Chapter 99

"That... Tang Ruan."

"Yes, my lord, please speak!"

"Now that you all have the gene for soft bodies, has your body become softer?"

"It has, didn't you feel it when I hugged you?"

Zhao Chi laughed: "I hadn't hugged you before, so I didn't know what your body was originally like. I just assumed it was always this soft."

"Then you can hug me again to check."

Tang Ruan threw herself at him again.

Zhao Chi laughed: "Let me squeeze your arm."

"Oh, okay."

Tang Ruan reached out her arm.

The flesh on her arm was very soft.

He could clearly feel the shape of her arm bone, but her bones had not softened; they remained firm.

Zhao Chi squeezed her arm, his gaze uncontrollably drifting toward her chest.

They shouldn't have started sagging, right?

Tang Ruan noticed his gaze and said shyly: "You can squeeze and see, to check if they've become softer?"

"This... wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"Oh..." Tang Ruan thought for a moment and said: "My lord, didn't you want to verify if there were any changes? If you don't check, wouldn't it be impossible to tell?"

Hmm?

Good point!

Zhao Chi muttered: "That's right, exactly. Then, shall I try?"

Tang Ruan bit her lip: "Yes, try it."

After saying this, she switched to fashion mode.

"What are you two testing?"

Gu Qing suddenly pushed the door open and entered.

"Ah!"

Tang Ruan was so startled she jumped away immediately.

She looked at Gu Qing with a guilty conscience: "Sister Gu, you're back? I... I'm going to go roast meat for them..."

Tang Ruan scurried away in a flash.

Leaving Zhao Chi standing there with his hand half-extended.

Gu Qing looked at the fleeing Tang Ruan with confusion, then turned to ask Zhao Chi: "Why is that little girl running?"

Zhao Chi shook his head: "Are you all done bathing?"

"Yes, everyone is eating outside, but we don't have enough clothes. I'll need to make more tomorrow."

"Good, 10 more people will arrive tomorrow. I'll reassign more people to be tailors."

"Understood." Gu Qing closed the door.

She walked closer, trembling slightly.

"My lord, did you set up a new skill for me?"

"It's not a skill, it's an improved gene."

Gu Qing said in surprise: "A gene? Is it a gene obtained from a racial bloodline?"

"That's right."

Gu Qing said softly: "You risked your life to obtain that, and you just used it on us like this?"

"Of course. The stronger you are, the stronger I am."

"But... can't individual genes also be used on the lord? Why didn't you use it on yourself? This healing fluid can save lives. Why give such a precious gene to me?"

Zhao Chi laughed: "Using it on you is the most appropriate choice. After all, your role is that of a healer. Besides using spiritual arts to heal, this is equivalent to gaining an additional healing skill that doesn't consume spiritual power, making you even stronger."

Gu Qing smiled and nodded gently.

But looking at her expression, it seemed she wasn't looking for that kind of answer.

Women, after all...

Zhao Chi changed the subject: "Besides that, this gene can keep you safer..."

"I knew you were doing this out of concern for me, my lord!"

Before Zhao Chi could finish, Gu Qing excitedly interrupted him.

Just as Zhao Chi was about to speak again, the system sent a notification:

【Gu Qing's "Favorability" has increased; the current level is "Deep Affection"】

"..." Zhao Chi was silent for a second.

Was Gu Qing waiting specifically for Zhao Chi to say something caring, and then she couldn't wait to increase her favorability?

Why does it feel like she increased it herself?

Can favorability increase on its own?

Why does it seem like she's self-taming?

And Tang Ruan is the same.

In just this short time, favorability increased by two tiers; how can it be so fast?

Even if he used precious items on them and helped them improve their genes, it shouldn't be like this, right?

Is it the same for other lords?

This is completely different from what Li Li Ruanyu taught in class.

He still remembered when Li Li Ruanyu gave that public lecture in the large classroom, it was packed to the brim.

While some students were there to see Li Li Ruanyu, most wanted to hear about the emotional relationships between lords and their subjects.

Generally speaking:

Increases in favorability and loyalty are correlated, but not necessarily linked.

It's possible for loyalty to be very high while favorability never unlocks.

Or favorability unlocks, but loyalty remains low.

But in either case, the speed of increase is never this fast.

It's rare to have favorability increase by two tiers in a single day.

Besides Tang Ruan, Gu Qing also increased by two tiers today.

One could call Tang Ruan a coincidence, but with Gu Qing the same, it can't be explained by coincidence.

Looking at loyalty again.

Gu Qing and Tang Ruan both have 7 points of loyalty, and the other female soldiers and artisans have also reached 5 points.

This is truly too fast.

Zhao Chi didn't know the reason and could only explain it by the fact that he was the creator of these Taoyuan women.

Do they have an extra emotional bonus toward their creator?

While Zhao Chi was still thinking, Gu Qing had already taken his hand.

Pulling him out of his thoughts.

"My lord, you cut your index finger when you were cracking the whip earlier. I haven't treated it for you yet."

Gu Qing gently pried open his index finger and stroked the wound lightly.

Zhao Chi felt a slight sting, and a bit of an itch.

"It's fine, just a small wound."

Gu Qing's eyes were full of tenderness: "Since you set up such a good gene for me, my lord, I can't let it go to waste. Let me use this new gene to treat you."

"Sure, I was just wanting to see the effect of this gene."

Gu Qing licked her lips, her red lips parted, and she took Zhao Chi's index finger into her mouth.

Zhao Chi only felt his index finger surrounded by softness and warmth, and he could feel her tongue sliding softly over the wound.

"Hey, I haven't washed my hands yet."

Zhao Chi hurriedly pulled his index finger out.

Bringing out a thin, crystalline thread.