Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Beast Father Will Give You a Complete Family

"Yu... Yu An, what do you need me to do?"

"Chop some wood," Yu An said, pointing to the goat. "We’re out of firewood, and I’ll need it after I finish milking."

Feng Xuan nodded silently and turned to chop wood.

Da Hu tilted his little head. "Female Mother, can I go help Beast Father?"

"Of course you can. Go on. Xiao Yu, Xiao Hu, do you two want to go?"

"No," Xiao Hu said, shaking his head. Holding up a handkerchief, he declared seriously, "I have to wipe Female Mother’s sweat."

Xiao Yu fed some fresh grass to the goat. "Female Mother, I want to feed the little kid."

Da Hu went over by himself. For such a small child, he had quite a determined air about him as he walked to the chopping area to carry wood for Feng Xuan.

Feng Xuan’s heart warmed. "Da Hu, weren’t you going to make milk tea with Female Mother? Beast Father can handle this himself."

Da Hu shook his head. "Female Mother has Xiao Yu and Xiao Hu. Beast Father needs a Zaizai to keep him company, too."

Feng Xuan was deeply touched and worked with renewed vigor.

After carrying wood for a while, Da Hu grew a little tired. He sat down on a large log to watch Feng Xuan chop.

As he watched, he suddenly sighed. "Beast Father, are Xiao Hu and I not going to see you anymore?"

Feng Xuan paused. "Why would you say that?"

"Lan Ying Beast Father said you’re the Clan Leader of the Tiger Clan. He said you can’t stay in the exiled land forever and will have to return to your clan sooner or later."

"Xiao Hu and I don’t want to leave Female Mother, and..."

He glanced up at Feng Xuan, then lowered his head and mumbled, "...we don’t want to leave Beast Father either."

"I’m so envious of Xiao Yu. He gets to have both a Female Mother and a Beast Father. In the future, Xiao Hu and I will be Zaizai with no Beast Father."

He was a smart cub and could tell that out of the five Beast Fathers, only his own biological father, Feng Xuan, wasn’t close with Yu An.

A Beast Husband who wasn’t favored by the Female Master would eventually be cast aside. No matter how smart Da Hu was, he was still just a little Zaizai who needed both his parents. He didn’t want to leave his Female Mother, and... he didn’t want to lose his Beast Father.

Feng Xuan’s fists clenched. He slowly walked over to Da Hu and squatted down to look him in the eye.

"Da Hu," he said softly. "Don’t worry. Beast Father will give you a complete family."

Da Hu fretted, "But what about the Tiger Clan? Beast Father is the Clan Leader; you have to manage the whole clan."

"A little Zaizai like you shouldn’t worry so much," Feng Xuan said, ruffling his little head. "Beast Father will handle it."

"The clan won’t fall apart just because your Beast Father isn’t there. All matters are handled by their respective managers. Your Beast Father only needs to make the final call on major issues."

Da Hu’s face lit up. "Beast Father, does that mean you’re not leaving?"

Feng Xuan smiled and nodded. "That’s right. I’m not leaving."

When Feng Xuan returned from chopping wood, Yu An found he’d become overly enthusiastic. He rushed to do every little task, and he’d even started calling her "An’an" instead of "Yu An."

Lan Ying shot Mo Yan a few sharp glares. "Didn’t you say An’an couldn’t stand him?"

Mo Yan nonchalantly skewered potato slices. "He and An’an have two Zaizai together. They were bound to develop feelings for each other eventually."

’It was just a matter of when Feng Xuan would figure it out. And look, it seems he finally has.’

"We’re all An’an’s Beast Husbands. If we’re always fighting, we might just give some other male an opening. It’s better to get along, so we don’t annoy An’an and make her grow tired of us."

Ao Wu scoffed but said nothing, his expression disdainful. Lan Ying, however, looked thoughtful.

Feng Xuan was being so enthusiastic that Yu An found it a little unsettling. She sent him over to help Mo Yan and the others.

Once the ingredients for the milk tea were ready, Yu An began her work.

First, she toasted the black tea and white sugar in a pot over low heat until it reached a caramel color. Then, she added a bit of water and milk, stirred it all together, and turned off the heat.

The "pearls" in pearl milk tea are made with tapioca, but Yu An just rummaged through her personal "space" and pulled out a finished batch.

She strained the tea leaves from the mixture, added the cooked pearls, and just like that, a simple, homemade milk tea was ready.

A rich, milky fragrance filled the air. The three Zaizai gathered around Yu An, their eyes wide with anticipation for the delicious treat.

Yu An said with a gentle smile, "Go get your Beast Fathers. We’ll all have some milk tea together."

The three little ones let out a cheer and, with a PATTER PATTER PATTER of their short legs, ran off to find their Beast Fathers.

Mo Yan and the others had all had goat’s milk before, but it always had an unpleasantly gamey flavor that couldn’t be gotten rid of. It was something they only drank when they were cubs. They had never encountered goat’s milk that was so fragrant and sweet.

The milk tea was an amber color, with a rich aroma and a sweet scent that hit you right away. It was delicate and smooth on the palate, and the black pearls inside had a springy, chewy texture that was completely new to them.

Lan Ying was curious. "What kind of pearl is this? You can actually eat it!"

’He’d never seen anything like it underwater. Could it be a new species?’

Yu An explained, "They’re called pearls, but they aren’t real pearls. They’re just named that because of how they look." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Oh," Lan Ying said earnestly, cradling his milk tea. "These pearls are much better. Merfolk pearls are only good for decoration; they have no other use. All form, no function."

"But I like them," Yu An said with a grin. "You should cry some more for me. I want to collect the prettiest pearls to make jewelry."

Lan Ying agreed instantly. "Of course. But I can’t seem to cry right now."

’He was just too happy right now to shed a single tear.’

Yu An was only teasing and was about to say it was fine, but then Lan Ying added, "However, I might be able to cry at a different time and place."

He leaned in close to Yu An’s ear, his breath hot against her skin. "In bed... An’an, you can make me... cry."

Three pairs of eyes shot daggers at Lan Ying. If looks could kill, he would have been sliced to ribbons.

"Fox spirit!"

"Vile male!"

"Shameless!"

The three of them muttered curses under their breath simultaneously.

Xiao Yu tugged on Lan Ying’s hand. "Beast Father, what’s a ’fox spirit’?"

Da Hu and Xiao Hu were curious as well.

Lan Ying pinched his chubby cheeks, his expression perfectly composed. "It’s a compliment for your Beast Father. It means he knows how to make the Female Master happy."

"Don’t spout nonsense in front of the Zaizai," Yu An said, her face flushing as she pushed him away. "Finish your drink and get back to work. No slacking off!"

Lan Ying took the opportunity to ask for a kiss, and left completely satisfied, rubbing the spot she’d slapped in return.

Yu An was left speechless. When she turned, she was met with three pairs of eyes filled with longing and envy, which left her even more speechless.

’Wanting to have it all will be your undoing!’

After a simple lunch, the family went to set up their stall.

A long line had already formed in front of the stall. At the very front were not only Beastmen from the two local tribes, but also residents from within the city.

What surprised Yu An was that the person at the very front of the line was none other than Housekeeper Han.

Whatever their reasons, the Beastmen all greeted Yu An enthusiastically. She returned their greetings as she finished setting up the stall.

Skewers of meat and vegetables were laid out in neat rows. Beneath the grill, the charcoal was already glowing.

"I’ll have ten beef skewers, five..."

Housekeeper Han placed his order briskly, his words so practiced it was as if he’d rehearsed them many times in his head. To be honest, he was a little nervous, since Yu An had previously told him she wouldn’t sell him any food.

But Yu An said nothing, and even grabbed a few extra skewers he hadn’t ordered.

"What’s this...?"

Yu An smiled. "Housekeeper Han, you could say we got to know each other through our little spat. How about we let bygones be bygones?"

"Please, take these. A little something from a junior like me to show my respect."

Housekeeper Han seemed a bit flustered. He cleared his throat. "Very well. It’s not as if we have some deep-seated grudge, after all."

Perhaps it was because Yu An no longer had the birthmark, but he found her much more pleasing to the eye than last time. She even looked a little familiar.

The smile on Yu An’s lips widened. "You’re right. We should see more of each other from now on."