Chapter – 80
Punishment
When Li Mu Jin heard those words, it felt as if a piece of his soul had been taken away. His eyes instantly dimmed, losing all light.
His hands clenched tightly into fists, knuckles whitening from the pressure.
But for Li Qingqing, even with nothing and no title, he was willing.
Just as he looked up, Li Qingqing had already vanished without a trace.
The warmth of last night seemed like a dream.
Li Qingqing hurried toward the tree hole. Last night, in her playful excitement, she had forgotten to make food for the beast husbands as promised.
As soon as she entered, she saw some honey on the stone table inside.
It must have been left by them.
At the entrance, a pile of rice grains awaited her attention. If left out too long, the rain could make them all moldy.
Her fingertips brushed the rice, sensing the dampness. She would need to spread them outside to dry.
Li Qingqing immediately got to work, separating the rice piles in front of her tree hole.
“Hey, where were you all night?”
An Xuan ran over, eyes landing on the rice.
She had come looking for Li Qingqing last night, waiting in the tree hole, but found no one.
It wasn’t until Li Qingqing’s beast husbands came looking too that she realized Li Qingqing was gone.
Li Qingqing remembered the underwater events from last night, cheeks flushed, and coughed to cover her embarrassment.
“C-Cough… I tripped outside yesterday while handling some matters.”
An Xuan’s lips curved into a knowing smile, half amused, half serious. He remembered why he had come today—there was business to discuss.
“Yesterday, the Wolf Tribe sent someone for Feng Hao. When I stopped him and asked, I learned that in our generation, the Wolf Tribe has almost no capable beasts. They want Feng Hao back as the leader.”
Li Qingqing glanced down, feeling a surge of sarcasm.
“They want him back now?” she scoffed.
She had little patience for the Wolf Tribe. She had seen and remembered all they had done.
Qi Shen being killed by Su Qianyi was something she only later heard from Feng Hao.
The Wolf Tribe, however, assumed Qi Shen was just missing.
A tribe cannot be without a leader, and now they suddenly wanted Feng Hao back.
Back then, Qi Shen had used every means to win the leadership over Feng Hao.
She couldn’t believe that none of the self-righteous elders of the Wolf Tribe had noticed anything.
Children growing up together—who is stronger? It’s obvious.
Even if they didn’t want Feng Hao to marry into the Silver Tiger Tribe, they could refuse. But instead, they chose to sacrifice the lone wolf Feng Hao.
Hearing her tone, An Xuan guessed she would refuse. He agreed:
“Exactly. Who even wants to be the Wolf Tribe leader? I’ll send someone to decline them.”
Li Qingqing’s mind sparked with a bolder idea:
“Why not let me be the Wolf Tribe leader instead?”
An Xuan thought she was joking, smiling:
“What are you saying? We’ve been enemies with the Wolf Tribe all these years. If a Silver Tiger became their leader, wouldn’t you be risking your life?”
Li Qingqing didn’t hide her ambition. She wanted to unite the entire beast continent and build a new civilization.
But she couldn’t reveal too much yet:
“I’m joking. Don’t take me seriously.”
After An Xuan left, she entered her power space.
Inside, the spirit stones were piled into mountains.
She lay into the pile, instantly feeling her body filled with power, a constant stream of spiritual energy rushing in.
With eyes closed, she felt her powers nourished.
As energy flowed in, the stones dimmed.
The more dim stones there were, the stronger the power surged into her.
It came so fast, she was unprepared and almost overwhelmed.
Suddenly, her heart raced, as if an invisible hand was squeezing it.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
She tried to resist with willpower but failed.
Shaking violently, she finally collapsed, spitting blood from her mouth.
【Host, do not rush, or you will suffer backlash.】 The system’s voice echoed in her mind, reproachful.
Li Qingqing clenched her teeth, wiping the blood:
“Why didn’t you warn me earlier? I just vomited blood, lost power, and wasted so many stones.”
【You didn’t ask.】 The system sounded slightly aggrieved.
Heavens, why did it have to be this system?
【Host, Su Han’s favorability is around 50. Reminder: if it doesn’t reach 100 in three days, punishment will occur: you will lose all remaining spirit stones.】
Li Qingqing: “……”
The system threatening her felt new and uncomfortable. She felt rebellious.
“Since when do you threaten people?” she complained.
Ever since her car accident in her old world, the system had always been by her side.
It was supposed to be the closest to her in this world.
Yet now it threatened her.
【Host, as a strategist, follow the rules. What you did with Li Mu Jin last night broke the rules. This is the punishment mechanism.】
Li Qingqing raised an eyebrow. Of course, the system knew everything. Nothing could be hidden.
She had indeed crossed a line—Li Mu Jin was not in her strategy targets.
It was just a moment of indulgence.
【Li Mu Jin is obsessive and crazy. Sticking to him won’t benefit you. Stay away.】
The system snapped her back to reality.
Indeed, she had seen Li Mu Jin’s obsession and possessiveness.
They had no real relationship, so why develop it?
She had once considered marrying him, which was unfair to Xiao Ziye.
But she knew a future with Li Mu Jin was impossible.
Being his beast husband would mean giving up everything he had in Atlantis.
Li Mu Jin would never agree—after enduring hardships for twenty years to live in Atlantis, he wouldn’t give it up easily.
Besides, she could not break her promise to Xiao Ziye.
“I understand, system.”
She planned to leave the space and find Su Han.
Su Han was complicated, unlike his brother Li Mu Jin, who was sincere and never hid himself.
Compared to Su Han, she had more feelings for Li Mu Jin.
