Chapter 64: Chapter 56: The Proud One Bows His Head

It was clearly a vile, terrifying torture device.

The inside of the collar, the part pressed against the Black Panther’s neck, was lined with dense, sharp spikes.

Under the sunlight, the tips of the spikes glinted menacingly.

As the Black Panther moved, some of the spikes had already pierced his neck.

But from beginning to end, the Black Panther acted as if nothing was wrong.

’Doesn’t he feel pain?’

Yu Lan’s face went pale with fright.

She hastily reached out to take it off.

"Why are you wearing this?"

"Hurry up and take it off."

"Doesn’t it hurt?!"

The end of her last sentence was tinged with a faint sob, and Yu Lan’s eyes had turned completely red.

She couldn’t bear to see the fluffy creature suffer such abuse.

The Black Panther, who had been sullen and dejected about wearing the collar just to go outside with Yu Lan, felt his spirits soar in that instant.

He quickly wrapped his tail around Yu Lan’s waist, pulling her a little closer.

He then unabashedly opened his mouth and licked the beautiful female’s face, where tears were continuously falling like little pearls.

He comforted her in a low voice:

"Don’t cry. It doesn’t hurt at all."

He then immediately explained:

"I’m wearing this mainly as a precaution, to prevent any accidents."

"If I suddenly go berserk later, you can just press the button in your hand, okay?"

"It’s paired with the collar on my neck. The moment it receives the command, it can release a hundred thousand volts of electricity to subdue me. That way, I won’t have to worry about hurting you."

At this point, the Black Panther’s tone was low, his mood clearly soured.

But seeing the fair, beautiful, and soft little female nestled before him, he suddenly felt it was all completely worth it.

’I absolutely cannot let even a single hair on her head be harmed.’

For this,

a little humiliation was nothing.

This collar was developed by the Li Family’s own weapons lab after Li Yucheng went berserk for the first time in his youth.

The future heir of the Li Family could be a black panther unable to transform into a human.

But he absolutely could not be allowed to go berserk anytime, anywhere, and hurt people indiscriminately.

If he wanted to walk around freely, he had to wear the collar.

But if that was the case, what was the difference between him, Li Yucheng, and a dog?

Entrusting his life and death to someone else, who could press the button to punish him at any moment.

His body could roam freely outside, but his heart would forever be on guard against the Sword of Damocles that could fall at any time.

Life and death, honor and disgrace, all rested in the hands of the person holding the button.

Such freedom was no different from that of a dog groveling on its knees.

The man, born to be above all others, would rather have none of it.

So,

it was Li Yucheng who had voluntarily locked himself in the iron cage.

But,

he could never have imagined back then that one day, he would voluntarily put on the collar and hand the button to Yu Lan.

At this moment,

even after hearing Li Yucheng himself say that it didn’t hurt,

Yu Lan’s eyes still reddened uncontrollably. She raised her hand and wiped them forcefully.

The beautiful little female’s face, from her eyes to her nose, was flushed a pitiful red with distress.

The sight made Li Yucheng’s heart ache with a tender softness.

’The beautiful little female is hurting for my sake.’

Yu Lan reached out to touch the collar. Her slender, soft fingertips rested on the hard, steel-forged device.

She felt as if her soft fingers would bleed if they pressed too hard against it.

She couldn’t imagine what kind of pain Li Yucheng was enduring right now.

She wanted to say they shouldn’t go out anymore.

That being in the iron cage was fine, really.

But at the same time, after all these years of defying his biological instincts by staying in a cage, Li Yucheng needed freedom.

Yu Lan’s heart felt as if it were being pulled in two different directions, torn between these conflicting thoughts.

Besides shedding tear after tear, she could find no other solution.

The sight broke Li Yucheng’s heart. He felt that all his past grievances and hardships were being washed away by the beautiful little female’s tears, transforming into soft clouds.

At this moment, his eyes and heart could see and hold only Yu Lan.

"Alright, alright, don’t cry."

"Don’t we still have to go catch butterflies?"

"Let’s go, let’s go. If we don’t leave now, the butterflies will fly away."

The Black Panther licked Yu Lan’s face affectionately, then lowered his head again. He gently nudged the beautiful female’s soft waist with his big, furry head,

trying to push Yu Lan toward the door.

Yu Lan smiled through her tears.

Since Li Yucheng had already made up his mind, 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

she couldn’t be the one to hold him back.

She sniffled and obediently started walking toward the door.

As the figures of the human and the panther crossed the threshold,

sunlight poured down on them unabashedly, bathing them both in a golden glow.

In the distance was the garden Mrs. Li meticulously cared for. Countless flowers swayed wantonly in the sun, showing off their beauty, as lovely, lively butterflies danced among them.

A gentle breeze blew past,

causing the green leaves to tremble slightly and filling the air with the clear chirping of countless birds.

What a beautiful and moving scene it was!

Yu Lan’s eyes curved with pleasure. She stretched out her arms, tilted her head back slightly, and adopted an expression of pure enjoyment.

But the mysterious and untamable Black Panther’s gaze, from beginning to end, was fixed firmly on the beautiful little female beside him.

’Spring is beautiful,

but you are more beautiful than spring.’

*

On a high floor of the castle not far away,

Mrs. Li, who saw this scene, almost covered her face and started to cry.

"After all these years... after all these years, you’re finally willing to come out."

It was Mrs. Li who had proposed that Li Yucheng wear the collar.

Because Li Yucheng had suddenly lost his mind and gone berserk, the Li Family hadn’t had time to suppress the news.

It had gotten out.

At the time, countless people had suggested locking Li Yucheng up, restricting his freedom, and never allowing him to appear before people.

That’s why she had come up with this method.

It was just a collar. As long as he wore it, she could let Li Yucheng move about outside as usual.

She never expected it would directly force Li Yucheng to step into the iron cage himself, never to come out again.

For all these years, this had been a constant pain in Mrs. Li’s heart.

She had never, ever imagined...

after all these years,

after all these years...

just when she had given up hope, doubting she would ever see Li Yucheng walk in the sunlight again in her lifetime,

Yu Lan appeared.

Yu Lan had done it.

She had even made Li Yucheng voluntarily put on his shackles.

Making the proud one bow his head willingly.

Mrs. Li had been through it all; how could she not understand what was on Li Yucheng’s mind?

But, as she watched the untamable Black Panther suddenly run in front of Yu Lan and lie down,

Mrs. Li bit her lip tightly.

She was now overcome by a different kind of worry.

She had never heard of or seen a female as kind, gentle, and empathetic as Yu Lan in her entire life.

It was only natural that Li Yucheng would be moved.

But one mustn’t forget, Li Yucheng couldn’t transform into a human; he could only live in his beast form.

When other males could freely hug, kiss, and even make love to Yu Lan,

what would Li Yucheng do when he saw that?

Or rather, would Yu Lan accept a black panther as her mate?

*

At that moment,

Yu Lan looked at the Black Panther lying before her, his tail repeatedly curling around her waist.

Her pretty brows rose slightly.

"What’s this? Do you want me to sit on your back?"