The house had been blown to bits, its roof torn clean away.

The Red Mist crisis seemed to have been temporarily resolved.

However, the second floor was almost reduced to ashes by the psychic explosions, and Xu Mo’s flame ability had nearly set the entire house on fire. Fortunately, Shi Jue quickly scattered sand to extinguish the flames.

Ruan Li clutched the only sleepdress she wore, staring at the nearly burnt second floor, her eyes clouded with confusion.

In the distance, the dawn broke, the rising sun like a flicker of hope ascending slowly.

Zhe Ye took off his jacket and draped it over Ruan Li’s shoulders.

He thought the young female was mourning the beast’s destruction of their home.

He spoke gently to comfort her, “The house burning down is something we can rebuild quickly. The robots can reconstruct it in half a day. As long as everyone is safe, that’s what matters.”

Ruan Li silently glanced up at him and wrapped the jacket tighter around herself.

Thankfully, she had forgotten to take out the new clothes stored in Zhe Ye’s spatial core.

It all felt somewhat surreal—falling asleep and waking up to find the house burned to the ground.

But what felt even more surreal were the four beast husbands.

They still hadn’t figured out what exactly had protected Ruan Li at that critical moment.

Of course, that wasn’t the immediate concern; the priority was to repair the house.

Their residential area was visibly devastated. Sounds of psychic combat had rung out all night, and Ruan Li had even sent Zhe Ye to rescue a few neighbors.

“Thank you,” a young female sobbed, expressing her gratitude to Ruan Li. She was still in a beast husband’s embrace when the Red Mist suddenly attacked, and the beast husband was injured protecting her.

“It’s nothing, no need to thank me,” Ruan Li replied.

“My name is Lan Ruo. We’ve met before inside,” she said, though back then she had always heard a woman’s furious shouting from next door and never dared greet the neighbor.

“Oh, hello,” Ruan Li responded, neither warm nor cold.

Lan Ruo’s situation was even worse—the entire three-story villa was nearly leveled.

“Ah, I hope the robots can fix the house today. Otherwise, our family of five will be homeless,” Lan Ruo said anxiously.

The male beast beside her wrapped an arm around her, comforting, “Mistress, we won’t be homeless. We can stay at a hotel.”

“Everyone’s houses were blown up; it’s so pitiful,” she sighed.

The military soon dispatched aid, while the AI brain issued a notice: Any females injured should promptly visit the nearest medical center for treatment, where they would receive unconditional priority care.

Zhe Ye also received the military’s message and needed to step away temporarily.

“The military has urgent matters. The Red Mist issue is more complicated than it seems. Protect Ruan Li well and wait for my update,” Zhe Ye told the other three, his gaze lingering on Ruan Li.

Ruan Li sat on the living room sofa, despite the fact that the roof above them was leaking.

The home robots had switched to construction mode, beginning their laborious rebuilding.

“Were you scared?” Shi Jue sat beside her, his tone filled with concern.

Ruan Li shook her head. “Not really.”

“This Red Mist is truly strange…” Xu Mo muttered to himself.

Ruan Li lifted her eyes and noticed Bai He’s complexion looked off.

Though his skin was naturally pale and his ethereal demeanor gave him an elusive air, Ruan Li sensed Bai He seemed weak.

Recalling what Zhe Ye had told her earlier that day—that Bai He might be injured—

She got up and headed to the kitchen. “Bai He, do you want some milk?”

Forgive her—she really wasn’t trying to find an excuse.

Shi Jue, puzzled and a bit jealous, said, “Soft-soft, I want milk too!”

Xu Mo’s narrow eyes slowly narrowed as he fixed his gaze on Bai He for a moment.

Bai He pursed his lips and followed her to the kitchen.

Shi Jue pricked up his ears to listen.

“I don’t want milk.”

“Bai He, were you just injured?”

Ruan Li’s eyes rested on him.

“…No.”

“Alright. If you’re hurt, you can tell me. I can treat you, though I only have level one healing ability, so the effect might not be great.”

Ruan Li returned to the living room with two cups of warm milk, handing one to Shi Jue.

Shi Jue stared at her before tilting his head back and gulping down the milk in two swallows.

Having not slept all night and aided by the milk, Ruan Li leaned against the sofa, her head gradually drooping.

Shi Jue immediately caught her head, pulling her to rest against him. He lowered his voice, “Soft-soft, sleep now. You’ve been through a long night.”

He covered her with a blanket from the couch, cradling her and gently patting her back.

Xu Mo sat silently on the other sofa, lifting his eyelids to glance at the peaceful scene between the two. A strange emotion flickered in his crimson eyes before he closed them for a nap.

No one noticed Bai He slip into the bathroom.

He had been forcing himself to endure the pain. After locking the bathroom door, a surge of blood and energy roared in his throat. He suppressed the sounds rising from within, but blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

The man stripped off his form-fitting jacket. The white shirt underneath was soaked with blood.

His chest heaved violently with pain, which further tore at the wound.

Gritting his teeth, he painstakingly peeled off the blood-soaked shirt. The delicate fabric, after a night of battle, had fused with his flesh.

Tearing it away was like separating skin from muscle.

Though seasoned by countless battles and injuries, the relentless, intense pain now overwhelmed his ability to suppress it with reason.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably, painful groans escaping his lips—a lament as if Bai He were weeping blood.

A ghastly wound stretched from his broad right shoulder to his slender left waist, nearly bisecting his entire back. The raw flesh protruded outward, deep enough to reveal bone.

He steadied his trembling fingers and withdrew a hemostatic medicine from his pocket, painfully applying it to his back.

It was his last vial…

Turning sideways, he could see the wound through the mirror healing visibly fast. However, this healing was merely superficial; the source of contamination was still embedded in his flesh, continuously multiplying. The medicine only quickened skin regeneration. In a few days, the contamination would spread again, reopening the wound from within, tearing through the skin once more…

His white pupils momentarily blurred.

Could he trust Ruan Li’s words?

No. His injury must not be known by anyone.

Years of enduring pain had raised his tolerance, but now he calmly dressed and sprayed air freshener to mask the blood’s scent.

After cleaning everything thoroughly, he stepped out of the bathroom.

The three resting on the sofa seemed unaware of his recent whereabouts.

He didn’t notice the fox ears drooping on the sofa suddenly twitch.

The warm sun had risen high by the time Ruan Li woke—it was already noon.

She stretched lazily, habitually trying to wrap herself in a blanket and snuggle.

But halfway through, she suddenly felt that the texture was unlike a blanket…

She rubbed her groggy eyes, focusing her gaze, and suddenly saw golden, furry softness enlarged before her.

A pair of moist, confused eyes widened visibly.

“Shi Jue?”

Leaning against the sofa, the beastman who had been sleeping soundly instinctively patted Ruan Li’s shoulder and softly coaxed, “Sweetheart, sleep a little longer.”

It was a familiarity as though they had done this countless times before.