Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Female Master... Has a New Favorite

"It’s because of some of you."

Yu An said loudly, "It makes no difference to me where I sell my food. The only reason I haven’t moved is because my Zaizai like it here."

"Since your tribe doesn’t welcome my Zaizai, then there’s no reason for me to stay in one place."

"What? Boss Yu, how could we not welcome Da Hu and Xiao Yu? I adore them!"

"Yeah, yeah! Every time I pick wild fruits, I share some with them."

Yu An’s gaze swept over the crowd. Some people looked completely lost, clearly having no idea what was going on. But others had shifty eyes, obviously recalling something they had done.

She didn’t beat around the bush and directly recounted what had happened.

Someone in the crowd muttered under their breath, "I just said it casually. Who knew he’d take it seriously?"

"We were just teasing him, making a joke. Little cubs are tough. How could a few words make one cry...?"

"Said it casually? Making a joke?"

Yu An retorted sharply, "Does scaring a cub with his Female Mother’s life and death give you a sense of accomplishment? My children are young and can’t take such frights. If you scared them sick, you couldn’t afford to pay."

"And another thing, who knows how many cubs you’ve scared with similar words. Even if they didn’t cry, it could have left a psychological scar. If it affects a Zaizai’s health, can you take responsibility for that?"

Da Hu immediately jumped into the fray, but his vocabulary was lacking. He could only repeat insults like "bad guys" and "jerks."

Han Li sneakily tried to teach him some new insults but was scared off by a single look from Yu An.

Feng Xuan’s gaze occasionally swept over to Yu An. ’This ugly female is quite protective of her cubs,’ he thought. ’She’s a good Female Mother.’

Many cubs in the tribe had been "teased" like this before, but their parents, worried about saving face, were too embarrassed to say much.

But thinking about it now, if those people had the gall to bully their Zaizai, why should they be too embarrassed to curse them out?

The few loud-mouthed Beastmen were thoroughly berated until they obediently apologized. Only then did Yu An let them off the hook.

"Xiao Yu," Yu An said solemnly, "if anyone ever says something like that to you again, you whip them hard in the face with your tail and ask them if they have any shame!"

Xiao Yu’s tears turned to laughter. His eyes sparkled as he nodded emphatically. "Okay!"

Since she had already said she would change her stall’s location, Yu An didn’t go back on her word just because those people apologized.

Seeing her resolute attitude, the people of the Giant Stone Tribe wanted to ask Bai Rong to help persuade her, but Bai Rong just spread his hands with a helpless look.

"Who told them to run their mouths? I’m not getting involved in this mess. It’s not like Boss Yu won’t sell us her delicacies; we just have to line up a little earlier, that’s all."

That being said, it meant their previous advantage of proximity was completely gone.

The pearls Xiao Yu had cried were collected, filling a large box. He was still young, so the pearls were tiny and perfectly round.

Yu An planned to find some time to make a few small accessories to dress up her cub.

"Yu An, you live in a place like this?"

Before, with only Yu An and Mo Yan as adults, the cave had felt quite spacious. Now, with two more tall and strapping males, the cave seemed very cramped.

"We’ll make do for a few days. Since there are more people now, you all can find some time to dig the cave out and make it bigger."

’Only a fool wouldn’t use free labor.’ With the abilities of these three, she’d be living in a big house in two or three days.

The wild beasts that had been standing guard nearby saw them return and quickly trotted over, carrying the wild pheasants they had hunted.

Yu An crouched down and patted each of them on the head. "Good boys. I’ll make you something delicious in a bit."

Feng Xuan was in a constant state of shock. He wanted to help but found he was just in the way; even a fox was more useful than him.

Da Hu was even more direct: "Uncle Feng, why don’t you just come over here and watch my little brother."

Stop making trouble for the Female Mother.

Feng Xuan’s face darkened as he walked over. "What do you mean, Uncle Feng? Call me Beast Father."

Da Hu made a face, then scampered away.

Feng Xuan: "..."

He took a deep breath and tried to strike up a conversation with Xiao Yu to learn more about their situation.

Xiao Yu gave him a polite smile, then went back to leaning on the edge of a basin to watch Yu An cook, doing his best to ensure the Female Mother would see his sweet, smiling face every time she looked over.

Feng Xuan: "..."

Yu An had ridden back on a tiger, so she wasn’t tired at all. With Mo Yan and Han Li helping, she only had to be in charge of the cooking.

There was egg fried rice made at Da Hu’s request, as well as spicy mala shrimp, boiled fish in chili oil, and roasted chicken... It was a whole table full of dishes Feng Xuan had never seen before. The aroma was intoxicating, but he was too proud to go over and eat.

He hadn’t helped with anything, and his relationship with Yu An was awkward. She probably hadn’t even made a portion for him. It was better not to invite humiliation.

He was the magnificent Clan Leader of the Tiger Clan! He would never bow his head for a single meal!

"Feng Xuan, what are you standing there spacing out for? Come eat. I’ll need your help later."

Feng Xuan coughed. "Coming!"

’I’m not just eating for free,’ he thought. ’I have to work!’

He got to try a bit of everything—spicy, numbing, savory, and fragrant. At the dinner table, Da Hu even placed a peeled shrimp in his bowl, moving Feng Xuan deeply.

"Beast Father won’t eat it, you have it. You’re still growing."

Da Hu quickly moved his bowl away. "I don’t want it. It’s too spicy."

"Then eat something else," Feng Xuan said, his heart aching for the boy. "Don’t peel any more shrimp. Beast Father can peel his own."

"I wasn’t peeling it for you," Da Hu huffed, placing a perfectly whole shrimp into Yu An’s bowl. "That one wasn’t complete."

’So, he only gave me the incomplete one?’

Feng Xuan’s heart broke.

But soon enough, he had no time to be sad. There were too many preparations to be made, and Yu An had the three males, including him, running around in circles.

Bleeding, plucking, butchering, and marinating—with more people, the work was divided among them and finished quickly.

"All this work, you used to do it all by yourself? That’s too much."

Feng Xuan asked casually once they had a moment of rest.

"I have Mo Yan to help me," Yu An said, propping her head on her hand as she watched Mo Yan bathe Da Hu and Xiao Yu. "It’s not really that hard. It’s all for the sake of earning money to raise my Zaizai."

The moonlight spilled onto her face, the gentle breeze rustled her hair, and her eyes were full of a soft light.

For a moment, Feng Xuan was captivated. He unconsciously reached out, wanting to tuck a slightly messy strand of Yu An’s hair behind her ear.

But just then, Han Li’s figure suddenly appeared, inserting himself right between the two of them. "An’an, it’s late. You should go rest."

He glanced at Feng Xuan’s awkwardly retracting hand and silently shielded Yu An more completely.

Feng Xuan felt a surge of shame and anger. Yu An was the most famously ugly female in the Imperial City. How could he—how could he possibly think she was beautiful?

’An illusion. It must be an illusion!’

Yu An saw their little exchange but paid it no mind. Compared to that, there was something else she was more curious about.

"I’m too tired to walk," she said with a yawn. "Han Li, can you carry me over?"

"Of course!"

Han Li’s eyes lit up, and like a puppy receiving its master’s affection, he picked Yu An up and placed her on the bed.

"An’an," he said after putting her down, not moving away. "My fur is thick and warm. Let me warm you up."

Before Yu An could answer, Mo Yan, who had just put the Zaizai to sleep, walked over.

His dark eyes stared fixedly at Yu An. "Found a new favorite, have you? Don’t need me anymore?"

Even though his tone was flat, Yu An could detect a hint of jealousy.

"Of course she doesn’t need you," Han Li said, draping his big, fluffy tail over Yu An. "Before, she had no choice but to make do with you. Now that she has me, I’m all she needs."

Mo Yan ignored him, his eyes fixed on Yu An. "Is that what you think, too?"