Beast World: A Fragile Beauty Blessed with Many Children-Chapter 23 - 22: It Is My Honor to Work for My Own Female
Seeing the little female earnestly pretending to be deaf and mute in front of others, he dotingly played along, speaking slowly. "In the Beast World, the environment in the Central Continent is better than in our remote regions. The rainy and winter seasons aren’t as long, and the winters aren’t particularly cold.
All kinds of Beastmen gather there, and many skilled Beastmen are willing to go and put down roots.
They don’t live in caves. They make their own square bricks from mud, then build houses with them, topping them with wood and straw...
The population in a single city is very large. To give you an idea, the population of just one family in a city could rival your entire Luoni Tribe. Moreover, every family of a certain size supports at least one Female Saint..."
Si Shuo listened intently. ’The Central Continent must be where civilization truly began and developed further.’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"But that place is too far. I’ve never been there either; this is all just news passed along from other Traveling Merchant Teams.
Little Shushu, if you’re interested, once you’ve found your Beast Husbands, how about we follow a powerful Traveling Merchant Team with plenty of Beastmen and go check out the Central Continent?
If it’s really as the stories say, it would be great for us to settle down there."
Si Shuo bit her lip and whispered, "Do I have to find... a lot of them?"
Ji Liang said faintly, "Little Shushu, you’re still young, having grown up in the tribe. You haven’t witnessed the cruelty of the outside world.
Natural disasters, Beast Tides, packs of Rogue Beasts, the ambitions of Beastmen themselves, conflicts between tribes, battles over resources... each one is devastatingly powerful.
You see the Luoni Tribe living peacefully now, one of the larger tribes south of the Dongye Forest.
This was bought with the lives of countless Warriors during the annual spring hunt, and there’s no telling how long it will last.
It’s entirely possible that the Luoni Tribe could cease to exist tomorrow. When that time comes, do you think just Zhi Le and I would be enough to protect you?"
Si Shuo’s face turned slightly pale. ’He’s right. Since I was reborn, the farthest I’ve gone is the thicket for gathering and the few surrounding mountains that have been cleared of Wild Beasts.’
The news she heard was all secondhand from other Beastmen—exaggerated stories they repeated over and over until she grew numb to them, never truly gaining a deep understanding of this world.
Ji Liang took her hand, caressing it gently. "There, there. Reality isn’t that scary. You have us, don’t you?
Look at the situation now, for example. Zhi Le is on the spring hunt, and I can’t leave the Traveling Merchant Team, so you don’t have one of your own males here to guard you.
Even if we ask others to watch out for you, tying them to us with favors and mutual interests, they’ll prioritize their own females when real danger strikes.
And what if we’re out traveling and run into a vicious pack of twenty or thirty Rogue Beasts?"
Si Shuo nodded, as if taking on a monumental task. "I’ll do my best to find powerful males with good character, so we can all be safe!"
Ji Liang finally couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck and breathing in her soft fragrance. "Little Shushu, go ahead and look, but you have to dote on me more. Don’t you dare forget about me."
Si Shuo stiffened for a moment. His body felt pleasantly cool against hers, and his broad chest gave her an overwhelming sense of security. It sparked a feeling of attachment, not the revulsion and dislike she had expected.
She slowly rested her head on his shoulder. "I won’t. Each of you will be one of a kind."
Ji Liang nuzzled her relentlessly. "Little Shushu, I wish I could just spirit you away right now..."
At the bonfire party, everyone knew Ji Liang had his eyes on Si Shuo. They figured that after he finished this trip, he would come back and settle down as her second Beast Husband.
The other Beastmen couldn’t stop murmuring about it, completely unable to understand what Ji Liang was thinking.
He had power, connections, and wealth—more than enough to become the first Beast Husband to a Female Saint. So why was he so eager to be the second Beast Husband for a deaf, frail, abnormal female cat?
But another piece of explosive news was also making the rounds.
Yimei, the female with low fertility, had actually taken in a Rogue Beast with decent Combat Power.
Ji Liang stayed glued to Si Shuo’s side the whole time, grilling meat and fetching fruit for her, acting exceptionally attentive and doting.
Si Shuo’s heart pounded in her chest. She let him hold her hand, fingers intertwined, and in a daze, she was fed until she was completely stuffed!
Tonight was the fourth day. She didn’t feel as unwell, though her temperature was still a bit higher than normal, and she felt a little irritable.
Ji Liang was still kept outside her door. Unwilling to give up, he asked, "Little Shushu, I’m leaving the day after tomorrow. Are you sure you don’t want my Beast Mark?
I want to be able to sense your location and well-being at all times, even when I’m not with you.
I saw you at dinner. Before you ate, you touched Zhi Le’s Beast Mark..."
A small smile played on Si Shuo’s lips. "I’m giving you a chance to back out. What if you meet another female you like during your travels?"
Ji Liang scoffed. "I’ve been a trader for so many years without meeting anyone, and now I’m supposed to meet two on one trip? The Beast God must really be looking out for me.
Seriously, Si Shuo, if I give you my Beast Mark, you’ll be healthier. Both Zhi Le and I will be able to rest easier when we’re away."
Si Shuo shook her head. "Actually, I shouldn’t have let Zhi Le do it in the first place. His strength had already fallen a lot. With the spring hunt being so dangerous, giving me his Beast Mark must have affected his power to some extent."
’Too bad I only had a half-baked understanding of Beast Marks back then. All I was thinking about was getting through the Mating Period and completing my mission.’
Ji Liang smiled and said, "Zhi Le is hard to kill. Even the Beast God wouldn’t dare to take him, so don’t worry..."
After Si Shuo was fast asleep, Ji Liang slipped into the cave again and held her with restraint.
The next day, Ji Liang participated in the Luoni Tribe’s hunt again. He caught a good number of Golden Headed Chickens and Black-beaked Ducks, clipped their wings, and put them in a gully, making sure to build fences to separate the different kinds of Wild Beasts.
"Golden Headed Chickens and Black-beaked Ducks lay eggs quite frequently. Beastmen in the Central Continent raise them. You just have to toss them some wild vegetables and fruits, clip their wings, and raise them for a little while, and they’ll start laying eggs every day..."
Si Shuo smiled and beckoned him over. When he drew near, she stood on her tiptoes to wipe the sweat from his brow. "You’ve worked hard, Lord Ji Liang!"
Ji Liang caught her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. "It is my honor to toil for my female."
Because the Dark Crow Trading Team was leaving the next day, Beastmen came in an endless stream to trade for goods, and even the usually laid-back Ji Liang was bustling about.
By evening, Si Shuo was back to normal. She no longer had to worry about that faint restlessness within her.
Ji Liang pressed a heavy beast skin pouch into her hands. "Little Shushu, my feelings for you have always been serious. Just because I’m leaving for a while, don’t you dare treat all my efforts these past few days as child’s play.
Here, this is my dowry; you keep it safe for now. If I return safely, I’ll get in line to be your Beast Husband.
If I really am fickle like you said, then this bag of Crystal Stones can be my apology gift. Either way, I won’t let our Little Shushu get the short end of the stick!"
Si Shuo found her arms full once again. She couldn’t resist her curiosity and opened the pouch to peek inside. The Crystal Stones were all Seventh Level, and there were even Level 8 and Level 9 ones...
