Zhi Li was already lying on the stone bed, his head pillowed on his arm. He turned his head to look at the moonlight outside the window. The agitation from the day settled in the cool summer night, and clearer thoughts began to emerge from the murk.

He... was coveting Xia Ming! It was a feeling any male could easily recognize. The frank excitement of his body made it impossible for him to lie to his own heart.

He sighed softly. ’Xia Ming is so wonderful... and what am I? A male with a broken contract, who already has children and grandchildren. What right do I have to covet her?’

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. ’I should be content just being alive to see Xiao Le and the kids safe and sound. I shouldn’t be asking for more.’

As he was tossing and turning, frustrated with himself for reasons he couldn’t pinpoint and feeling as if a stone was pressing on his chest, he heard Xia Ming cry out. Without a second thought, he rushed out and pushed open the door to her room.

The young female was huddled pitifully in the corner, her head in her hands, calling his name with a sob in her voice.

"Little Ming’er, I’m here." Zhi Li’s Adam’s apple bobbed, a sharp pain piercing his heart. He lit the oil lamp in the room.

Sensing the light and hearing his voice, Xia Ming finally looked up. Her fair, delicate face was stained with tears, her eyelashes glistening.

After just one glance, Zhi Li turned his head away. He looked at his own shadow on the stone wall, but his mind was wondering, ’Is she really this fragile and timid?’

Ping Mei sometimes said she was scared too, but he could always tell she was pretending. Xia Ming’s fear, however, was real, and it couldn’t help but stir a feeling of tender affection in his heart.

"Zhi Li, I’m scared." It had been several days since she was reborn, but she had only returned to Golden Lion City today. The environment was unfamiliar, she was surrounded by unfamiliar Beastmen, and now that Yi Wan had left, Zhi Li was the only one she knew.

Her voice thick with distress, she said, "In my last life, when I died, I think I was eaten by wolves.

"I just remember the forest was especially dark and cold. I was clinging to a tree, and below me were many wolves with glowing green eyes, and the excited roars of all kinds of Wild Beasts...

"The tree I chose to escape to wasn’t tall at all. If the wolf pack didn’t give up and kept ramming it a hundred times or so, the trunk would have definitely snapped. I..."

Whenever she thought about it, her whole body ached. She didn’t have the memory of being devoured by the wolf pack, but it was as if her body still remembered the sensation.

Zhi Li couldn’t help but walk over and sit on the edge of the bed. He reached out and gently patted her head, his voice gentle. "Don’t be afraid. I’ll stay here and watch over you. There are no wolf packs. We’re in Golden Lion City.

"The city walls are thick and high, and we have so many High-level Beast Soldiers on guard."

Listening to his words, Xia Ming’s heart gradually calmed. She obediently lay down, pulled the thin blanket over herself, and turned her head to look at him, greedily savoring the tranquility of the moment.

’Right now, his attention is only on me, not like during the day when he was too busy to spend any time with me.’

"Zhi Li, aren’t you scared? Do you remember what happened before? After twenty years, don’t you feel out of place?" Xia Ming recalled Si Shuo’s words and started to have a heart-to-heart with him.

Zhi Li nodded heavily. "Of course I do. You might not feel it as deeply as I do. For me, my kid was just the size of my palm, and in the blink of an eye, he has a mate and cubs of his own. I barely figured out how to be a Father before I became a grandpa!"

Hearing his words, Xia Ming couldn’t help but laugh. "Thanks to you, I’ve become a grandma too."

Zhi Li scratched his head and laughed along with her. Under the lamplight, the young female’s eyes curved into crescents, the laughter in them like fragmented, brilliant light, just like the twinkling stars in the night sky—so dazzling and moving.

Her skin looked even smoother and softer, and she seemed so small and delicate in front of him.

"It’s truly wonderful," he said with a sincere smile. "That Yi Wan and Little Ming’er, two people in love, could finally be together."

Xia Ming’s hand tightened on the corner of the blanket. "Zhi Li, what about you? You... you don’t have any thoughts about your own future?"

Zhi Li was stunned for a moment, then shook his head in a bit of a daze. "I’ve only just been reborn. I don’t know much about the present, twenty years later. I guess I’ll focus on training for now.

"I only have a Level 6 Superpower. I can’t protect anyone. At home, my Level is the lowest. I’ll enter the tournament first. It’d be best if I pass, but if not, I’ll have to go hunt Wild Beasts in the nearby forests.

"Coming back to life was a heaven-defying stroke of luck. I can’t count on cheating death a second time. Strength is my only trump card!

"Yeah, once my Level is higher, I’ll travel around and see the world. In my past life, I only ever lived in the Luoni Tribe. I never got to see the rest of the Southern Continent, or the other continents."

Listening to his words, Xia Ming’s heart grew colder, bit by bit. But then, she couldn’t help but feel happy for Zhi Li.

"Being able to go out and see the world sounds wonderful. But Zhi Li, no matter where you go, you have to promise you’ll come back. The Southern Continent will always be your home!"

’This was him—the young man she remembered, full of endless hope and untamed spirit.’

Zhi Li looked at her, amused. "Why do I get the feeling you’re more excited than I am? It’s still a long way off. It might not happen for several years.

"Alright, you’re not scared anymore, are you? Get some sleep. Little Ming’er needs plenty of rest to get healthier!"

Xia Ming pouted. "I don’t want to sleep. I just want to talk with you. You and Yi Wan are the most, most, most important people in my life."

Zhi Li’s breath hitched. Seeing her complete trust and reliance on him, he didn’t dare to meet her eyes, hating the sordidness of his own heart all the more.

He turned his back to her and sat down, leaning against the stone bed. "Fine. I won’t leave. I’ll just sit here with you, alright?"

Xia Ming hummed in satisfaction. "Zhi Li." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Mm, I’m here," Zhi Li answered.

"Have you thought about what kind of female you want to find in the future?" Xia Ming asked.

Zhi Li’s eyes lowered slightly. "Someone pretty, sweet-natured, kind, and sensible, I guess."

Xia Ming couldn’t help but mentally check each word against herself. Just as she was about to jokingly ask if she qualified, she heard him say with a hint of dejection, "Unfortunately, I don’t have a Beast Mark. I can’t offer a young female enough loyalty and protection. I doubt anyone would want me, right?"

She froze, lowering her head and placing a hand on her chest, where Yi Wan’s Beast Mark rested. ’But Zhi Li said he broke his Beast Mark with Ping Mei.’

’Maybe because I was reborn, the rules are different now?’ she wondered.

Xia Ming pressed her lips together and sat up. She looked at Zhi Li’s handsome profile, and before she even moved, her heart was already pounding so fast it felt like it would leap out of her chest.

But she still clenched her jaw, moved forward, and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against him. "Zhi Li, I don’t know about other females, but I want you!"

Zhi Li’s fists clenched. All of his senses seemed to be magnified tenfold. The warm breath on his neck was about to shatter his last shred of reason. He spoke, his voice hoarse and strained, "Little Ming’er, do... do you know what you’re saying? You’re young and beautiful, you only have one Beast Husband, Yi Wan. You have a long, happy life ahead of you. There’s no need..."

"Zhi Li, do you really feel nothing for me at all? I don’t want you to suffer with some other female. I want you to stay with me and Yi Wan forever!

"I’ve longed for this day so much. Before, when Ping Mei was around, all I could do was watch helplessly as you fussed over her. Now Ping Mei is gone, and we’ve both been through life and death. Why can’t we be together?"