Chapter 501 - 500: She Is Not Allowed to See Other Males

And Dracula certainly didn’t want...

to become just one of her many Beast Husbands.

He had never yearned for any sort of emotional attachment, much less considered having children of his own.

From the moment he was born, the only thing that existed in his mind was revenge.

He would make those arrogant fools pay the price.

And he had to restore the glory of the Cangshan Empire.

’The young Rabbit Clan female was merely an interlude. Forgetting her was for the best. He felt no regret.’

Dracula’s eyes grew colder. He abruptly snatched his arm back, ignoring the astonishment in her eyes.

"Get out," he ordered harshly.

Yu Zhizhi sensed the change in his demeanor—from cold indifference to outright rejection. She didn’t argue. Instead, after she finished bandaging his wound, she stood up and said softly, "Well, you get some rest."

Dracula’s gaze fell to his arm. He saw the shadow she cast on the floor as she stood up.

’She’s leaving.’

Dracula clutched his arm, his other hand squeezing hard over the herb-covered wound. Thin tendrils of pain radiated from the spot. He pressed his lips into a thin line, saying nothing more.

’Even though he and the Rabbit Clan female were practically strangers now, the Steward from the Underground City was always bringing her up.’

’Dracula knew, of course, that the Steward hoped he would bring the little rabbit back to the Underground City to be his Princess.’

’He knew that her marriage to the Prince Merfolk of the Deep Sea Empire was fast approaching.’

’They were already very close.’

’A descendant of the Enchanting Sharks, and so young... you probably couldn’t find another one like him on the entire Beast World Planet.’

’She must be thrilled to have him.’

’She must have been looking forward to this bonding ceremony for a long time.’

The cabin was cold, silent, and still as a tomb. In the darkness, Dracula closed his eyes. He could clearly feel a bitter ache spreading through his chest—an emotion that had no right to exist, yet it surged with increasing force.

In that moment, his head felt like it was about to split open.

Dracula’s breathing grew labored. He slowly bent over, the fingers digging into his own arm trembling uncontrollably.

The wound hurt.

His head hurt.

His heart hurt.

When the image of the Rabbit Clan female bonding with another male flashed through his mind, Dracula ached from head to toe, right down to the marrow of his bones.

He was desperately trying to restrain the impulse raging within him—

the impulse to drag the young Rabbit Clan female back, to bind her to his side by force.

To forbid her from leaving.

To forbid her from seeing other males.

To forbid her from bonding with the merman.

Dracula clenched his jaw. He could not let himself lose control.

’...Right.’

’The young Rabbit Clan female should leave. Just like this.’

’Disappear from his world completely.’

’No more ties. No more attachments.’

Dracula gradually calmed himself. He leaned back against the wall, looking as if he were recovering from a grave illness, his pale face beaded with sweat. His heart felt like dead embers, but amidst the demonic wailing of the waves outside, his Perception picked up a faint...

The delicate scent of jasmine.

Dracula turned his head to look outside the cabin—

’She didn’t leave?’

’His body hadn’t yet fully adapted to the newly Evolved Beast Bone. He thought he might be hallucinating. How could he still smell her unique scent?’

There was no day or night in the Vortex Zone. The weather was brutal, and mutated sea beasts eyed the ship greedily from all sides.

Yu Zhizhi had left the ship. She was back on the octopus’s head, wearing a yellow hooded raincoat.

Two of the Little Octopus’s tentacles were wrapped securely around her.

"What happened?" the Little Octopus asked. "It’s so rough out here. Why did you come out?"

Yu Zhizhi had been nervous, her heart pounding, but being wrapped tightly in the Little Octopus’s tentacles gave her an indescribable sense of security. She clutched the hood of her raincoat and said, "Dracula needs to rest. Let’s just watch over him here for a few days. Once he leaves, we’ll head back to our territory."

The Little Octopus didn’t understand at first.

It knew Tutu couldn’t stop worrying about the eagle.

’But why isn’t she on the ship?’

’The ship might be a wreck, but at least it offered shelter from the wind and rain.’

But after another moment’s thought, it suddenly understood.

It flared up in anger. "He threw you out?! That bastard! You were so worried about him, and this is how he treats you!"

The more the Little Octopus spoke, the more furious it became, raising a tentacle as if to smash the ship.

Yu Zhizhi quickly stopped it. "No, no, he didn’t throw me out. Dracula doesn’t like people getting too close, you know that. And he’s in a special situation right now. I left on my own. If I didn’t want to leave, if I’d insisted on staying on the ship, there’s nothing he could have done about it."

"Then I’ll put you back on board," the Little Octopus offered, preparing to lift her onto the ship again.

Yu Zhizhi hugged its tentacle. "I’m not going back. It’s fine right here. It won’t be for long, anyway..."

The Little Octopus was still a little angry. "You’ll get sick!"

’That guy is so irresponsible!’

’If Tutu wasn’t stopping it, it would go up there and fight him no matter what!’

"It’s okay, I’m not cold," Yu Zhizhi said, even as she felt the torrential rain beating down, making it almost impossible to keep her eyes open.

The Little Octopus lifted its tentacles from the sea. One by one, they coiled around and around, weaving together like tree trunks forming a treehouse, sheltering the young female completely and shielding her from all the wind and rain of the Vortex Zone.

"Alright."

The Little Octopus relented.

’No matter what Tutu wanted to do, it would stay with her.’

Yu Zhizhi was thankful she’d brought enough food, and that she still had some Nutrient Liquid on her.

She and the Little Octopus stood guard beside the ship. Perhaps it was the strong aura of corruption emanating from the octopus that kept the lower-level sea beasts from drawing near.

「Three days later.」

Through the black, mist-filled expanse of the Vortex Zone, a magnificent warship slowly sailed into view.

The Little Octopus caught a familiar scent. It froze for a second, its first instinct to dive to the undersea floor—

But because of Tutu, it could only remain frozen in place.

"Someone’s coming," it warned.

Yu Zhizhi, perched atop the octopus’s head, watched as the warship’s enormous silhouette materialized from the black mist. Several figures stood on its deck, and they seemed to be heading straight for the derelict ship.

Yu Zhizhi tensed up immediately—

’Don’t tell me Dracula’s identity has been exposed!’

The bow of the warship was a giant jellyfish head carved from giltstone. The hull was massive and imposing, glittering with golden light like a blazing sun on the horizon, making it incredibly conspicuous in the Vortex Zone.

The figures standing on the deck were all staring in unison at the dilapidated ship and the mutated, red-and-black octopus beside it.

"Is this the place?" the man in the lead asked.

The woman beside him glanced at the Compass in her hand. She nodded. "Yes. Although the climate here can affect the Compass’s judgment, I can confirm that the last ember of the Cangshan Empire is on that ship."

—’As long as he dies here today, the Cangshan Empire will become nothing but history, with no chance of ever being restored.’—

The Little Octopus heard their conversation clearly.

"We’re screwed. They’re here for Dracula."

"Quick, let’s get him and run!" Yu Zhizhi said hurriedly.

The Little Octopus: "...It’s too late."

The words had barely left its mouth when the woman on the warship laughed aloud. "An octopus from the Deep Sea and a member of the Rabbit Clan from Varolan, guarding an eagle from Cang Mountain? What a strange combination."