305: He sang it to me every night after chapter 305.

After returning to the base.

Lin Yuan stood in the center of the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the women.

Finally, it landed on Ji Wushuang.

"Wushuang."

"Huh?" Ji Wushuang was stunned. "Hubby, what's wrong?"

"You were too impulsive during the battle in the Eastern Ice Plains," Lin Yuan said indifferently.

Ji Wushuang: "..."

She recalled her heroic posture charging into battle; she was clearly very brave!

How was that impulsive?

"So, for the next three days, you are responsible for stoking the furnace," Lin Yuan said, then turned and left.

"What?!"

Ji Wushuang widened her eyes. "Stoking the furnace?!"

"Hubby! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

She quickly chased after him. "Can we change the punishment? For example... punish me by having me sleep with you for three days?"

Lin Yuan paused.

He looked back at her.

That look made Ji Wushuang shiver.

"...I'll go stoke the furnace right now," she immediately cowered.

The other women stifled their laughter.

Chu Yanran said softly: "What did you say just now? That you wanted to have more presence in front of Hubby?"

"Isn't this having presence now?"

Ji Wushuang: "..."

She just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Half an hour later.

The base's backyard.

Ji Wushuang wore work clothes, standing in front of a huge furnace, holding an iron shovel.

"This thing... how do I light it?"

She looked bewildered.

As the dignified Divine Maiden of the hidden Ji family, an S-rank Ability User, and the controller of the Nanming Li Fire,

she now had to stoke a furnace?

This style didn't match!

"Forget it, I have fire Superpowers anyway, it should be simple."

Ji Wushuang took a deep breath and summoned the Nanming Li Fire.

A ball of golden-red flame danced in her palm.

"Go!"

She threw the flame into the furnace.

Boom—

The next second.

The entire furnace exploded directly.

Thick smoke billowed, and flames shot into the sky.

"Damn it!"

Ji Wushuang was blown to a soot-covered mess, and a section of her hair was scorched.

In the distance.

Chu Yanran and the others watched this scene, their mouths twitching.

"Is she... serious?"

"Using the Nanming Li Fire to stoke a furnace..."

"Is she trying to blow up the base?"

Lin Yuan walked out of the room, looked at the smoking furnace, and then at the soot-covered Ji Wushuang.

"Install a new one."

"Remember, use ordinary fire, do not use your Superpower."

After saying that, he turned back to his room.

Ji Wushuang was on the verge of tears.

"Hubby... can I apply for a different punishment?"

"No."

Lin Yuan's voice came from the room. "Three days, not a day less."

Ji Wushuang: "..."

She looked at the unrecognizable, exploded furnace and sighed deeply.

"What kind of sin did I commit..."

At this moment.

On the other side of the base.

Lin Yuan placed Lan Xin's water tank in a specially constructed room.

This room was built with system supplies; the walls and floor were specially treated to maintain constant temperature and humidity.

In the center of the room was a huge man-made pool.

The pool was ten meters long, five meters wide, and three meters deep, filled with pure seawater exchanged from the system.

The bottom of the pool was covered with fine sand, coral, and various aquatic plants.

It looked like a small marine ecosystem.

Lin Yuan opened the water tank and placed Lan Xin into the pool.

Splash—

Lan Xin's fish tail swayed gently in the water, splashing water.

She swam carefully, examining the surrounding environment.

This... is so beautiful.

Much better than that cold water tank.

And the water here... is so comfortable.

She could feel that this seawater contained a special kind of energy, making her body relax.

"Get used to the new environment."

Lin Yuan's voice came from above.

Lan Xin raised her head, looking at the man standing by the pool.

A complex emotion flashed in those azure eyes.

Fear, curiosity, and... something indescribable.

"Eat if you're hungry."

Lin Yuan pointed to a small table by the pool, which was stocked with various seafood and fruits.

"If you need anything, you can call me; I'll be next door."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Lan Xin watched his back, opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't.

She swam to the edge of the pool, looking at the food.

After hesitating for a moment, she reached out, picked up a grape, and carefully put it in her mouth.

Sweet.

Delicious.

Her eyes lit up.

The next few days.

The style of the base became somewhat strange.

On one side, Ji Wushuang was working hard to stoke the furnace in the backyard.

From the initial chaos to gradually becoming skilled, it took her a whole day to learn how to properly add coal and control the heat.

She had to get up before dawn every day and work until late at night.

She was exhausted, sore, and covered in coal dust.

On the other side.

Lan Xin was swimming leisurely in the pool.

Her singing sounded from time to time, melodious and pleasant, making everyone in the base feel relaxed.

That singing seemed to have magic, able to cleanse people's souls and relieve fatigue and stress.

All the women liked her very much.

Chu Yanran would come to see her from time to time and bring her some delicious food.

Ye Qingxue would also come over to chat with her.

Even the usually cold Qin Ziyan developed a fondness for her.

"This mermaid sister is really too cute."

"And her singing is really healing."

"After listening to her song last night, I slept very soundly."

The women gathered by the pool, watching Lan Xin swimming in the water, their eyes full of affection.

And Ji Wushuang.

Every time she passed by and saw this scene, she couldn't help but grit her teeth.

"Why!"

"Why can she swim in the water while I can only stoke the furnace in the backyard!"

She grumbled indignantly.

Chu Yanran happened to pass by, heard her words, and said coldly:

"Because you calculated the account wrong."

Ji Wushuang: "..."

"Where did I calculate the account wrong?!"

"Think about it yourself."

Chu Yanran said indifferently: "Back in the Ice Plains, you charged so fiercely; did you calculate the gap between your strength and the enemy's?"

"Did you calculate how much of a price Hubby would have to pay to save you if something went wrong?"

Ji Wushuang was stunned.

She... really hadn't thought about these things.

At the time, she only thought about performing, about showing her value in front of Lin Yuan.

But she hadn't thought about how much trouble it would cause Lin Yuan if something really happened.

"So..."

Chu Yanran looked at her: "Hubby punishing you is teaching you."

"Teaching you that in battle, you must learn to think, learn to weigh, rather than just being impulsive."

"Stoking the furnace seems simple, but it requires patience, attentiveness, and precise control of the heat."

"These are all things you lack most right now."

Ji Wushuang was silent.

After a long while, she took a deep breath.

"I understand."

She turned and walked toward the backyard, her back much firmer than before.

Chu Yanran looked at her back, her mouth slightly raised.

This silly girl finally got it.

In the pool.

Lan Xin heard their conversation.

She looked at Ji Wushuang's retreating back, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes.

That girl... seems to like that man very much.

Just like her clansmen, toward the partners they recognized.

She lowered her head, looking at her reflection in the water.

That man...

Could he be her partner?

She didn't know.

But she could feel that her heartbeat would always accelerate inexplicably when she saw him.

Night fell.

The base fell into silence.

Lan Xin swam to the edge of the pool, poked her head out, and looked out the window.

Moonlight spilled onto the water, creating sparkling ripples.

She hummed a song softly.

It was an ancient song of the Merfolk Clan, the singing melodious, carrying a trace of sorrow and anticipation.

Next door.

Lin Yuan was cultivating.

Hearing the singing, he opened his eyes.

He got up and walked to the window.

Through the window, he saw Lan Xin in the pool.

Under the moonlight, her figure was as beautiful as a painting.

"Interesting."

Lin Yuan said softly.

He pushed open the window and walked to the side of the pool.

Lan Xin saw him, her singing paused, and she looked at him nervously.

"Keep singing." Lin Yuan said indifferently.

Lan Xin was stunned, then carefully continued to hum.

Lin Yuan sat by the pool, listening quietly.

This singing indeed had a special power.

It could calm the mind and dissipate fatigue.

I don't know how long it had passed.

The singing stopped.

Lan Xin looked at Lin Yuan carefully, her azure eyes full of anticipation.

"Not bad." Lin Yuan said.

Lan Xin's eyes instantly lit up.

She happily turned a circle in the water, her fish tail splashing water.

Lin Yuan looked at her childlike appearance, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"Sing for me every night from now on."

Lan Xin nodded vigorously.

Her heart was beating very fast.

Is this... the feeling of being recognized?

So happy.

And in the shadows not far away.

The women were hiding there, secretly observing this scene.

"Hubby... seems very gentle to that mermaid."

"Yeah, I've never seen him talk to me so gently."

"Sense of crisis..."

"Greatly increased!"

Ji Wushuang walked over from the backyard, covered in coal dust, exhausted to the point of collapse.

Seeing this scene, she felt terrible.

"I'm exhausted in the backyard stoking the furnace..."

"She's here singing to flirt with Hubby?!"

"This is unfair!"

Chu Yanran patted her shoulder: "Come on, you have two more days."

Ji Wushuang: "..."

She suddenly had the urge to cry.

Why is she always the one getting hurt?

In the distance.

Lin Yuan stood up, preparing to return to his room.

Before leaving, he looked at the women hiding in the shadows.

"Come out, don't hide."

The women: "..."

Discovered!

They walked out of the shadows awkwardly.

Lin Yuan looked at them and said indifferently: "Starting tomorrow, you will take turns accompanying Lan Xin to let her adapt to this place as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

The women replied in unison.

Lin Yuan turned and left.

Leaving a group of women staring at each other.

"So... we have to be babysitters?"

"Should be... playmates?"

"Forget it, the mermaid sister is quite cute anyway."

"It's just that I don't know if she will steal Hubby's favor..."

The women looked at each other.

Finally, they all sighed in unison.

Harem competition has never been easy.

In the pool.

Lan Xin looked at them and tilted her head.

These girls...

Are they all that man's partners?

So many.

She was a bit confused.

But soon, she smiled happily again.

It doesn't matter.

As long as she can stay by his side, it's enough.