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

But Yu Lan didn’t move.

She was silent.

She stood silently in place, watching as a flicker of realization dawned in Barnes’s eyes before he slowly turned and walked away.

Her hand clutching the chip tightened.

Yu Lan knew. ’The evidence on this chip is definitely not that simple.’

And now that she possessed this evidence, it was as if she were wielding a double-edged sword.

Opportunity and risk, in equal measure.

「Meanwhile」

Sheng Yiqing, who had gone to great trouble to sneak into the banquet, was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, almost indistinguishable from the waiters.

Despite the simple, uniform style, the clothes on him only made him appear more handsome and devilishly alluring. His pair of narrow, fox-like eyes were captivating.

As his lashes trembled with each breath, the important figures at the party gradually began to notice him, their gazes landing upon Sheng Yiqing.

One by one, orders were directed at him.

And Sheng Yiqing?

He nodded along, looking as if he were about to carry out their requests at once, but in reality, he couldn’t care less.

He nonchalantly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping the banquet hall, trying to find the beautiful female who had captivated him with a single, fleeting glimpse at the orphanage during the day.

Sheng Yiqing’s eyes quickly scanned one female after another.

’No, not her.’

’Not this one either?’

Sheng Yiqing was quick. The back of the woman he had glimpsed so briefly, the one that had so thoroughly mesmerized him, was already seared into his memory.

He felt that with a simple scan, he could follow the beat of his own heart and instantly recognize the beautiful female.

’But she isn’t here. She’s not here.’

’Nothing at all.’

Sheng Yiqing’s brows knitted together as a tremendous sense of disappointment washed over him.

’Could it be the beautiful female didn’t actually come to the banquet? Did she just mention it offhandedly?’

’Then what am I supposed to do? How can I find her again, stand before her, and introduce myself?’

An intangible anxiety crept into Sheng Yiqing’s heart, his brow furrowing deeply.

Just then, his ears, ever attentive to the various sounds in the hall, keenly picked up a piece of information.

"Where did Princess Yu Lan go? I don’t see her anywhere."

"You’re too late. She was just here."

"At a banquet like this, how could she possibly stay for long? Just showing her face for a little while is already a supreme honor for Garbage Star."

"There are too many people here, it’s deafening. There’s a small garden over there, want to go check it out?"

’Garden?’

Sheng Yiqing’s ears pricked up, his sharp hearing catching that one word.

He whipped his head around, looking toward the back of the hall where a path led to the rear garden.

His heart began to pound wildly. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

’Since the beautiful female isn’t in the banquet hall, could she be in the garden?’

’That’s right. The banquet hall is so noisy, how could a delicate, beautiful female possibly stand it?’

’Not to mention all the obnoxious males at this banquet who don’t even realize how annoying they are. It would be perfectly normal for a smart, beautiful female to hide from them.’

Sheng Yiqing took a deep breath and strode quickly toward the garden.

A faint, nagging thought surfaced in his mind.

’What if the beautiful female never came to the banquet at all? Maybe I was too late, and she’s already left, disappearing into the crowd.’

’Who knows when I’ll ever see her again.’

The thought had barely surfaced before Sheng Yiqing forcefully stamped it out.

He refused to entertain such a thought.

’Even the slightest possibility of not seeing the beautiful female... that thought had to be mercilessly crushed.’

’To have just found the one he was fated to love, only to immediately face a separation with no end in sight... that would be far too cruel a fate.’

His heart filled with a silent urgency, Sheng Yiqing hurried his pace, quickly stepping onto the path leading from the banquet hall to the rear garden.

Taking advantage of his height, Sheng Yiqing’s gaze swept rapidly across the garden.

And then, his eyes widened.

There, in the quiet garden, stood a beautiful young woman in a long dress. Her thick, dark hair, like a cascade of seaweed, was draped casually over her shoulders. Her eyes were bright, her nose was delicate and shapely, and her red lips were dewy.

A face so radiant and beautiful it could astound the entire interstellar space.

She was clearly a favorite of the Creator, a blatant display of divine preference.

Once you saw her, it was impossible to look away.

She simply stood there, doing nothing, yet tiny motes of starlight seemed to drift in the air around her, like a silent coronation.

’I’m done for!’

Sheng Yiqing’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently. He could hear his own heart instantly begin to pound. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

It beat so violently he thought it would leap straight out of his chest.

The air was filled with a scent richer and sweeter than the finest nectar, an intoxicating and enchanting aroma.

How could a man with no romantic experience possibly resist this? A flush crept up his handsome, captivating face, his lips grew moist, and his breathing became heavy.

An unfamiliar longing stirred deep within him.

The next instant,

a pair of fluffy red fox ears popped out on top of Sheng Yiqing’s head.

And then,

a sudden RIIIP of tearing fabric filled the air.

A huge, fluffy fox tail burst out from behind Sheng Yiqing. It wagged frantically in the air, a clear display of its owner’s dizzying elation.

Such a loud commotion naturally did not escape Yu Lan’s notice.

Yu Lan, who had been contemplating her future in the garden, heard the noise and raised her head, staring blankly at Sheng Yiqing.

In her beautiful amber eyes was the clear reflection of the passion-struck, fox-like young man.

BOOM!

Sheng Yiqing felt a massive tremor emerge from the very marrow of his bones, spreading instantly throughout his entire body.

’She saw me. She’s looking at me.’

In an instant,

the tail that had been wagging excitedly in the air froze in shock, and his ears pressed down flat against his head.

As for Yu Lan, who had just witnessed this scene unfold, she was utterly baffled.

’It’s just...’

’How did a man like this just pop up in front of me in the blink of an eye?’

’So demonic, so bewitching.’

’If I didn’t know this was the Interstellar Beast World, where everyone had all sorts of beast forms and could transform parts of their body at will...’

’I would have thought I’d stumbled into the lair of some soul-stealing spirit.’

She quickly averted her gaze, looking down.

’Can’t stare at strange men for too long, or Pei Shiyi will probably get jealous again.’

’Still, he doesn’t seem right. Is he in heat?’

As the thought crossed her mind, Yu Lan pulled out her phone to message Shen Zueran, telling him to bring a soothing agent.

’Better to be prepared.’

Her fingertip landed on the send button, but before she could tap it,

a large, scorching-hot hand suddenly reached out and clamped around her delicate wrist, stopping her.

Sheng Yiqing looked down at the beautiful female before him, who only came up to his chest, and his Adam’s apple bobbed again.

The next second,

without a moment’s hesitation, he dropped to one knee in front of her.

He took her small hand and placed it on one of the fluffy fox ears atop his head, his voice husky and magnetic as he spoke.

"Excuse me, are you currently in need of a male?"

"May I have the honor of serving by your side?"

CRASH!

The sound of glass being shattered echoed through the air.

Not far from Yu Lan and Sheng Yiqing stood Shen Zueran and Pei Shiyi, who had just rushed over.

Pei Shiyi’s eyes widened slightly, an unmistakable look of intense jealousy plastered across his handsome face.