Free Web NovelChapter 92: Chapter 92: Stealthy Little Actions
"Yes," Ye Ming said succinctly.
He paused, as if remembering something, and added, "I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, Lanlan."
"Okay."
Hearing this, Shi Lan finally opened the door and went inside, quickly shutting the cell door behind her.
Ye Ming hadn’t shifted into his human form, and she worried he might lose control and run out, causing some other kind of accident.
Ye Ming, however, paid this no mind. He glanced around his cell, which was piled high with books, before his eyes settled on the large sofa to the side.
His own bed was just a hard, wooden plank; the soft sofa was much more suitable for a female.
Shi Lan agreed that the sofa looked comfortable.
She walked past Ye Ming and took a seat.
Ye Ming watched her from a distance. A beat later, his heart began to race, and he grew apprehensive.
The Imperial Crown Prince could remain perfectly composed while parading before hundreds of thousands of citizens. But in front of the female he adored, he was like a newborn cub who had forgotten how to walk, his arms and legs on the same side moving in unison.
It was different from being with He Hanshi. Being this close to Ye Ming made Shi Lan feel a bit more nervous.
Her palms grew slightly damp with sweat. But when she looked up and saw how he was walking, a laugh escaped her lips. Just like that, her involuntary tension vanished as if from a deflating balloon.
Ye Ming looked at her and realized his gait was off. He tried to act calm and correct himself, but he immediately became uncoordinated again.
’Forget it. Let it be.’
The ever-cool and domineering Eldest Prince gazed at Shi Lan’s smiling face and decided to just give up. He continued his uncoordinated walk over to her and leaped lightly onto the sofa.
He had been worried he would continue to make a fool of himself in front of his crush, but thankfully, the leap was perfectly steady.
He let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. Turning his head toward Shi Lan, he curled up on the sofa, tucking three paws under his belly. He extended the fourth one for her to treat—a paw that was long and rippling with muscle.
Shi Lan’s eyebrows shot up.
’It’s actually pretty great that Ye Ming isn’t in his human form,’ she suddenly thought.
’For one, his beast form makes things less awkward. And for another...’
The smile already playing on her lips widened. ’This is great! I can take this chance to pet all this fluff!’
She gloated inwardly, but her expression didn’t betray her excitement.
"Shall I begin?"
As she spoke, she took the paw he had offered and shifted it toward the center of the sofa.
All the while, Shi Lan couldn’t resist caressing his paw a few times. Her thumb even unconsciously pressed against his pink paw pads.
She thought her little movements were subtle, but a Beastman’s senses were incredibly sharp. Besides, her hand felt nothing like the rough, hard floor. It was warmer than his own body temperature, and much, much softer.
Ye Ming’s eyelids merely twitched. He said nothing, thinking, ’Maybe Lanlan touched me by accident.’
’Besides, I really like the feeling of her touch.’
He carefully kept his sharp claws retracted, not letting them extend an inch no matter how Shi Lan moved his paw.
After a few more restrained pets, Shi Lan got down to business.
She rested her fingers on Ye Ming’s paw and sent out her spiritual power threads.
The same thing happened all over again. She had thought treating Ye Ming would be more difficult than treating He Hanshi. But just as she approached his mind, a jade-green spiritual power thread appeared to guide her.
Once again, she entered Ye Ming’s spirit sea unimpeded.
Unlike the sparse Spiritual Poison she had seen at the beginning of other treatments, the chaos in Ye Ming’s spirit sea was on par with He Hanshi’s. In the very center, a small black panther was trapped inside a thick, green cocoon. Its mental state, however, seemed a bit better than the little White Lion’s. It was staring at her with wide, glass-like eyes, as if wondering how something strange had suddenly appeared in its territory. Its gaze held a clear, dazed innocence.
’So cute!’
Shi Lan stared at it, human and panther locked in a wide-eyed staring contest. Even Ye Ming’s spiritual power threads came over to join the fun.
Although his spiritual power threads were also green, they were completely different from the Spiritual Poison. The poison’s green flecks looked much gloomier, like green mottled with a layer of gray mold, creating an unsettling feeling at first glance.
Ye Ming’s spiritual power threads, however, had a green that looked bright and pure.
Right now, the green spiritual power threads were like curious children encountering something new. Several of them immediately began to circle Shi Lan, though none of them touched her own spiritual power thread.
They were probably worried about being devoured again by a poison thread, like those from the Insect Clan.
Shi Lan patiently waited for them to finish their playful circling and move away before beginning the monumental task of stripping away the poison threads.
It was another long, tedious process, just like with He Hanshi. Luckily, whenever she felt bored, she could look at the panther to amuse herself. The moment she saw the little black panther staring at her with eager eyes, her motivation surged.
Shi Lan’s spiritual power had been improving rapidly lately, so she was able to treat Ye Ming for longer than she had treated He Hanshi. Only when she felt herself approaching her limit did she withdraw her spiritual power threads.
When she came to, Shi Lan glanced at the time and saw that nearly two hours had passed. She immediately looked at Ye Ming with an expectant gaze, curious about the results of the treatment.
As if he knew what she was thinking, Ye Ming gave himself a quick assessment without her having to ask.
In truth, he could already feel a distinct difference.
Dropping from a High Level to a Middle Level felt as if a heavy mountain that had been crushing him was suddenly lifted, and his entire body felt instantly lighter.
’It definitely dropped,’ he knew.
And sure enough, the results were in. His value had even dropped by one point more than He Hanshi’s had.
"48%."
He stated the number calmly, but his heart was anything but.
Shi Lan had actually succeeded again. She had once again treated a Beastman with a High Level collapse value down to a Middle Level. This meant that none of it was a coincidence.
’Her spiritual power is truly extraordinary.’
The result was about what Shi Lan had expected. However, hearing Ye Ming’s voice so calm and composed, completely lacking any hint of surprise, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander.
"What’s wrong? Is there something else amiss?"
Ye Ming snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. "No."
His dark lips parted. After uttering the single word, he belatedly realized how cold he must have sounded.
He was actually thrilled, but he was a man of few words.
Ye Ming watched the smile vanish from Shi Lan’s face, replaced by a pensive look. Annoyed with himself, he quickly searched for new words. "Thank you, Lanlan. I’m very happy. I’ve finally dropped to a Middle Level collapse value."
He rarely spoke at such length to a female’s face; he wasn’t a man of many words to begin with. It was even worse with them being so close. He could clearly smell the faint scent of roses on her, sending his heart into a flustered panic. The moment the words left his mouth, he felt they sounded stiff and mechanical, lacking He Hanshi’s gentleness and Jiang Xia’s easy-going nature.
Regret flashed in his eyes once more.
Fortunately, Shi Lan’s attention wasn’t focused on his awkwardness. She asked with concern, "Lord Ye, why haven’t you been in your human form lately? Is there something else physically wrong?"
Ye Ming’s nervous heart skipped a beat. He shook his head. "No. I’m just not used to it yet."
"If Lanlan wants to see it, I’ll transform right now."
With that, he jumped off the sofa.
