After I Dumped 7 Beast Husbands and Ran

In the woods by the sea, the mermaid Lanxing found the fox, Hu Bai.

”Brother Hu Bai!”

Something was wrong with Hu Bai. Lanxing quickly checked his body.

The Seven-striped Fox King’s body felt hollow and as weak as an old man’s.

Lanxing quickly used a gentle current of water to lift him, then hoisted him onto his back.

Hu Bai, like him, was one of the sister’s Beast Husbands, which meant they were males of the same family.

The sister cared so much about Hu Bai; he couldn’t just leave him be.

Lanxing carried Hu Bai toward the sea. As he reached the shore, members of the Mermaid Clan began to surface.

”Prince!”

Lanxing ordered frantically, ”Quick, get the clan’s Witch! Tell him to save a life!”

”Yes!”

After the mermaids dove back into the sea, a few others surfaced, shedding pearls in their distress as they spoke:

”Prince, it’s terrible! The Little Fu Princess has gone missing again!”

...

Nan Zishi was forced to look at him.

’To be honest, Xuan Jin was incredibly handsome.’

’Those beautiful, dark, almond-shaped eyes, with the faint, natural shadow at the corners...’

’Devilish, yet beautiful.’

’His features were sinister and cold, yet they came together to form a stunningly attractive face.’

When Nan Zishi realized she’d been staring for a couple of seconds too long, she immediately tore her eyes away. ’So what if he’s handsome?’

’He hurt Hu Bai, and now he’s coercing me.’

”What are you angry about?” Xuan Jin asked, looking down at her.

”You hurt Hu Bai,” Nan Zishi said, her gaze cold.

Xuan Jin’s eyes narrowed.

”Since he is one of your Beast Husbands, my fight with him was nothing more than Xiong Jing between the males of a family. If you forbid Xiong Jing, then you’re the one being unreasonable.”

”I won, so I get you. He lost, so he steps back.”

”Besides, I didn’t hit him that hard. I’m not the one who truly injured him. He was hurt because of his own physical problems.”

’This guy is really good at twisting words!’

Xuan Jin said, ”Little female, when males compete for a female, victory is decided by strength, not looks.”

Nan Zishi was speechless.

In the Beast World, every family, without exception, competed for status through strength.

Males would fight one another to vie for their position within the family.

The loser had to accept defeat without complaint.

In this world, a male who lost a Xiong Jing and went crying to a female about it would be considered pathetically sentimental.

Nan Zishi suddenly asked, ”And the python and that swarm of Little Snakes that chased me yesterday... that was you, wasn’t it?”

Xuan Jin admitted it readily. ”It was.”

Nan Zishi pressed on. ”What about the day before? That venomous snake, did you send it to torment me, too?”

”I did not.” He wouldn’t take credit for something he hadn’t done.

’When that giant cobra approached Nan Zishi, he’d been watching the entire time. If things had gone wrong, that cobra would have ended up as snake soup.’

’But then the little female had pulled some strange little gadget out of nowhere and knocked the venomous snake unconscious with a single prick. That, he certainly hadn’t expected.’

’His little female had her secrets.’

’She might have her secrets, but the outcome was good. As long as she could protect herself, he could have her all to himself!’

Nan Zishi gave him a suspicious look.

’If a female were to be seriously injured or die, her male partners would suffer a fatal blow as well.’

’So Xuan Jin probably wouldn’t have set a venomous snake on her for real.’

’He was probably telling the truth.’

Nan Zishi didn’t want to discuss these topics any longer. She moved on to what she cared about most: her little snake child.

Nan Zishi asked, ”Xuan Jin, what about the egg I laid for you before I left? Has it hatched?”

”I lost it,” the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman said flatly.

Nan Zishi’s world shook. She shot to her feet. ”What?! That was our child! You lost him?!!”

’Back then, she hadn’t wanted to mate with this wretched snake and have his child. For one, she was truly terrified of his true form. For another, this damn snake never seemed like he’d be a responsible father.’

’And now he’d gone and just thrown their baby egg away?!!’

’What kind of father does that?!’

”His own mother didn’t even want him. Why would I keep him?” Xuan Jin leaned back slightly, seeing nothing wrong with his actions.

”Nan Zishi, you’re the one who abandoned us first.”

Caught completely off guard, Nan Zishi’s mouth fell open, and she swayed on her feet.

’Really lost? Her little snake child was gone?’

A sting in her nose, and tears welled up in her eyes.

’She’d always thought of herself as a girl who lacked a maternal instinct. That was how, under the coercion of the Childbirth System, she had been able to give birth to her children, only to abandon them and flee the Beast World.’

’So why did she want to cry so badly now?’

Her fists clenched tight, she fought to control her temper. ”Where did you leave him? He was still alive when you left him, wasn’t he?”

”I don’t know.” Xuan Jin sat up straight. ”The young of Snake Beastmen don’t require attention.”

”Xuan Jin!!!”

For the first time, Nan Zishi slapped Xuan Jin across the face.

Seeing the little female so furious for the first time, Xuan Jin froze for a moment after the blow landed.

’The moment she hit him, she felt a pang of regret.’

’If something had happened to Little Seven...’

’...the one she could never forgive wouldn’t be Xuan Jin, but herself.’

”We have to find him! We have to find our child!” she said, biting her lip.

The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s eyes darkened instantly.

He leaned forward, his forked tongue flicking out to taste the air near her neck.

”Little female, I never expected you to care so much about our child.”

’Their child, She Yang, was right there, being raised by her side, wasn’t he?’

’He hadn’t really cared whether he told her or not.’

’But the fact that the little snake child got more of her attention than he did made him jealous. For now, he decided he wouldn’t tell her who the child was.’

”Little female, the lives of Snake Beastmen are worthless... He was still alive when I left.”

Nan Zishi calmed down and looked at Xuan Jin.

...

The forest swamp was a rainy place, and a light drizzle began to fall.

Nan Zishi had been in a daze for two hours.

The fine rain roused her from her stupor, and she began to pull herself together.

’Snake Beastmen have incredible Life Force. Her Little Seven has to be okay!’

It was no longer pleasant outside, so she got up and returned to the cave.

The faint red mark of her palm was still visible on Xuan Jin’s face.

Expressionless, the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman went to the riverbank. He chose a huge boulder and, with his Snake Scales, easily shaved it flat. He hollowed it out, carving a large stone basin. He then carried the basin to a small stream, filled it with water, and hauled the entire thing, basin and water, back into the cave.

When the massive stone basin landed, Nan Zishi felt the ground itself tremble.

After setting down the stone basin, the male Snake Beastman stood to the side, crossing his arms as he watched her. ”Little female, time for a bath.”

’A bath? A bath would actually be nice.’

Nan Zishi said, ”Get out.”

”Why would I do that?”

”Males and females should keep their distance!” Nan Zishi said. ”I’m going to bathe, so you should give me some privacy.”

’Keep their distance? Their mating bond was still active. The mark of her hand was still on his face. And now she was lecturing him about propriety between males and females?’

’The other Snake Beastmen were right. Even after successfully bonding, a Cold-blooded Snake Beastman would never be liked by his female.’

’He had no place in her heart.’

’But that was fine. He would force his way in.’

The male Snake Beastman said, ”A male is responsible for helping his mate bathe.”

’Heh. Did she look like she wanted his help bathing?’

”No. I refuse.”

”I’m taking care of you. This is a Beast Husband’s duty. Why would you refuse?”

Nan Zishi saw the stubborn look in his eyes and took two steps back.

’Hah. It’s not like I have to bathe. If it comes to it, I just won’t wash at all!’

Nan Zishi walked over to the stone bed and lay down.

His dark eyes stared at her, and then his massive snake tail coiled around her, lifting her from the stone bed.

”What are you doing?!”

While Nan Zishi was still struggling, the massive snake tail had already pushed her down into the water.

”Bathing you,” Xuan Jin said, his voice calm.

Nan Zishi was about to lose it. ”No, you can’t! I don’t want you washing me!!”

As the huge snake tail slithered over her body, Nan Zishi’s hair stood on end.

”Ngh...”

Xuan Jin stared at her. ”Feels good?”

”Get lost, you damn snake!”