After I Dumped 7 Beast Husbands and Ran

”Father Beast!” Fox Qi said excitedly.

”Hm?” Hu Bai looked down, a few more strands of his hair slipping out from under his cloak.

”He actually apologized to me...” Fox Qi was still baffled. He glanced behind him, then grabbed Hu Bai’s hand and held it tight.

Hu Bai looked down at him and smiled gently. ”I gave him a good scare, that’s all. He was frightened.”

”Really?” Fox Qi asked. ”Father Beast, why didn’t we take the good meat?”

Hu Bai’s smile was gentle. ”Because your pretty sister really does like to eat this stuff.”

”Huh? The pretty sister really likes this stuff? I thought you were just making that up.”

”Father Beast, how do you know what she likes? Even I don’t know.”

”I guessed.” Hu Bai paused for a moment before handing the meat to Fox Qi. ”Aqi, clean these. I’m going to gather some more firewood.”

...

After Hu Bai and his son left, the other Beast Warriors surrounded Fox Five.

”Captain, what was that all about? Why are you afraid of Hu Bai? Did he threaten you?”

Fox Five gritted his teeth. ”There’s more to that Hu Bai than meets the eye,” he finally said. ”Stay away from him from now on!”

But the other Beast Warriors weren’t convinced.

”Captain, have you lost your mind? Hu Bai is just a regular Beastman without even a Beast Pattern. His combat strength is no better than a wild animal’s. Look at him, he’s always at the back of every hunt. And he only ever manages to catch Gugu Beasts and Ga Ga Beasts. With that level of strength, what’s there to be afraid of?”

Fox Five looked at his men. They hadn’t directly borne the weight of Hu Bai’s intimidating pressure, so they couldn’t possibly understand how he felt.

In the instant Hu Bai had looked at him, the pressure Fox Five felt was like a great mountain crashing down. He’d felt as if his very bones and flesh were being pulverized, inch by inch.

’It felt like if he wanted to, he could’ve easily taken not just my arm, but my life.’

’It was terrifying. Not even a Three-striped Beast Warrior had ever subjected me to that kind of pressure.’

Fox Five could only say, ”But don’t forget, whenever Hu Bai joins a hunt, he always brings back at least one small beast.”

”It’s not much, and it’s only ever a small beast, but he never returns empty-handed.”

”The more I think about it, the less I understand Hu Bai’s true depths,” he continued. ”Let’s drop all that gossip the outsiders spread. Looking back, there must be a reason Fox Zi was so insistent on becoming mates with him, and it probably wasn’t just his good looks. All of you, be sharp. Don’t end up being used as someone’s claws without even realizing it.”

”Yes, sir!”

...

Nan Zishi and the Wolf King arrived at his den.

She deftly disinfected the she-wolf’s wound and gave her another dose of anti-inflammatory medicine.

Then, she turned her attention to the Wolf King’s six little pups.

Five of the pups were strong and had no trouble finding a spot to nurse.

But the weakest one, Little Lao Liu, was struggling. What little milk the she-wolf had was being monopolized by its five brothers. Unable to fight for a spot and lacking the strength to nurse properly, its weight was much lower than the other five.

Nan Zishi took some goat milk powder from her dimensional space and began mixing it to supplement the pup’s feeding.

The Wolf King and the she-wolf both looked at Nan Zishi, a hint of confusion in their eyes.

They didn’t understand why Nan Zishi kept saving this particular pup.

As Nan Zishi fed the little pup, her own thoughts grew turbulent.

’In the eyes of the wolf couple, Little Lao Liu was born weak. It would grow into a scrawny wolf, unable to hunt, a burden on the pack. It would easily fall prey to stronger beasts in the future.’

’So why feed it? Why save it?’

’With such limited resources, it makes sense to let the strong cubs live.’

’Survival of the fittest.’

As Nan Zishi gently pushed the plunger of the feeding syringe, she thought...

’In human society, a pet’s life or death is largely determined by its owner.’

’They don’t have to hunt, and they won’t be hunted. Their strength isn’t as important as their ability to live and please their humans.’

’But it’s different for wild animals. They face life-or-death challenges every moment. A weak animal is destined to become food.’

’So is my action... saving it right now... going against the laws of nature? Is it... a pointless effort?’

Nan Zishi felt lost for a few seconds, but her mindset shifted as she watched the little one struggling with all its might to drink the milk.

’I’m saving it, giving it a chance at life. This is what I should do as a Beast Doctor. It’s my calling.’

’As for the future... even strong wolves can be killed, so why shouldn’t a weak one get a chance to fight for its life?’

’Since I’ve chosen to intervene, I will be the one to give it that chance.’

After she finished feeding the pup, Nan Zishi returned it to its mother.

She also gave the she-wolf some of the milk formula and a nutrient paste, then stroked her head. ”You’ve been through a lot.”

The she-wolf gently nudged Nan Zishi’s head with her own and let out a soft whine.

The Wolf King was still sound asleep nearby. Nan Zishi was ready to leave and called to him twice, but he didn’t stir.

The she-wolf, enduring the pain in her belly, struggled to her feet and gave the Wolf King a sharp bite, followed by a scolding: ”AWOO! AWOO!”

The Wolf King shot awake, looking around in a flustered panic before realizing it was time to take Nan Zishi home.

Nan Zishi couldn’t help but chuckle. ”I guess I misjudged you before. Turns out you’re completely henpecked.”

The Wolf King’s lowered tail gave two slight wags, and he crouched down for Nan Zishi to climb on.

As she settled onto the Wolf King’s back for the ride back to Stone Village, Nan Zishi suddenly remembered what Fox Qi had said that morning.

’That little guy said he wanted to treat me to a meal.’

’Since I’m going to be a guest at their home, it wouldn’t be right to show up empty-handed.’

Nan Zishi said, ”Little bro, let’s go a bit slower on the way back. I want to see if I can find any wild vegetables along the way.”

The Wolf King didn’t understand her completely, but he seemed to get the gist of it, so he kept a slower pace on the way back.

Sure enough, on the way back, Nan Zishi found some edible-looking plants growing around the roots of a tree she didn’t recognize.

”Stop! Are these... tea tree mushrooms? There are so many!”

Nan Zishi hopped off the Wolf King’s back.

’Although I have food in my dimensional space, I don’t know how long I’ll be in this Beast World. Every bit I use is a bit I won’t have later, so I should save it for emergencies. It’s better to find my own food day-to-day.’

Nan Zishi bent down, picked one of the mushrooms, and examined it closely. ”Yep, definitely tea tree mushrooms.”

Nan Zishi took a disposable plastic bag from her dimensional space and started filling it with the mushrooms.

Little Snake Yang didn’t understand. ”HSSS! HSSS HSSS...” ’Pretty sister, are you gathering those to eat? But I’ve seen Beastmen die after eating things that look like that. You can’t eat them.’

Though Nan Zishi couldn’t understand his hissing, she could clearly see the doubt in the little snake’s eyes.

She smiled and said, ”Don’t worry. These are not only edible, they’re delicious. We can dry them to store for later. They’re great to add when you’re stewing meat or chicken.”

Just after she finished speaking, Nan Zishi spotted a bird’s nest.

She scrambled up the tree and found several fresh eggs.

”Oh, look at this! A few bird eggs. A nice little treat for my little snake, Little Fox Qi, and that sickly little pup.”