Shi Yi: “You think I’ll just step aside because you said so? You—”
Mu Bai interrupted impatiently: “Are you done? Can’t you see Yun Jiao is very unwell? Blocking Lei Xiao from taking her to the shaman—what exactly are you trying to do?”
The other males quickly moved aside, even pulling Shi Yi away.
“Hurry, hurry, don’t delay!”
“The Sacred Female looks terrible—she must be sick.”
“Who here is a bird-beast who can fly? Step forward quickly!”
…
Unfortunately, there was no bird-beast. Lei Xiao could only carry Yun Jiao and run swiftly toward the shaman’s cave. Behind him trailed a whole line of male beastmen. As soon as they reached the cave entrance, Yun Jiao struggled out of Lei Xiao’s arms, ran to the side, and vomited violently. Though she hadn’t left the nest for three days, Lei Xiao had paused at mealtimes to cook meat for her, and she had eaten quite a lot. Now it all came back up—until even bile was pouring out.
The group of males watched, horrified. They rushed into the shaman’s cave, wailing:
“Shaman, come quickly! The Sacred Female is dying!”
“Shaman, hurry!”
“Sacred Female, hold on—they’ve gone to fetch the shaman.”
Yun Jiao tried to respond, but the moment she opened her mouth, she vomited again. About three minutes later, the shaman was carried out by the males, with Lei Xiao at their head.
“Quick, look at Yun Jiao—she suddenly became like this.” Lei Xiao’s face had gone pale.
But the shaman was furious, nearly exploding: “Are you all insane?”
“Come on, shaman, stop talking—just check on the Sacred Female!”
“Yun Jiao, it’s you again—were you born just to clash with me?” The shaman cursed under her breath, but still reached out to press Yun Jiao’s stomach. At that touch, her expression turned strange. As if she couldn’t believe it, she examined Yun Jiao thoroughly, her gaze growing complicated.
Lei Xiao was nearly frantic: “What’s going on? Say something!”
“As expected of the Sacred Female.” The shaman sighed, hiding the complexity in her eyes. “It’s nothing serious—she simply has a cub in her belly.”
Lei Xiao froze as if struck by lightning, rooted to the spot.
The other males stared at Yun Jiao in shock, their eyes gradually shining, as though she were no longer just a female but the Beast God incarnate.
Three seconds later, the place erupted.
“So fast—already with a cub?”
“It’s only been a few days! Ahhh, Sacred Female, please let me be your beast-husband! I’ll bathe every day from now on!”
“Four days—four days and there’s a cub! This is a miracle. The Sacred Female is the treasure bestowed upon us by the Beast God.”
“Wait, how long does it take for the Mouse Clan to have cubs again?”
“Doesn’t matter—it’s quick anyway. Lei Xiao, you’re about to be a father.”
Lei Xiao finally calmed down, shut his mouth, and asked the shaman: “Yun Jiao vomiting like this isn’t sustainable. Can it be treated?”
The shaman shook her head: “This is normal. It’s not an illness—how could it be treated?”
Lei Xiao frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly blurted out something shocking: “Then if we don’t keep the cub, would she stop vomiting?”
The shaman: “…”
The other males: “…”
Lei Xiao, convinced his idea was perfectly reasonable, said seriously to the shaman, “Kill the cub in her belly. I don’t want it.”
All the beastmen: “…”
As expected of a cold-blooded beastman—truly cold-blooded, wanting to kill his own cub.
The shaman looked at him speechlessly, her staff thumping against the ground as she tried to wake him from his lovesick stupor: “Are you insane? That’s your cub!”
Lei Xiao muttered irritably: “So what? The cub isn’t as important as Yun Jiao. If it hurts her, it deserves to die.”
The shaman swayed, nearly fainting.
Yun Jiao, having finally finished vomiting, felt a little better and was able to speak: “Lei Xiao, don’t say such nonsense. Right now, the cub and I are one life. If the cub dies inside me, I’ll be in even greater danger.”
Lei Xiao immediately grew tense again: “Then we won’t kill it, we won’t, we won’t. Are you feeling better? You scared me to death just now.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m fine. Don’t overthink it—morning sickness is a normal part of pregnancy. Every female goes through it. If you don’t believe me, ask the shaman.”
Even Yun Jiao herself hadn’t expected to get pregnant so quickly. This body was a hamster, and most hamsters have a gestation period of about 16–25 days. So in just 16–25 days, she would meet her cub? That was far too fast—she wasn’t mentally prepared to be a mother at all.
Lei Xiao looked pleadingly at the shaman: “Is that true?”
The shaman rolled her eyes at him: “Yes, it’s true.”
Lei Xiao pressed on, unwilling to give up: “Then what if Yun Jiao keeps vomiting—what should we do?”
The shaman: “…” How should I know what to do? I already said every female goes through this—it’s normal!
Seeing the shaman’s face darken, Yun Jiao quickly said, “Lei Xiao, don’t make things difficult for her. I know what to do. Tomorrow, when we go gathering, let’s find some herbs together. If I take the medicine, I won’t vomit anymore.”
Before Lei Xiao could respond, the shaman was stunned: “How do you know about medicine? Are you also a shaman?”
“…” Yun Jiao realized she couldn’t hide her medical knowledge anymore. Anyway, she wasn’t going to drink the shaman’s overly dramatic concoctions: “I’m not a shaman. I just know medicine.”
The shaman asked suspiciously, “That doesn’t make sense. Every shaman only passes on medical skills to their successor among the beastmen. How did you learn it?”
Yun Jiao had already thought of this problem when she admitted it, so she made up something with a straight face: “When the Holy Light fell upon me, I saw the Beast God. He taught me.”
If anyone else had said this, the shaman would never have believed it.
But Yun Jiao was a Sacred Female.
A Sacred Female wasn’t just powerful at bearing offspring—she was also considered a messenger sent by the Beast God to the beast world.
Because Yun Jiao said this, the shaman immediately believed her: “So that’s how it is!”
Yun Jiao, who had wanted to argue further: “…” silently closed her mouth.
After thinking for a moment, the shaman added, “Tomorrow I’ll go gathering with you. This is your first pregnancy—you mustn’t have any accidents!”
Yun Jiao: “Alright…” She really couldn’t figure this beastman out. Wasn’t she just trying to secretly learn from her?
Luckily, Yun Jiao wasn’t someone who kept things hidden. The shaman was the tribe’s healer, in charge of everyone’s life and death. If her medical skills improved, it would benefit the whole tribe.
“Alright, it’s already late. Everyone, disperse! Lei Xiao, be careful these days—you mustn’t mate with Yun Jiao, or you might harm the cub in her belly.”
“Oh…” Even if Lei Xiao was unwilling, he had to comply. He didn’t want Yun Jiao to suffer.
Poor him—just when he had finally gotten a taste of meat, he was forced to stop.
Snake beasts were mostly cold-hearted, with distant father-son bonds.
Lei Xiao had already been displeased about the cub, and now he was even more dissatisfied.
…
After everyone left, the shaman returned to her cave. With trembling hands, she pulled out a piece of cowhide from beneath the pile of grass, covered in densely written words. She gently stroked the cowhide and let out a long sigh. This was something she had originally intended to pass down to Bai Wei, her only blood relative. But after long observation, she realized Bai Wei’s temperament wasn’t suited to being a shaman.
Later, she had set her sights on Guo Guo. But Guo Guo was utterly clueless about medicine—every plant looked the same to her.
The shaman had thought about settling for that, but now…
She carefully placed the cowhide on the ground and bowed devoutly: “Beast God above, I understand Your will. From now on, I will train Yun Jiao to become the next shaman of the Mountain Tribe.”