Chapter 471 - 468: Closing the Distance

Chapter 471: Chapter 468: Closing the Distance

On the way here, she had already learned that Shuang Hua was a Holy Female.

A Holy Female from a Super Tribe, with no Beast Husband, lacking resources, and unable to even produce a few decent beast hides—there had to be a story behind it.

Seeing the undisguised tenderness and affection in Shuang Hua’s eyes as she looked at the cubs, Bai Wanwan’s heart stirred.

She took a step forward, affectionately taking Shuang Hua’s somewhat cold hand to stop her from rummaging further. Her smile was warm and sincere. "Aunt Shuang, please don’t trouble yourself! You really don’t need to get anything else. Look,"

She pointed to the thick, warm beast-hide cushions and blankets they had brought with them, which Yan Lie and Hua Han had already arranged. "We brought our own, and we have enough! Please don’t worry about it. Just come sit down and rest."

She pulled Shuang Hua down to sit on the edge of the bed.

After they settled in, Yin Ze, Zhu Xiu, Yan Lie, and Hua Han went out to hunt, while Xin Feng and Jin Yi stayed behind to guard.

At dusk, the Beast Husbands who had gone out returned laden with spoils, carrying back seven or eight kills. The most eye-catching was a strange, small beast held in Xin Feng’s hand; it was pure white, its fur seeming to emit a faint glow in the twilight.

It was the Snow Beast—a delicacy beloved by females and notoriously difficult to capture!

Dinner took place on the platform outside the Shuang Hua Tree House.

Xin Feng skillfully butchered their prey, carefully slicing the most tender and succulent parts of the Snow Beast. He divided it into two portions, first handing one to his own female, then offering the other to Shuang Hua.

"This... This is too precious!" Shuang Hua waved her hands in refusal. "Snow Beasts are too rare. It would be a waste on me. Quick, save it for your female and the cubs!"

She stared at the glistening, translucent slices of meat giving off an alluring aroma, then forced herself to look away.

But Bai Wanwan wouldn’t take no for an answer. She used a clean bone skewer to pick up a slice of tender meat, gently holding it to Shuang Hua’s lips with a smile. "Aunt Shuang, please don’t refuse! Look at them,"

She gestured to the Beast Husbands, who were feasting heartily while butchering the other prey. "With them around, how could we ever go hungry? They can hunt every day, so we don’t have to worry about running out of food! Quick, try it. It won’t taste as good once it gets cold."

With the savory aroma right under her nose, coupled with Bai Wanwan’s sincere smile and insistent gesture, Shuang Hua finally opened her mouth.

The exquisite flavor—tender, juicy, and melting on contact—exploded on the tip of her tongue. A warm current seemed to spread from her esophagus through every limb and bone.

The taste of a top-tier ingredient, something she hadn’t experienced in a long time, made her eyes instantly well up.

Before she had even finished chewing, Bai Wanwan placed another slice in her mouth.

"Oh, you child..." Shuang Hua’s voice held a barely perceptible catch.

She lowered her head, hiding her emotions as she continued to eat in small bites.

This was the most filling, most satisfying meal she’d had since rejecting all her male suitors and her relationship with Jiao Yuan had soured.

In the past, as a Holy Female, she had enjoyed the best provisions the tribe had to offer.

But ever since she had pointed out a problem with Lan Yi, and Jiao Yuan, in a protective move, stopped giving her special treatment, the other Beastmen had followed suit and ignored her. Her quality of life had plummeted.

The tribe’s token provisions became fewer and of poorer quality. Forget precious Snow Beast Meat—she hadn’t had a single proper, filling meal in a very long time.

Physical deprivation and spiritual loneliness had long since worn away her former pride.

"I’m really full, Wanwan. You eat!"

Looking into Bai Wanwan’s concerned eyes, Shuang Hua’s heart swelled with a mix of emotions—a long-lost warmth and an inexpressible bitterness. She quickly urged Bai Wanwan to eat more.

That night, under the flickering firelight on the tree house platform, amidst the aroma of food and the cubs’ satisfied munching, it was as if a few warm stones had been tossed into the long-frozen lake of Shuang Hua’s heart, sending out the faintest of ripples.

And so, Bai Wanwan and her family settled into Shuang Hua’s tree house.

Shuang Hua had no Beast Husband or cubs of her own. Her long-standing loneliness transformed into irrepressible affection and tenderness in the face of Bai Wanwan’s lively, adorable cubs.

It was as if she had found an emotional anchor.

Every day, she would spend a great deal of time playing with the tiger cubs.

She would weave intricate little animals from dried grass to amuse them, hold them on her lap, and tell them stories while pointing to the colorful birds flying through the forest...

She would carefully divide among them the small, still-smooth seashells she had treasured for who-knows-how-long, giving them the shells to use as toys.

Whenever she managed to get her hands on anything good, be it a few rare sweet berries or a pretty stone found by the sea,

her first thought was always of the cubs. She would eagerly present her treasures to them, and as she watched their sparkling eyes and happy smiles, even the fine lines on her face seemed to smooth out.

One afternoon a few days later, sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the platform.

Shuang Hua cradled a male cub who had played himself to sleep. Watching Bai Wanwan groom a female cub, she couldn’t help but speak up again. "Wanwan, look how adorable the cubs are, and they’re still so little. It must be so hard for you, wandering all over with them. Why not... why not settle down here in our Flood Dragon Tribe? Aunt Shuang might not be very capable, but I can certainly help you look after the cubs and lend a hand!"

Her eyes were filled with longing, as if she were begging a relative, separated for many years, to stay.

Bai Wanwan saw the motherly love and loneliness nearly overflowing from Shuang Hua’s eyes.

She knew in her heart that this Flood Dragon Saintess was truly doting on her as if she were her own daughter.

She put down the comb, sat beside Shuang Hua, and took her somewhat rough hand. Her voice was especially gentle. "Aunt Shuang, I truly appreciate your kind offer. But we didn’t come here by choice. I was... I was attacked and abducted by a vicious beast, forcibly taken from my home, and ended up stranded on this continent."

She explained, half-truly, "My roots aren’t here. In the future... I have to take the cubs back home."

"Go back?" The light in Shuang Hua’s eyes instantly dimmed, filled with deep reluctance and disappointment. She murmured, "That’s right, you have a home to return to. If Aunt Shuang had... if I’d given birth to a female cub earlier, she’d probably be about your age now." Her voice was tinged with regret.

Bai Wanwan squeezed Shuang Hua’s hand in return. "Aunt Shuang, it’s not too late if you want one now."

"Never mind. I’m used to it."

Bai Wanwan’s gaze swept over her face before she smiled and said, "Aunt Shuang, if you wouldn’t mind, you can think of me as your own daughter from now on."

"Really?" Shuang Hua’s head snapped up, her eyes flaring with an incredulous, joyous light. Her voice trembled. "Wanwan... you, you really mean it?"

"Of course I do!" Bai Wanwan nodded with a smile and gave her a hug.

Shuang Hua’s defenses crumbled. She hugged Bai Wanwan back tightly, a warmth and comfort she hadn’t felt in many years washing over her.

The psychological distance between them closed in an instant, and her trust in and closeness to Bai Wanwan grew even stronger than before.

One night a few days later, moonlight streamed through the gaps in the tree house, casting a cool glow.

The cubs were fast asleep, and the Beast Husbands were either standing guard on the platform or dozing inside.

Bai Wanwan and Shuang Hua sat by the window, sharing a pot of flower-and-fruit tea that Bai Wanwan had specially brewed.

The atmosphere was serene and warm.

Watching Shuang Hua’s profile, softened in the moonlight, Bai Wanwan felt the time was right to probe her about the life of this body’s original owner.