to untie her inner robe. Though his very presence radiated restraint, every movement carried an elegance laced with temptation.

Caught off guard, Ye Baizhi found herself staring at his chest, at the perfection of his physique. A surge of heat rushed through her—she nearly had a nosebleed. She couldn’t help but feel he was teasing her on purpose. When he lowered his head and looked at her, his gaze locked onto hers, searing and unrelenting, as if he meant to devour her whole.

His throat bobbed slightly as he spoke in a low, husky voice, “Ah Zhi, why so quiet, hmm?”

The upward lilt in his final syllable stirred something deep within her—a quiet longing, easily awakened.