Healing S-Class Beasts Made Me the Empire's Treasure

"What?"

"Chief, you... this is..."

Pei Shiyi had suddenly decided to go to the Central Star.

The guards standing behind him all stared wide-eyed in shock.

"But between the Empire and Deep Sea Star..."

Before the guard could finish his warning, Pei Shiyi let out a cold snort.

"She kissed me and refuses to take responsibility!"

"Not a chance!"

"What?"

The guards who heard this stared, their eyes even wider than before.

They feigned righteous indignation to show their support for Pei Shiyi.

"How could this be?"

"That’s outrageous. Simply outrageous."

"I can’t believe a female would kiss a male and then refuse to take responsibility."

"It’s unbelievable! I’ve never heard of such a thing."

"Chief, we support you. Go and demand your rightful status from her."

"She won’t give you status? Not a chance!"

On the surface, the guards all echoed Pei Shiyi, accusing Yu Lan of being unreasonable for denying him his status.

But on the inside, they were going absolutely wild with gossip.

’Who was Pei Shiyi?’

’He was the chief of their Merfolk Clan, the immensely powerful Lord of the Deep Sea. The might of the entire ocean was his to wield, and all the Sea Beasts were at his beck and call.’

’If he didn’t want it to happen, could a pretty little female really have taken advantage of him?’

’He probably goaded the pretty little female into it on purpose.’

’But who would’ve guessed? The pretty little female actually took advantage of him and then skipped out on her responsibilities, running off just like that.’

’It drove Pei Shiyi mad, so of course he had to go hunt her down.’

The guards exchanged glances, all thinking the exact same thing.

As for Pei Shiyi, now that he had made his decision, he wasted no time.

His gaze sharpened, and instantly, a guard had his luggage ready.

"Chief, we wish you a safe journey."

Pei Shiyi gave a faint, dignified nod, adding a final instruction:

"Don’t forget what I just told you to do."

"Yes, yes, yes," the guard nodded eagerly. "Don’t you worry, we’ll take care of it."

"A female took advantage of one of our Deep Sea Merfolk and then just ran off? I’ll post it online right now and let everyone pass judgment."

*

#SHOCKING! Mysterious female appears on Deep Sea Star, scams a merman of body, heart, and riches, then leaves without a trace#

#Condemning the heartless scumbag female, everyone be warned#

[Hey everyone, I’m just a rank-and-file member of the Deep Sea Clan. Something huge just happened with our clan, not sure if you all have heard about it.]

[It’s about this gorgeous female who came over from the Imperial Central Star. She’s stunningly beautiful, you know, the type that just draws you in.]

[She used her pretty face to wrap our chief around her little finger, scammed him out of all the medicinal herbs our poor Merfolk Clan depends on for survival, and then just took off. No responsibility whatsoever.]

[Our poor chief’s sincere heart was completely wasted. He’s already boarded a Starship to the Central Star now. So, you scumbag female, I’ve just got one question for you: are you scared yet?]

[Image attached: Pei Shiyi boarding a Starship.jpg]

The post was deliberately published at night, during the Star Network’s peak hours.

They even paid to promote it and boost its visibility.

It quickly appeared on the feeds of netizens everywhere.

At first, people were stunned by the sight of Pei Shiyi’s noble, mysterious, and devastatingly handsome face.

[Whoa! What a gorgeous face.]

[I’m drooling! I’m drooling! I’m drooling!]

But once they read the post’s content more carefully, they were utterly baffled.

[Wait, a guy this hot, and some female was actually willing to dump him?]

[I know, right? A face like that, and he’s a total simp who’s willing to hand over all his assets to a female, and she still dumped him?]

[Hahahaha, so this is the poor, abandoned merman coming to the Central Star to demand an explanation?]

[Does anyone know who this female is? I really want to pay my respects.]

The netizens were on the case in a flash.

It wasn’t long before someone posted their theory.

[Hey, unless I’m mistaken, the only person who’s been to Deep Sea Star recently is Princess Yu Lan, right?]

[Didn’t Garbage Star just get a new batch of medicinal herbs? I heard they were sent from Deep Sea Star. At the time I was wondering why Deep Sea Star would do that, and now it all adds up.]

[What? It was Princess Yu Lan?!]

The moment Yu Lan’s name was mentioned, the netizens were wide awake.

Their passion for the gossip flared up even more.

Someone immediately posted a list of all the men currently in Yu Lan’s circle.

[Here’s what we know: Princess Yu Lan currently has five men in her orbit. They are: Imperial Marshal Huo Zhanting, the Genius Lieutenant General Su Xingye, top-tier magnate Li Yucheng, Director Shen Zueran of the Science Research Institute, and the Jade Star Lord, Jun Lin Yuan.]

[Every single one of them is the cream of the crop, and they’re all possessive types who don’t take kindly to losing.]

[There are also rumors that Princess Yu Lan once promised them she wouldn’t look for anyone new.]

[So now... y’all know what that means!]

This analysis dropped, and the comment section absolutely blew up.

[We get it, we get it, we totally get it.]

The crowd, which had initially been on Pei Shiyi’s side—promising to condemn the "scumbag female" and help him get his official status—abruptly changed its tune.

They all started backtracking in the replies.

[I mean, come on. Wasn’t it nice and cozy for you on Deep Sea Star? Why did you have to go and do something rash like coming to the Central Star?]

[Just look at you, look! Now you’ve gone and made a huge scene.]

[Is an official title really that important?]

[What’s important is that you’re in Princess Yu Lan’s heart. Isn’t that enough?]

[A good male shouldn’t put a female in a difficult position!]

[It’s just an official title, what’s the big deal? As long as you’re happy when you’re together, that’s all that matters.]

[Look, even though Princess Yu Lan gave official status to Huo Zhanting and the others, you’re still in her heart.]

[If you really love Princess Yu Lan, you should learn to let go.]

[Being magnanimous is a man’s best dowry!]

[There’s a good boy. Now hurry on back to Deep Sea Star.]

CRACK!

Pei Shiyi, who had been scrolling through the post on the Star Network—the very post intended to build momentum for him to go and demand his status from Yu Lan—got so angry he crushed the phone in his hand.

"These people... these people..."

The turn the comments had taken was the complete opposite of what Pei Shiyi had expected.

Pei Shiyi’s chest heaved with rage.

In reality, of course, the countless netizens on the Star Network were just deliberately teasing Pei Shiyi!

His barely-hidden desperation for an official title, written between every line of the post, was impossible to miss.

This was a far cry from the public image of the cold and emotionless Lord of the Deep Sea.

Who could resist taking the opportunity to tease him a little?

Even his own people from Deep Sea Star couldn’t resist joining in and posting replies.

Deep Sea Pei Qiqi: "[Yeah, Chief, just come on back.]"

Deep Sea Pei Liuliu: "[As long as you’re in Princess Yu Lan’s heart, she’ll come back to Deep Sea Star to visit you eventually.]"

Pei Shiyi: "[@Pei Qiqi @Pei Liuliu, you two have too much time on your hands, don’t you? Consider this month’s salary gone.]"

Deep Sea Pei Qiqi and Pei Liuliu (sobbing): "[NO, CHIEF, WE’RE SORRY!]"

Pei Shiyi’s appearance in the comments pushed the whole affair to its climax.

Countless netizens and clout-chasing accounts screenshotted the exchange and spread it far and wide.

The Star Network was filled with laughter.

Everyone was having a blast with the gossip, staying up all night to join the fray until dawn.

Only Yu Lan, an early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, remained completely oblivious to all of this.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when she finally learned of the "disaster," that her eyes flew wide in shock.

"What? Pei Shiyi is on his way to demand official status from me?!"