Chapter 166: Is it that funny?

She had been holding it in ever since Moon had awkwardly wrapped his arms around Leo’s neck.

At first, she had tried to restrain herself because the soul contract was a serious matter after all.

But now that it had finally succeeded, she could no longer hold back.

Ghost Master Hollow rubbed his eyes beneath his hood and looked away.

He really couldn’t take this kind of foolishness from his own kind.

Xiao Hong was laughing so hard that she nearly fell out of her chair.

"Aiya! Look at this shameless wolf! The contract has only just been sealed, and he’s already claiming his mate in front of everyone!"

Lupine slapped the table and puffed up his cheeks.

"What nonsense!"

Ugo shook his head at the sight, weighing whether he should pull Leo away or leave Moon to handle his own mate.

Even Axe’s shoulders shook slightly as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Only Nox remained silent.

His amber eyes were fixed on the scene before him. The longer he watched Moon struggle beneath Leo, the darker his expression became.

Moon’s face had turned red.

He pushed against Leo’s thick neck with both hands, but the wolf was simply too heavy.

"You damn wolf! Get off me!"

Leo licked his cheek again.

"Stop licking me, Ah!"

Moon was about to lose his mind.

He finally managed to push Leo’s head to the side and take a breath of fresh air.

But before he could enjoy even a moment of peace, Leo shifted his weight and pressed closer again, rubbing his head against Moon as if he couldn’t get enough of him.

"..."

Moon stared at the sky, wondering what kind of sin he had committed to deserve this.

Xiao Hong finally floated down.

She grabbed Leo by the scruff of his neck and tossed him aside as if he weighed nothing.

Then she clapped her hands in encouragement.

"Good boy. At least you accepted the contract. Next time, don’t make him beg so much."

Seeing how easily she had picked up Leo and thrown him aside, Moon became speechless.

So all this time, she had just been watching for fun?

She clearly could have helped him!

Moon gritted his teeth and stood up.

"Why didn’t you do it earlier?" he grumbled as he patted his clothes to straighten them.

"Why would I? Aren’t they your mates? Come on, don’t be biased toward him. He’s such a cute fireball!"

"Cute? Cute my ass!" Moon hissed, his patience wearing thin.

"Okay, okay... don’t be angry. How is it? Do you feel all touchy-touchy in your soul?" Xiao Hong asked enthusiastically.

"You can peek into his mind now. What good things was he thinking about?"

The more she talked, the more Moon felt like stuffing something into her mouth to shut her up.

"Xiao Hong... can you shut up?" Moon grumbled.

"Hmm... actually, I also want to know," Lupine said very seriously, though his eyes gave away his bad intentions.

Moon’s mouth twitched.

Were these people really that bored?

"Is it that funny?"

A sharp voice suddenly cut through the air.

Xiao Hong and Lupine immediately stopped talking.

They turned toward Nox in utter bewilderment.

"It’s... funny? No?" Xiao Hong asked in a low voice.

Nox’s expression darkened even more.

He stood up and rested one hand against the table.

"No. It’s not funny at all. You should have stopped him long ago if you could."

His voice trembled slightly, and his fingers tightened against the edge of the table.

He straightened up and turned to leave.

The chair scraped against the stone as he moved.

"Stop fooling around." He grated.

"We are leaving the gorge tomorrow, so get your things ready early."

He didn’t look at anyone else.

He simply left those words behind and walked away.

The sound of his footsteps gradually faded along the path toward the foot of the mountain.

Everyone stared after him.

Xiao Hong’s mouth remained open, and Lupine’s hand froze in midair.

Even Leo stopped moving for a moment and lifted his head toward the direction Nox had gone.

’...What the hell was that?’

’Why had Nox suddenly become angry?’

Moon couldn’t understand it.

He hadn’t expected Nox to rescue him from his embarrassment, either.

After all, Nox had been right there when Rio had practically forced himself on Moon, and he hadn’t interfered then.

So why would he suddenly care about Leo licking him?

Moon couldn’t make sense of it.

"Anything else?" Bane asked, breaking the silence.

Moon shook his head.

He had wanted to contract Rio, too, but something suddenly felt off.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, and after what had just happened, he wasn’t in the mood to attempt another contract.

What’s more, Nox was right. They needed to prepare to leave. Tomorrow, they had to register for the trial. There was no point wasting any more time.

Frostbane took Xiao Hong by the waist, and the two left the terrace, teleporting to the Flame Garden.

Lupine sighed and looked at Moon. "Do you want to keep Leo inside my vault?"

"The Flame Garden?" Moon asked. Leo basically stays all the time inside the Flame Garden since it’s very comfortable for him there.

Lupine glanced at the place where Frostbane had just been standing, then shook his head.

"The Flame Garden is occupied." ℯ𝓵.

Moon looked at him but didn’t ask any further questions.

Axe stood up and patted Moon’s head.

"I’ll take him away. You go rest for a while."

Then he and Lupine left with Leo.

Ugo remained seated, twiddling his fingers on the table.

Moon looked at him.

"You..."

For a moment, Moon didn’t know what to ask. He had a lot on his mind, but he couldn’t decide where to start.

Ugo seemed to understand.

"Don’t mind me. And RuYi is fine. He’s just a bit weak."

Moon’s eyes flashed with surprise. ℯℓ.

Was Ugo reading his mind?

"Don’t look so lost," Ugo chuckled.

"How do you know? Is RuYi with you?" Moon asked.

"No, but I can hear him."

Ugo sighed and stood up. He walked over to Moon, then hugged his head, pressing it against his own.

Moon remained still, listening.

"You know, Moon, they’re all scattered souls. RuYi has it bad. Maybe it’s because he was weaker, like me. Weak people fall first." Ugo chuckled, though there wasn’t much humor in his voice.

"You’re not weak, though," Moon said, looking at his eyes.

He didn’t think Ugo was weak. Ugo could cultivate plants well, talk to people with ease, and even fight well in the gorge.

"I am. You’re comparing me with everyone at their worst. Why do you think Leo was the one who took the forbidden elixir to force out his wolf? Because he knew he could survive it. If it had been me, I probably wouldn’t even have made it past the threshold after taking that elixir. I’d be dead."

Moon fell silent for a moment.

"Oh? And what about Rio?" he asked.

This time, Ugo hesitated before answering.

"He... well, he has a strong heart."

He answered vaguely, avoiding Moon’s gaze.

Then he sighed and patted Moon’s head.

"Go sort out your things. I’m going out to get some supplies for us. We can’t keep going in and out of here while we’re traveling. We’ll have people around us."