CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 48: NO NEED FOR A MALE PARENT_1

Perhaps it was a blessing that followed the great hardship; they discovered a small lake that had not yet dried up when the water bucket in Si Yan’s space was empty.

The three cubs, starving and parched, started rolling around in the lake, while Si Yan refilled her own water bucket. Then she found some wood and carved a few more small buckets to stuff into her space.

Afterward, Dongchi, with cheeks slightly flushed and obviously embarrassed and coy, said to Si Yan, "Naughty female... I want this."

He pointed to the beast skin skirts of Xi Qing and Bei Ji.

Si Yan held back her laughter and said, "Alright, wait for Mother to hunt a Long-eared Beast."

Dongchi then pointed to the side where, by the base of a large tree, lay two Long-eared Beasts that had already been processed. "They’re there, all done."

The pelts of the two Long-eared Beasts weren’t very intact, but they were sufficient to make two little beast skin skirts for the cubs.

Si Yan, holding the Long-eared Beast pelts that Dongchi had secretly tanned, stealthily glanced at him and saw that the cub’s ears were red to the roots.

Si Yan couldn’t help but smile slightly before hiding her expression so that Dongchi wouldn’t see it.

She used Dongchi’s long hair to make two sets of beast skin skirts, each with a beast tooth as a button. One was carved with ’Dong,’ and the other with ’Nan.’

Dongchi eagerly flipped through the two sets of beast skin skirts, asking, "Which one is mine?"

Si Yan laughed and said, "Call me Mother and I’ll tell you."

"Bad female, ugly female, stinky female..."

"Stop, stop, stop," Si Yan immediately said. "This one, this one. I give up on you."

Dongchi immediately put on his own beast skin skirt. Si Yan patiently showed him the beast tooth button and said, "This is ’Dong.’"

Dongchi stared at the beast tooth button, his eyes slightly brightening, and the corners of his mouth barely lifting.

Si Yan looked at Nan Mo’s beast skin skirt and paused for a short moment.

All this way, they had always been forced to move on, and so far, she had not chosen to stop and go back for Nan Mo.

With three cubs in tow, she could hardly guarantee their lives during the Day of Blazing Flames. If she turned back to look for Nan Mo, there was a good chance the whole family of five would perish.

Would he blame her for being heartless?

Si Yan suddenly laughed self-mockingly.

Blame her, he probably should.

With that thought, she emotionlessly placed Nan Mo’s set into her space.

The two Long-eared Beasts that Dongchi hunted allowed them to eat one to their heart’s content, while Si Yan processed the other and stuffed it into her space.

Si Yan lit a campfire, and it dispelled the gloom.

Bei Ji, at some point, leaned close to Si Yan and gently nudged her.

Si Yan came back to her senses and looked at the young cub.

Bei Ji was an empathetic and astute cub. He clutched at Si Yan’s beast skin skirt and said softly, "Mother, if Second Brother knew you let our family’s only male go to find him, he would not blame you."

He pursed his lips. "I promise, he won’t blame you."

The cubs of the Beast World weren’t easy to raise. Beastmen during disaster day migrations never stayed behind for stragglers.

If they lived, it was luck; if not, it was fate.

And now, his mother had already sent the only male in the family to look for Second Brother.

His mother was just a female, after all, and she also had to take care of the three of them. To have come this far, he thought his mother had done well enough.

It was him who was too weak. If he were stronger, capable of protecting his mother, that would be better.

Si Yan looked intently at Bei Ji, then suddenly broke into a smile.

This little cub Bei Ji was really considerate. And she felt as if she was reverting more to her past self. How silly that she let a young cub worry for her.

This was the most comfortable night the cubs had had since leaving the Yanxiang Tribe.

"Mother, may I sleep next to you?" Little Bei Ji, with his adorable big eyes, snuggled towards her.

Si Yan simply couldn’t resist his approach and promptly gave in.

"Come here."

The freshly washed Bei Ji immediately snuggled up to Si Yan, lying on the makeshift straw mat.

As Bei Ji successfully lay down, the other two cubs also subtly approached and lay down beside Si Yan.

Si Yan wrapped her arms around her cubs, looked up at the stars, and felt a moment of tranquility in the threatening Beast World.

"I didn’t expect that Lang Xin also had a Red Crystal Beastman by his side," Si Yan said.

Dongchi spoke up, "It’s just a Red Crystal, nothing so impressive."

Si Yan pinched Dongchi’s face. "You sure talk big."

Dongchi immediately struggled to free himself from her grasp. "Bad female, I warn you, don’t get handsy!"

Xi Qing said, "Actually, most Red Crystal Beastmen don’t take mates. Lang You became Lang Xin’s mate when he was a Green Crystal. He advanced in rank only after becoming a mate. He’s probably regretting it now."

"Why?" Si Yan asked with great curiosity.

Xi Qing explained, "Because when males and females become mates, the only thing they gain is the potential right to breed. But for this potential right, they pay too high a price."

Bei Ji also got up and said to Si Yan, "Mother, Bei Ji won’t take a mate in the future."

Xi Qing added, "Neither will I."

Dongchi snorted lightly but did not speak.

"What do you mean? I don’t understand," said Si Yan.

Xi Qing explained, "Lower-ranked Beastmen, like those with Green Crystals, Grey Crystals, or without any crystals, need to rely on their family—which means the females—to survive in the Beast World. So their only choice is to become mates, becoming the male slaves of the female, gaining protection and a slim chance of breeding by sticking together."

"But high-ranked Beastmen, like those with Red Crystals or higher, covet greater strength and a vaster sky, so they often don’t want to be bound by females. That’s why they won’t take the initiative to show favor to females. However, such males are the targets females vie for."

Curious, Si Yan asked, "Vied for by females?"

Bei Ji nodded earnestly. "Yes, females will try every means to become mates with them, since females depend on males for strength."

Although Si Yan didn’t agree with these female practices, she still found this method particularly fascinating.

"So let’s say a powerful Purple Crystal male, does that mean he has to go into hiding to avoid being overpowered for his virtue?" Si Yan’s imagination ran wild.

"That’s about right."

Dongchi spoke up, "If you’re not careful and get mated, you’ll be controlled by the female. But even if a powerful male becomes one of a female’s Beast Husbands, he won’t have too bad a time; after all, other males can’t beat him. So, the most powerful males often become the Zheng Xiong of the females, possessing the most mating and breeding rights."

Zheng Xiong??? It took a few moments for Si Yan to understand—it meant the main husband.

Bei Ji declared emphatically, "I’m definitely not taking a mate. It’s no fun to have a mate—I want to become strong and protect Mother in the future!"

"Don’t talk nonsense, little Bei Ji is as beautiful as an angel, and you will meet a female who’s devoted to you," Si Yan chided gently.

Bei Ji’s little face scrunched up. "That’s impossible. It’s better to rely on myself than on a female. I also want to work hard and become a Purple Crystal Beastman, a Jin Jing Beastman. Mother, Bei Ji doesn’t want offspring. You give birth to several more little brothers for me, and I can take care of them. With little brothers, I won’t be the youngest!"

"What kind of male was our father? Mother, can you tell us about our father?" Bei Ji asked, full of anticipation.

Si Yan shook her head awkwardly. "I don’t remember."

"Then he must have been an unremarkable male." Bei Ji lay down disheartened, leaning against Si Yan. "Otherwise, Mother, you wouldn’t have forgotten him. He never sought us out or protected us."

Dongchi raised his palm, feeling the power contained within himself. "We can do without a father."

Xi Qing nodded. "We can become powerful."

In the days approaching the Day of Blazing Flames, the temperature difference between day and night became huge. Daytime temperatures could reach fifty or sixty degrees, but at night, they dropped below ten degrees.

The three cubs huddled close to Si Yan to keep warm, making it the most comfortable and heartwarming night in a while.

「The next morning」

The group of one adult and three cubs set off again.

After walking on the scorching road for about seven or eight days, the water and food in Si Yan’s space ran out once more.

The situation became severe again.

"Hasn’t the Day of Blazing Flames arrived yet?" The high temperature, making her skin feel as if it were forty to fifty degrees, was especially uncomfortable for Si Yan. Besides Si Yan, the three snake Beastmen cubs were also struggling.

Snakes fear heat, especially dry heat. In this weather, the first to falter was Bei Ji.

"Mother... I... I can’t hold on much longer." Overwhelmed by the dry heat, Bei Ji’s body was burning up. "I won’t make it to Dark Sun Lake."

"Bei Ji, get on my back," Si Yan crouched down.

"Mother is tired too, I won’t..."

Without another word, Si Yan hoisted Bei Ji onto her back.

"We agreed, no one gets left behind."