Chapter 20: He Cannot Be Him
"You’re willing to teach me?"
The firelight reflected in his eyes, making them frighteningly bright.
Nan Zishi realized this male might have taken a liking to her.
She was a task-doer forcibly bound to the Childbirth System. Her mission was to bear cubs in the Beast World. Under these circumstances, it was best not to get emotionally involved; she just needed to pick a few males to complete her childbirth tasks.
But Nan Zishi was, unfortunately, a soft-hearted woman.
How could she not understand that the snow-white fox before her was deliberately getting closer? Yet she still let down her guard and, bit by bit, taught him how to use fire.
She started a small fire nearby, and the male jumped back in fright.
Nan Zishi couldn’t help but laugh. "Look, when this happens, I can just stomp it out with my foot or beat it with a branch to extinguish it. Like this..."
As Nan Zishi demonstrated, the male fox grew terrified. "Don’t! It’s too dangerous!"
Nan Zishi put out the fire in a few swift moves and couldn’t help smiling at him.
The male fox was genuinely scared and couldn’t stop himself from lunging forward to hug her.
That day was during the Beast World’s spring, a season much like the present one, but it was before the short rainy season.
A breeze rustled through, swaying the flowering trees and sending petals fluttering down.
The male fox offered her his kiss.
He was courting her.
He was pursuing her.
He wanted to become her mate.
His intentions were all too clear, but Nan Zishi, burdened with her mission, did not refuse him.
She took his hand and patiently taught him.
"Didn’t I teach you how to hollow out a log to make a bucket for fetching water?" Nan Zishi said.
The male fox watched her with a smile and nodded.
Nan Zishi conjured another flame, then doused it with a bucket of water. The fire went out.
"This isn’t the only way to put out a fire. We can also bury it with sand and dirt, like this."
Nan Zishi started another fire, then shoveled dirt over it until it was buried.
The male fox’s gaze was filled with pure adoration. "Nan Zishi, you’re truly amazing."
"You have to be very careful when using fire. It would be a calamity if it turned into a forest fire. Now, I’ll teach you how to start a fire and how to control it..."
Nan Zishi taught him how to make fire by drilling wood. She also gave him two pieces of flint and showed him how to use them to create a spark.
Then, she taught him to surround the fire with stones to keep it from spreading.
The nameless male fox learned everything she taught him.
One night in the mountain forest, they mated in a cave. Everything happened naturally, as if it were always meant to be.
In the cave, as she accepted him, he whispered in a low, husky voice, "Female Master, just give me a little more time. Soon, I’ll be able to let you see my face and tell you my name."
To make her childbirth mission easier, the System had given her a Fertility Pill.
But Nan Zishi had accidentally lost the Fertility Pill. That was why she only gave birth to the little fox cub after being pregnant for two months.
Perhaps because she was human, she wasn’t as prolific as the Beastmen. She only had one cub in that litter.
She had indeed spent over two months with that snow-white male fox.
Later, the Childbirth System issued a new mission, urging her on with a countdown on her life. Only then did she take the male fox back to his village overnight, giving the village chief many supplies and asking her to take care of the father and son.
*
As Nan Zishi looked down at Hu Bai, the handsome male fox happened to look up, and their eyes met.
Nan Zishi quickly averted her gaze and closed her eyes.
’He can’t be him.’
’Her fox Beast Husband was an important Priest Apprentice in his tribe. In any tribe, a Priest’s status is very high. It’s impossible he would have ended up like this.’
’Besides, while his body wasn’t particularly strong back then, it wasn’t as weak as it is now.’
’Moreover, even though she had never seen his face, he knew her. If he really was her Beast Husband, why wouldn’t he acknowledge her?’
...
The next day, Nan Zishi checked Hu Bai’s temperature as usual. It had successfully gone down; he no longer had a fever.
But he still needed the IV drip. Nan Zishi hooked it up for him again and watched over him.
"Didn’t sleep well last night?" Hu Bai asked, leaning against the bedside and glancing at her with feigned indifference.
Nan Zishi yawned. "I was thinking about some things and suddenly couldn’t fall asleep."
"Want to take a nap, then?" Hu Bai asked. Nan Zishi detected a hint of concern in his tone.
She shook her head. "No, I have to go out after your drip is finished. How are you feeling now? Still coughing?"
"Much better than before."
Hu Bai lowered his gaze slightly and asked again, "Are you coming back tonight?"
"Huh?" Nan Zishi looked up, giving Hu Bai a longer look. Although his tone was icy, he really did give her a familiar feeling.
Nan Zishi hesitated for a moment before saying, "If you all are still willing to let me stay, I’ll try my best to come back."
"Mm, okay." Hu Bai’s tone was calm, and the look of being ready to get angry at any moment was gone from his face.
After Hu Bai’s IV drip was finished, Nan Zishi removed the needle, placed the rest of the medicine nearby, and turned to head for the mountain cave.
After Nan Zishi left the cave, Hu Bai leaned against the doorway. His long, snow-white hair cascaded down, and his white eyelashes fluttered gently.
He just watched her back until she was out of sight.
...
Inside the wolf den, the mother wolf’s C-section wound was healing well. Nan Zishi disinfected it for her again and fed her an anti-inflammatory pill.
Then she checked on her six pups again.
The first, second, third, fourth, and fifth were as healthy as ever.
The sixth, however, still seemed unable to fight for milk, and it was a size smaller than the others.
Nan Zishi continued to supplement its milk. After feeding it, she tried to return Little Lao Liu to the mother wolf.
But something unexpected happened. The mother wolf kicked her hind legs, refusing to let Little Lao Liu nurse.
Nan Zishi was a bit shocked, her heart clenching. "You’re refusing to raise him? He’s your child."
Nan Zishi looked at the Wolf King, but he just turned his back and flicked his tail.
"AWOO!" The mother wolf tried to explain something to Nan Zishi. Even though she couldn’t understand, she could roughly guess the meaning.
Resources were limited, and the mother wolf had to devote what she had to her stronger pups. This little one was struggling just to survive; she was giving up on it.
"Are you really going to abandon him?" Nan Zishi asked.
Little Snake Yang peeked his head out, gave two little hisses, then pulled his head back in.
He was also a cub who had been abandoned by his father and mother, so he could easily sympathize with the little wolf pup before him.
But he wasn’t an adult. He could barely feed himself, let alone a wolf.
Nan Zishi looked down at the little wolf pup she had worked so hard to save.
He should have died right after birth. It was she who had forcefully dragged him back from the brink of death.
He also should have died from not getting enough milk. It was she, again and again, who had supplemented his feedings and kept him alive.
And now, she was supposed to just watch this little life, struggling so hard to live, go to its death.
She couldn’t bear it.