Lin Wan stood just inside the wooden threshold, her fingers still curled tightly around the strap of her tote bag.

The interior of the house smelled different from anything she had ever known in this world, clean wood, faint herbs, and something warm beneath it, like the breath of the earth itself. The floor beneath her feet was smooth, polished, naturally refined.

Qin Mo didn’t move further inside.

He simply stood there, watching her.

Not in the way Wang watched her, with possessive certainty but with something sharper. Studying her like she was a puzzle that needed to be solved.

"You are quiet," Qin Mo said at last. "Most females speak more when they see this place." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Lin Wan blinked. "Most females?"

He didn’t answer the question, Instead, he turned slightly and gestured outward. "Come with me."

Lin Wan hesitated for half a second before stepping deeper into the structure.

The house was not just a dwelling, it was layered. Every corridor opened into another space, carved seamlessly into wood and stone as if the mountain had agreed to become architecture.

Then she felt it. A wave of heat, Not fire like heat. Nor heat from cooking.

Qin Mo pushed open another set of sliding wooden panels.

And Lin Wan stopped breathing.

The spring lay before her very eyes, It was a wide, natural pool tucked inside the heart of the caldera, steam rising gently into the filtered sunlight that fell through openings in the canopy above. The water shimmered faintly gold, as if the earth itself was melting.

"This..." Lin Wan stepped closer without realizing. "It’s... a natural hot spring, I want soak in it." The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Her eyes widened slightly, Wait!. . .Did I just say that out loud?

She was uncertain she had only thought it.

But then. . .

"Yes," Qin Mo said calmly. "You are welcome to take a dip if you want."

Lin Wan froze, Her head snapped toward him, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, so much for being composed

.

"You heard me?"

"I am standing beside you," he replied flatly.

Qin Mo’s gaze lingered on her face a fraction too long.

Curiosity flickered in his expression, this time it was stronger than before.

"You knew it would not burn you," he said suddenly.

Lin Wan blinked again. "What?"

"The water." His eyes shifted toward the spring. "Most who enter here believe it is a curse. That it will boil the skin off their bones. Even I thought so the first time I found it."

Lin Wan frowned slightly. "That’s... dramatic."

A faint pause.

Qin Mo’s gaze sharpened."I shouted," he admitted, almost unwillingly. "When I first stepped in, thinking I was getting burnt by the fire"

Lin Wan didn’t know why, but the image of this towering man panicking in water made something dangerously close to laughter press against her throat.

"And then?" she asked, curious to know what happened after.

"I realized I was not being killed."

That was the only explanation he gave.

But Lin Wan could see it now, the faint shift in his posture, the rare crack in his otherwise composed presence. He was embarrassed

Qin Mo stepped slightly closer to the edge of the spring, his voice lower now.

"How did you know?"

Lin Wan paused, how to answer this.

Weiwei’s voice sounded faintly in her mind

[Ding! Qin Mo’s Emotional curiosity level: high.]

She ignored it.

"I didn’t," Lin Wan said carefully. "I just recognized the signs."

"Signs?"

"It’s geothermal water," she continued slowly, choosing words that wouldn’t expose too much. "When water comes from deep underground, especially in mountainous area, it mostly comes with heat ."

Qin Mo watched her, eyes unblinking, As if trying to decide whether she was lying or something else entirely.

"That explanation does not exist in any tribe records, I’ve ever read."

Lin Wan’s heart skipped slightly.

Before she could respond, a familiar tone echoed faintly in her mind again.

[Ding! Mission Update.]

Lin Wan’s body stiffened, Weiwei?

The system didn’t sound like it usually did. It was quieter. More precise.

[New Mission Assigned: "The Second Beasthusband."]

[Objective: Integrate Qin Mo into Host’s family .]

[Condition: Requires approval from primary mate (Wang).]

Lin Wan’s eyes widened slightly.

"What?" she whispered under her breath.

Qin Mo tilted his head.

"You spoke."

"I. . ." Lin Wan quickly recovered. "Nothing, don’t mind me."

But internally. . . Are you serious?

Second beasthusband?

She could almost feel Wang’s reaction to this from miles away. Probably another earthquake-level growl.

Lin Wan rubbed her temple slightly.

"Can I decline this mission?"

[No.]

Of course, she’d say that, She exhaled slowly, Fine.

Then she set conditions in her mind immediately.

If I’m doing this, it’s on my terms.

She looked up.

"I’ll consider it," she said quietly.

Qin Mo’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Consider what?"

Lin Wan ignored him.

Because at that exact moment, Something in her consciousness shifted again.

Weiwei’s voice, already fading, returned briefly.

[System Space Opening: Compensation granted.]

And suddenly, before Lin Wan’s eyes, a faint translucent interface flickered.

Inside it, A set of items appeared: Stone pots.

Clay bowls, A simple wooden ladle.

Primitive. Practical. Perfectly suited for not drawing attention.

Lin Wan’s eyes softened slightly.

"you know what I need," she murmured.

Then the interface vanished.

Qin Mo was still watching her.

His gaze had not moved once from her face

"You are strange," he said finally.

Lin Wan looked back at him. "I’ve heard people say that a lot."

Silence stretched between them, only the sound of the spring bubbling filled it.

Then Qin Mo stepped back slightly.

"I will leave you to. . . Use the water as you wish." he said

Lin Wan blinked. "You’re just... leaving me alone here?"

"Yes."

"Completely?"

His expression didn’t change. "Yes. And if you drown in shallow water, I won’t save you."

Lin Wan stared at him. "...Noted."

He turned to leave, but paused at the corridor, without looking back, he added "Your scent is very unfamiliar to me"

Lin Wan froze.

"What do you mean?"

But Qin Mo didn’t answer, He just walked away.

Outside, the caldera was quiet again.

But Qin Mo did not return to the main hall.

Instead, he went back outside the cave, where the blueprint was drawn, He crouched beside it, And for a long time, he said nothing. Then "What secrets do you have hidden within you ," he murmured.

His golden eyes narrowed slightly "Wan’er ,who are you?"