After I Dumped 7 Beast Husbands and Ran

”Go!” Nan Zishi hardened her heart and urged the Wolf King forward.

The heavy rain made the forest difficult to traverse. The Wolf King, carrying Nan Zishi, leaped onto a large rock.

Suddenly, it stopped in its tracks.

Nan Zishi looked down, patting the Wolf King’s head and asking in a low voice, ”Why have you stopped?”

The Wolf King whimpered twice, raising its head and twitching its ears.

”Nan Zishi!”

”Nan... Zishi.”

Through the curtain of rain, a figure suddenly appeared from behind a large tree.

The figure drew closer, slowly revealing a tall, long-legged male with delicate features, so beautiful it was startling.

The male was soaked from the downpour, his long, white hair plastered to his face. He looked utterly wretched.

He steadied himself against the tree with one hand and lifted his face to look at her.

Nan Zishi jumped in surprise. ”Hu Bai, what are you doing out here in such a heavy storm?”

The male didn’t answer, instead asking urgently, ”Nan Zishi, I’ll ask you one more time. Do you really not want me and Fox Qi anymore? Do you not feel even the slightest bit of affection for me?!”

”What nonsense are you talking about? Hu Bai, it’s impossible between us!”

”It is possible!” Hu Bai raised his head and yelled at her. ”I’m asking you, do you have even the tiniest bit of affection for me? Even a little is enough!”

”Hu Bai! Don’t say such things!”

A lump formed in Hu Bai’s throat. ’You don’t like me. Not even a little, do you?’

He could have told her that he was the Fox Beastman from five years ago, one of her Beast Husbands.

’But what good would telling her do?’

’She doesn’t like me. She would just abandon me again.’

’Even if she didn’t abandon me, what would be the point if she only let me stay out of some small sense of responsibility?’

’She doesn’t like me because I’m ugly, weak, and ill-tempered, because I’m not gentle at all. Is that it?’

’Am I really that unlikable to her? Not even a little bit?’

He couldn’t accept it. He refused to!

Suddenly, seven distinct Beast Patterns appeared on the Male Fox Beastman’s face!

When Nan Zishi saw the Seven Stripes on Hu Bai’s face, her mind went blank for a second as a thought surfaced.

’In the Beast World, one to three Beast Patterns signifies a Beast Warrior, and four to six signifies a Beast General.’

’Seven Stripes... Seven to eight stripes, I think that’s... a Beast King!’

’My god, Hu Bai is a Beast King!’

But this brief thought lasted only an instant. The next moment, Nan Zishi’s gaze suddenly became fixated on him, entranced.

A very strange change came over her.

She felt a sudden, overwhelming love for Hu Bai. She loved him so, so much, she felt she could die for him.

She walked toward Hu Bai step by step, her body and mind no longer under her own control.

Hu Bai’s Beast Patterns suddenly vanished. He clutched his face, his whole body trembling.

He’d actually used his superpower on Nan Zishi. He’d despicably used his superpower on her!

The Male Fox Beastman couldn’t bear it any longer. He turned and fled, completely breaking down.

*

The weather back then was a bit like it was now. The short rainy season had just ended, the days were growing warmer, and all of life was reawakening.

Nan Zishi had accidentally stumbled upon the place outside Stone Village where Hu Bai, the Priest Apprentice, practiced his dances.

The first time she saw him dance, she was merely intrigued. After all, a Beastman’s priestly dance wasn’t a common sight, and although the Male Beastman before her had his face covered in totems, his physique was truly exquisite.

”Which village are you from, female? How did you get here?”

’Oh, and his voice is really nice, too.’

Nan Zishi had a mission to bear a child; the system had told her to find a male and have a baby. She had run and run through this jungle, and while she’d seen a few Male Beastmen, none of them were acceptable.

And so, with only a few days left on her mission countdown, she met him.

”I’m sorry. I wandered in by accident. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

The Male Fox Beastman in front of her paused for a moment, then said gently, ”It’s alright.”

The Male Fox Beastman continued dancing, while Nan Zishi began to leisurely make a life for herself there.

She gathered firewood, arranged stones into a circle, used flint to start a fire, and heated up food for herself on a flat stone.

Finally, the aroma made the neighboring dancing Male Fox Beastman’s mouth water until he couldn’t stand it.

”Can I have a taste?” he asked curiously.

”Of course!” Nan Zishi generously shared her food with him.

All the while thinking deviously:

’If you eat my food, you have to be my Beast Husband.’

Nan Zishi and Hu Bai’s relationship developed naturally.

Nan Zishi didn’t know what it was about her that had captured his heart.

But this Male Fox Beastman had become utterly captivated by her.

He showed his true self to her, dancing right up to her side, sometimes nearly falling into her arms.

Later, Hu Bai initiated a courtship. After Nan Zishi accepted, he eagerly went out to hunt. He hunted for a full day, returning with a massive, three-meter-tall prey slung over his shoulder, which nearly scared Nan Zishi to death.

Back then, a pure smile on his face, he had said, ”Forming a union is a sacred act. I must hunt a bountiful offering for the Beast God. Only then will the Beast God bless us.”

”Are you nervous? Are you scared?”

”female master, I will be careful...”

He kept asking if she was nervous, but he was the one trembling slightly with tension the entire time.

”female master, in a little while, I’ll be able to tell you who I am, and let you see what I look like...”

A long stretch of memory flashed through Nan Zishi’s mind, but at the very end, the memory suddenly changed.

”female master, I want you to know who I am.” The young Fox Beastman’s eyes crinkled with a smile. ”My name is Hu Bai... Look at my face...”

The Priest Apprentice’s fox totems all faded away, and the once-youthful apprentice overlapped perfectly with the stunningly beautiful Hu Bai in that very moment!

...

Nan Zishi snapped back to reality when She Yang bit her on the arm.

Little Yang’er hissed twice when it saw Nan Zishi wake up. Probably afraid she was in pain, it quickly licked her wound.

Pretty sister, are you okay? You were really scary just now.

”I’m fine.” Nan Zishi patted Little Snake Yang’er’s head in praise.

’Hu Bai was just here. Seven Beast Patterns appeared on his face. He’s a Seven-striped Beast King!’

’In other words, he’s the true Fox King.’

’It’s shocking. I really couldn’t tell his power was so immense.’

’And it seems he just used some kind of special ability on me, an ability that made me fall hopelessly in love with him while it was active.’

’But he withdrew his power very quickly.’

’Even so, I was still affected. I think I saw the things he desperately wanted me to know.’

’Hu Bai is that Priest Apprentice? He’s my Beast Husband?!’

But when Nan Zishi opened her eyes again, Hu Bai was gone.

Nan Zishi patted the Wolf King’s head. ”Hey buddy, I have to find Hu Bai. Can you help me?”

The Wolf King slowly rose to its feet, gave a slight wag of its downward-pointing tail, and then bolted forward.

The rain was pouring down, making it difficult to find anyone, even for a Wolf King with its incredible sense of smell.

”AWOO! AWOO!”

The Wolf King was working hard in the heavy rain, so Nan Zishi would occasionally pull out a sausage for it to eat as a reward. ”Good dog, you’re the best!”

’Is Hu Bai my Beast Husband? Is Fox Qi really my child?’

’If it’s true, I have to go back and get a clear answer!’

...

Hu Bai returned to the cave as fast as he could. The Fox Clan male’s face was pale upon his return.

He had used his superpower on his female master.

Just because she didn’t love him, he had used his superpower on her.

He had actually used his superpower on her just because he wanted her love!

He was so despicable. He was a despicable male!

Hu Bai’s health was poor. His broken body was simply not strong enough to bear his terrifying ability, which was why he had almost never displayed his superpower over all these years.

Having used his power, Hu Bai’s insides began to ache.

He was gasping for breath. ”Fox Qi! Fox Qi!”

However, Fox Qi was not in the cave.

Hu Bai immediately rushed out of the cave, back to the spot where Fox Qi had sprained his ankle, and began searching, following the footprints.

He’d sprained his ankle, so his footprints should have been one deep and one shallow.

But his uneven footprints suddenly vanished in the middle of the path.

Fox Qi was missing!

...