Chapter 116 - 114: Please Punish Me, Female Master
The next day, when Nan Zishi woke up, Xuan Jin had already brought clean, fresh water to her.
His forked tongue flicked in and out, and his eyes held a gentle smile. "Little female, time to wash up."
Nan Zishi smiled warmly. "Thank you."
As Nan Zishi washed up, Chi Xiao watched from the side, curious.
’His female master seems different from the others. She really likes to be clean.’
’That’s great.’
’So special!’
The big bird’s face flushed slightly red again.
"Mommy!" Huo Jun walked to Nan Zishi’s side.
In truth, Huo Jun hadn’t even realized how clingy he was.
He became even clingier after learning that the Sister Nan he liked so much was actually his mother.
Nan Zishi grinned. "Da Bao, how about Mommy helps you brush your teeth?"
Huo Jun smiled. "Okay."
Nan Zishi took out another red cup and a red toothbrush. "Open wide."
Huo Jun opened his mouth.
While Nan Zishi was helping Huo Jun brush his teeth, Fufu hopped at her side. "Mommy, Mommy, teethy~"
Nan Zishi laughed. "Don’t worry, you’re next."
After Nan Zishi finished brushing the two little ones’ teeth, she washed their faces.
Xuan Jin waited quietly at the side.
’He truly detested the Bird Beastman Tribe. Every cell in his body was screaming at him to leave.’
’As soon as she’s done, I’m taking her away from this place covered in bird droppings!’
However, just as Nan Zishi finished brushing the two little ones’ teeth and they had all eaten breakfast, a red light streaked past.
Xuan Jin’s eyes flew open, and he cursed in a rage, "Chi Xiao! You moron!"
The enormous Fire Red Eagle was flying through the sky with his female master and cub.
The rushing wind whipped past Nan Zishi’s cheeks. Her initial nervousness gave way to an exhilarating rush once she got used to it!
"Chi Xiao, your wings are huge!"
The Fire Red Eagle loved nothing more than having his feathers and wings praised!
The male’s eyes lit up! He soared into the air with the one big and one small person on his back, making a wide loop.
"AAAAAAHHH... WOO!!!" Nan Zishi spread her arms wide, shouting with joy.
"Is it fun?" Chi Xiao asked with a laugh.
"So fun! But I’m still a little afraid of heights."
"Don’t be afraid. If you want to fly, you can’t be afraid of heights." Chi Xiao bent his head and said to Huo Jun on his back, "Junjun, do you want to fly with your mother?"
Huo Jun was also excited. "Okay!"
Nan Zishi asked in surprise, "Da Bao, you can fly?"
Huo Jun nodded.
Nan Zishi asked, "Aren’t there rumors that you can’t fly?"
Huo Jun smiled. "Mommy, Daddy told me to do it."
Chi Xiao also laughed. "Junjun can’t see, you know, so I thought it would be a safeguard for him to hide some of his abilities. That’s why I’ve been secretly taking him to far-off places to practice flying. Even though Junjun can’t see, his hearing is sharp. The sound of the wind tells him where obstacles are and where he can land."
"Oh, I see."
"Little Female Master, manifest your wings first. Junjun, you fly with your mother."
Nan Zishi said anxiously, "But I don’t know how to fly!!"
Chi Xiao laughed. "Don’t be afraid. With Junjun and me here, there’s no way we’d let you get hurt. Ready?!"
Chi Xiao did a full 360-degree spin, and Nan Zishi fell off his back!
"AH!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!"
Plummeting through the air, Nan Zishi frantically flapped her wings. As she flapped, she actually started to feel the wind catch them.
She was flying!
"Ah! Haha! Ahahahaha!!! Woohoo!!" Nan Zishi tried to soar.
Chi Xiao and Huo Jun flew on either side of her.
"Mommy!" Huo Jun flew over, and Nan Zishi took his hand.
Huo Jun beamed. "Mommy can fly now too."
...
The Red Eagle brought Nan Zishi and Huo Jun back to the tribe.
Xuan Jin glared at the big eagle, thoroughly displeased.
"Chi Xiao, Huo Jun. I have to go now." Nan Zishi said her goodbyes to the Fire Red Eagle father and son.
"You’re leaving so soon?" Chi Xiao tried to get her to stay. "There are actually many other fun things in our tribe."
Nan Zishi said, "I have to take Little Fu back, and besides, my Beast Husbands and the little ones at home must be worried about me."
Chi Xiao really couldn’t bear to see her go.
After all, he had been searching for his female master for so many years, and Junjun was very fond of her too. They had only spent a short time together, but their family had been so happy.
’But now she was just leaving like that...’
When the tall male felt wronged, it was quite a sight.
Huo Jun couldn’t bear for her to leave and hugged her tightly. "Mommy, I don’t want you to go."
Nan Zishi stroked Huo Jun’s head and whispered with a soft laugh, "Huo Jun, let me tell you a secret. You’re the eldest. You’re Mommy’s Da Bao."
"I’m Mommy’s first cub?"
"That’s right."
"I understand, Mommy. I’ll be a good big brother and take care of my younger brothers and sisters in the future."
Nan Zishi ruffled his hair. "You don’t have to work so hard. Just be yourself."
"Mommy, after you leave, can I come find you?"
"Of course, you can. I still have a lot of arithmetic to teach you."
He nodded. "Okay. Wait for me, Mommy. I’ll definitely come find you."
This time, Xuan Jin was on high alert, not giving Chi Xiao the slightest chance to whisk Nan Zishi away again.
With Little Fu on his back, he took Nan Zishi’s hand and started walking back.
He watched as Nan Zishi and Xuan Jin left with Little Fu.
Chi Xiao practically turned into one of those legendary stones, gazing after his wife.
’He had always wondered what his female master would be like.’
’He had imagined all sorts of appearances.’
’But none of them were as vibrant and captivating as the one before him.’
’He was done for.’
’He’d fallen in love.’
He couldn’t help but ruffle his feathers.
’He felt the urge to spread his feathers and show off again.’
Huo Jun asked softly, "Daddy, aren’t we going to find Mommy?"
"Huh?"
Huo Jun continued, "I remember the tribe elders saying that after a male and female enter a mated bond, the male must honor the female above all else."
"You’re Mommy’s mate. If you don’t follow her, do you want to break your bond with her? If you do, then I’m going with Mommy."
Chi Xiao quickly shook his head. "No, of course not! I would never break our bond."
Huo Jun asked, "Then when are we going to find Mommy and Little Sister?"
Chi Xiao: "..."
’Why is this kid so biased toward his mother?’
’For six years, I was the one who raised him through thick and thin.’
’It’s like I raised him for nothing.’
"We’ll go. Don’t be anxious." Chi Xiao was afraid of losing his cub after already losing his female master.
Han Feng came flying over from the distance, flapping his wings. Chi Xiao turned and waved. "Han Feng."
"Brother." Han Feng landed with a flurry of wings.
"Brother, a Beastman from the rebel army is here. It’s a Five-striped Beast General."
Chi Xiao said, "Alright, I’m on my way."
...
On the way home, Nan Zishi secretly glanced at the Snake Beastman beside her, who was carrying Little Fu on his back.
Xuan Jin felt her gaze and looked down, asking dotingly, "What is it?"
’She didn’t know what had happened, but Xuan Jin had really changed lately.’
’The Xuan Jin who was always forcing her seemed to have vanished, replaced by a much gentler version.’
"Last night... I thought you were going to hurt Huo Jun... but you were actually trying to help me find Little Fu, right?"
Before Xuan Jin could answer, Nan Zishi rushed to apologize. "I misunderstood you. I’m sorry."
The corners of Xuan Jin’s eyes lifted slightly.
’He had gotten used to being misunderstood over the years. This was the first time someone had apologized for misunderstanding him.’
’What a novel feeling.’
’Thinking back, when all those Bird Beastmen were attacking him yesterday, the little female had also stood in front of him to protect him.’
’Not that he needed protecting.’
’But the feeling of being protected by her wasn’t bad at all.’
"Oh? In that case, just keep feeling sorry," Xuan Jin said, walking ahead.
Nan Zishi: "..."
’Shouldn’t he have said it was okay? Honestly. And here I was just praising him in my head.’
Nan Zishi hurried to catch up.
When they returned to the cave, the two males at home, Hu Bai and Lanxing, along with the two little ones, were already waiting eagerly.
Upon seeing them, two figures—one white, one bluish-purple—ran out.
"Female master."
"Sister."
Lanxing ran over at top speed, gave Nan Zishi a brief hug, and then immediately scooped up Little Fu.
"Little Fu!! Daddy looked for you for so long!! Where did you run off to!"
Little Fu said in her small, sweet voice, "Daddy, bwubber, big bwubber."
Little Fox Qi and Little Snake Yang also came running over.
"Mommy! Little Fu!"
"HISS, HISS!!"
Every time these little cuties ran toward her, Nan Zishi felt incredibly happy.
She picked up the two little ones one by one and stroked their heads.
Little Snake Yang basked in his mommy’s touch. ’His heart felt all soft and warm.’
...
Inside the cave, Nan Zishi sat on a stone stool.
Hu Bai’s complexion looked much better. He fussed over her, asking about her day.
Xuan Jin slowly sidled up to She Yang, pondering how to win over this little mole and turn him to his side.
After bringing Little Fu into the cave, Lanxing knelt directly in front of Nan Zishi.
Nan Zishi jumped in surprise.
She shot to her feet. "Lanxing, what are you doing?"
"Sister."
Lanxing looked up at her from his kneeling position, then lowered his head. "Please punish me, female master."
Seeing this, Hu Bai calmly sat down beside Nan Zishi.
Xuan Jin forgot about Little Snake Yang and looked over, curious.
’Oh, family life. The male makes a mistake, and the female master doles out the punishment. How interesting.’
"Punish you? For what?"
Lanxing said, "It was my negligence in looking after the child that led to Little Fu getting lost. I should be punished."
Nan Zishi went to help Lanxing up. "When Little Fu went missing, you were the most frantic. You were the last person who would have wanted anything to happen to her. You didn’t want this to happen either. What’s the point in punishing you? Get up."
Lanxing kept his head down as bluish-purple pearls began to fall.
’Among his female master’s many Beast Husbands, he was the weakest.’
’He was so useless. He wasn’t powerful like Xuan Jin, nor was he gentle and meticulous like Hu Bai.’
’He couldn’t protect his sister, and he couldn’t protect Little Fu.’
Just as Nan Zishi was about to comfort him, Xuan Jin interrupted.
"I think it’s time we talked about Hu Qian," Xuan Jin said.
They had briefly discussed the matter of Hu Qian before, but never openly.
This time, with only family present, Xuan Jin asked directly, "Why did the little female kill another female?"
After Lanxing had returned, Hu Bai had already spoken with him about Hu Qian, so he roughly knew what had happened.
Hu Bai explained, "It was for me."
Xuan Jin and Lanxing looked at Hu Bai.
Hu Bai also stood up, walked in front of Nan Zishi, and knelt.
"It was because of me that our female master personally killed the female, Fox Zi, which attracted the Ten Thousand Beasts City Priest and brought disaster upon us."
"The one who should be punished is me."