As Mo Xuanli spoke, his eyes swept over everyone present then froze when he saw Qian Yue. “Qian Yue?”
Qian Yue bowed. “Brother Mo, it’s been a long time. You’d best check yourself carefully, your nascent soul did show some signs of anomaly.”
Mo Xuanli’s face changed several times. If there had been any sign of demonic transformation, Qian Yue would never be standing there so calmly.
Soon, Three Bean broke his worry with an explanation: “Your nascent soul left your body, and it was Master who brought it back. None of us dared approach for fear of startling it.”
Mo Xuanli turned to Gu Baiqing, astonished. “Master, my nascent soul…”
“After I brought it close to you, it went back on its own. You were a little muddle-headed, so I… zapped you,” Gu Baiqing said matter-of-factly.
Junhua finally spoke up: “That sounds awfully similar to last time.”
Mo Xuanli’s breath caught. Last time… this time… His master’s words, though nothing in his body felt particularly wrong, still gave him an uneasy hunch. Something down there felt… off.
Could it be that, while out of control, he had once again… with his master…?
Frustration welled up inside him. Why couldn’t he remember anything? Had he hurt his master again?
Thankfully, his master hadn’t suspected anything yet. That alone was a miracle.
“You advanced too quickly, your foundation might be unstable. Check your own condition first,” Gu Baiqing said quickly, deflecting the topic in guilt.
Mo Xuanli obediently entered meditation and, after a while, found nothing amiss. Only then did everyone finally relax.
He then grew worried whether he had managed to subdue the beasts before fainting, fearing any innocents might have been harmed.
Once reassured, he sighed in relief.
Junhua said, “It seems that to command all beasts, you’ll need even greater cultivation. For now, you’d best not use that power again; if you lose control, it’ll be troublesome.”
Mo Xuanli nodded and was just about to ask what had happened afterward but Ao Hang finally lost patience.
He reached out and grabbed Three Bean that had been clinging stubbornly to Gu Baiqing’s shoulder.
“You’ve all said enough. Now it’s our turn to talk.” Ao Hang’s tone was sharp.
Three Bean’s tiny claws still clutched at Gu Baiqing’s robe, looking terrified. Every time Ao Hang wanted to “have a serious talk,” Three Bean found excuses to delay it. As long as the truth wasn’t exposed, everything still felt safe enough.
But now, even Mo Xuanli’s unconsciousness could no longer be used as an excuse.
“I…. I still want to listen!” Three Bean squeaked.
“You’re just a contract beast, stop meddling! Come with me!” Ao Hang snapped, his patience worn thin.
It was already a miracle he’d managed to suppress his questions for this long.
“Master… Xuanli…” Three Bean looked up with teary eyes.
Mo Xuanli turned toward his master, silently seeking instruction.
Gu Baiqing coughed and said, “Three Bean, have you forgotten what I told you before? Explain things properly. Apologize sincerely. If you did something wrong, admit it.”
He coldly brushed away Three Bean’s little paw.
Ao Hang swiftly caught Three Bean in his hand.
Mo Xuanli then tossed over the betrothal gift that belonged to the two of them.
To be honest, Gu Baiqing wasn’t at ease either. He worried that Ao Hang might act out in a fit of anger, so he took the risk of imbuing Three Bean with a bit of spiritual power, enough to let him transform back to his original form and escape, if it came to that.
Perhaps feeling his master’s quiet support behind him, Three Bean timidly allowed himself to be taken away.
“Don’t worry, Master,” Mo Xuanli said. “Ao Hang is still my contracted beast. I won’t let him harm Three Bean.”
“What did you just give him?” Gu Baiqing suddenly asked.
Mo Xuanli froze, instantly flustered.
“It was… Ao Hang’s betrothal gift for Three Bean. One of his own eyeballs. It’s said to be a treasure. Oh, right, back in the Void Spirit Secret Realm, the inheritance that tested me only responded because of that thing. The elder in that realm had apparently fought Ao Hang once.” Mo Xuanli rambled, desperately trying to change the topic.
Gu Baiqing was startled. “He gave his own eyeball as a betrothal gift? That’s really…”
“The dragon race’s bodies are full of treasures. Using one as a bride gift is normal. But what’s going on between them again?” Junhua, who’d been listening half in confusion, finally spoke up.
Junhua knew that Three Bean was Ao Hang’s fiancée, knew Ao Hang was obsessed with him and also knew that Three Bean was male.
But he never expected Gu Baiqing to add, “Ao Hang doesn’t know Three Bean’s a boy. He thought Three Bean was a female who could lay dragon eggs. In other words, Three Bean deceived Ao Hang’s feelings.”
Junhua’s mouth fell open in utter shock.
Even the usually calm Qian Yue looked surprised. “There are male tricolor illusion cats?”
Gu Baiqing gave an awkward smile, while Mo Xuanli explained, “The tricolor illusion cat is just one branch of the illusion cat beasts. The tricolored kind happens to be the strongest and has the highest potential for cultivation, so it’s classified as its own type. Of all those that can achieve the three colors, 99% are female, only a tiny handful are male, and those have only been discovered recently. But the males are almost all infertile. When Ao Hang found Three Bean back then, he probably assumed all tricolors were female, so he never doubted it. And since Three Bean, as a young beast, is naturally terrified of dragons…”
“So Three Bean’s a little eunuch?” Junhua blurted. “And that dragon got….hahaha….”
That was probably the happiest laugh Junhua had let out in a long time.
Meanwhile, in another wing of the palace, Three Bean was brought to his old cat chamber.
The room looked almost the same as before, just filled with more toys. Three Bean’s gaze softened slightly, but faced with the intimidating dragon’s presence, he felt only guilt and fear.
Ao Hang placed Three Bean down on the cat swing, towering over him for a while before finally speaking. “Why did you run away? Was I not good to you? You clearly promised to be my wife. After you left, I searched for you everywhere. I thought something had happened to you. Why would you rather become someone else’s contracted beast than stay by my side? Is it that you hate the Dragon Palace, that you didn’t want to live under the sea forever, or…”
The proud dragon’s tone grew lower and lower as he spoke.
Three Bean had always been lively and restless. To keep him trapped like Ao Hang in the Dragon Palace, maybe he really hadn’t wanted that, and that’s why he ran.
“You, you’re a noble dragon. You can find anyone you like to lay dragon eggs for you. I think Junhua’s pretty good, you could consider her instead.” In Three Bean’s mind, Ao Hang had spent his adult years going on and on about having dragon eggs. So as far as Three Bean was concerned, that must be what mattered most to him.
“What did you say?!” Ao Hang roared.
Three Bean’s fur stood on end in fright.
“You think anyone can become the wife of a dragon?! I chose you! It has to be you who bears my child! You promised and now you’re trying to go back on your word!” The dragon’s fury shook the entire palace.
“I only promised because you scared me! Did you forget how you treated me at first?” Three Bean shouted back angrily. “When you first found me, you said you were going to keep me as food! You said I was too skinny to eat, so you’d fatten me up first!”
Ao Hang froze. He did used to eat other beasts, and it was true, he’d planned to fatten this land creature up before devouring it…
“But didn’t I treat you well afterward?!”
“You lied! When you asked if I’d marry you, you said if I didn’t lay dragon eggs for you, you’d eat me!” Three Bean cried. He had wanted to tell the truth back then but he was terrified that if Ao Hang found out he was male, he’d be eaten alive instead.
Yet Ao Hang had treated him so well, so incredibly well, that if not for his attachment to Little Xuanli and his desire to repay him, Three Bean might have really stayed with Ao Hang forever.
Because Ao Hang always looked so lonely. And being a dragon’s pet didn’t sound that bad, actually, it sounded kind of glorious. Dragons could offer countless benefits.
But as he grew older, that dragon started lusting after him and even talked about marriage and egg-laying! How could he not run away before the truth came out?
Hearing all this, Ao Hang was speechless for a long time. Back then, when they used to sleep curled up together, he’d often grown restless with desire. When he said he’d “eat” Three Bean, it hadn’t been that kind of eating anymore…. This stupid little thing actually thought he was talking about food?
“So just because of that one sentence, you really believed after all these years I’d eat you?!” Ao Hang was furious, furious that Three Bean didn’t trust his feelings. He’d already done everything he could to give Three Bean the best.
Three Bean didn’t argue. He pursed his lips, then finally lifted his head to look at Ao Hang. “I’ll tell you the reason. But no matter how angry you get, or how you want to punish me, even if you kill me, I accept it. After all, my life was yours to begin with. But you must not take it out on my master or Xuanli.”
Ao Hang’s eyes widened. “You actually think I’d kill you?”
He was livid, angry that Three Bean could doubt his love after everything he’d done for him.
Three Bean didn’t answer. A sudden glow enveloped him, and in the next instant, a delicate, youthful boy appeared on the swing, wearing a tricolored robe, his hair tied with red string, a little bell dangling from it, and another bell hanging from his neck. It was the very outfit Ao Hang had prepared for him, back when he’d first helped Three Bean take human form.
At that time, Three Bean had looked like a youth of thirteen or fourteen, delicately carved, jade-pure, almost too beautiful to tell whether he was a boy or girl.
But now he’d grown into the figure of a sixteen-year-old; it should be clear by now whether he was male or female.
Yet even after Three Bean had maintained his human form for quite a while, Ao Hang still didn’t move.
Squinting, Three Bean glanced over and saw Ao Hang staring at him in a daze. His expression was soft, even tender, filled with an emotion Three Bean couldn’t quite understand.
Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli had both seen Three Bean’s human form before and had thought: truly worthy of being a tricolor illusion cat, his human appearance was so strikingly beautiful it was hard to tell male from female. If it weren’t for Three Bean’s voice, tone, and boyish mannerisms, their first impression based on looks alone would’ve been that he was female.
But Ao Hang had always lived alone and honestly wasn’t that familiar with the distinctions between men and women. So when he saw Three Bean’s human form, all he felt was a rush of nostalgia and joy, a look that said my wife has finally grown up. The way he gazed at Three Bean made the little cat’s fur stand on end.
Finally, Three Bean steeled himself and shouted, “I’m male! I can’t be your wife, I can’t lay eggs!”
Ao Hang snapped out of his reverie, stunned for a moment. Then he frowned. “San’er, what nonsense are you talking? You’re a tricolor illusion cat! If you dislike this place or even if you don’t like me, there’s no need to make up such excuses. But I’ll say this first: even if you don’t like me, it’s useless. You must stay with me.”
Seeing Ao Hang’s fierce but deadly serious face, Three Bean almost burst into tears. He had finally worked up the courage to tell the truth, but the other still didn’t believe him!
Desperate, Three Bean decided to go all in. He yanked open his collar and pulled down half his trousers, striking a “lewd deviant” pose just to make Ao Hang see clearly so he’d stop fantasizing and give up once and for all.
“Look! I’m really male! Males can’t be together and they can’t lay eggs! Here, take your betrothal gift back!”
Ao Hang’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden flash of pale skin before him. By the time he recovered, the figure in front of him had vanished in a blur. Only his eyeball remained, Three Bean had transformed back into a cat and fled in a panic.
Ao Hang stood frozen in place for a long, long time.
Outside, the others had already filled Mo Xuanli in on what had happened.
Qian Yue was also present and had overheard much of it. At the mention of the beast demons and the spirit-gathering formation, a flicker of cold light passed through his eyes.
When Mo Xuanli learned that Qian Yue had come here to help deliver a message, he looked at him curiously. Qian Yue merely nodded slightly, clearly wanting to speak of something but with Junhua here, it wasn’t convenient.
Mo Xuanli didn’t press the issue. “The people from the Taixu Hall are coming to investigate,” he said, turning to Gu Baiqing.
Gu Baiqing replied, “In a few days we’ll go to Taixu Hall ourselves and explain everything. There’s no need for the merfolk to send anyone.”
Junhua, who was usually fierce to outsiders, now looked a bit uneasy. “Will that be all right?”
Gu Baiqing nodded. “It’ll be fine. The truth is, those people don’t really care about the facts anyway. Everyone knows the score, they’re just pretending not to. The real reason they want the merfolk there is to keep an eye on the alliance terms.”
In his view, Junhua going in person would be completely unnecessary, just a waste of effort and bound to stir up endless conflict. Far better to let him handle it directly with his cultivation strength.
Thinking that, Gu Baiqing couldn’t help but wonder why, in the original story, things hadn’t been handled that way. It was as though the master had secretly accompanied Mo Xuanli during his trials and therefore couldn’t appear openly. Even when things went wrong, he wouldn’t step out to defend his disciple, leaving the boy and Junhua to face Taixu Hall’s interrogation alone as if the master truly hadn’t known a thing, only hearing about it secondhand.
The more Gu Baiqing thought about it, the deeper his frown grew. The original text really had plenty of illogical parts, it was just that the heavy dose of romantic drama had covered up all those plot holes. After all, as long as the story got people’s hearts racing, who cared about logic?
But now, their story would be entirely different. No use thinking too much, their lives and trials were their own to walk.
After some discussion, Mo Xuanli and Junhua agreed that over the next few days, they’d head to Longan Port together to track down the Beast-Taming Manor’s former contacts and see if they could retrieve all the merfolk that had been sold off.
Since the alliance had been signed, Mo Xuanli naturally had to take responsibility.
When their talk ended and Junhua was about to leave, she saw Three Bean dart out in a panic and couldn’t help teasing him a bit.
But Three Bean looked too miserable to even banter back.
Junhua sighed. “All right, I’ll tell you this: after you ran away, Ao Hang searched the entire sea. He interrogated every beast he could find because he was terrified something might’ve eaten you. Whatever else, his feelings for you were real. Even if he’s been hurt by that, I doubt he’d truly do you harm. Feelings like that don’t just vanish.”
After comforting him, Junhua finally took her leave.
“How did it go? What did he say?” Gu Baiqing asked worriedly.
Three Bean drooped his ears. “I said it and ran. He looked stunned… probably hates me now. If he tries to beat or kill me later, don’t stop him. I deserve it.”
Gu Baiqing suddenly realized Three Bean was indeed afraid of dying, but maybe what he’d feared even more back then was Ao Hang hating him after learning the truth: being disgusted, regretting all the affection he’d given, regretting everything he’d done.
Three Bean knew that two males could never have a proper ending but he had still felt warmth in Ao Hang’s care, and he hadn’t wanted to let go.
In the original story, it was unclear whether Ao Hang ever learned the truth. Maybe he never did and that’s why he stayed by Mo Xuanli’s side, holding onto that love.
Now that he did know, an outburst of rage was inevitable but as for revenge, Gu Baiqing doubted it.
Unsure how to proceed, he looked at Mo Xuanli.
Mo Xuanli thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll go check on him.” Perhaps it was also time to dissolve the contract with the true dragon. Then he turned to Qian Yue. “I know you have something to say. You’d better leave for now; if anything happens later, you might get caught up in it.”
“This humble monk is willing to stay and assist,” Qian Yue said calmly.
Mo Xuanli thanked him and went to find Ao Hang.
As soon as he entered the cat house, he saw Ao Hang still standing with his back to the door, facing the swing.
“Ao Hang… about Three Bean…” Mo Xuanli said softly. “I’m sorry. Whatever compensation you want, if it’s within our power, we’re willing to help make it up to him. Also, about our contract, you can end it whenever you wish.”
He stepped closer, seeing Ao Hang staring blankly, and reached out to pat his shoulder.
Ao Hang blinked, suddenly turning toward him. “Three Bean is male?”
Mo Xuanli awkwardly nodded.
Ao Hang murmured, “Male… can’t lay dragon eggs.”
Mo Xuanli coughed.
Then Ao Hang suddenly said very seriously, “You and your master can’t have children either.”
Mo Xuanli almost choked on his own breath and had no comeback.
“Yes… we can’t.”
Ao Hang’s face twisted in confusion and struggle. “Then why… when he showed me his body just now… did I feel… hot all over?” In truth, the moment he saw that scene, he’d gotten hard, and almost pounced on Three Bean before realizing what he was doing, only for Three Bean to bolt.
Mo Xuanli: “!”
“I’m not dissolving the contract,” Ao Hang declared firmly. “I’m staying with you all.”
“Huh?” Mo Xuanli stared in shock.
“I don’t care that he can’t lay eggs. I’m going to make him my wife anyway! Even if he can’t accept it now, I’ll make him accept it slowly!” Ao Hang said proudly, then looked at Mo Xuanli. “You know more about this stuff since you’re bonded with your master, you must know how two males do it. Teach me. Just right, you and your master, me and Three Bean. Perfect match!”
Mo Xuanli was speechless for a long moment. His face wasn’t nearly as thick as this “beast’s.” Seeing Ao Hang genuinely serious, he silently took a small booklet out of his storage pouch.
Ao Hang took it, skimmed a few pages, and left with great satisfaction, head high, chest out.
Mo Xuanli froze for a beat, then hurried after him. “Don’t tell anyone I gave you that!”
