Sheng Tianze held out his other hand, slowly opening his palm in front of Jiang Xinli:
"I saved half. They're here."
His fingers were long, slender, and pale, glowing softly under the light.
Jiang Xinli thought for a moment, then picked up a single Crystal Core and returned the rest to his palm. "You risked your life for these. I'll just keep one as a memento. That's enough."
Sheng Tianze was a little surprised. "That won't do."
Jiang Xinli tilted her small face up to look at him and gave a charming smile. "If you upgrade your superpower, you'll be able to protect me better in the future. So, you should absorb more of them."
Hearing this, Sheng Tianze suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Female Master, have you forgotten? For a superpower to upgrade, I can't do it... all by myself."
"..." Fragments of memories flashed through Jiang Xinli's mind, and the tips of her ears instantly turned red.
Seeing the two of them acting so intimately, Hua Xi looked like he'd seen a ghost.
He gently nudged Yue Hua Yin. "Hey, what do you think happened between them upstairs? Why the sudden one-eighty in their whole vibe?"
"She hasn't been remotely controlled, has she? You know, like how the Dark Beastmen control Puppet Corpses?"
"I don't get it." Yue Hua Yin shrugged, pulling a handful of bloody Crystal Cores from his pocket.
The Crystal Cores were still stained with bits of Puppet Corpse remains, emitting a pungent, coppery stench.
He glanced at Jiang Xinli, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, before getting up and heading toward the kitchen.
Hua Xi froze for a second, then realized what was happening and followed him.
When they were first exiled to this Deserted Star, all five of them did everything in their power to protect their Female Master, Jiang Xinli.
Every time they successfully hunted a Puppet Corpse and obtained a Crystal Core, they would unhesitatingly hand over a portion to her.
But back then, not only was Jiang Xinli ungrateful, she would always look at them with disgust, calling them useless trash for giving her too little.
In order to protect Jiang Xinli from the frenzied attacks of large Puppet Corpse Armies, they knew that overusing their superpowers would trigger a spiritual frenzy—a pain akin to thousands of needles piercing their skulls at once.
Even so, they could only grit their teeth and push through it.
Later on, Jiang Xinli's behavior became even more outrageous. She would either beat them or curse at them, and even imprisoned them like slaves.
From then on, the five of them reached a silent agreement to no longer hand over their Crystal Cores.
Moreover, a Male Beastman's superpower enhancement not only required absorbing Crystal Cores, but was also intrinsically linked to the spiritual power soothing from a female.
A deeper level of intimate contact between the two parties also played a crucial role.
They had saved up quite a few Crystal Cores, but without a female's cooperation, these cores were like ordinary stones—nice to look at, but useless.
Sheng Tianze's act of handing over the Crystal Cores just now had left Hua Xi and Yue Hua Yin not only shocked, but also filled with doubt.
Still, today's Jiang Xinli was truly acting like a completely different person.
The two arrived in the kitchen, washed the Crystal Cores clean, and then carefully dried them with a towel.
Hua Xi seemed to have thought of something and whispered, "Do you think... her second personality has come out?"
"Hard to say." Yue Hua Yin looked up at Sheng Tianze's back, feeling like he was hiding a secret from them today.
But he couldn't just ask directly. "Still, whether it's a second personality or something else, we have to take this chance to get a divorce as soon as possible."
"Ye Kuo is still in the dungeon. We'll give her these Crystal Cores and just hope it puts her in a better mood so she won't be too hard on him tomorrow."
Hua Xi nodded. "True."
One after the other, they returned to the living room and walked straight up to Jiang Xinli.
Hua Xi's face showed a mix of nervousness and shyness. "Female Master, these are my Crystal Cores."
Yue Hua Yin also opened his palm. "And these are mine."
Jiang Xinli looked up in surprise, stunned for a second.
"It was all my fault before." It only took her a brief second to summon the emotion, and her clear, doe-like eyes instantly welled up with moisture. "From now on, I'll definitely change."
Hua Xi was shocked yet again.
Yue Hua Yin, however, stared at Jiang Xinli, his face full of suspicion.
"I appreciate the thought, but I can't accept your Crystal Cores." Jiang Xinli's voice softened even more, as if she were afraid of hurting their feelings.
Hua Xi was confused. "Why not? You took one of Sheng Tianze's, didn't you?"
In that instant, the male's competitive instinct when faced with a female was immediately triggered.
"I..." Jiang Xinli started to speak, then hesitated.
"I don't care, I'm leaving them here anyway." Hua Xi's Peacock Feathers suddenly flared up.
He slapped the Crystal Cores onto the table in front of Jiang Xinli and turned back to the sofa in a huff.
Yue Hua Yin also placed his Crystal Cores down. "Mine are here. Please remember to take them, Female Master."
After putting them down, he also quickly got up and walked away.
"So noisy!" Xuan Ying, who had been resting with his eyes closed, snapped them open to reveal crimson, vertical pupils and sat up, his face contorted with anger.
Due to his rage, the wounds that Sheng Tianze had healed outside had now torn open again.
Dark red blood seeped from the wounds, staining his clothes.
SMACK! With a casual toss, Xuan Ying precisely threw a large handful of bloody Crystal Cores onto the table in front of Jiang Xinli. They hit the tabletop with a sharp clatter.
He snorted coldly. "These are mine. Take them or leave them."
Of the four of them, he had killed the most Puppet Corpses, so naturally, he had obtained the most Crystal Cores.
The amount he gave to Jiang Xinli was almost equal to the other three's combined.
Yue Hua Yin: "..."
Hua Xi: "..."
The two of them never would have expected Xuan Ying to also choose to hand over his Crystal Cores.
They remembered how he had been the first one to make a vicious oath: if he ever gave that vile woman another Crystal Core, may he be struck by lightning and die a horrible death.
Sheng Tianze pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and gave Xuan Ying a meaningful glance.
Jiang Xinli looked at the bloody Crystal Cores, still smeared with white brain matter and reeking of gore. Her face went pale with fright, and she instinctively burrowed into Sheng Tianze's arms.
"It's okay." Sheng Tianze gently patted her back, comforting her in a warm voice.
Seeing the two of them nestled together, a strange emotion flickered through the hearts of Yue Hua Yin and Hua Xi.
Xuan Ying shot the pair a cold glance and was about to get up and leave.
But as soon as he stood up, it was as if all the strength had been drained from his body. He collapsed back into his seat, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Damn it! Xuan Ying's Uprising Value is at 69.99%!" The Peacock Feathers on Hua Xi's head shot straight up with a *FWOOSH*.
Sheng Tianze's brow furrowed. Just as he was about to step toward Xuan Ying, he felt Jiang Xinli gently hook his pinky finger.
"Can I go soothe him?" the girl asked, cautiously seeking his opinion.
Sheng Tianze gave a gentle smile. "Of course. You can do whatever you want. But be careful."
Hua Xi stared at Jiang Xinli, his face a mask of shock. "The sun must be rising in the west! She's actually willing to perform a spiritual power soothing for us!"
"That's good. Even if it only goes down by 0.5%, as long as Xuan Ying's emotions don't fluctuate like this anymore, he won't face the collapse of his Spiritual Sea." After speaking, Yue Hua Yin lowered his voice: