Chapter 419: Chapter 419 - 410: Blow on It and It Won’t Hurt Anymore

Dawn was approaching.

Xiao Jin and Xue Yinzhou finally returned.

Both of them were injured, having clearly been through a fierce battle, and they even dealt with a few assassins on the way back.

Xiao Jin shook his aching fist, gritting his teeth, "Damn it, that sneaky fox got away!"

Xue Yinzhou looked even more grim, deeply resenting not being able to kill the fox himself.

His long snake tail swept, throwing the bloodied Qiu Yang into the room, and he looked at Shen Tang on the bed, "What to do with him, you decide."

"It’s all this old geezer’s fault for pulling a stunt midway!" Xiao Jin angrily kicked Qiu Yang, unwillingly saying, "Otherwise, we’d have already caught that dead fox!"

Xue Yinzhou and Shen Li were both at the Tenth Rank, equally matched in strength. Adding Xiao Jin, they were on their home turf, catching Shen Li should have been a sure thing, but that old fox came to cause trouble, making them return empty-handed. Damn it!

Shen Tang glanced at Qiu Yang, who had died protecting his master, closed her eyes, reluctant to say, "Let it be, have a doctor come and heal him first, this matter... let’s just let it go."

Xiao Jin shouted angrily, "You were almost killed by that fox’s claw, how can it just let it go?"

He looked at her pale, haggard face, his heart aching!

His heart replayed that bone-chilling fear.

She had no idea, he almost went crazy!

Xue Yinzhou emitted a terrifying chill; if not eager to return to check on her injuries, he would have already hunted down to the Yiyuan Empire relentlessly.

Shen Tang looked at their expression and sighed lightly, "Shen Li... actually didn’t want to kill me."

Shen Tang explained the origin of the earrings to them.

According to the system, these earrings were forged from a Blood Soul Pearl condensed from essence blood, which had now merged inside her.

Shen Tang could indeed feel her heart nourished by a warm, fiery power!

She was excessively pale due to blood loss, but in fact, Shen Tang felt her body’s strength surpass her past self.

The bottleneck of the Peak of Eighth Rank, which had long been stagnant, broke through to the Ninth Rank in one fell swoop!

The Beastmen sensed the change in Shen Tang’s aura, and after listening to her, fell into silence.

Who knew this fox was so crazy before?

Shen Tang rubbed her temple, "I was a bit reckless tonight, provoked him, anyway, let’s end it here, and don’t bring it up again in the future."

After all, the two of them won’t have any more contact in the future.

These earrings were also given to her by him under the identity of Shen Li in the past.

Let it be a farewell gift from Brother Li.

And not Ji Jiuli.

"Feeling dizzy? Let me massage you." Jia Lan sat by the bed and reached out gently.

Shen Tang shook her head, "I’m fine."

She then looked at Xiao Jin and Xue Yinzhou, waving them over, "Come here, let me heal you first."

Xiao Jin grabbed her hand tightly, frowning, worried and pained, "It’s just a minor injury, you don’t need to use your strength. You now need to recover well, don’t waste your energy."

As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily fell on her chest—though the wound had healed, the thought of the terrifying blood hole still gave him palpitations!

Xiao Jin gently touched it, "Does it still hurt here? Let me massage and blow on it; it won’t hurt."

Shen Tang blushed, giving him an exasperated yet amused look. Were it not for this spotted leopard’s rare sincerity, she would suspect he took advantage of her!

Xue Yinzhou came to the bedside, embracing her, turned to look at Jia Lan and asked, "What did the doctor say?"

"Tangtang’s healing ability is very strong, her body is not a big problem, but she needs to replenish her blood and rest properly these two days."

Xue Yinzhou nodded, and when he looked at the person in his arms, his usually cold snake eyes showed rare tenderness, "I will hunt a few Blood Essence Beasts to nourish you." Then he got up and left briskly.

Xiao Jin originally planned to rush to go, but then thought—having that long worm do it is also fine, he himself could stay to take care of Tangtang.

Unfortunately, serving tea was done by Jia Lan, cooking nourishment meals was done by Lu Xiao.

Xiao Jin, having nothing else to do in the room, simply let her play with his furry tail.

Shen Tang always liked to rub his ears and tail—though the fox’s nine tails felt better, with no other options now, he was the only one in this house who allowed her to play with a tail!

Xiao Jin wasn’t gifted at taking care of people, but his enthusiasm and talkativeness quickly lulled Shen Tang to sleep.

Under the meticulous care of several Beast Husbands, Shen Tang recovered her energy after two days of recuperation and returned to her political duties.

She didn’t waste this "serious injury" opportunity, secretly releasing rumors through Xiao Jin and others, claiming her injuries were severe.

Sure enough, those hidden ghouls and monsters couldn’t hold back, sending spies and assassins. Shen Tang took the opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop.

The days that followed weren’t much different from before, time flowed peacefully like water.

Under Shen Tang’s governance, the Empire became stronger by the day, not only successfully recapturing two Chaotic Zones but also completing the grand new Imperial Palace.

Later, news arrived from the Yiyuan Empire—Emperor Ji Jiuli officially decreed he would marry the Wu Family’s second daughter Wu Qing soon, and the wedding was anticipated by the entire Yiyuan Empire.

They say the entire Yiyuan Empire was immersed in joy, eagerly awaiting the grand wedding.

When Shen Tang heard the news, her mood remained calm, but thinking about Shen Li’s manic behavior that night made her angry again.

In the past, she had promised to personally send gifts for the wedding. Now, she didn’t want to see him; she feared she might not resist stabbing him again. Hence, she entrusted the matter to the Ministry of Rites.

Let the Ministry of Rites prepare lavish gifts, sent in the name of strengthening ties between the two nations.

At that time, send Qiu Yang as an envoy to deliver the congratulations.

Just going through the motions.

Having given the instructions, Shen Tang didn’t dwell on it anymore. Even though the Empire had passed through the most perilous times, many old issues from the previous regimes remained to be resolved, and she had no time to be distracted.

New Expansion City, much like Greenfield City, was a marginal, underdeveloped, and remote city with a small scale and only tens of thousands of permanent residents.

Several scattered small and medium-sized tribal villages surrounded it.

After the chaos of war, most Beastmen lived in hardship, below the subsistence line.

The area’s soil was fertile, rich with rare red soil resources, ideal for planting high-value cash crops such as tea, fruit trees, sugarcane, mulberries, and oilseed trees.

To process and produce a diverse and delicious range of food products.

Shen Tang was ambitious and sought to expand commerce beyond the Night Glow Empire, targeting other countries and regions.

She valued this land greatly, issuing numerous subsidy and support policies.

Many elderly or disabled beastmen unable to hunt or do heavy labor went outside the city to develop arable fields, earning substantial income to support large families without issue.

Many poor beastmen eagerly joined the wave of land development.

As the sun set, a middle-aged beastman wiped the sweat from his brow, planning to end the day’s labor and go home for dinner.

He moved his sore arms, stepping towards home.

Suddenly—

A rotten arm broke through the soil, seizing his ankle!

"Ah—!"

A piercing scream shattered the dusk.

In an instant, his form was dragged underground, leaving only freshly turned soil and signs of struggle behind.