Chapter 113: Imprint
As Hu Yan finished speaking, a fox-shaped figure materialized before Bai Zhi. It was formed from spiritual power and glowed with a faint blue light.
This fox had nine tails and a red mark between its brows.
Bai Zhi stared blankly at the sight and reached out a finger to touch it. But the moment she made contact, the fox figure, as if with a mind of its own, surged toward the spot between her eyebrows and vanished inside.
Watching the light blue fox figure suddenly disappear into her body, Bai Zhi felt a flicker of panic. "How did it disappear?"
The next second, a sharp pain suddenly pierced her forehead, as if something were trying to burst out from within.
But the pain vanished as quickly as it had come.
Bai Zhi immediately activated her holographic camera to see what had happened. She was startled to find a new red mark between her eyebrows, identical to the one on the fox figure Hu Yan had just formed with his spiritual power.
She tried to wipe it off, but it wouldn’t budge. Flustered, Bai Zhi looked up at Hu Yan. "Hu Yan, what’s going on? I can’t get it off!"
Hu Yan explained, "That mark is unique to the royal family of the Fox Clan. It’s also the symbol of an Imperial Concubine, and each Prince can only bestow it once. It essentially leaves a trace on you so that I can find you no matter where you are."
Bai Zhi’s eyes widened in shock. "Then why did you give it to me?!" she asked urgently. "Can you take it back?"
Hu Yan countered, "You are my intended mate. Who else would I give it to? Besides, once this mark is given, it can never be retracted."
Bai Zhi was overcome with a complex, indescribable feeling.
She had assumed that once Hu Yan got what he wanted, he would end their arrangement. But here he was, giving her the mark of an Imperial Concubine.
’Is he really doing this just to make me happy?’
’If that’s the case, then Hu Yan’s game is on a terrifyingly high level.’
’Because he’d definitely won me over.’
’Hu Yan even gave me such an important mark. Does this mean he actually likes me a little?’
’But with his status, shouldn’t he be matched with a female from a family with deep-seated power and influence?’
’I don’t even have my system anymore. Other than helping him upgrade, I can’t even offer him financial support.’
Bai Zhi lowered her gaze and clenched her fists. After a long moment, she said, "You’ve probably guessed that I have some kind of cheat, right? But it seems to have vanished these past two days. That means I might not be able to help you anymore. You should give this mark to a female who can be more useful to you."
At her words, even the normally good-natured Hu Yan’s expression grew stern, and his voice sharpened. "You think I gave you this mark so you could help me? Bai Zhi, what a gross misunderstanding you have of my strength."
Bai Zhi, startled by his tone, stammered, "I-I didn’t mean that... I just think that if you want the throne, you’ll need all the help you can get. You’ll need a female who can support you."
Hu Yan let out a humorless laugh. "If I needed a female to help me, I would have arranged a betrothal long before my ’accident.’ Would I have waited until now?"
"I’m starting to wonder, were you even listening last time I told you about the relationships between the imperial family and the great clans? My mother is the Empress. My maternal clan is one of the four great families. Do you have any idea what that means? Do you know why the Eldest Prince didn’t dare to make a single move before my ’accident,’ and only grew bold after he was certain I was dead?!"
Bai Zhi weakly retorted, "I did listen... but in all the novels, don’t they always use political marriages to consolidate their power...?"
Bai Zhi’s voice grew smaller and smaller until it was just a mumble. She was sure she’d been speaking quietly, but Hu Yan had still heard every word.
Hu Yan’s pale blue eyes shot her an oppressive glare. Bai Zhi’s eyes went wide, and she immediately clamped her lips shut, as if to say, ’I promise I won’t say another word.’
Hu Yan explained, "I gave you the mark for a reason. After a while, everyone will know I’ve returned. For your own safety, and to prevent my enemies from using you to threaten me, I’ll probably be coming back less frequently. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep track of your condition. However, through this mark, I can temporarily reside in your spirit sea in a state of pure spiritual power. It’s a special ability unique to the Nine-tailed Fox clan."
Hearing this, Bai Zhi finally understood Hu Yan’s true intentions for giving her the mark.
’And here I was, feeling all moved,’ she thought. ’Turns out, he only gave me the mark for my own safety.’
’Thank goodness I didn’t get carried away and say something ridiculous. If I had...’
Just thinking about it made Bai Zhi cringe.
’Hu Yan was concerned for my safety, and I thought he was confessing his love—or at the very least, making some huge commitment.’
Bai Zhi nodded. "Okay."
Hu Yan said, "I gave Lang Qiu a small pouch of Beast Cores. They should all be able to advance to S-Class tonight."
Bai Zhi looked up at him, shocked. She remembered how a single High-level Beast Core had sold for tens of millions of Star Coins. Even though she’d been the one to deliberately inflate the price, High-level Beast Cores were still incredibly valuable—and the higher the level, the higher the price.
Never mind their monetary value; just gathering that many Beast Cores would require considerable resources.
To get four Beastmen all the way to S-Class...
’How many Beast Cores would that even take?’
Bai Zhi frowned. "If you used those yourself, couldn’t you reach SS-level?"
Hu Yan nodded. "Yes, I could. That was the original plan, actually. But if I reach SS-level by myself, I’ll soon be too busy to protect you all the time. The best solution is for all of them to upgrade. I’ll have more peace of mind with multiple people protecting you. I’ll also be assigning others to guard you in secret."
Hearing this, Bai Zhi nodded without objecting.
Then Hu Yan continued, "So... I may have to trouble you for a bit."
Bai Zhi looked at him in confusion. "Trouble me how? What can I do for you? If it’s something I can do, of course I don’t mind."
Hu Yan gave an awkward cough. "Ahem. It’s something only you can do."
As Bai Zhi stared at him quizzically, Hu Yan uttered a single word: "Upgrade."
He then added with a completely straight face, "I gave all my Beast Cores to them."
Bai Zhi froze. ’So, what Hu Yan means is... he gave them the Beast Cores to upgrade, so now he needs *me* to help *him* upgrade?’
’Today is Saturday. I told him before that I was taking the weekends off.’
’So this was his plan all along?!!’
Once she understood, Bai Zhi was speechless. "..."
’If I’m not mistaken, this is what you’d call a blatant scheme, right?!’
’First, he makes a big, noble show of sharing his Beast Cores so they can all upgrade, and then he uses that as an excuse to get me to help him...’
’And now he has a perfectly valid reason to monopolize my entire weekend.’
’And the worst part is, I already agreed.’
’This little scheme of Hu Yan’s... he’s not even trying to hide it!!’