3. Possessing Memory

“He’s awake. Have I succeeded?” Ruan Li hadn’t fully registered it when she left the desert, until she saw Shijue lying on the sofa slowly open his eyes. The fierce wound on his chest had now faded to a faint pink scar.

“…You did succeed.” Bai He paused for a moment, his expression complex as he spoke.

More than just success—it was almost unbelievable.

She had healed a severely injured, near-death beastman within five minutes!

Even a female with level-nine healing ability couldn’t have done that in such a short time.

Yet she, a female with only level-one healing ability, had accomplished it.

At the same time, the originally furious Shiyu’s expression stiffened and cracked slightly.

Was he dreaming?

How could Ruan Li, a worthless female with only level-one healing ability, have completely healed Shijue’s wounds in just five minutes?

Shiyu’s gaze upon Ruan Li held a hint of judgment. After all, her demonstrated ability was completely inconsistent with her supposed level-one healing power. He reasonably suspected either the detection equipment was faulty or she was deliberately hiding her true strength.

But why would she conceal her ability?

A female with higher healing power enjoyed privileges vastly different from those of a level-one healer.

The healed Shijue slowly awoke from unconsciousness, and the first person he saw upon opening his eyes was Ruan Li.

That soft, delicate face appeared within his sight.

Shijue’s first reaction was to frown and become alert.

What trick was this woman up to again?

Could it be that she was about to mock his mere three-star strength and, while at it, pinch his wound hard?

“Shijue, it was your female master who saved you,” Shiyu said, though still harboring dissatisfaction toward Ruan Li, he took the initiative to state the facts.

After all, the relationship between a male beastman and his female master was never something the beastman could decide.

The female master controlled the male beastman’s life, death, and reproductive rights.

Perhaps Ruan Li’s act of healing Shijue this time meant she was beginning to accept her beast husbands proactively.

“…Thank you.” Surprise was openly evident on Shijue’s face. His emerald green eyes, clear as a pristine spring, rippled like an emerald gem sparkling under dazzling sunlight.

Though the apology was somewhat awkward, it was sincere nonetheless.

Ruan Li nodded with a smile. “It’s nothing.”

Though she was unsure of any past grudges with these people, as a kind-hearted and easygoing young woman in her twenties, she believed that harmony was paramount.

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly saw Shijue stretch out his hand toward her, his face full of fright.

Her vision spun wildly, then went black—she fainted.

Shijue hesitated for a mere 0.01 seconds when faced with this seemingly affectionate woman, then opened his arms and cradled her in his embrace.

Bai He, surprised that the previously lively female had suddenly fainted, frowned, scanned her entire body with a detector, and calmly said, “It’s nothing serious. She overexerted her healing ability, and her body couldn’t handle it, so she fainted. She just needs rest.”

Seeing the family’s atmosphere so harmonious, Shiyu quietly withdrew.

A flash of guilt passed through Shijue’s heart—after all, the female master had exerted herself to save him.

“Should I take her upstairs to rest?” Shijue whispered.

Bai He nodded. “Remember to take good care of her.”

Shijue’s grip on Ruan Li’s hand tightened. He pressed his lips together, his emerald eyes lowered slightly, resting upon the steady breathing Ruan Li in his arms.

“Yes, I will.”

The tall, upright man ascended the stairs steadily, the narrow, strong waist marked with old scars.

Seeing him go upstairs, Xu Mo withdrew his gaze, a faint playful smile curling in his red eyes. “Our female master is quite strange today.”

Bai He’s eyes narrowed slightly, his expression cold and indifferent. “Go cook. The female master will need to replenish her energy when she wakes.”

Xu Mo chuckled softly, looking at Bai He with an inscrutable glance before turning toward the kitchen.

Bai He was the first beast husband assigned to Ruan Li by the intelligence core—a five-star superpower, rarely showing emotion, gentle in temperament, except when truly angered by Ruan Li.

However, according to Xu Mo’s observations, that anger was not simply ordinary fury.

On the second floor, inside Ruan Li’s bedroom.

A handsome, slightly youthful young man squatted beside the bed. He had intended to leave but was unexpectedly stopped as Ruan Li grabbed his hand, her voice trembling with tears, “Don’t go!”

Three months ago, when Shijue received the female master information matched by the intelligence core, he had indeed harbored hopes.

After all, he could see Ruan Li’s exquisite, pale, delicate face directly on the star network. He even secretly rejoiced—how could a male beastman with damaged powers be matched with such a fragile female, even if her healing ability was only level one?

However, Shijue’s pleasant dream shattered the moment he saw Ruan Li—or rather, he never even saw her properly. He had been locked outside the gate all day. When Ruan Li finally opened the door with a face full of annoyance and, upon seeing his mere three-star power, showed unmistakable disdain and contempt, “Only a three-star beastman? Get in.”

Male beastmen were taught from childhood to obey their female masters, to have great tolerance and patience, to possess formidable strength to protect their female masters, and to develop strong, attractive bodies to entice their female masters and secure priority in reproduction.

Shijue tried to persuade himself that females were just spoiled by nature, but Ruan Li’s repeated insults finally crushed his heart as a beast husband.

The room was silent except for Ruan Li’s steady breathing. Shijue held his breath, guarding the bedside.

The hand in his was warm and soft, softer than any cotton candy he had ever tasted.

Shijue even feared his burning body temperature might melt her small hand.

Yet these were nothing but absurd, dreamy thoughts in his heart.

He knew well this woman’s cruelty.

His gaze toward Ruan Li grew colder. The sharp contours of his face radiated a chilling aura.

He slowly withdrew his hand.

His eyes drifted away from her soft, pale face little by little.

She was a bad woman.

…Yet she had just healed him.

In his spiritual domain, the lingering faint fragrance seemed to remind him still.

Staring at her peaceful sleeping face, his heart was tangled in turmoil.

No, he could not be so easily deceived by a woman again.

But the female master had just saved his life. If he was too cold, wouldn’t that be excessive?

At that moment, Ruan Li’s mind was engulfed in a storm of memories.

Confused memories intertwined endlessly, colliding the twenty years of modern life with her existence in the interstellar beast world…

It turned out that the “Ruan Li” of the interstellar beast world had been a little girl praised since childhood, even prophesied to possess level-nine healing ability and successfully inherit the Ruan family legacy.

Yet all of that shattered like bubbles after a tragic accident.

That “Ruan Li” had suffered physical damage in the accident, and the hospital diagnosed that her healing ability would likely never improve again in her lifetime. She was abandoned by her family, bullied by her cousin, and had come to live on planet A.

It was precisely because of that accident that her temperament became unpredictable, even developing paranoia.

However, Ruan Li believed perhaps it wasn’t paranoia after all—maybe someone truly wanted to harm her.