After I Dumped 7 Beast Husbands and Ran

The two Wandering Beastmen didn’t notice the change in her expression and continued to chatter.

”Lord Xuan Jin is so protective of her. He hid her in a cave and didn’t let any of the beasts disturb her. None of us have ever even seen that female.”

One of the Beastmen belatedly realized what they’d said. ”Oh, no. Did we say something we shouldn’t have? Lady Nan, please don’t get the wrong idea. Our Lord Xuan Jin is very devoted. He would never fall for another female. You have to dote on him more!”

Nan Zishi asked, ”Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

The two Wandering Beastmen glanced at each other, and one said to Nan Zishi,

”We Wandering Beastmen may not have a home, but that doesn’t mean we’re all bad. Some of us are just ugly, and some are just drifters. No tribe is willing to take us in, that’s all.”

”But the tribal Beastmen are very prejudiced against us, so it’s always been hard for us to survive.”

”Then, Lord Xishi met Lord Xuan Jin. Lord Xishi decided to follow him, and soon, more and more Wandering Beasts started following Lord Xuan Jin, including us. And just like that, we had a home.”

”That’s right, we have a home now.”

”Actually, we weren’t against Lord Xuan Jin taking a mate. Having a family is a good thing, of course.”

”Conflicts are always breaking out between the Beastman tribes. As Wandering Beastmen, we can’t survive the way the tribes do. To stay alive, we have to fight for resources, which means we often clash with other Beastmen, like the Jackal Wolf Beastmen, Vulture Beastmen, and Scorpion Beastmen.”

”Around that time, the Jackal Wolf Beastmen were trying to steal our prey. Lord Xuan Jin is incredibly strong, so they never succeeded. Their Beast Quality is terrible—they’d attack us whenever they lost.”

”They’d wait for a chance to ambush and harm any Beastman near the swamp, regardless of whether they were a Wandering Beast or not. If their victim was a Wandering Beastman, it was revenge. If not, they’d frame us for the attack!”

The two Wandering Beastmen gritted their teeth as they spoke. ”It was really dangerous.”

”Yeah, it was. The weaker ones among us didn’t dare go outside; we could only hide in our caves.”

Nan Zishi finally managed to fish out some relevant memories of Xuan Jin from the depths of her mind.

After spending several months in Silver Wolf Village, the last of the bee venom had finally faded from her system. Afterward, she began making her way forward, feeling her way through the wilderness.

She had some experience with wilderness survival by then, but she wasn’t very strong.

She traveled like that for over half a month, stumbling along until she reached a vast swamp.

It was unnervingly quiet near the swamp.

And silence meant danger.

At the time, however, Nan Zishi hadn’t realized what kind of danger she was in.

Just as Nan Zishi was about to leave the swamp, a colossal Xuan Snake wrapped around her and took off.

Who wouldn’t be terrified at the first sight of a snake that enormous?

Thankfully, she recognized it wasn’t a wild animal, but a Beastman!

She was terrified and started pounding on him. ”Let me go! You bastard!”

”Little female, don’t struggle. It’s dangerous here.”

Then, he shut her inside a cave.

’I’ve been locked up by this giant snake?’

’This snake doesn’t seem to want to eat me.’

’But how could he be so awful?!’

Nan Zishi tried to move the boulder blocking the entrance to escape, but it wouldn’t budge an inch.

She was terrified, and the Childbirth System started chiming in.

Nan Zishi silently cursed the snake.

That evening, the Xuan Snake Beastman returned, reeking of blood. He tossed a piece of raw meat in front of her, his dark snake eyes fixed on her. ”Hungry? Eat.”

At the time, she had no idea what had happened outside. All she knew was that Xuan Jin, covered in the stench of blood, was terrifying.

’Looking back now, Xuan Jin usually doesn’t get a drop of blood on himself when he kills wild beasts.’

’So the blood on him back then... it might not have just been from beasts...’

’Could it be... that he kept me locked up all that time not to imprison me, but to protect me?’

A few of the Beastmen were still muttering, ”Lord Xuan Jin protected so many of us weaker Wandering Beastmen.”

”Yeah, that was when I swore I’d follow him for the rest of my life.”

...

Xuan Jin was still outside, chipping away at the rocks.

At his usual pace, he should have finished long ago, but he was still at it.

Nan Zishi stepped out of the cave and just watched her snake husband chipping away at the stones.

’Maybe the Xuan Jin from five years ago just didn’t know how to show he cared?’

He had locked her away. To her, it had felt like a kidnapping, an imprisonment.

But from his perspective, he might have just been trying to protect her.

’Or maybe... he was just hiding his beloved ”treasure”?’

He’s a fast learner, always thinking, always analyzing.

Ever since joining their family, he’d been secretly studying Hu Bai, because he thought Hu Bai was her favorite Beast Husband.

And he’d managed to copy him pretty well...

Nan Zishi just watched him—his wild hair, his devilishly charming eyes, his untamable spirit that was, against all odds, gradually being tamed.

The knot in her heart suddenly loosened.

He had his flaws, but he was trying to change. He was possessive, but for her sake, he was even letting go of that possessiveness.

A feeling of serene bliss washed over Nan Zishi.

She felt an urge to talk to him, to chat about what happened five years ago.

But that impulse vanished when she saw him smashing the rocks with a deliberately slow, almost arrogant air.

Xuan Jin sensed her gaze and turned to look at Nan Zishi, who greeted him with a smile.

It was a look that could span a lifetime.

The Xuan Snake Beastman stared, stunned, for what felt like a full minute before he snapped out of it.

His tail froze mid-swing. Then, in a flash, he was in front of Nan Zishi, an arm around her waist as he looked down at her.

’The way she just looked at me... it was so strange.’

’It was a look I’ve never seen from her before.’

”Little female, are you in the mood to mate? It’s the middle of the day, but if you want to... I wouldn’t be opposed.”

DAMN IT!!!!!!

’I never should have let my guard down and started feeling nice toward him!!’

’What kind of filthy junk is rattling around in this snake’s head?!’

Furious, Nan Zishi stomped on his tail.

”Can’t you be normal for one second? It’s the middle of the day, and your mind is already in the gutter!”

’That bastard Xuan Jin! I’ll hate him for a hundred years!’

”So you don’t want to mate?”

Her stomping on his tail didn’t hurt, but he thought it was a shame. He smiled and scooped her up gingerly. ”Then let’s take a nap. I’ll help you get to sleep.”

With that, he carried her back into the cave and lay down with her on the newly made stone bed, his arm around her.

He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead. ”Why did you smile at me like that today? Have you started to like me a little?”

She didn’t really want to answer Xuan Jin’s question.

But after turning it over in her mind, Nan Zishi felt she couldn’t just keep her feelings to herself.

”Maybe... a little,” she said quietly. ”Just a little, at most.”

Xuan Jin’s mind went blank. His whole body tensed, and his face was a mask of disbelief.

”What did you say? Say it again!”

”I’m going to take a nap.” ’His hearing is so sharp, he must have heard me. Why is he making me say it again?’

”Little female! Say it again. I’m begging you! I’m really, truly begging you!”

”Zzz...”

”Hahahaha!”

The Xuan Snake’s long arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and his tail coiled around her calves. He rested his chin on her forehead.

He said excitedly, ”Nan Zishi, you’ve finally let me see this day.”

...

She was dreaming again.

In her dream, she once again found herself in the space with the seven totems.

”I’m here again.”

Nan Zishi walked through the Totem Space. The White Fox Totem and the Mermaid Totem danced joyfully around her, affectionately nuzzling against her from time to time.

To the side, the Mystic Snake Totem, which still held some resentment, was rapidly shedding its dark aura. Its body was a swirl of black and red, arrogant and domineering.

The moment Nan Zishi glanced at it, it shot into her arms, demanding cuddles.

’I’ve figured it out,’ she realized. ’You can’t even look at this totem. The moment you make eye contact, you’re done for!’

Meanwhile, the resentment emanating from the Red Eagle Totem’s mark was fading with surprising speed.

It was enormous, looking mighty and powerful, but when Nan Zishi looked its way, the totem shrank back just a little, cautiously trying to curry favor with her.

The four totems crowded around her, vying for her affection.

Just then, two Silver Wolf Totems off in the distance, both shrouded in resentment, began to stir.

They slowly began to move in her direction.

Perhaps because they didn’t seem aggressive, the four totems around Nan Zishi remained on guard but did not attack.

Nan Zishi walked toward them. ”What’s wrong with you two?”

The two Silver Wolf Totems looked battered and broken, incredibly fragile.

Then they simply collapsed right in front of Nan Zishi.

Startled, Nan Zishi rushed over to check on them.

”Hey, hey! What’s wrong? What happened to you?”

...

On the outskirts of the mining area, a large group of Sin Beasts was about to be brought in.

A Prison Guard Beast and a Sin Beast were whispering to each other.

”Lang Ce, you’ve suffered. You’re infiltrating the mining area this time to rescue the chief. Once I’ve made the arrangements, you just follow our people and leave. As for the abscesses on your face, they’ll heal in three days.”

Lang Ce, a gray wolf whose face was covered in abscesses, said urgently, ”I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Hou Ting, I heard the chief is in terrible condition.”

Hou Ting whispered, ”It is. It’s not good at all.”