A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 428 Withering
Shen Tang's face suddenly froze, and she even wondered if she had misheard.

Seeing the man's ambiguous smile, Shen Tang could no longer suppress her anger and pushed him away.

Shen Li panicked and tried to pull her back, but Shen Tang slapped him away, her voice sounding like it was being squeezed out between clenched teeth, "Get out! Stay away from me!"

"Little Tang'er..."

"Shut up, don't call me that. While I can still hold back, you'd better not provoke me again! Otherwise, I'm afraid I might lose my temper and stab you again!" Shen Tang was so angry that her face turned red. She hadn't made a move yet only because she was grateful for being saved.

Shen Li lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping slightly, and said nothing more.

There wasn't even a word of explanation or sophistry.

Shen Tang was utterly speechless with anger and frustration. "You bastard! Have you no shame? So that's what you've always thought? Then why did you ask me to do...do these things tonight? What's the point of saying all this?"

Shen Li smiled wryly, "If you don't say some things, you'll never have the chance to speak them again."

"Ha, you're quite the hindsight expert. Why didn't you say these things earlier? You only remembered them after you'd had your fun?" Shen Tang gritted her teeth in anger.

She really wanted to throw those four words, "heartless," at his forehead!
Shen Tang's only consolation now is that she didn't actually develop feelings for him; otherwise, she would have been the one disgusted!
Shen Li rubbed his temples and sighed softly.

He admitted that he had acted too impulsively tonight.

But he couldn't suppress his longing for her, both mentally and physically; he craved her so much that desire overwhelmed reason.

Now, he has calmed down and has to think about many practical issues.

He and she could never be together openly and legitimately.

As the emperor of the Yiyuan Empire, even if he doesn't marry Wu Qing, there will inevitably be other nine-tailed fox females from several other major families who will be forced into the marriage.

Even if he resisted the pressure and refused to marry into his own ethnic group, the entire nation would absolutely not agree to the emperor marrying into a mere foreign country.

Even if we assume that the Night Glow Empire could one day stand shoulder to shoulder with the Yi Yuan Empire, the emperors of the Yi Yuan Empire have always had only one mate throughout their dynasties. They would never condescend to be her concubine and share a female with other male beasts.

Shen Tang wouldn't abandon Xiao Jin and the others for his sake.

This is not just a matter of the emperor's face; it will cause the entire Yiyuan Empire to be overshadowed by the Yehui Empire. Not to mention the noble ministers who have the power to suppress the emperor, even ordinary people will definitely protest angrily, and it may even cause riots.

Shen Tang understood what he meant; she had thought about these issues long ago as well.

So when the two met again, she restrained her emotions and remained calm, wanting to restore their relationship to normalcy.

But he was the one who flirted with her first, and he was the one who said the sweet words!
What did he think of her?

A bed partner who's ready to have sex whenever they want?

She must have been out of her mind to become his mistress!
Shen Tang took a deep breath and calmed down.

It doesn't matter.

To be honest, the two of them really didn't do anything tonight.

Forget about what happened tonight, just pretend nothing happened.

Shen Tang no longer had the same deep feelings for him as before, and her emotional turmoil quickly subsided. She calmly said, "Fine, since you've said that, I don't want to say anything more."

"Your injury is almost healed, you can leave now."

Shen Li looked into her cold, calm eyes, as if their brief moment of intimacy had been a dream. His eyes dimmed for a moment, and he whispered, "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Shen Tang was speechless. "If I don't kick you out, do you expect me to stay and serve you good food and drink? Do I look like a sucker? Your injuries have almost healed and your strength has returned. You could have left a long time ago. There's no need for you to stay here any longer."

"I'm afraid I can't go back right now." Shen Li gave a bitter laugh, with a hint of self-mockery. "If I run away from the wedding in front of everyone, who knows what those people in the Empire will say about me. If I go back now, I'll definitely be criticized by everyone in the Empire. Indeed, I'm a little afraid to go back."

As Shen Li spoke, he turned to look at the eight fox tails behind him, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "What's more, one of the fox tails is broken off. We'll definitely face criticism when we go back."

"If I can't grow back, I'm afraid the Empire won't recognize me anymore, and I won't need to go back."

Shen Tang opened her mouth, but swallowed her words back.

Regardless of the circumstances, Shen Li's elopement and tail-cutting were indeed to save her, and based on that alone, she couldn't say anything harsh to him, no matter how angry she was.

When do you plan to go back?

“I’ll go back once my tail has grown back…” Shen Li paused, then changed his words, “I’ll go back once the turmoil in the Yiyuan Empire has subsided.”

Shen Tang's gaze also fell on the eight fox tails behind him, which hung limply on the bed, with two tails drooping on the ground. They looked listless and far less lively than before.

Shen Tang recalled Qiu Yang saying that losing a tail is tantamount to crippling a nine-tailed fox.

Her eyes glazed over for a moment, and she asked the system in her mind, "Can my healing ability really not cure his tail?"

After completing the system check, it replied, "[Not necessarily. It seems that Shen Li's severed tail is showing some signs of recovery!]"

[Besides healing with healing abilities, the severed tail also requires his original power to transform into blood and bones. Shen Li's power has recovered a lot, but whether it can fully grow back remains to be seen.]

"How much longer do I have to wait?" Shen Tang asked impatiently.

The system quickly replied, "[It will take at least another week to see results! Host, perhaps you should wait another week at most. If his tail still doesn't grow back, then you've done your best.]"

Shen Tang turned to look at Shen Li, "Fine, your tail was cut off to save me, so I certainly won't ignore it."

She solemnly vowed, "I will do my best to heal your tail and prevent you from becoming the target of people's criticism and insults. After your tail grows back, you can leave here. You can even get married and have a purebred nine-tailed fox to carry on the family line. Qiu Yang is right, we are not on the same path after all. From now on, we will go our separate ways. Just live your life well and don't come looking for me again."

She left after saying that.

boom!
The door is closed.

Shen Li watched her departing figure, then looked down at the broken tail hanging down behind him. A hint of sadness, or perhaps a touch of relief, flashed in his eyes.
Even he himself couldn't quite explain it.

……

Even after leaving the room, Shen Tang was still angry, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

How could he so casually utter the word "lover"?
That bastard really changes his attitude the moment he puts his pants on!
The more I think about it, the more I feel that I didn't stab him hard enough. That scumbag deserves to be torn to pieces!
As Shen Tang was venting her anger in her mind, an emergency notification from the system suddenly popped up in her head.
[Oh no, host! The crops you planted in your space have withered!]