Chapter 184 - 180: You Must Fight for Favor

Both of them slept soundly through the night.

Nan Zishi hummed contentedly in her sleep.

Hu Bai couldn’t resist leaning down to give her a couple of kisses.

When Nan Zishi opened her eyes, she was met with Hu Bai’s incomparably handsome face.

She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.

She then tilted her face up and pecked his lips twice.

’I probably haven’t satisfied him yet,’ Nan Zishi thought, ’but there’s no rush.’ After all, Hu Bai was the Beast Husband she doted on the most. She felt it was perfectly fine to take things slow and let them unfold naturally.

Besides, the corners of Hu Bai’s eyes had been unusually red last night.

It was as if what they did was more torturous for him than actual mating.

...

The males in the house had a sense of smell that was far too keen.

First thing in the morning, all the males’ eyes were glued to her, their gazes tinged with a peculiar resentment. Something was off with every single one of them.

Each one gazed at her with a look of profound grievance, the air thick with jealousy.

This was especially true for Xuan Jin, whose dark circles were quite pronounced.

The Xuan Snake Beastman’s brow was deeply furrowed. He crossed his arms and muttered, "Little female, did Hu Bai make you pleasure him last night?!"

In the Beast World, males always pleased females. It was unheard of for a female to please a male in return.

For a female to go out of her way to make a male happy... what that meant, what that represented... every male present understood completely.

Even he, for all his pride, had never imagined letting her hold that kind of power over him.

’Hu Bai actually did that?!’

Nan Zishi was still a bit shy, after all. The tips of her ears turned red. "Hu Bai didn’t ask me to. I wanted to."

Xuan Jin’s expression grew even darker.

This was favoritism. This was a love between equals. The meaning was entirely different.

With so many husbands, Nan Zishi couldn’t possibly attend to every single one.

Since she couldn’t treat them all equally, she decided to just give up and embrace her bias.

She simply favored Hu Bai. And she was going to be blatant about it!

This blatant favoritism made her other five Beast Husbands burn with jealousy.

Xuan Jin, Lanxing, Wolf Day, and Wolf Ye grew thoughtful. ’If we want the female master’s favor, it seems we have to compete for it.’

’And if we want what the female master did for Hu Bai last night... we’ll have to compete even harder!’

Only Chi Xiao looked crestfallen. He glanced over at Wolf Day and Wolf Ye. ’Right now, the only ones who haven’t received the female master’s favor are me and the wolf brothers.’

Wolf Ye noticed Chi Xiao’s gaze and looked up, giving him a polite smile.

’Next, my brother, Xuan Jin, and I are accompanying the female master back to the mining area. We’ll be close to her, so it’ll be easier to make a move.’

’Chi Xiao has to go back to the Eastern High Mountain to reclaim his territory...’

’Sorry, brother.’

’In the game of male competition, you use every trick you’ve got. There’s no room for concessions.’

As the favored one, Hu Bai had to admit it felt amazing. He couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from curling up.

Because he couldn’t bear to see her struggle, Hu Bai had taught the Silver Wolf Brothers some simple recipes during the few days Nan Zishi was home.

Wolf Ye knew his chance to shine had arrived. He brought over a plate of food, his tail wagging. "Female master, I tried making breakfast. Would you like to try some?"

"Of course," Nan Zishi said with a smile.

Hu Bai went to inspect Wolf Ye’s food. It was meat boiled in salt water.

Still a bit crude, though.

He fished the meat out of the brine, carried it aside to slice it, and then prepared a dipping sauce before serving it to Nan Zishi.

As Nan Zishi ate her breakfast, she watched Hu Bai pull Wolf Day and Wolf Ye aside to give them further instruction on her dietary preferences and daily habits.

’Hu Bai is so thoughtful.’

Hu Bai instructed them in a low voice, "Wolf Day, Wolf Ye, our female master is delicate. Even in the mining area, she must be cared for delicately. Xuan Jin isn’t meticulous, so you two must be."

Wolf Day and Wolf Ye replied, "Don’t worry. We will take good care of the female master."

After all necessary instructions were given, the sorrowful time of parting arrived.

Little Fu would go with Lanxing, Huo Jun with Chi Xiao, and Lang Xian, Wolf Mu, She Yang, and Fox Qi with Hu Bai.

Nan Zishi’s heart ached, feeling that Hu Bai had it too tough.

Hu Bai smiled gently. "It’s actually less work with more cubs. They can play amongst themselves, and the four of them can look after each other."

Wolf Day and Wolf Ye said gratefully, "Hu Bai, we’re entrusting our two cubs to you."

Xuan Jin paused for a moment before saying awkwardly, "I’ll leave Yang’er in your care."

As if Xuan Jin had only just remembered he had a son, She Yang turned his head away and ignored his scumbag of a father.

He turned to his mother and said sweetly, "Don’t worry, Mother! We’ll take good care of Father Hu Bai!"

Xuan Jin was speechless. ’You little brat,’ he thought. ’So everyone else is ’Father’ except for me, is that it?!’

Lang Xian, Wolf Mu, and Fox Qi also chimed in obediently, "Don’t worry, Mother! We’ll take care of ourselves, and we’ll take care of Father Hu Bai too!"

Chi Xiao took Huo Jun, carried Lanxing and Little Fu on his back, and headed for the Eastern Sea.

Hu Bai shifted into his beast form, carrying the four cubs and Little Lao Liu on his back as he headed toward the Eastern Forest.

Nan Zishi watched her departing Beast Husbands, waving reluctantly.

"Chi Xiao! Lanxing! Hu Bai! Huo Jun! Fufu! Fox Qi! Lang Xian! Wolf Mu! Yang’er! Have a safe trip! I’ll miss you all!"

"Goodbye, Mother!"

"Mother!"

"Goodbye, Mother!"

"We’ll miss you!"

The males looked back one last time to wave at Nan Zishi, their every step hesitant as they reluctantly went their separate ways.

Chi Xiao flew swiftly.

’Since the female master wants to unite the East,’ he thought, ’then when I go back this time, I won’t just reclaim the Eastern High Mountain Territory—I’ll expand it as much as I can!’

’The female master will definitely be happy when she sees a huge, huge territory. Then maybe she’ll mate with me.’

’Hehehe!’

Lanxing, with Fufu’s wooden bucket on his back, held on tight to Chi Xiao.

’Since my sister wants the power of the sea,’ he thought, ’I’ll have a good talk with my brothers and sisters when I get back about how to grasp that power for her.’

Hu Bai also ran swiftly.

He was different from Chi Xiao and Lanxing. They had already laid the groundwork and could claim their territories as soon as they returned.

He, on the other hand, had not. To conquer the Eastern Forest, he still had much to do.

’But that’s alright. Even if I’m a little behind right now, I’m sure I’ll catch up quickly.’

’I will conquer the Eastern Forest and offer it to the female master who has been so good to me.’

Fox Qi asked in a small voice, "Daddy, why are you blushing?"

Hu Bai shook his head. "It’s nothing."

’Last night’s experience had been... exceptional. It was deeply etched into his mind, giving him a taste of something exquisite that he couldn’t help but savor again and again, becoming completely infatuated...’

’I won’t be able to see the female master in the days to come. I’ll have to rely on these memories to get by... How awful.’

...

After sending off so many of her Beast Husbands and their cubs, Nan Zishi felt an emptiness in her heart.

She tried calling out in her mind, "Beast God. Are you still there?"

[I am here.]

After absorbing the Blood Stones and Beast Crystal Stones in the mining area, the Beast God, Lu Yu, had regained enough power to respond to Nan Zishi whenever she called.

[Nan Zishi, have you truly decided? To stay in the Beast World and fight by my side?]

"Yes, I’ve decided."

An illusory image of Lu Yu appeared beside her, joining her in gazing out at the vast desert.

"Beast God, what do I have to do to win this war?"

Lu Yu turned his head, his voice gentle. [Nan Zishi, my physical body is suppressed beneath the mining area, sealed by the High Priest with an Array. To fight against the Priest Hall and the system, you must first free my body.]

"I understand."

She turned and looked at Wolf Day, Wolf Ye, Xuan Jin, and Lu Ming behind her.

She waved to them.

"Xuan Jin, Wolf Day, Wolf Ye, Lu Ming, it’s time for us to head back to the mining area."

"Right!"