Transmigration:The Villain Wants A Happy End Without His BeastHusbands Chapter 33: A Slippery Thing

"How do you feel?" Lan ishan asked as Ningyan took a sip of the calming hot tea.

Warmth spread through his body almost instantly. Ningyan closed his eyes and let out an embarrassingly loud moan.

ishan blinked.

Ningyan felt... better. He was dressed in fresh robes ishan had provided, seated in a quieter chamber of the imperial library. One that looked lived-in.

Artifacts lined the shelves. A dining table sat near a neatly arranged bed, and behind it, a large circular window overlooked the cultivation space.

He lowered the cup and set it on the table. ishan sat across from him, spectacles back in place, erald serpent eyes fixed patiently on his face.

"Oh.. heh." Ningyan stretched his arms, working out the lingering stiffness. "I can’t really pinpoint it."

ishan nodded slowly. "You may feel numb for now."

"Numb?" Ningyan echoed. "Yeah. That’s it."

"It took four days for the core-strength sharing," ishan said evenly. "Your core is adjusting... quietly."

Ningyan’s eyes lit up. "So it’s activated? I can start cultivating?"

"Not—"

ishan stopped mid-sentence.

The light in his eyes shifted, turning faintly sharp as he glanced toward the chamber entrance. His displeasure was subtle but unmistakable.

"I think we have visitors."

At the sa mont, Ningyan felt it.

The spirit mate chain tugged violently at his neck, sharp and insistent.

That pull alone told him who it was.

"Oh." He blinked, unease settling in his chest.

ishan rose smoothly to his feet. "I could send him away."

Ningyan stared at him. "I don’t think that’ll work."

ishan grimaced. "So you want to leave? You need to recover and to do that, you should be with ."

Ningyan sighed.

Yan Wuhen wasn’t soone you reasoned with. Especially not after vanishing for four days. He could already imagine the fox prince’s fury.

"I’ll see him," Ningyan said, standing.

ishan said nothing.

He turned and left the chamber. Ningyan followed, and soon they were back in the main library, tall shelves looming silently around them.

And there he was.

Yan Wuhen stood before them. The immaculate Vermillion Fox Prince. Crimson hair frad his sharp features, a single golden-and-green beaded earring glinting on one ear. His nine tails swayed behind him in slow, graceful arcs, each movent controlled.

His red-gold fox eyes narrowed into slits.

Ningyan’s heart skipped.

For a terrifying second, Wuhen looked monts away from grabbing him by the throat but then his gaze shifted.

"I didn’t know you were capable of taking what isn’t yours, Lan ishan."

Ningyan realized then that Wuhen wasn’t looking at him.

He was looking at ishan.

Lan ishan calmly brought his hands together and bowed in greeting. Wuhen acknowledged it with a dismissive huff.

ishan didn’t seem bothered. Though the displeasure in his eyes was unmistakable.

"He didn’t take ," Ningyan said quietly.

Wuhen’s gaze snapped to him.

"He was helping with my core."

"I figured that out," Wuhen replied, irritation sharp beneath the restraint. "The question is why you didn’t tell ."

His eyes softened, just slightly. "You should have told ."

"I didn’t know it would take so long," Ningyan admitted, frowning.

Wuhen studied him, then exhaled slowly, clearly realizing Ningyan wasn’t evading the truth.

"Very well," he said. "Then let’s go ho."

Ho.

The word sent unexpected warmth through Ningyan’s chest.

"I have to recover," he said quickly. "And to do that, I have to stay with Lan ishan."

Wuhen raised a brow. "I can help you recover."

"His core already contains my core strength." ishan’s voice cut in, his voice low, controlled, unwavering.

"Introducing another spiritual energy now would destabilize it. Once he enters the second stage of cultivation, you may assist him as much as you like. But for now, only I can."

The words sent a faint shiver down Ningyan’s spine.

Wuhen stared at ishan, surprised.

Then his lips curved slowly into a wide, teasing smile, sharp canines flashing.

"For all the years I’ve known you," Yan Wuhen drawled, clearly amused, "this is the longest speech I’ve ever heard you give. A slippery thing like you can speak this much? How pleasant."

Ningyan’s eyes widened.

Yan Wuhen, however, looked openly pleased.

Lan ishan frowned. "I will not tolerate insults from you."

Wuhen pouted exaggeratedly. "But I’m not insulting you. I’m teasing."

ishan’s face flushed faintly. He parted his lips, clearly searching for a retort and finding none.

His gaze shifted to Ningyan.

Ningyan gently patted ishan’s arm before turning and fixing Wuhen with a stern look.

"Stop teasing him, Wuhen."

"Boring," Wuhen said lightly.

Then, without warning, he snatched Ningyan closer, wrapping an arm around his waist and pressing their bodies together. He leaned in, inhaling deeply, clearly savoring Ningyan’s scent.

Ningyan sighed. He didn’t struggle. And, to his own surprise, found his fingers gripping Wuhen’s sleeve.

Wuhen lifted his head.

His red-gold eyes sharpened as they locked onto Lan ishan.

Never breaking eye contact, Wuhen dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the side of Ningyan’s neck.

Ningyan gasped.

Wuhen followed it with a slow lick, drawing another startled sound as Ningyan buried his face against Wuhen’s chest.

"W–what are you doing?" he protested breathlessly.

Wuhen smirked, his eyes still fixed on ishan. Whose erald serpent eyes glowed faintly behind his spectacles, expression unreadable.

"So," Wuhen asked smoothly, "how long is the recovery going to take, Lan ishan?"

"A month or so," Lan ishan replied evenly. "I need at least two to four hours with him every day."

Yan Wuhen’s expression dulled. "That’s a long ti."

"It’s enough," ishan said simply.

Wuhen rolled his eyes and finally released Ningyan. Ningyan frowned faintly at the loss of contact.

"It’s just a few hours," he said.

"Exactly," Wuhen muttered.

"I spend more than that in lectures, Wuhen."

Wuhen turned his gaze back to ishan, his impatience clear.

"Can you start the recovery later?"

ishan parted his lips. "I.."

"Good. Great," Wuhen cut in briskly. "Let’s go, Yan’er."

He grabbed Ningyan’s arm and started pulling him away.

Ningyan groaned but still managed an apologetic smile and a small wave over his shoulder.

Lan ishan returned it with a faint smile of his own, bowing his head slightly.

For so reason, Ningyan felt an ache in his chest. ishan looked unbearably gentle standing there like that.

But Wuhen was already dragging him away, all the way back to the manor.

By the ti they arrived, midnight had settled fully over the grounds, stars scattered across the sky, cold air brushing against Ningyan’s skin as the gates closed behind them.