Chapter 98 - 97: Xuan Jin Is Satisfied
"Nan Zishi!"
The Xuan Cold-blooded Snake Beastman suddenly appeared before Nan Zishi.
His powerful presence forced Nan Zishi to focus all her attention on him.
Lanxing stepped forward, shielding Nan Zishi and directly confronting the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman.
"What do you think you’re doing to her?!" Lanxing demanded in a low voice.
’So what if this Cold-blooded Snake Beastman before me is a Seven-striped Beast King? He can’t bully my female master!’
In a Beast World Family, although females were the focus, most males were very obedient to them.
But there were always a few strong-willed males.
With too many males, it was also common for them to engage in Xiong Jing, fights, and stir up trouble within the family.
"Whoa," Scorpion said, propping his chin in his hand as he enjoyed the show. "This is getting good."
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s expression hardened. He glanced at the nearby Beastmen, then at Nan Zishi, and finally, calming himself, turned his gaze to Lanxing.
Then, with his back to all the Scorpion Beastmen, the golden totem on the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s chest began to glow.
A totem. A Mate Totem.
After a female and a male form a mate contract, a totem of their partner appears on each of their bodies.
Interestingly, the more one loves their partner at the time of the contract, the closer the Mate Totem will appear to the heart.
If there is no love, the Mate Totem can appear anywhere on the body.
For example, Nan Zishi’s snake-shaped totem was on her calf, proof of how much she had disliked Xuan Jin when they became mates.
But Xuan Jin’s totem...
The Xuan Cold-blooded Snake Beastman suddenly swept Nan Zishi into his arms and carried her away, yet Lanxing was so stunned that he forgot to stop them.
’Strange... Do Cold-blooded Snake Beastmen even have hearts?’
’That Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s Mate Totem... was actually over his heart?!’
This turn of events was rather unexpected. Scorpion asked doubtfully, "Mermaid Prince, how could you just let that snake carry off your female master? He’s a Cold-blooded Snake Beastman."
Lanxing was fuming, angry at himself for letting the snake snatch his female master away in a moment of shock.
But when he thought about the location of that Mate Totem, Lanxing felt the snake probably wouldn’t harm Nan Zishi.
He ignored Scorpion. Having gotten the information he wanted, he turned away coldly and said, "Let’s go. Back to the sea!"
The mermaids promptly dove into the nearby ocean with a series of SPLASHES.
...
Xuan Jin moved like a bolt of lightning, carrying Nan Zishi with him.
Nan Zishi was furious. "Let me go!! Xuan Jin, let me go!!!"
From Nan Zishi’s arms, the little blue Snake Beastman poked his head out and, huffing with anger, bit Xuan Jin hard!
"HISS!" ’Stinky snake, let go of my godmother!’
Xuan Jin lowered his gaze slightly, looking at the struggling little female in his arms and the little blue snake that had just bitten him.
’How interesting.’
Xuan Jin arrived at a scenic cliff beside a large river that plunged down to form a waterfall.
He hung from a tree by his snake tail, leisurely leaning his upper body—and Nan Zishi—out over the edge.
Nan Zishi looked down. Holy crap, it was a bottomless abyss!!!
She was scared to death!
She instinctively wrapped her arms and legs tightly around Xuan Jin.
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman slowly loosened one of his hands.
"Xuan Jin!!! What are you doing? You’re doing this just to scare me, aren’t you!!!"
"I only scared you that one time! I wasn’t really going to cut off the totem!"
Nan Zishi was on the verge of tears. "Do you have to get revenge on me like this? Do you really have to scare me like this?"
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman slowly loosened his other hand.
"AHHHH!" Nan Zishi clung to Xuan Jin with all four limbs, holding on for dear life, her body pressed against his muscles.
Little Snake Yang wanted to save her. He hooked his tail around her wrist, his body trying to find a foothold, but there was nothing to grab.
Terrified, Nan Zishi yelled, "You’re my Beast Husband! If I die, you’re finished too!"
"Dying together doesn’t sound too bad," Xuan Jin said, looking down at her.
"Xuan Jin, you madman!"
"Being a little mad is fine. It’s better than being abandoned."
Nan Zishi was truly terrified. Her body trembled slightly as she buried her face in his shoulder.
"No, I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die..."
"Will you still try to break our mate bond in the future?" the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman asked faintly.
Nan Zishi shook her fluffy head against his chest.
His dark eyes stared at the top of her head, and an itch of amusement stirred in his heart.
His long arms tightened slightly, wanting to pull her up properly, but a wicked impulse took over. He kept his arms hovering protectively around her but didn’t actually pull her into a full embrace for a long moment.
The male’s voice was low and magnetic, with a hint of gentle indulgence if you listened closely. "If you ever threaten me by cutting the Mate Totem again, do you know what will happen?"
Nan Zishi shook her fluffy head against his chest. After shaking it, she paused for a second.
Then, Nan Zishi quickly nodded her fluffy head against his chest.
"I won’t. I know I can’t do that," she said, her voice muffled.
In this world, the mate contract gave females the power of life and death over males.
Nan Zishi had always felt that this power was too unfair.
So she had never truly intended to use it.
If Xuan Jin weren’t so difficult to manage, and if he hadn’t been bullying Lanxing, Nan Zishi would never have planned to threaten him with severing their mate bond.
The Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’Right now, she’s clinging to me with all her limbs, holding on so tightly. She’s listening to whatever I say, being unbelievably obedient.’
Xuan Jin had to admit, he was getting a kick out of this.
"Xuan Jin, I can’t hold on anymore. I really can’t hold on..." Nan Zishi whimpered pitifully.
Xuan Jin was a Snake Beastman, his body naturally smooth. It took a great deal of effort for her to hold on to him, and she had already been hanging there for so long!
Just as the strength in Nan Zishi’s arms was about to give out, the Cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s long arm wrapped around her and pulled her into his embrace.
His strength was immense, as if he wanted to embed her into his own body.
Xuan Jin flipped her over so that instead of dangling, she was lying on top of him, but his position remained just as high.
Sheer cliffs surrounded them, with a bottomless abyss below.
Nan Zishi was just about to say she wanted to get down when Xuan Jin put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.
"Don’t talk. I’m tired."
Nan Zishi: "..."
Xuan Jin spread his arms, lacing his hands behind his head. He then actually closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.
Nan Zishi, clinging to him and lying on his chest, looked to her left: sheer cliffs. She looked to her right: sheer cliffs.
She looked behind her; there was no way across.
’Waaaah... I’m afraid of heights! I’m really, really afraid of heights!’
All she could do was hug Xuan Jin even tighter, pressing her entire body against him.
Once Little Snake Yang saw that his scumbag dad was probably just scaring his godmother and didn’t actually intend to hurt her, he found a spot and curled up.
He looked at Xuan Jin with a complicated expression, then at Nan Zishi.
’I recognize him. He really is my scumbag dad.’
’But Godmother... if Godmother and Scumbag Dad are mates, then... could Godmother be my real mom?’
Little Snake Yang’s small heart began to thump, but a wave of insecurity washed over him, and he buried his head.
’Did Godmother abandon me back then because she hated that I was a little cripple?’
’Is it because I wasn’t good enough that they both abandoned me?’
At first, Nan Zishi clung to Xuan Jin, not daring to move.
But Xuan Jin’s arms were spread wide, with his hands pillowed beneath his head.
So, she inevitably saw his armpits.
And so... terrified and with nothing else to do while dangling in mid-air, Nan Zishi began to study Xuan Jin’s armpit hair.