After I Dumped 7 Beast Husbands and Ran

”Haven’t you found the Little Princess yet?” A Mermaid Prince with a long, blue-purple tail spun around.

He had a delicate yet stunningly beautiful face and looked very young, as if he had only just come of age.

His long, blue-purple hair drifted in the water like seaweed, and his pale purple eyes were filled with deep worry.

His sharp gaze swept over the other mermaids.

The young mermaids on the seafloor all bowed their heads.

”Prince Lanxing, the Little Princess loves to play. Perhaps she’s just sleeping in a clamshell somewhere?” one of the young mermaids suggested.

Another young mermaid shook his head. ”We can’t be so sure. A Bird Beastman Tribe recently settled near the Eastern Coastline, and a lot of Wandering Beastmen have been gathering there as well. The coast isn’t safe anymore.”

”As long as the Little Princess stays in the water, she’ll be fine. But what if she went to the surface? It would be terrible if she were captured by the Bird Beastmen or the Wandering Beastmen.”

As soon as the mermaid finished speaking, the minds of the innocent merfolk began to fill with images of the Little Mermaid Princess, Little Fu, being captured and hurt by the Wandering Beastmen.

Then they imagined Little Mermaid Princess Little Fu being snatched away by those Bird Beastmen, their talons piercing her tail.

’Such an adorable Little Princess, hurt by those villains...’

The soft-hearted mermaids couldn’t hold back their tears and began to sob.

Pearls fell all around them.

The sight of all the pearls made Lanxing’s brow furrow.

”She’s only five. She can’t have gone far.” Lanxing commanded with a wave of his hand, ”All of you, search together!”

”Yes, Your Highness!”

*

Back on the shore, Nan Zishi had finally managed to coax the little mermaid cub into stopping her tears.

Little Fox Qi took the little mermaid and cradled her in his arms to play with her.

Before long, Hu Bai emerged from the forest bordering the beach, carrying a freshly caught Long-eared Beast.

”Dad!” Fox Qi’s eyes lit up, and he dashed over, still holding the little mermaid.

Nan Zishi ran over with the little wolf cub and Little Snake Yang. After a brief pause, Nan Zishi’s eyes met Hu Bai’s, and she too rushed forward, throwing her arms around him for a full embrace.

”Is everyone okay?” Hu Bai asked.

”We’re fine,” Fox Qi said.

Nan Zishi shook her head as well. ”We’re all fine.”

Fox Qi was still buzzing with excitement from the earlier event, and he recounted the whole story with great animation.

”Dad, the little fish cub is incredible, and that was so thrilling! I almost want to do it all over again.”

Hu Bai ruffled his hair.

Hu Bai checked everyone over. Once he was sure they were all unharmed, he said, ”I hunted a larger beast earlier, but I had to leave it behind, unfortunately. I just snagged this Long-eared Beast on my way down.”

Nan Zishi and the cubs peered down at the Long-eared Beast. Terrified by the sight of so many Beastmen, it let out a frightened squeak. SQUEAK SQUEAK!

”Oh, a rabbit is perfect. Rabbits are so cute, they’re just begging to be eaten,” Nan Zishi said. ”Besides, I love rabbit legs!”

Hu Bai couldn’t help but laugh. ”Alright, you can have the Long-eared Beast’s legs.”

Hu Bai took the Long-eared Beast aside to prepare it, carefully skinning the pelt.

The fur of a Long-eared Beast was soft, and many females liked to use the pelts to make clothing.

He wanted to make a garment for Nan Zishi, too.

Fox Qi and She Yang gathered firewood nearby. Whenever they brought back a bundle of dry wood, Nan Zishi would praise them with a beaming smile.

The two little cubs, delighted, would then rush off to gather even more firewood.

They collected water from the wide river, boiling it to drink.

Then, Nan Zishi skewered the Long-eared Beast Hu Bai had prepared and set it over the fire to roast.

As it cooked, Nan Zishi sprinkled it with aromatic powder, making the Long-eared Beast smell even more delicious.

”Wow, it smells so, so good!”

Hu Bai went over to the beach and returned with a few ocean fish. The mermaid cub held her arms out to him.

”Pretty uncle, eat-eat~”

”Mhm, this is for you.”

Hu Bai placed the fish in her bucket, and the little mermaid cub dove in, quickly devouring them.

’Mmm, ocean fish are still the best.’

Once Nan Zishi’s rabbit meat was cooked, Hu Bai, Fox Qi, She Yang, and Nan Zishi gathered around the fire to eat.

But the fragrant rabbit meat tasted somewhat bitter to them.

Fox Qi and She Yang’s spirits were low.

”The little mermaid doesn’t want to go back to the sea?” Hu Bai asked, glancing back at her in surprise.

Nan Zishi nodded. ”That’s right. She refuses to go back. What are we going to do?”

Fox Qi immediately spoke up. ”Dad, Mom. I really like our little sister. Can we really not keep her?”

”HISS...” She Yang also looked upset.

Nan Zishi shook her head. ”She’s a mermaid. She belongs to the ocean. We’re Land Beastmen. We can’t all live together forever.”

”And look...” Nan Zishi prompted, turning the two cubs toward the little mermaid. ”She likes to eat ocean fish. The meat we hunt on land isn’t right for her.”

Fox Qi’s lips trembled, and he looked like he was about to cry.

”You don’t want her to go?” Hu Bai asked, looking down at him.

Fox Qi gave a small nod.

’Little sister is so amazing, well-behaved, and adorable.’

’Of course he liked her.’

’Of course he didn’t want her to leave.’

”HISS...” She Yang drooped his little snake head as well.

’Do we really have to say goodbye to our little mermaid sister?’

’Little Snake Yang doesn’t want her to go either.’

Hu Bai tried to reason with them. ”She’s a mermaid, and we’re Land Beastmen. We were always going to have to part ways eventually.”

”I know, Dad,” Fox Qi said, his gaze falling painfully on the little mermaid. ”But it still hurts.”

Hu Bai ruffled Fox Qi’s hair.

Nan Zishi sighed and offered a compromise. ”How about this: we’ll stay by the coast for a few more days to keep the little mermaid company. After that, we’ll send her back to the ocean to find her father and mother.”

Fox Qi’s drooping ears instantly shot straight up.

She Yang also lifted his head in excitement.

”Okay!” ”HISS! HISS!”

To the little cubs, another day together was a day won. Not having to say goodbye today was a wonderful thing.

They couldn’t spend the night on the beach, so Nan Zishi and Hu Bai searched the nearby forest for a suitable place to camp.

Hu Bai looked up and frowned when he saw a Bird Beastman flying across the sky.

When he used to come to the coast with his tribe’s Hunting Team to trade salt with the mermaids, there hadn’t been this many Bird Beastmen.

’Why are there so many more Bird Beastmen around now?’

Nan Zishi found a patch of flat ground, and after inspecting it, Hu Bai gave her a nod.

Nan Zishi proceeded to set up the tent on the flat patch of ground.

The little cubs helped her from the side. ”This is a tent,” Nan Zishi explained as she hammered in the stakes. ”We can all sleep inside it together tonight.”

Fox Qi crawled in and then popped back out, laughing excitedly. ”Wow, Mom, this thing is just like a cave!”

Nan Zishi chuckled. ”Mhm, but it’s not nearly as sturdy as one.”

While the little cubs were playing nearby, Hu Bai whispered to Nan Zishi, ”Female master, it might not be very safe around here. We need to be careful.”