Chapter 79: The Shattered Snake Beastman
Xuan Jin coiled himself up at the entrance of the cave like a giant mosquito coil.
Inside the cave, Nan Zishi lay on the bed, wrapped in a brand new Beast Skin Skirt made of black snakeskin. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her back was turned to Xuan Jin.
’He saw me completely naked, and even scrubbed me down in a bath.’
’I’ve never been so humiliated in my life!’
’His dominance was one thing, but the worst part was that he threw away my cub.’
’The Little Snake cub I gave birth to!!!’
Nan Zishi tugged at the Beast Skin on the stone bed.
’Young Beastman cubs have a very hard life without the help of their parents.’
’Especially a young Snake Beastman.’
’Snake Beastmen are different. They’re often loathed by other Beastmen, so they have basically no chance of being adopted...’
’I hope my cub is as lucky as Yang’er.’
As she thought of Yang’er, an idea flashed through Nan Zishi’s mind.
’Could Yang’er be my cub?’
’How am I going to find my Little Snake cub?’
Nan Zishi’s heart clenched, and she could no longer sleep peacefully.
...
In her dream, the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman opened his gaping, bloody maw at her. She was so terrified she scrambled away in a panic, but a human’s physique was just too weak; she couldn’t last three moves against him.
’I’m going to die, I’m going to die! This snake is going to eat me!!!’
But just then, a huge black tail coiled around her and tossed her into the cave.
Her dreamscape shifted.
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman transformed into his human form, bracing his hands on either side of her.
The male’s gaze was shattered. He looked at her, then lowered his eyes.
"Little female... do you hate me this much?"
"Yes, I hate you. I really, really don’t like you!"
Suddenly, the scene shifted again.
They mated. For Nan Zishi, the process was anything but beautiful.
Afterward, Nan Zishi curled into a ball, her attitude exceptionally cold.
Xuan Jin, now her Beast Husband, tried to get closer, but every fiber of her being rejected the Snake Beastman’s approach.
He said, "I’m going out to hunt. You stay here and have some quiet time alone."
"Don’t come back."
Xuan Jin asked abruptly, "What did you say?"
"I said, don’t come back! I hate you!"
In that moment, in a way Nan Zishi couldn’t see, the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman completely shattered.
"Fine. I understand."
His strong fists clenched tightly, veins bulging on his arms.
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman turned and left the cave.
Within a day, Nan Zishi’s belly swelled rapidly.
Terrified as she endured the accelerated pregnancy, Nan Zishi was trapped in the cave, its entrance blocked by countless large boulders. Her only food was the raw meat the male had hunted.
No matter how many times she brought up wanting to start a fire and cook the meat, that snake refused.
He was domineering by nature and refused to compromise, clinging to his own version of "truth"—that raw meat was the healthiest food.
He domineeringly forced her to accept what he thought was best.
But she wasn’t a Beastman who devoured raw flesh and blood; she couldn’t eat raw meat.
Nan Zishi just found him domineering, stubborn, and impossible to reason with.
A day later, Nan Zishi endured the agony alone and laid the snake egg. She gazed at it, her eyes filled with sorrow and reluctance.
’My little cub, Mother really didn’t mean to be so irresponsible in bringing you into this world.’
’Mother had no other choice.’
"System, I’ve completed all my missions. Send me away from the Beast World."
[Host, have you considered staying for a couple more days to say goodbye to your Beast Husband?]
Nan Zishi paused for a moment. She glanced at the lonely blue snake egg, then, weakened from having just given birth all alone, she shook her head.
"No... I’m homesick. I miss my mom and dad... I have a mom and dad too, you know..."
’All the hardship of the past two years... being forced to have children, one after another.’
’Forced to accept different males, even the terrifying Cold-blooded Snake Beastman.’
’If I don’t feel sorry for myself, who will?’
’I really can’t take it anymore. I want to go home...’
"System, send me home."
[Understood. Host, System 007 will now process your contractual system rewards.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully completed all childbirth missions. As agreed, I will send you back to the real world.]
[And I will bestow upon you—]
[A 200-cubic-meter permanent inventory space.]
[A permanent, common-grade superpower: Strongman!]
[And thirty million RMB in cash!]
Inside the cave, Nan Zishi vanished without a trace.
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman, Xuan Jin, stayed outside for an entire day. He kept replaying their mating in his mind, guessing that his performance probably hadn’t been very good.
But he truly liked her, and it had been his first time being intimate—not to mention the momentous occasion of forming a mate bond—so he had been too hasty.
He then recalled her indifference, her rejection, her dislike.
’Xuan Jin, oh Xuan Jin,’ he thought, ’Cold-blooded Snake Beastmen are destined to be loathed. In this entire Beast World, what female has ever joyfully welcomed a Snake Beastman as her Beast Husband?’
’Perhaps he shouldn’t have held out any hope in the first place.’
’If he wanted to win her attention and affection, he feared there was no other way but to force her.’
He spotted a beast with a beautiful hide and killed it in an instant.
He skinned the beast and tanned its hide.
He stayed outside for a day and a night, making her a comfortable Beast Skin Skirt and a pair of beast skin boots as he recalled the shape of her body.
Cold-blooded Snake Beastmen were skilled at sewing beautiful and comfortable clothes to win over females.
It was also the only way he could think of to please her.
However, when he brought the Beast Skin Skirt he had painstakingly made back to the cave, he found only a single snake egg.
There was no sign of the female...
’Heh.’
’She ran. She actually ran away!’
In an instant, the painstakingly made Beast Skin Skirt was torn to shreds!
**
When Nan Zishi woke up, she was face-to-face with the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman, Xuan Jin.
Nan Zishi didn’t speak, so Xuan Jin didn’t speak either.
After a long moment, the male was the one to finally give in.
"Eat something, little female." He pushed the meat toward her.
"I want to eat vegetables and fruit. If I have to eat meat, I’ll only eat it cooked."
Xuan Jin disagreed. He argued, "Plants are what Weak Beastmen eat. Be good. Eating meat will make you healthy and strong."
"Then I’m a Weak Beastman!"
"No, you’re very strong. You can protect yourself. Be good and eat the meat."
"...Then just let me starve to death." This time, Nan Zishi was exceptionally stubborn.
’If he thinks something is so great, he can have it himself. What right does he have to force it on her?’
Xuan Jin calculated the time since she had last eaten and realized it had already been three days.
During their standoff, the male Snake Beastman’s expression flickered, and in the end, he was the first to back down.
"Fine. Eat whatever you want. But I don’t know the foods you mentioned; you’ll have to find them yourself."
Nan Zishi was stunned for a moment, surprised by his compromise. "Mm. Of course."
The tension between them suddenly eased.
But the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman turned his head away, looking somewhat dejected where the little female couldn’t see him.
’When it came to the little female, it seemed he had failed far too many times.’
Nan Zishi eyed him and said, "Xuan Jin, I’ve decided. I’m going to train."
’I’ll train, and once I’m strong enough, I’ll leave him!’
At the mention of training, Xuan Jin looked up in surprise.
Five years ago, Nan Zishi had been completely inept physically. Xuan Jin had tried everything to persuade her to train, but to no avail.
Now that Nan Zishi was suggesting it herself, he was overjoyed—even though he knew her purpose for training was likely to escape him.
’So what if she escapes? I’ll just drag her back.’
’If she becomes strong, she’ll be able to protect herself, and that’s a good thing. As for him... if she gets strong, he’ll just have to get even stronger.’
"Alright."
"I need you to go gather some dry firewood. I’m going to use it to roast some meat."
"Alright."
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman rose to his feet with a cool indifference and actually went to gather the firewood Nan Zishi had asked for from nearby. He then waited patiently for her.
Nan Zishi was astonished, as if the sun had actually risen in the west.
She didn’t use a lighter or anything similar, trying to reveal as few of her own abilities to Xuan Jin as possible.
She piled up some tinder, used a flint to ignite it, and then lit the dry firewood. Right there in front of him, she started a fire and began to roast and eat the meat.
Having not eaten cooked food for three days, Nan Zishi was surprisingly moved the moment she tasted the roasted meat.
When Nan Zishi finished eating all the meat, the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman stepped forward, and his strong, powerful arms suddenly swept her up.
Nan Zishi jumped in alarm, exclaiming, "What are you doing? Let me go!"
"Since you’ve decided to train, and now that you’ve eaten your fill, we can begin right away."