Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Linhai Garden – Chance Encounter (2)

“The Beast Emperor?”

So this really was forbidden ground. If she trespassed, would someone drag her away and throw her into a cell?

Su Yan’s nerves tightened like a drawn bow. She swept her gaze over the neat paths and carefully pruned trees, searching for guards, traps—anything. In the end, she still scooped him up, smoothing a hand over the plush fur atop his head as if she could calm them both. “Sweetheart, let’s go. This place belongs to someone. We shouldn’t wander in.”

“It’s right ahead, Mom.”

Little Hao wriggled out of her arms and bounded forward, tail wagging in bright, careless arcs—like someone returning home.

Su Yan narrowed her eyes. “You come here often?”

Little Hao answered without hesitation. “Dad brings me here to bathe.”

“…To bathe in the Beast Emperor’s garden?” Su Yan stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Your dad is unbelievable.”

Then she saw what he meant—and everything clicked.

A natural hot-spring lake lay hidden in a low dip of land, steam breathing off the surface in soft white ribbons. The water was clear as crystal, heat rolling off it in waves that kissed the skin and made every tired muscle ache for relief. Just looking at it made her want to sink in and forget she had bones.

Little Hao dove in with a happy little grunt, splashing once, twice, then tumbling with Huan Er like he was made of pure joy.

Su Yan watched him for a beat, knowing there was no chance she could drag him away now. With a quiet sigh, she opened the System Map to scan the surrounding area.

The map snapped into place.

And her entire body went rigid.

Behind her—three steps, maybe less—stood a living person.

Not a shadow. Not a projection.

A man.

He was tall and long-limbed, draped in a dark bathrobe that drank in the light. His deep purple hair was damp; one loose strand lay across his bare chest while the rest spilled down his back. His face was breathtaking in a way that didn’t feel safe—too perfect, too sharp, too seductive. If not for the unmistakably masculine line of his chest and shoulders, Su Yan might have thought some towering beauty had stepped out of a dream.

His phoenix eyes were a vivid violet, amused and intent, fixed on her as if he’d been waiting.

Su Yan’s breath caught. Cold crawled up her spine, prickling under her skin.

The System Map was visible only to her. He couldn’t see it. He didn’t know she’d already found him.

She forced herself not to flinch. Instead, she shifted her gaze toward Little Hao in the water.

The little fool was still splashing, still laughing—Heaven Rank talent and not a shred of alertness. No wonder he’d been kidnapped by a beast trafficker. If she didn’t drill caution into him, he’d get himself killed one day.

“Little Hao,” she called, voice steady by sheer will. “Wait for Mom.”

“Mom, come in!” Little Hao shouted, splashing hard enough to send droplets flying like scattered pearls.

In his eyes, the space behind her was empty. As far as he knew, Su Yan was alone on the shore.

Su Yan took a large step forward. Out of the corner of her eye, the man didn’t move. He just watched, violet eyes burning into her back.

Fine.

Her next step went straight into the hot spring.

Heat swallowed her calves, then her thighs. Water surged around her with a soft, violent splash that nearly covered the sound of her heartbeat. She swam fast, closed the distance in a few strokes, reached Little Hao, and seized him.

One breath—she shoved him into the System Space.

The next—she ordered Little Mei, [Blink.]

The world snapped.

Su Yan vanished from the pool as if she’d never been there.

And in the exact spot where there had been only air, a figure appeared—solid, real, and very much alive.

“So I was discovered?” the man murmured, voice low with amusement, curiosity sharpening into something hungry.

“Zi Qi!”

Pei Xuan dropped from the sky like a blade falling point-first, landing beside him with terrifying weight.

But the moment he inhaled—caught the lingering scent of Su Yan and Little Hao still clinging to the air—his eyes flared a violent red.

“Hand them over.”

Zi Qi folded his arms, posture loose, expression entertained. “Your son?” His violet gaze slid over Pei Xuan’s taut fury. “Then tell me first—how did his talent suddenly jump to Heaven Rank?”

Pei Xuan’s face darkened, thunder coiling under his skin. “…Don’t force me to fight.”

Zi Qi let his arms fall. The faint curve of his lips was enough to make the surrounding flowers seem dull and lifeless. “Perfect. I’ve been meaning to see how far you’ve evolved.”

…

Su Yan reappeared on a grassy slope, soaked through, hair plastered to her cheeks. Linhai Garden lay in the distance like a lush, dangerous dream.

Then the sky above it split open.

Thunder rolled in heavy, brutal waves, and lightning tore the air apart in dense, flashing bursts over the garden canopy—one strike after another, like the heavens were beating a war drum.

Su Yan flinched on instinct, shoulders curling. “So it really was dangerous. Good thing I ran.”

She looked down at her drenched clothes, gathered fire energy, and steamed herself dry until warmth sank into her skin and the fabric stopped clinging.

Then she turned toward Tianyuan Beast Forest, jaw set.

The little guy was getting special training.

As for whatever chaos was unfolding inside Linhai Garden—Su Yan lived by one rule: a wise person doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall. She wasn’t curious in the slightest.

…

At Wanfang Inn, Bai Kai Xin carried a bucket of water and watered the flower baskets by the entrance, careful not to splash the petals.

Little Xian Zi trotted over. “Let me do it, Brother Bai.”

“No, no.” Bai Kai Xin waved him off, forcing cheer into his voice. “I’m just free for a moment. Besides, I want to see when Sister Su comes back. You go on.”

Little Xian Zi lingered, then remembered something. “Brother Bai… tomorrow is the academy entrance exam. Aren’t you going to prepare?”

“There’s nothing to prepare,” Bai Kai Xin said, rubbing the back of his neck. “And honestly? I don’t really care anymore whether I get into the Divine Beast Academy.”

“Why?”

“My talent and abilities are… average.” His gaze flicked toward the road, unease hiding behind practicality. “And Sister Su’s inn needs someone to run it.”

“That’s true,” Little Xian Zi admitted. “I can clean and do chores, but managing the place? I’m not good with words.”

“So tomorrow I’ll try my luck.” Bai Kai Xin straightened slightly, as if standing taller might make fate kinder. “If they accept me, I’ll go study. If they don’t, I’ll focus on the inn.”

Little Xian Zi nodded. “Good. With Brother Bai here, I feel at ease.”

The light drained from the sky. Night settled in.

Su Yan still didn’t return.

Worry began to gnaw at Bai Kai Xin’s chest. He was just about to head out to Royal Beast Street—

When Pei Xuan arrived.

Violence rolled off him like heat from a furnace. People shrank back as he passed, even those who knew him, even those who owed him favors. No one dared speak.

Bai Kai Xin’s legs went weak. His fox tail slipped out before he could stop it. “C-Clan Chief… you’re here. Please, come inside.”

“Where’s your Boss?” Pei Xuan asked.

The words were calm. The pressure behind them was not.

Bai Kai Xin swallowed hard. “She… didn’t she go to Royal Beast Street? She hasn’t come back yet.”

A pause—thin and sharp as a drawn line.

“…May I look in her room?”

It sounded like a question.

His feet didn’t slow. He strode straight toward the back courtyard, as if the inn belonged to him.

He knew exactly where her room was.

“Can’t,” Little Xian Zi blurted, rushing to block him with desperate bravery.

Bai Kai Xin grabbed him, clapped a hand over his mouth, and forced a smile that nearly cracked. “Yes, yes—Clan Chief, please go ahead. When Boss comes back, I’ll tell her.”

Pei Xuan went straight to the small building where Su Yan stayed.

The moment he stepped inside, a faint, intoxicating floral scent met him—soft and lingering, like the trace of warm skin in a bed long after it had left. The quilt was still tossed and tangled, as if she’d risen in a hurry and never looked back.

On the vanity by the window sat small bottles and jars of cosmetics, delicate and unfamiliar, catching the lamplight with quiet elegance.

He opened the wardrobe. A few dresses hung inside, along with three pairs of brand-new shoes in styles he’d never seen before—too fine, too strange, too out of place in a town like this.

Bai Kai Xin came in carrying tea with trembling hands. “Clan Chief… please have some tea.”

Pei Xuan didn’t touch it. “Did she mention where she wanted to go? Anything she was interested in seeing?”

His golden eyes pinned Bai Kai Xin in place, sharp enough to cut lies in half.

Bai Kai Xin’s mouth went dry. He searched his memory, terrified of missing the one detail that mattered. “She… she seemed interested in Tianyuan Beast Forest. If we hadn’t been afraid of missing enrollment, we would’ve gone to the Beast Forest.”

Pei Xuan turned and left without another word.

Bai Kai Xin chased after him, panic breaking through. “Clan Chief! Where is Sister Su?”

“I’ll bring them back.”

The next second, Pei Xuan vanished on the spot as if the world had blinked and lost him.

Bai Kai Xin stared at the empty space, breath stuck. “Blink… only Heaven Rank can trigger that art. Sigh. I’ll never manage it in this life…”

Then the meaning of what he’d just heard struck him like a slap.

His face went white. “No—wait. Clan Chief… what did you mean about Sister Su?”