Chapter 51: Chapter 51: I Am Your New Beast Father

Familiar voices echoed in her ears, and Yu An vaguely recognized them as the cubs’.

"Beast Father Mo Yan, when is Female Mother waking up?"

"Female Mother has been sleeping for a long, long time, even more than Xiao Hu."

"I hate the mean Beast Father. I’m never going to be friends with him again."

The last to speak was Xiao Yu. The little one’s voice was choked with sobs, and she could also hear Lan Yin’s low voice begging for forgiveness.

Yu An struggled for a moment before her eyes fluttered open, meeting Da Hu’s, which were red and swollen from crying.

"Female Mother, you’re awake!"

"Female Mother’s awake, Female Mother’s awake!"

The three cubs cheered in unison, hugging Yu An and refusing to let go.

"Alright, alright. You three get up first. Let your Female Mother drink some water."

Mo Yan quickly poured a cup of water and helped Yu An sit up. "An’an, drink some water."

Yu An nodded. After she drank most of the water, the fiery pain in her throat subsided a little.

"Female Mother is fine," she said, pulling the three little ones into her arms. "Don’t cry. You’ve all become little tear-stained kittens."

Da Hu sniffled. "Female Mother, Da Hu is a tiger, not a cat."

"And Xiao Yu is a fish, not a cat."

"Xiao Hu... Xiao Hu isn’t one either."

They were so tiny, yet so serious. Yu An couldn’t help but laugh.

Only Mo Yan and Lan Yin were in the cave; Feng Xuan and Ao Wu were nowhere to be seen.

Yu An looked toward Lan Yin, who stood farthest from her. "Where’s Ao Wu? Did he come back with us?"

"He’s back," Lan Yin said quickly. "The witch doctor said there was an herb that might be able to wake you, so he and Feng Xuan went to gather it."

"A witch doctor? Who?"

"The one from the Giant Stone Tribe," Mo Yan interjected. "None of us know medicine, so we brought over the witch doctors from both the Giant Stone Tribe and the Qingyan Tribe."

"We were going to ask witch doctors from other tribes, but the journey was too long, so we didn’t."

The witch doctor from the Qingyan Tribe was invited through normal means, but the one from the Giant Stone Tribe had been reluctant.

’As for how they eventually got her to come... some of the finer details weren’t worth mentioning.’

While they were talking, Feng Xuan and Ao Wu returned. Their faces were bruised and scratched up to varying degrees, and they clutched a few stalks of herbs in their hands.

"An’an, you’re awake!"

Ao Wu’s eyes lit up, and he hurried over. "An’an, you have no idea how worried I was about you! How are you feeling? Do you hurt anywhere? Look at these herbs, can any of them be used..."

He nonchalantly squeezed past Mo Yan to occupy the spot by Yu An’s bed, handing the herbs to her.

Yu An glanced at them, the corner of her mouth twitching. "These are the herbs the witch doctor from the Giant Stone Tribe had you gather?"

Ao Wu nodded. "I found a few similar-looking ones and wasn’t sure which it was, so I brought them all back."

Yu An waved her hand dismissively. "I don’t need these. Throw them far away. Better yet, smash them and bury them deep underground."

"This one is highly poisonous, this one will make a person lose their mind, and this one..."

’This was a true case of desperation leading to foolish choices. It’s a good thing I woke up when I did, otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable!’

Ao Wu hastily tossed the herbs to Lan Yin. "Do what An’an said and get rid of them."

Lan Yin frowned, but he said nothing and turned to leave.

’Ultimately, this was his fault.’

After confirming Yu An was alright, Mo Yan went to cook and Feng Xuan went to assist him. Ao Wu, meanwhile, shamelessly declared he would stay with Yu An, lingering by the bed and refusing to leave.

"Mister," Da Hu said with a stern little face, "We’ll keep Female Mother company. You can go home now."

"That’s right," Xiao Yu said, peeling a wild grape and feeding it to Yu An. "We’ll take care of Female Mother."

Seeing that his Female Mother was safe, Xiao Hu was growing sleepy again. He rubbed his eyes and dazedly chimed in with his two older brothers, "Yeah, go home, go home..."

Ao Wu ruffled each of their little heads in turn. "This mister’s home is right here. Oh, right, you all should call me Beast Father, because I am also your Female Mother’s Beast Husband."

With that one sentence, two pairs of eyes simultaneously looked over.

Feng Xuan’s chopping grew heavier. Mo Yan, in the middle of stir-frying, momentarily lost his focus and gripped the panhandle so hard it warped.

The three cubs looked to Yu An, as if asking her whether what Ao Wu said was true.

Yu An nodded. "Yes, he is indeed your new Beast Father. Do my babies like him?"

Seeing how much Yu An cared for the three cubs, Ao Wu said with a beaming smile, "Zaizai, Beast Father Ao Wu is very powerful, you know. I have Divine level Spiritual Power, so I can better protect your Female Mother and all of you."

"In the exiled land, you’ll be able to walk sideways!"

Xiao Yu pouted. "I’m not a crab. I don’t want to walk sideways."

"But since you said you can protect Female Mother, then I’ll like you as my new Beast Father."

Lan Yin heard this just as he returned. His steps faltered, and the color instantly drained from his face.

’The Zaizai don’t like me. They like the new Beast Father.’

’Is it because they love her, they love her choices too? Because they love their Female Mother, they also love the person she loves...’

Lan Yin stood in place with a complex expression, his mind racing with assumptions. After a long moment, he finally entered.

"Yu An, I’ve taken care of those."

He hesitated, then began, "Can I speak with you alone—"

"An’an, the food’s ready."

Ao Wu’s voice drowned him out. He picked up a nearby outer robe, "Let’s go eat first. You’ve slept for two days, you must be starving."

"I am pretty hungry," Yu An said, rubbing her stomach. "Oh, right, Lan Yin, what were you saying?"

Lan Yin swallowed the rest of his words and shook his head. "It’s nothing. Let’s eat first."

Mo Yan had made three light stir-fries and a bowl of steamed egg with minced meat. "An’an, see what you think."

It was a little overcooked, but the flavor was excellent. Yu An gave him a thumbs-up. "Delicious!"

Mo Yan’s lips curved into a smile. "I’m glad you like it. I’ll make it for you again."

He shot a subtle, satisfied glance at the others at the table before sitting down to eat.

The other three men sneered in unison, scorning Mo Yan’s antics.

’It was just one compliment. As if they cared.’

Feng Xuan ate with his head down, trying to ignore everything else, like Mo Yan and Ao Wu subtly gloating over whose dish Yu An tried first.

Lan Yin, whether out of guilt or some other preoccupation, quickly finished his food and said he was going to catch some shrimp.

Da Hu glanced at his soundly sleeping little brother, then at the Beast Father who was just silently shoveling down food, and exchanged a look with Xiao Yu. They both saw the helplessness in each other’s eyes.

’What a disappointing Beast Father! Doesn’t he know he needs to hurry up and curry favor, so that his sons can gain status through their father’s glory!’

"Da Hu, Xiao Yu, hurry up and eat. What are you staring into space for?"

A peeled shrimp dropped into each of their small bowls. The two little ones decided they didn’t need to gain status through their fathers after all.

’Female Mother liked them best. The Beast Fathers only came second!’

Once she was full, Yu An remembered that she had a mission. Realizing it was the fifth day of the week-long gourmet mission, she started to panic.

’It’s over, it’s over! The mission was already hard enough, now it’s definitely impossible!’

’Still, whether I finish it or not, making money is the number one priority. The mission is secondary.’

Yu An composed herself and, full of renewed vigor, began to delegate tasks.

’I might as well try. Who knows, maybe I can still complete it?’

’Maybe some rich person will come, buy everything with a wave of their hand, and just give me one hundred thousand copper coins. The "keep the change" kind.’

Yu An daydreamed as she worked.

’You have to have dreams, right? What if this one comes true?’