After I Dumped 7 Beast Husbands and Ran

Nan Zishi froze for a moment when he grabbed her wrist.

Hu Bai suddenly realized what he was doing and let go, a bit flustered. ”S-sorry...”

”Don’t move the hand with the needle in it,” Nan Zishi said.

Hu Bai’s mind went completely blank, leaving him momentarily unable to think.

Nan Zishi pulled her hand back and put away her stethoscope.

”You’re a bit better, but not completely healed.” Nan Zishi put down the stethoscope and looked at him with a polite smile.

Hu Bai kept his eyes wide open. He was physically alive, but inside, he was already dead.

Nan Zishi looked a bit bewildered. She turned to Fox Qi. ”Little Aqi, is your father usually this silly? Did the fever actually fry his brain?”

Fox Qi shook his head. ”No, my father isn’t silly at all. He just woke up, so he’ll be fine in a bit.”

”Since he’s awake, there’s nothing major to worry about. Well, except for this.” Nan Zishi pointed to her own head. ”Watch out in case he really did turn stupid. If he is, I don’t treat brain damage.”

Fox Qi nodded seriously. ”Mhm! I got it.”

Hu Bai listened to their exchange and let out a long sigh, not bothering to correct them.

Nan Zishi had just stood up when Fox Qi hastily grabbed her hand. ”Pretty Lady, where are you going?”

Fox Qi couldn’t bear for her to leave; from the very bottom of his heart, he truly didn’t want her to go.

Nan Zishi’s heart instantly melted at the little guy’s puppy-dog eyes—wherever he had learned them. She rubbed his head and said, ”I’m just stepping out for some fresh air. I’m not leaving yet.”

Fox Qi’s eyes immediately lit up. ”Okay!”

「A short while later.」

It took Hu Bai quite a while to piece together the entire sequence of events in his mind based on Fox Qi’s description.

He sat up, his body still a bit stiff. Just as he was about to move, Fox Qi called out from the side, ”Dad, the Pretty Lady said you can’t move the hand with the needle in it!”

Little Snake Yang nodded vigorously beside him. HISS HISS HISS HISS. It was agreeing that they should listen to the Pretty Lady.

Hu Bai said meaningfully, ”You certainly listen to her.”

Pausing for a moment, he added, ”You certainly like her.”

Whether it was his imagination or not, Fox Qi actually sniffed a trace of jealousy in the air.

But when he tried to confirm it, he caught faint traces of a smile in his father’s eyes and on his lips.

His father didn’t seem to blame him.

In fact, his father seemed quite happy.

Even his eyes, which were usually devoid of life, seemed to have come alive, sparkling with stars.

”Dad, the Pretty Lady saved my life last night.”

Hu Bai nodded. ”Going into the forest all by yourself... you can’t do something so dangerous ever again.”

”I know,” Fox Qi said guiltily.

”As for... as for your Pretty Lady, we must thank her.”

”Mhm!”

Hu Bai slowly sat up. His long silver hair cascaded down, and his silver eyelashes fluttered slightly, making him look coldly stunning.

He glanced around.

”Dad, are you looking for something?”

”Aqi, is there anything I can use to cover my face?” Hu Bai asked.

Fox Qi was extremely puzzled by Hu Bai’s unusual behavior.

”Dad, why do you want to cover your face?”

Having lived with his father for five years, this was the first time Fox Qi had ever seen him want to hide his face.

Hu Bai suddenly let out a long sigh.

Looking somewhat uneasy, he curled his fingers inward. ”She shouldn’t have seen me.”

Just as he spoke, a shadow suddenly fell over the cave entrance beneath the golden sunlight. Hu Bai looked up, only to see the female he had been yearning for day and night, practically glowing in the sun.

”The drip is almost finished,” Nan Zishi said as she walked in.

Her pace clearly wasn’t slow, but in the male’s eyes, it played out in slow motion.

Holding his hand, she pulled out the needle, then pressed a cotton ball over the spot and taped it down. ”Just apply pressure for a few minutes.”

Hu Bai abruptly snatched his hand back. He stared blankly for a moment before suddenly remembering the instructions, pressing down hard on the cotton ball.

”You’re pressing so hard. Aren’t you afraid it will bruise?”

Nan Zishi cast a sideways glance at him. The young male, who had previously exuded a fragile aura, suddenly seemed much more vibrant. He appeared a bit shy, though it didn’t show much on his pale face.

”Oh, right.”

”What is it?” Hu Bai quickly turned his head.

”I wanted to ask you about someone,” Nan Zishi said. ”Does your tribe have a Priest Apprentice who knows how to dance? Like you, he’s a White Fox Beastman.”

Hu Bai clenched his fists and shook his head. ”Never heard of him.”

「Meanwhile.」

Fox Zi returned to her cave and slept soundly. Not long after daybreak, her mother—the chief of Stone Village, Fox Xin—was already sitting by her bed.

Fox Zi quickly sat up straight. ”Mother, why are you here?”

Fox Xin was a female in her forties. Traces of her peerless beauty from her youth could still be seen on her face, though fine lines had begun to appear. She wore light makeup and had decorated the center of her forehead with tree sap.

”How did it go last night?”

”How did what go?” Fox Zi suddenly remembered her task. ”You mean Hu Bai... Hu Bai is the same as always. He’s completely unwilling!”

”You failed?” Fox Xin immediately stood up. Fox Zi could feel the pressure radiating from her mother.

The atmosphere grew stifling. Fox Zi stammered, ”Mother, why must I convince Hu Bai to sever his previous mate bond and mate with me? Even though he really is good-looking, he... he already has someone in his heart. I’m the most beautiful female in Stone Village, and I’m fertile. I can have any male I want! Why do I have to throw myself at him...”

Fox Zi voiced her reluctance and her disdain for Hu Bai. ”Besides, he was abandoned and sold by a female. He almost became a Beast Slave. Why would I want a Beast Slave?”

”You are truly unbelievably stupid!”

Fox Xin was furious. She paced back and forth. ”Do you know what a great opportunity I created for you?! You have every natural advantage here in Stone Village, yet after all these years, you still haven’t managed to get him! Right now, he has absolutely nothing. His cub nearly died for him! To survive, and for the sake of his cub, he has no other choice! Yet even with such perfect conditions, you still managed to mess it up!”

Fox Xin glared at her. ”I told you to be gentle and warm his heart. What exactly did you do? Don’t tell me you mocked and ridiculed him again?”

Fox Zi didn’t dare speak up, muttering softly to herself, ”He almost became a Beast Slave... Me wanting him is doing him a favor.”

”You fool!” Fox Xin poked Fox Zi’s forehead with her slender finger, poking it so hard it turned red.

”You don’t understand at all. You have absolutely no idea why I’ve made you pursue Hu Bai ever since you were little!”

Fox Zi curled her lip. ”I’m right, though. I’m a beautiful and noble female of Stone Village. Why should I be the one to chase after him?”

Fox Xin was beside herself with rage. Finally, as if letting out a breath of resignation, she said, ”Fine. I will make you understand right now!”