Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

Jing Yao sat at the desk in the Third Army Corps' headquarters office, with a dark brown nutrient solution in front of him.

The tube was printed with the words "S-Grade Special Supply," and the packaging was more exquisite than any nutritional supplement he had ever taken before. But the smell that wafted out after unscrewing the cap made him close his eyes. It was still the same old paste.

He took a deep breath, pinched his nose, tilted his head back, and gulped it down. The sensation of the nutrient solution sliding down his throat made his brows furrow into a deep frown. He had been reviewing military documents piled up beside him all day, and this single nutrient solution had sustained him since morning.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

For over a month, he ate a variety of dishes made by Ye Tang herself, including roasted lamb chops, honey-glazed chicken legs, braised pork, steamed buns, and whole roasted lamb, all from prison number zero. Now that he's back, he's eating nutritional supplements, which is pure torture.

He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, his mind replaying the scene of Ye Tang pushing a food cart into the observation area and smiling as she said, "Big cat, time to eat."

The office door was pushed open. Youming walked in carrying a document and immediately noticed the half-empty nutritional supplement in front of Jingyao.

Youlie's older brother inherited the iconic silver-gray hair and gray-blue eyes of the Canglang clan, but those eyes, on Youming's face, always carried an unfathomable, ambiguous smile.

He walked to his desk, glanced at the discarded nutrient solution, then at the lifeless Marshal White Tiger slumped in his chair, and a smirk of anticipation crept onto his lips.

"Marshal, are you having a poor appetite or are you on a diet?" Youming waved the document in his hand. "Please sign the Northern Border Defense Map."

Jing Yao sat up straight, took the document but didn't look at it immediately. He looked at You Ming's face, silver-gray hair, gray-blue eyes, somewhat similar to You Lie but with a completely different temperament.

Youlie was cold and composed, while Youming, to put it kindly, was meticulous; to put it bluntly, he was more cunning than a honeycomb briquette. In Zero Prison, he personally witnessed Youlie wagging his tail by Yetang's side every day, eating barbecue, hot pot, and catnip, living a life more comfortable than that of a god.

Now Han Zhou has returned to the military headquarters to continue as his commander-in-chief, while Jing Yao has returned to the Third Army Corps and struggles with nutrient supplements every day. Only that scheming wolf is still clinging to Prison Zero as his "loyal dog." The marshal is taking nutrient supplements, while the major general is eating roasted lamb chops—is this appropriate?

"Youming, the northern border defense line, are you too busy to handle it all by yourself?" Jing Yao pushed the nutrient solution aside, rested his chin on his hands, and a hint of cunning flashed in his amber eyes.

Youming's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. One person can't handle it all? He'd been leading the northern defenses single-handedly since his teens, doing the work of three men, and had never complained about being too busy. The Marshal's words clearly carried a hidden meaning.

A few days ago, Youlie suddenly broke through to SS-level combat power, went home and took his dowry, and even said that he had "found a female who could help the Canglang clan break through the bloodline shackles". Now he roughly guessed who that female was and where she was.

For a marshal of integrity to learn to abuse his power for personal gain, this must be a serious matter.

"Yes, Marshal." Youming lied through his teeth without batting an eye. "The northern defense line is too long, and I really can't handle it all by myself. Major General Youlie has been on leave for a long time, and according to military regulations, he should return to the unit."

Jing Yao nodded in satisfaction, his finger bringing up the military recall order template on the personal terminal, and he quickly filled in You Lie's name. Reason: Insufficient manpower on the northern border defense line, Major General You Lie of the Canglang Clan is to return to the unit immediately.

As he pressed send, a smile crept onto his lips, a smile he himself didn't even realize. He couldn't have Ye Tang's food, and that scheming wolf wouldn't be able to have it all to himself either.

When Youlie received the military's recall order, he was sitting under the old tree in the courtyard, having hot pot with Yetang. The bone broth in the copper pot was bubbling away. Yetang had just pushed a plate of hand-cut mutton slices into the pot, her chopsticks still raised in mid-air, when she saw Youlie glance down at the personal terminal and then put down her chopsticks.

"Tangtang, I'm going back to the Northern Border to guard it."

Ye Tang's chopsticks froze in mid-air as the mutton slices tumbled and changed color in the boiling broth. She had already seen Cang Ming off, seen Han Zhou off, and even said goodbye to Ling Shou, that free-range chicken, at the mall entrance, but she had never imagined that You Lie would leave too.

He had been by her side for far too long—from the very first day he transmigrated to the beast world, from the moment that silver-gray dog ​​stole her roasted meat in the forest, he had been with her ever since.

He accompanied her from a penniless abandoned girl to a prison warden with a monthly salary of 50,000, from the forest to living in a detached villa, from being alone to having a home where someone is waiting for her. Of course, she knew that Youlie was an imperial soldier and would have to return to the North sooner or later, but when the moment actually came, she still couldn't bear to leave.

"When?" Ye Tang put down her chopsticks, and the scalded mutton slices floated forlornly in the pot.

"The Marshal said to return to the unit immediately, the sooner the better." Youlie had already put down his chopsticks and started clearing the dipping sauce bowls on the table. His movements were as swift as if he were performing military duties, but his fingers holding the bowls were a beat slower than usual.

"The sooner the better..." Ye Tang watched You Lie put the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen sink, and then watched him take out his storage ring and start stuffing his military gear into it. He was urging her like she was being told to hurry up. She wanted to tell You Lie to leave tomorrow, and she would cook him a sumptuous farewell feast and several large boxes of delicious food for him to take with him. But now it seemed that they wouldn't even be able to finish this meal.

She immediately turned off the fire, her consciousness sank into the virtual supermarket, and she began a shopping spree.

Self-heating hot pot, take it. Instant noodles, take it. Ham sausage, not a single one left. Beef jerky and ready-to-eat chicken breast, take the whole box. She swept across the shelves like a tornado, then rushed to the spirit field and plucked all the catnip that could be harvested, wrapping it layer upon layer in cling film, filling several large boxes.

Then she divided these things into five portions and stuffed them into five storage rings, each ring so full it couldn't be closed.

Youlie looked at the five storage rings stuffed full in front of him, then glanced at Yetang, who was still rummaging through drawers looking for a sixth one. "Tangtang, that's enough..." His tone carried a hint of helpless exasperation, but his tail wagged slightly twice involuntarily.

"An army marches on its stomach; this isn't enough." Without looking up, Ye Tang turned her inventory upside down. "Any more storage bags? I remember buying a dozen last time—"

"That's all." Chi Heng took out three storage rings from his pocket and offered them up voluntarily.

He was enjoying his mutton when he heard that Youlie was leaving, and he almost burst out laughing. He managed to suppress his laughter and quickly lowered his head to pretend to eat his rice.

Now he needs to act very sad, very reluctant, and very reliable in order to put Youlie at ease on his journey.

"Tangtang, it's not like I'm not coming back." Youlie reached out and ruffled Yetang's hair, smoothing out her ponytail that she had messed up while rummaging through things. "At my speed, returning from the Northern Territory is just a day's work. Have you forgotten who carried you here when you couldn't walk in the forest?"

Ye Tang looked up at him, his grey-blue eyes still calm and gentle, exactly the same as when he first tilted his head at her in the forest. She had indeed been carried here by him, from the edge of the forest to Zero Prison, from having nothing to having him now.

"Okay." Ye Tang sniffed. "It's freezing cold in the North. If you don't have enough hot pot, just call me and I'll send you some."

Youlie's lips curved slightly, then he turned around and looked at Chiheng, who was standing next to him trying hard to suppress his laughter.

He walked up to Chi Heng, his gray-blue eyes regaining their usual cold scrutiny, and his tone was solemn, as if he were reading out a military order.

"You've passed the test. While I'm gone, you're responsible for protecting Tangtang. If she loses even a single hair, I'll hold you accountable."

Chi Heng stood at attention, raised his right hand to his temple, and gave an awkward but imposing military salute: "Don't worry, I'll complete the mission! Leave the warden to me!"

His lips curled into a wild smile, hidden behind his hand; inwardly, he was celebrating. The cunning wolf is gone—good riddance!

In this way, he could monopolize Ye Tang's affections and wouldn't have to fight with that scheming wolf every day for the floor mat, barbecue, and the warden's attention.

He wanted to move his den from the living room sofa to the bedroom floor, and he wanted to eat three meals a day with the warden. He wanted to win back all the anger he had suffered from being suppressed and beaten by the Hunter.

Anyway, the scheming wolf was far from the emperor in the northern border, and by the time he returned, Chi Heng would already be firmly in the position of Ye Tang's favorite bird.