Heige immediately took the keycard and rushed out of the confinement room. He headed straight for the main door and was shocked to find it was actually open.
'I'm free?'
Heige looked back at Shi Li in surprise. Unlike usual, she wasn't throwing a hysterical fit at the sight of him leaving.
Instead, her expression was calm, even relieved, as if she genuinely wanted him to leave.
"It's seven-thirty now. If you get changed and drive yourself, you can report for duty just in time." Shi Li tapped the terminal on her wrist, and a map with an estimated time appeared on it.
After getting married, working males receive a two-week marriage leave. The Female Master has the authority to decide whether or not to allow her Beast Husband to return to his job.
Some Female Masters who have many Beast Husbands will selectively have some of them quit their jobs to stay home and care for her full-time.
Since he was the last Beast Husband Shi Li had married, Heige was deeply worried he'd be forced to resign. After all, some of Shi Li's first four Beast Husbands came with dowries large enough to support her for several lifetimes. There was absolutely no need for any of them to work to provide for her.
Today was the last day for him to return to his post, yet he never expected Shi Li would actually let him go back to the military.
"I'll apply for a position with the military that allows me to come home every day." Seeing that Shi Li truly had no intention of taking it back, Heige offered a compromise.
Even if applying to work at the command headquarters meant losing his original military rank, as long as he wasn't kept locked up at home, he would gladly accept it.
After seeing off Heige, and then his family, Shi Li wished she could have driven them home herself.
'The things the original owner did were just too outrageous. It's so embarrassing.'
Unfortunately, she had no idea how to operate the flying cars they had here. Besides, Heige's family wouldn't dare trouble a female to act as their driver, so they climbed into the chauffeured car, trembling with reverence, and departed.
Staring at the vast, empty house, Shi Li suddenly felt a little bored.
'That crappy system gave me some "advanced spiritual soothing ability" and then vanished completely.'
'It probably figured the mess it created was too big and decided to just bail.'
'But didn't the original owner have five Beast Husbands? Where are the others?'
At that thought, Shi Li immediately resumed absorbing the original owner's memories. And what she found was absolutely horrifying.
'Was there a single one of the five Beast Husbands the original owner hadn't wronged?! To this day, one of them is still missing!'
'I can't rest for a single moment. What do I do now? Do I go to the black market auction to save the dragon first, or go to the underground prison to save the snake?'
'It feels like if I'm even a little late for either one, things could get really bad!'
After weighing her options, Shi Li decided to rescue the dragon from the auction first. The snake, at least, was in a prison and couldn't go anywhere. But if she was even a moment too late, the dragon might actually be sold to someone else!
Shi Li sprinted out the main door, only to realize she had no idea how to use any of the local transportation. The original owner had rarely left the house, and when she did, it was always in a special, fully-enclosed vehicle. She didn't know the way at all!!
"My goddess, are you in a hurry?" Unexpectedly, in the brief moment Shi Li stood by the gate, an expensive-looking car was already descending slowly from above.
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance. Would I be so honored?" The man opened the car door respectfully.
Shi Li looked up and saw several other cars hovering above, all of which had clearly wanted to land but were beaten to it by this one.
This level of preferential treatment left Shi Li dumbfounded.
"Could you please take me to the black market? My Beast Husband... uh, we had a little argument. Please hurry." Shi Li just couldn't bring herself to admit she had sold her own Beast Husband.
"You're so young, and you're already married?" The owner's shock was unconcealed.
"It's rare to see a noble female such as yourself out in public. It's my honor to have you in my car, so it's no trouble at all." From the owner's tone, Shi Li could even sense a feeling of reverence in his voice.
They arrived at the entrance to the black market surprisingly quickly. Contrary to her expectations, the main gate was incredibly opulent.
Shi Li had imagined the black market would be some back-alley haunt for local thugs.
But it turned out to be ridiculously lavish.
"If you're in need of another Beast Husband, could you perhaps consider me?"
"To think you have to walk to your own gate to go out... your Beast Husband is truly derelict in his duty. If I were him, I'd make sure your feet never touched the ground." The owner earnestly projected his terminal number, attempting to exchange contact information with Shi Li.
The female before him was slender and fair, her beauty utterly stunning. Her large, almond-shaped eyes sparkled, and the delicate, upturned tip of her nose gave her palm-sized face a playful and adorable look. Her soft, pink lips, just to look at, promised an unimaginable sweetness.
Most females were arrogant and imperious toward males. Being ordered around casually was the norm. This was the first time he had ever met a female who treated him with such respect.
"I'm so sorry, we just had an argument. Thank you for the ride today." Shi Li politely declined the owner's passionate offer, once again gaining a new appreciation for just how high the status of females was in this world.
Although the black market's gate was dazzling, the crowd inside was a motley mix. Yet, the moment Shi Li stepped in, everyone instinctively parted to make a path for her. An attendant even scurried over, looking extremely nervous.
"My beautiful goddess, is there something you wish to purchase?"
"For you to come to a place like this by yourself... are the guards provided by the Female Protection Association not doing their duty?" The attendant, trembling with reverence, tried to lead Shi Li toward a private room, but she stopped him.
"I'm looking for someone named Jensen. He's my Beast Husband." Shi Li fiddled with her fingers, feeling a pang of guilt and wondering if she was breaking the auction house's rules.
"Huh?" The attendant stared at Shi Li in shock. It was common for a Female Master to sell off a Beast Husband who was not to her liking, but this was the first time he had ever seen a wife come back for one.
When she finally saw Jensen's tall form crammed into a narrow iron cage, Shi Li's regret peaked. 'Since I was destined to come to this world, why couldn't I have arrived sooner?'
'Now I'm left to clean up this huge mess the original owner made. What a headache!!!'
'How am I supposed to placate so many men?'
Even from a distance, Shi Li could see the bloody patches on the tail of Jensen's Half-beastification form. Beneath the blood were spots where the original owner had ripped out his scales.
Meeting Jensen's hate-filled gaze, Shi Li felt a shiver run through her very soul. That look... it was filled with so much resentment.
'The ultimate picture of a resentful husband.'
"Let's go, we're..." Before Shi Li could finish her sentence, Jensen lunged at her, tackling her to the ground.
Gasps erupted from the crowd. The attendants scattered in a panic, some running to call for guards while the bolder ones tried to pull Jensen away.
"It's fine. All of you, leave. We do have some things we need to discuss in private." Staring up at the handsome face suddenly looming over her, Shi Li swallowed nervously.