Chapter 178: Chapter 178 - 172: Surprise? Shock!

Jia Lan used to be curious about why Shen Tang always remembered his tears when doing that kind of thing. He thought she had some special fetish.

Only after seeing the formula for the inhibitor did he understand the reason.

Thinking about that kind of thing made Jia Lan’s handsome face flush. He had so many...

She could have as much as she wanted.

Give her everything of his.

He enjoyed it immensely.

Shen Li noticed his spot being switched and his forehead twitched slightly, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue.

He rested his chin on his hand, observing the rivalry at the dining table. His fox tail swayed gently behind him.

With seductive, charming fox eyes, he looked directly at Shen Tang, "By the way, Xiao Tang, you haven’t been to my room for a while. Brother Li misses you dearly~"

Shen Tang blushed and glared at this mischievous fox. What was he getting involved in?

She wasn’t fooled; Shen Li was the hardest one to win over. His affinity rose rapidly at first but slowed to a crawl later, even Lu Xiao nearly caught up to him. He had never truly opened his heart to her.

Despite his usual teasing, they only had that one time, and even then, it was because of her forceful approach!

She wondered what kind of female could actually make him fall and give his heart.

Xue Yinzhou scanned the room and finally spotted his place at the edge of the table, his face darkening slightly.

Without a word, he sat in his spot and transformed into his serpent form, wrapping Shen Tang along with her chair over to him.

This action instantly set off the entire scene!

The other Beast Husbands’ jealousy was about to boil over.

Who would have thought?

The snake beast, who had once scoffed at such rivalry—

Declared open war in public!

The atmosphere was tense, as if a fight would break out any moment, and Shen Tang had a splitting headache, quickly urging, "Eat first, eat first! Whoever dares to make a move sleeps on the street tonight!"

With those words, the room instantly calmed down.

Xiao Jin angrily took a bite from a meat bun. He wanted to take Shen Tang back, but the snake beast had returned from the brink of death and advanced to the Ninth Rank. He couldn’t snatch her back without getting beaten.

The other three Beast Husbands didn’t look too pleased, either.

Xue Yinzhou never engaged in family matters before, appearing more like an uninvolved Hidden Guard. His strong abilities weren’t a threat but a great asset to them.

Today was different; a slight sense of crisis surfaced in their hearts.

With Xue Yinzhou’s heaven-defying Ninth Rank strength, if he truly wanted to compete, the others wouldn’t even get to sip the soup.

Xiao Jin and Lu Xiao had high potential as well. They reached the Seventh Rank Beastmen three to four years ago, but being dragged into polluted lands hurt their bodies, making breakthroughs harder to achieve despite their constant battles.

Yet upon returning to the Empire, their pollution levels dropped, hinting at an impending breakthrough.

In contrast, Xue Yinzhou’s talent was extremely unusual. While he was outstanding among the younger generation, he wasn’t this absurdly strong.

Before going to polluted lands, he was only at the Sixth Rank Peak as a Beastman. But upon arriving there, he thrived, wildly devouring mutants and greatly enhancing his power.

Shen Li didn’t seem to care much about his own strength. Aside from usual city expeditions and hunting, he barely trained, his strength stable among the Beast Husbands.

But Shen Tang suspected he might deliberately be hiding his strength.

After all, he could even hide his beast form; his elusiveness left people feeling uneasy.

Jia Lan was the most anxious of all.

As a dignified Sea Clan Prince, understanding the hardship of training was beyond him.

Whenever he went out, he had a retinue of guards following. In polluted lands, he’d even pay others to do tasks for him.

Hence, his progress was the slowest, staying at the Sixth Rank with little improvement over the past year.

Jia Lan couldn’t stay so carefree; otherwise, he’d have no place at the dinner table.

He assured himself that, as a Royal Merfolk, he had talents no less than anyone here.

If he set his mind to it, training was just a matter of minutes!

In that moment, the Beast Husbands had many thoughts.

Shen Tang was unaware of their reflections and enjoyed her delicious pastry.

Lu Xiao glanced at Shen Tang beside him, a slight curve on his lips.

The advantage of being an edge character was that Xue Yinzhou’s move brought Shen Tang close to him, too.

This time, Lu Xiao didn’t sense any flirtatious scent from Shen Tang. He swallowed his customary greeting and ladled her a bowl of soup, "This is the soy milk you mentioned last time. I made it yesterday with harvested soybeans and added some sugar. I’m not sure if it’s to your taste."

Seeing the milky white soy milk in the bowl, Shen Tang’s face lit up with surprise. She had casually mentioned it days before and didn’t expect him to remember!

Quickly, she took a sip; it was thick, resembling the coarsely-textured type found on the market. Despite the slight sweetness due to too much sugar, it was perfect!

"It’s delicious, thank you." Shen Tang drank half in one go.

Truly, she had grown tired of meat broth, and the soy milk brought back memories.

Lu Xiao said, "If you like it, I’ll make it again tomorrow morning. Let me know if there’s anything else you want to eat."

He spoke calmly, seemingly unaffected by the table’s drama, simply doing his job.

Just as Shen Tang was about to praise Lu Xiao for being straightforward, he murmured,

"...Theory needs practice. If I’m not doing it right, my Female Master can personally guide me."

"Pfft, cough cough!" Shen Tang almost choked on the soy milk!

The other four Beast Husbands didn’t understand, but seeing Shen Tang’s blushing face, they felt something was up.

Did the two have some secret words?

Shen Li narrowed his seductive fox eyes. He had always thought this eagle was the most honest, but now it seemed not so.

After the meal,

Shen Li said, "Xiao Tang, the City Lord mentioned this morning he needed to see you."

Surprised, Shen Tang raised her eyebrows, "Oh? What does the City Lord want with me?"

Shen Li chuckled, "Seems like he wants to give you a surprise."

She had a bad feeling—was it really a surprise and not a shock?

She planned to visit the fields today but had just opened her door.

"Bang!"

Fireworks burst at her doorstep.

She then saw ninety-nine ceremonial cannons parked outside, firing away.

Anyone unaware might think it was a rebel attack.

Shen Tang’s mind buzzed as she looked around in astonishment. A long red carpet laid at her door, red silks hung from trees, and the streets were festive and lively.

Many Beastmen gathered outside the villa, eagerly awaiting.

Upon Shen Tang’s appearance, they cheered in unison.

"Welcome back, Princess!"

"..."

Shen Tang wanted to dig a hole in the ground—this felt like a Barbie castle nightmare.

What in the world happened?