Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but exclaim in surprise again, but he quickly silenced himself when he heard his own unpleasant voice.
"Why are there feathered creatures here?" The rabbit also spotted the large bird's shadow and was so startled that its fur stood on end. "I-I-I don't want to be bird food!"
The little cat hurriedly pounced on her, pinning her down and said, "Don't be afraid; I'll protect you."
Ye Zhizhou really wanted to be moved by the profound friendship between the cat and the rabbit, but unfortunately, he was not familiar with his elongated body. In his excitement, he instinctively coiled the fox even tighter.
"Br-br-brother, I can't breathe!" The fox, with its head lowered, complained to the sky with bared teeth.
Another bird's cry sounded nearby, and the small animals felt a strong wind rush over them. Then, a shadow descended and quickly disappeared, with the bird's cry fading into the distance.
"Huh?" The little cat raised its head. "The big bird is gone."
The rabbit opened its tightly closed eyes, saw that the big bird was no longer in sight, and instantly revived. "Great! We're safe!"
The fox was dumbfounded for a moment, then twisted its neck after regaining its freedom, and its fur stood on end. "Brother! The big bird took brother away!"
The small cat and rabbit quickly turned their heads to look at his neck, but all they saw was a soft and smooth coat of fur. They also fluffed up in alarm. "Ah, brother, let's hurry back to tell the beast mother to rescue our brother!"
The small animals howled as they rushed back to the village. Meanwhile, Ye Zhizhou, who had been airborne for a moment, decisively closed his eyes and played dead when he realized it. His bird's talons were large, hard, and sharp, but he carefully avoided hurting himself. He could only comfort himself in his heart, thinking that perhaps the bird didn't intend to capture him and eat him. After all, he had learned how to be a pet...
[Detected a Soul Flag fluctuation... Fluctuation disappeared. The probability of affection between Fox Yen, Fox Qian, You Xiaoxiao, Yin Pinger, Tong Jia'er, Hua Feifei, Hai Li, Di Qi, Xiong Yi, Yumu, and the protagonist has dropped to 50%. Please try harder, host.]
Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but stiffen the tip of his tail. "Tong Tian, what's going on? Why did the probability of affection suddenly drop for everyone?"
Another loud bird cry echoed, and the big bird swooped down toward the dense forest below.
[Detected a plot change... Plot change failed. The probability of affection between Fox Yen, Fox Qian, You Xiaoxiao, Yin Pinger, Tong Jia'er, Hua Feifei, Hai Li, Di Qi, Xiong Yi, Yumu, and the protagonist has dropped to 30%. Please try harder, host.]
What the hell! He quickly checked the timeline of the plot and was dumbfounded. It had been fifteen years since the protagonist became the Beast Emperor, the country had been established, and the harem had been completed... So why did the probability of affection suddenly drop for everyone? He hadn't even done anything yet!
The ground was getting closer, and Ye Zhizhou felt his bird talons loosen. A red light flashed, and his body fell into a warm and broad embrace. Then, a clear and melodious voice accompanied by a familiar spiritual power surrounded him. "Xiao Zhou, you've finally arrived."
Ye Zhizhou was surprised and then delighted. He quickly looked up at the person holding him and couldn't control the outpouring of spiritual power, tears welled up in his round eyes. "Wu wu wu (You scared me! Can't you make your entrance less cool? I'm afraid of heights, dear)!"
The handsome man with red hair and red eyes couldn't help but smile. He gently wiped Ye Zhizhou's eyes with a raised finger. "Your cries are really unpleasant."
This flute-like cry wasn't intentional! It's just the way this body is! Ye Zhizhou glared at him, feeling reassured. He couldn't help but close his eyes in exhaustion. "Wu wu (I'm a little tired; I'll take a nap)." This body seemed to be very young and not very capable...
The body in his arms was warm, and he could still feel the other's faint warm breath on his arm. He reached up and touched the other's neck, feeling the clear pulse of life. Dongfang Shu closed his eyes, suppressing all the emotions surging within him, and coldly ordered into the empty forest, "Notify Yumu and the others to prepare for an attack."
A black eagle flew down from a tree branch, landed on the ground, and respectfully saluted. "Yes, Clan Chief!" After speaking, it transformed back into its beast form, let out a loud cry, and flew out of the forest.
Dongfang Shu withdrew his gaze, adjusted the soft body in his arms, and gently nuzzled it. "It's been over two thousand years... finally."
[Detected a plot change... Change failed. An abnormality in the Soul Flag has occurred... Abnormality disappeared. Detected a fluctuation in the protagonist's soul... Fluctuation disappeared. Checking mission status... Incomplete. Please work harder, host.]
Ye Zhizhou was awakened by the light screen, and without realizing it, he turned over and was buried in a pile of red feathers.
"Wu (What...)," he started to say but stopped halfway, realizing how terrible his voice sounded.
"Why are you still so unruly when you sleep?" His body was gently held by a hand, and it touched warm and firm skin. "My little demon, are you awake? Hungry? What would you like to eat?"
Ye Zhizhou raised his head to see the world's most stunning lover, half-naked, with a lazy gaze, a slight smirk on his lips, and eyes filled with a smile, looking at him, a small creature of unknown species.
Beauty overload!
Underneath his body were his lover's well-defined abdominal muscles. Unable to resist, he raised his tail and blinked his round eyes. "Wu (I...)." He shut his mouth again, lying still. He couldn't communicate, and on top of that, he sounded so terrible; he didn't want to live anymore.
A soft laughter rang out as his body was cradled. A gentle force gradually emanated from where they touched, growing stronger and hotter, making him feel more and more alive. With a 'pop,' he transformed back into his human form.
Ye Zhizhou enjoyed the sensation of being close to his lover's skin and looked at his own pale, chubby legs, feeling like crying. "Why am I a child..."
"You're still too young." Dongfang Shu gently touched his soft hair, lifted him, and gave him a kiss. "You'll grow up soon; don't worry."
Ye Zhizhou raised his eyes and locked onto Dongfang Shu's gaze. He couldn't help but reach out and hug his neck, asking in a low voice, "In the previous world, did you..." He left so early; did his lover...
"Died peacefully in old age," Dongfang Shu held him tightly, not letting him see his darkened eyes. "In the previous world, there was a problem with your soul. I was misled to another world... Fortunately, I managed to split my soul and forcibly enter the cycle of reincarnation by your side. But due to my incomplete soul, I lost my memory again... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you in the previous world."
Ye Zhizhou never expected that the reason his lover lost his memory in the previous world was like this. He suddenly became anxious and stammered, "Splitting your soul and forcibly entering the cycle of reincarnation? What about you now... Your soul, this world..."
"I'm fine," Dongfang Shu patted him, soothing him. "In the previous world, I lived until old age and paid off all my karmic debts, so it didn't affect my soul. In this world, I borrowed someone else's body. I only need to fulfill the original owner's karmic debts; you don't need to worry."
Ye Zhizhou breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and quickly scanned Dongfang Shu's physical condition with the system, confirming that everything was normal. Finally, he completely relaxed and couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger. "In the previous world, those Soul Flags had ill intentions. They actually wanted to kill me and misled you... No, could it be that the Soul Flags discovered your existence, so one of them fell on you? And then, they led you to other worlds..."
Dongfang Shu didn't answer, just gently stroked his hair.
This meant that he tacitly agreed.
Ye Zhizhou was about to explode. It was one thing for the Soul Flags to want to kill him, but they had also shifted their attention to his lover, which was infuriating! Furthermore, in the previous world, his lover had already played the role of the male lead three times. How obsessed could the Soul Flags be? As he thought about this, he was startled, feeling like he might have touched upon the truth of the Soul Flags.
If one considered the Soul Flags as a person and viewed the protagonist as the Soul Flags' avatars in various worlds, then those male and female leads chosen by the Soul Flags... The Soul Flags, naturally, had an effect on their souls. So, the reason the Soul Flags went to great lengths to establish harems in various worlds was to snatch the souls of the male and female leads in those mission worlds?
Tongtian claimed that NP (Non-Player) destroy the world, while his actions of dismantling harems were meant to save the world. He had never thought deeply about it before, but now, upon reflection, he found it quite strange. Just opening a harem was enough to destroy those mission worlds? It didn't make sense.
If he was dismantling harems to save the world, then was the protagonist opening harems to... destroy the world? Could it be that the ultimate goal of the Soul Flags was to bring about the end of the world? But what connection did those male and female leads, whom the protagonist brought into his harem, have with the various mission worlds? Why would taking them into the harem lead to the end of the world? Could it be that they were all some kind of chosen ones with special destinies, and disrupting their soul's world balance would lead to the world's downfall?
His mind raced with thoughts, and he silently raised his head, gazing at his lover's handsome and captivating face.
It seemed... that every male and female lead in each world was outstanding... Just like his lover. If there really were chosen ones favored by fate in this world, then his lover was undoubtedly one of them. His soul could split without any consequences...
But if that were the case, then how fragile were the worlds he had visited previously that the Soul Flags could destroy them by taking the souls of these chosen ones... Wait, if the souls of the chosen ones were just bridges, and the Soul Flags were using them to snatch the world's fate... Ugh...
He silently closed the door to his wild speculations and buried his head in his lover's chest, nuzzling against it. Things like fate didn't exist in reality; how could he let his imagination run wild? Butterfly wings were indeed powerful; the world could be destroyed in an instant. No more wild speculations.
"Are you hungry?"
His neck was pinched from behind, and with a 'pop,' he turned back into an animal.
"What would you like to eat?"
The tip of his tail was pinched, causing his body to stiffen. Helpless without hands, he could only flick his tail at his lover. "I want to eat you! Don't pinch my tail!" Then, he paused and became cheerful again. "Can I speak human language now?"
"Yes, you've grown up." Dongfang Shu smiled, ruffled his hair, and with a wave of his hand, conjured a red robe for himself. He lifted Ye Zhizhou off the bed, which was covered in red feathers. "You're still too young; you can only drink milk for now. Hold on a bit longer, and you'll be able to eat other things in a few days."
Curiously, Ye Zhizhou bit Dongfang Shu's collar and wagged his tail. "How did your clothes appear?"
"Feather transformation," Dongfang Shu explained as he took Ye Zhizhou out of the lavishly decorated room. He patted his small head affectionately. "Are you full now? Let me take you to watch a play."
With his lover by his side, Ye Zhizhou turned into a silly, spoiled child in an instant. He lay lazily in his lover's arms and asked, "What play?" The protagonist had already become the Beast Emperor, but he was just a little one. Missions and such could wait; the most important thing was to stick to his lover more! Watching a play could wait!任务先靠边!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but nuzzle his lover's arm again and affectionately used his tail to curl around his lover's wrist.
A hint of a smile flashed in Dongfang Shu's eyes. He reached out and gently stroked Ye Zhizhou, saying, "The grand act of pulling the flag down. I've told you, I won't let you suffer anymore." After a pause, he added, "And I won't let the Heavenly Dao expel you again."
[Detected fluctuations in the protagonist's soul... Fluctuations disappeared. The likelihood of the protagonist falling in love with Fox Yan, Fox Qian, You Xiao Xiao, Yin Ping Er, Tong Jia Er, Hua Fei Fei, Hai Li, Di Qi, Xiong Yi, and Yu Mu has decreased to 10%. Please try harder, Host.]
Ye Zhizhou's tail stiffened, and he was dumbfounded by the unexpected news. How could it decrease again? It had decreased to the point of pulling the flag... Wait, pulling the flag? Could it be that his lover was behind all this?!