Chapter 43: A Sweet Scent and a Secret Reward

In the narrow, somewhat cramped darkness of the tree hollow, a distinct sweetness, characteristic of a young girl, permeated the air, mingling with the natural scent of wood.

Tang Yue, who had spent nearly an hour foraging for mushrooms near the tree hollow, emerged from its confines. Her delicate nose twitched subtly as she stepped out.

A sense of relief washed over her as she observed that the items Ye Yu had stacked at the entrance, intended to conceal the hollow, remained undisturbed. However, a faint, unfamiliar scent in the air stirred a subtle unease within her.

Gently, she pushed aside the unknown weeds concealing the entrance. With her basket full of Laughing Mushrooms and a growing sense of apprehension, Tang Yue re-entered the tree hollow.

Her tightly strung nerves began to relax as she surveyed the small space, noting the absence of any signs of struggle. Yet, as her gaze fell upon the charmingly naive figure sprawled on the ground, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

Ye Yu, clad in her ‘Be Your Meow’ outfit, lay spread-eagled on the makeshift bed of piled weeds.

Her already alluring mini-skirt was completely hiked up, resting above her slender waist.

One strap of her camisole dress had slipped from her left shoulder, revealing her fair, smooth skin, reminiscent of lotus roots, and hinting at the soft curve of her breast.

A glistening trail adorned the corner of her lips, where soft snores escaped. A similar sheen coated the ornament on her gently twitching cat tail.

Observing the various signs before her, Tang Yue’s emotions grew complex.

She distinctly recalled Ye Yu pleading with her to stop being ‘lewd’ just before she left.

How, then, could Ye Yu have chosen to secretly ‘reward’ herself after she departed, and in such a disheveled state?

Tang Yue understood her little husband’s curiosity to explore their body, especially given the ‘ability’ that had transformed him into a girl.

After all, who wouldn’t be interested in themselves?

Yet, confronted with the messy aftermath of this self-indulgence and the secretive nature of the act, Tang Yue, as a wife, couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

If Ye Yu were truly aware of Tang Yue’s thoughts at that moment, he would surely erupt in a cry of injustice, his face darkening with indignation.

For heaven and earth could bear witness: he, Ye Yu, was truly not the kind of person whose mind was solely consumed by ‘lewd’ thoughts!

Gobble, gobble, gobble~

Just as Tang Yue pondered what kind of punishment to mete out to her capricious and shy little husband, who had indulged in such a ‘reward’,

A protest from Ye Yu’s flat stomach echoed once more within the small tree hollow.

Hearing the sound, Tang Yue could only sigh in resignation. She knelt beside Ye Yu, leaning down to gently pat her tired face, and spoke in a soft voice.

“Husband, it’s time to wake up!”

When deprived of oxygen, a person can faint, a physiological response that makes them easily roused by external stimuli.

Ye Yu, who had fallen unconscious from being too close to the succubus girl, felt the cool touch of small hands patting her cheek and began to stir.

However, upon hearing Tang Yue’s familiar mature voice in her ear,

Ye Yu, who had been in a deep slumber moments before, instantly recalled the events that had transpired. The next second, she shot up like a startled laboratory mouse.

Her two delicate white hands instinctively rose to her chest, adopting a defensive posture, ready for a fight.

However, before Ye Yu could fully steady her combat stance, her trembling legs gave way. Softly and smoothly, she collapsed back to the ground in a girl’s duck-sit posture.

Plop.

She landed with a thud.

Tang Yue, who had been squatting beside Ye Yu, silently watched her little husband complete the bizarrely fluid sequence of waking, standing, and squatting in a single second. She merely assumed Ye Yu’s panicked demeanor stemmed from shyness.

Ye Yu’s dramatic reaction made her expression so amusing that Tang Yue couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

“Hehehe, Xiao Yu, why is your morning temper so fierce lately? Or perhaps, is this the lingering effect of secretly rewarding yourself?”

Hearing her wife, Tang Yue, deliver her teasing words in that mature voice from beside her,

And smelling the unique, familiar orchid scent emanating from her, Ye Yu, now fully awake, finally regained some composure from her initial fright.

Gathering her courage, she tremblingly extended a small hand, sniffing the comforting scent, and gently caressed Tang Yue’s smooth, delicate waist. Feeling no growth of those peculiar soft feathers, Ye Yu’s heart finally relaxed.

Tang Yue, feeling her little husband embrace her, sensed that Ye Yu’s emotional and physical fluctuations were gradually stabilizing. At that moment, she didn’t overthink it.

She simply assumed Ye Yu was trying to cover up the ‘rewarding’ incident and didn’t press the matter. After all, with Ye Yu’s thin skin, asking directly would only make her shy for a while.

While teasing her might be amusing, the immediate priority was to fill their stomachs and replenish their energy to ensure their survival in the abyss.

With these thoughts, Tang Yue, embracing Ye Yu, felt her partner’s flat, sunken stomach. Her gaze involuntarily shifted to the freshly gathered mushrooms and a pile of unknown dry grasses.

In this world teeming with demons, Yunqi Academy and other institutions had taught students many emergency survival skills to cope with unforeseen events.

Among these, fire-starting was an essential lesson. Fire brought light, warmth, and made food safe and palatable.

Having found no demonic creatures while gathering mushrooms, Tang Yue immediately began to rub sticks together to start a fire.

Before long, a small bonfire, less than half a meter in diameter, flickered to life. The tiny fire, fueled by unknown weeds and wood, crackled and popped, creating a soothing, stress-relieving sound.

The small bonfire brought warmth to Ye Yu, and also brought images back to her darkened vision. Watching her wife, Tang Yue, carefully skewer mushrooms on branches and roast them over the fire for her, a heartwarming scene, Ye Yu’s mood gradually calmed.

Recalling the unknown experience before she fainted, she couldn’t help but softly say, “Wife, I think I was attacked just now!”

Tang Yue, who had been focused on roasting mushrooms, paused upon hearing Ye Yu’s assertion of an attack. She slowly shifted her gaze from the mushrooms to Ye Yu.

Seeing her little husband squatting on the ground, completely unharmed, with her charmingly naive expression and no marks on her body, a helpless smile flickered across Tang Yue’s face.

‘Emmmmmm… In this desolate, lawless abyss, within a tree hollow, is it truly possible for my beautiful little husband to be ‘attacked’ and remain completely unscathed? This excuse for the ‘reward’ is simply preposterous!’

However, meeting Ye Yu’s earnest gaze in the firelight, Tang Yue, attributing it to her little husband’s last vestige of masculine stubbornness, decided to humor her. As a good wife, after a second of contemplation, Tang Yue shrewdly played along.

“Ah, yes, yes, Husband, I believe you.”

Seeing her wife turn her head back to roast mushrooms while speaking, Ye Yu suddenly felt as if she were being unreasonable.

Yet, the wings she had genuinely touched and the strange aura—these could not be faked. To convince Tang Yue, Ye Yu recounted the details before her unconsciousness, fully explaining how the other party had mimicked her voice, tricked her, possessed wings, and the sensation of being entangled…

Sizzle, pop.

The brown Laughing Mushrooms in the flames released bursts of sweet, juicy aroma—a scent that, simply by smelling it, evoked a primal, fresh appetite. As Tang Yue inhaled the fresh mushroom aroma in the air, listening to Ye Yu recount how a winged ‘girl’ had, in her absence, mimicked her voice and embraced her, her gaze involuntarily fell upon the fragrant mushrooms roasting over the fire.

Recalling the intoxicating side effects of the Laughing Mushrooms, her cherry lips parted slightly as she murmured in confusion, “She hasn’t even eaten them yet, and she’s already confused!”