For once, Jiang Xia shyly hid his face with his paws. ’This female is such a sweet-talker, praising me just for eating a meal.’

Seeing the Pallas’s cat cover its face with its fluffy, thick paws, the tip of its tail swaying gently from where it was tucked beneath him, Shi Lan was once again overwhelmed by his cuteness.

Jiang Xia’s beast form was indeed soft and adorable. Anyone who liked cats would definitely love a Pallas’s cat. It looked a bit like a domestic cat, with mottled brown and white fur, a ring of white fur like a bib under its neck, and a coat as thick as a padded winter jacket. Its expressions were remarkably rich, and the whiskers on its cheeks would often twitch. Even when it tried to look fierce, it still appeared harmless.

Perhaps it was his beast form’s appearance, but Shi Lan couldn’t help but associate him with her friend’s cat. Due to the special nature of her work, she couldn’t keep a pet, so whenever she wanted to pet a cat, she would visit her friend. She would always instinctively praise the cat just like this after it finished the little treats she gave it.

Shi Lan stood there admiring the fluffy creature for a moment, but the feeling of merely looking to satisfy her craving wasn’t pleasant. She averted her gaze, handed the empty food container to the robot, and, figuring she might as well check the other cells, asked, "Do the other lords need their containers collected?"

The container from Cell One had disappeared amidst the wreckage. She already had the ones from Mu Tangfeng and Jiang Xia, so she was now asking about Ye Ming and Yan Huoshui.

Because of He Hanshi’s spiritual power collapse earlier, Ye Ming and Yan Huoshui didn’t have much of an appetite, so a good portion of the food in their containers remained uneaten.

Shi Lan glanced down. ’All rich fish and meat, without a single vegetable. It looks pretty greasy.’

These two had a decent attitude. They’d had the robot deliver the containers instead of just throwing them on the ground like Mu Tangfeng had. She gave them both a gentle smile.

Not much emotion could be read on the face of Ye Ming, the Black Panther. However, the corners of Yan Huoshui’s mouth, in his red fox form, seemed to quirk up, and he even shot her a flirtatious glance.

’Maybe I’ve been single for too long,’ she thought. ’Even a fox is starting to look handsome.’

Shi Lan felt a little mesmerized and quickly shook her head to clear it. A flash of surprise crossed the depths of Yan Huoshui’s crimson eyes.

Behind her, Jiang Xia noticed this exchange and snorted angrily.

’This female is so fickle! She was just smiling at me a moment ago, and now she’s smiling at another Beastman.’

He nibbled on his paw, then rushed over and banged on the door, successfully drawing Shi Lan over.

"Lord Jiang, is something the matter?"

Jiang Xia bared his sharp teeth. "I want another bowl. No rice, just meat. I want it within ten minutes. If you’re even one minute late, I’ll press the Emergency Bell and bother you every single day."

Hearing this, Shi Lan decided to retract her earlier assessment of him as harmless.

’When Jiang Xia decided to cause trouble, he was quite a handful.’

She quickly calculated the distance to the cafeteria. Ten minutes was a bit tight, especially since she still had to get the meat portioned out. Not wanting to be late, she immediately nodded and hurried off.

After rushing the whole way, Shi Lan successfully returned with a heaping portion of meat.

Jiang Xia glanced at the time. Exactly ten minutes.

Shi Lan was still catching her breath. Her skin was very fair, and under the prison’s simulated natural light, it was now tinged with a pink flush, giving her a rosy glow. Even her lips seemed fuller and more vivid, as if freshly bloomed.

Jiang Xia’s golden eyes swept over her a few times, and his tail swayed unconsciously. "I’ll give you that," he said awkwardly. "You’re capable. You made it in ten minutes."

Jiang Xia sent the robot to get the food container, but Shi Lan hadn’t placed it on the small pass-through window in the protective door. Instead, she spoke. "I’ve completed Lord Jiang’s request on time. Since there’s a punishment for failure, there should naturally be a reward for success."

"I delivered it on time, so you have to promise not to press the Emergency Bell again today."

She had just been running, so her breathing was still uneven. This made her words drawl slightly, and her voice sounded even softer than usual, despite the imposing look on her face.

Jiang Xia’s gaze kept drifting uncontrollably to her flushed lips. He didn’t even clearly hear what she said; he just nodded in a daze.

It was only after the robot brought the food inside that he belatedly realized what he had agreed to.

’That wretched female! Her spirit body must be a fox. Otherwise, how could I have gotten so muddle-headed and agreed to such a thing?’

’"Prison Director" is a fancy title, but in reality, she’s just a servant who waits on us. Why should I have to accept her terms?’

However, a true male always keeps his word, so it wouldn’t be right for him to go back on his promise.

At this thought, Jiang Xia angrily tore off a large bite of meat, getting grease all over the fur on his face again.

He paused. Remembering the female was still at the door and not wanting her to laugh at him, he silently nudged the food container with his paw and turned his back to Shi Lan. For once, his table manners became much more refined.

Shi Lan watched his tail wagging happily as he ate and noted how his body looked even rounder from behind. Her hands started to itch again. She gave her palm a light scratch, but then her thoughts turned to the strange state of Cell One. She decided to approach Yan Huoshui, who seemed to have the best attitude of the remaining men. "Lord Yan, I wanted to ask, what happened to He Hanshi? Why is his room like this?"

Yan Huoshui shook his head. "Not good. He Hanshi’s spiritual power collapsed today. This one was particularly severe; he completely lost his reason."

’No wonder the room was torn apart like that.’

Shi Lan felt a wave of apprehension. ’Thank goodness I wasn’t foolish enough to actually listen to Mu Tangfeng and open the door to clean. If I’d run into him in that state, I’d be dead for sure.’

"So where is he now?"

"The robots took him to the healing pod."

Given that spiritual power collapses could sometimes be severe, each cell was equipped with a healing pod. Even if the Empire truly wanted them to just wait here and die, it wouldn’t be so blatant about it. Not to mention, these men all had very high spiritual power, came from powerful families—and the Eldest Prince was one of them. It was only natural that Black Ming Star Prison would have every piece of equipment imaginable.

Shi Lan fell silent for a moment. She looked at Yan Huoshui, her thoughts turning to the prisoners. Aside from Mu Tangfeng, who could still shift to his human form, the others all seemed to be in a severe state. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before another Beastman in the prison lost his reason.

And once a Beastman truly lost his reason, it meant he didn’t have much longer to live.

Remembering the heroic deeds of He Hanshi that she had read about on the Star Network, Shi Lan couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity and regret.

’However, there’s really no cure for a severe spiritual power collapse. But... later in the story, the female lead finds a strange seed on some planet and gains the power to cure it.’

’But I read the book too carelessly. I was so focused on the romance between the main characters that I forgot where that was supposed to happen.’

She sighed. In the book, He Hanshi had indeed died. She didn’t know exactly when, but she suspected it wasn’t far off.

Shi Lan said "Thank you" to Yan Huoshui. As she passed by Cell One, she gazed at the tidy room, now restored to order by the robots. Her eyes fell on the food containers held by a robot to the side, and her gaze wavered.

’Maybe, in the time he has left, I can do what little I can to make his passing a bit more comfortable.’

’After all, the He Hanshi in the book was a noble, righteous Major General who cared deeply for his people...’