Bai Qingyue was not unfamiliar with acts of torture. Unlike in popular myths, deities were not all kind, righteous beings who led the rest of the population by example. The Celestial Realm had its own rules and leadership; karmic retribution was ordained by the heavenly energies governing all living entities.

However, that was not to say that the gods did not inflict punishment upon each other, or upon mortals – certain deities were actually appointed to do just that. There were divine punishments meted out frequently, and naturally the ones in charge of condemning criminals in the upper planes were the Sovereign Lords of each celestial tribe.

One could say that the punishments inflicted upon deities were a hundred times worse than those inflicted upon mortals. The feeling of one's physical body being tortured was nothing in comparison to the agony of a soul being torn to pieces. An intact soul could reincarnate, but a damaged one would be left to suffer eternally in an endless abyss.

When it came to physical punishment, Bai Qingyue thought that his wife had quite a talent for delivering this particular form of torture.

'Look but do not touch' was a torture method with its own special section in hell, of that Bai Qingyue had no doubt.

In the tiny wooden tub beneath the nourishing medicinal waters, Bai Qingyue's young fox form was frozen stiff. He feared that if he moved a single muscle, he would surely transform and gobble up this girl.

His thoughts were completely consumed by the feeling of his wife's bountiful bosom against his snout. He felt rather than heard all of Li Meirong's movements. She grabbed the coarse comb from beside the tub and gently stroked his fur, making sure to groom him without further aggravating his injuries.

Truthfully, he was no longer wounded at all. After receiving half of Bai Zhang's accumulated energy, Bai Qingyue's open gash had healed instantly. His restored powers left him brimming with vigour.

Not that he would tell her, though. He rather enjoyed Li Meirong fretting over him. To keep his façade as realistic as possible, the crafty fox had made a few surface cuts on his skin. They were not deep enough to even make him itch, but sufficient for Li Meirong to be concerned for his well being.

He could hear her speaking softly, almost mumbling, as she continued her careful ministrations.

"Snowball, you're so tiny and defenseless. From now on you must stay by my side so I can protect you. You never told me how you ended up so heavily wounded…" Li Meirong trailed off questioningly as she set the brush aside. She scooped up the herbal water with both hands, pouring it over Snowball's 'injured' back.

In his haze, Bai Qingyue had to pause for a moment to continue his response. In a way, he was grateful for the distraction the question provided him, as it assisted in fighting the urge to change into his true form and bully his wife as she bullied him.

In the end, he settled for a short answer, one that was close enough to the truth to be mentioned without loopholes.

"It was a family dispute," he said curtly. For some reason, his words seemed to deeply affect his wife.

Li Meirong had thought her family had been bad, but Snowball's family had gone so far as to almost kill him! Her eyes filled with unshed tears at her unfortunate familiar's tragic past.

Bewildered by the turn of events, Bai Qingyue's pupils widened and his muscles tensed at the sight of his wife so upset.

To say he was confused would be an understatement. First, she seduced him when he was not in the proper shape to take advantage of the situation, then she started crying, making him feel guilty!

'Hey, I still have a score to settle with you for almost selling off your husband!' he thought.

Restraining her weeping, Li Meirong kept her tears at bay with sheer force of will and started sniffling instead.

"Stop crying," Bai Qingyue said, nervously raising a paw to rub over her wet lashes. "It's in the past now." He had never had to comfort another person before and was not sure what to say or do.

Luckily, his words appeared to calm her; she grasped his paw with her hand for comfort, and her sniffles quieted. She nodded in agreement, bringing her arms around Snowball's belly to hold him against her.

"That's right, that's right," she said. Noticing that his belly had shrunk, she attempted to lighten the mood. "You've got me, and I'll be your family from now on." She paused a moment, and then added, "I'm glad to see that your bloating is gone. Don't stuff yourself too much from now on, or you'll turn into a fat ball of fur!"

Her first sentence filled Bai Qingyue's heart with sweet warmth, thinking to himself that his silly wife had no clue they were already a family. But her second sentence raised his ire all over again.

'This audacious little wife!' Bai Qingyue cursed silently. One of his newly acquired missions in life became to make Li Meirong's belly expand.

As if that was not enough, Li Meirong added insult to injury just as he was about to respond to her insolence.

"And, when you get a little bigger, we'll find a nice fox lady for you. A sweetheart of your own choosing! Don't worry, I'm not a big fan of arranged marriages. If there's someone you like, you have to court her first!"

Bai Qingyue felt the blood rush back to his head, but for an entirely different reason. He almost coughed up the red liquid, instead of it trickling from his nose. He wanted to kiss and choke this infuriating woman, both at the same time!

'Can you please stop trying to shove concubines on your husband?!'