The surrounding world seemed to vanish in that moment—breaths mingled, lingering, and entangled.
After more than half an hour, Yun Jiao was nearly in tears: “Please, spare me.”
“Baby, just endure a little longer, I still have one more…”
“… Damn, this feels like dying!”
“So fragrant, so soft—I like you so much… so much…”
“I’m going to die, wuwu…”
The next day.
When Yun Jiao woke, she felt as though she had been run over by a truck. Thankfully, her body was clean—clearly someone had taken care of her. A clean beast-skin skirt lay to the side, though Lei Xiao himself was nowhere to be found.
Yun Jiao struggled to rise, shivering as she put on the skirt. It turned out snakes really did have double the strength, and Lei Xiao was domineering, whispering endless teasing words in bed.
Looking at the marks all over her body, Yun Jiao wanted to cry. How was she supposed to face anyone like this?
Just as she was fretting, Guo Guo’s voice came from outside the cave: “Yun Jiao, are you there?”
“I’m here!” Yun Jiao hurriedly grabbed a beast skin to cover herself, hiding the ambiguous traces before stepping out.
Guo Guo hadn’t come alone. Beside her stood an exceptionally handsome male, holding a piece of meat.
“This is my first beast husband, Hu Yun,” Guo Guo said with a bright smile. “Today I came to learn how to roast meat from you—I even brought the meat.”
“Alright!” Yun Jiao nodded politely to Hu Yun before withdrawing her gaze. But when she looked at Guo Guo, her eyes twitched hard. That girl’s body was covered in marks too—and she wasn’t hiding them at all.
Noticing Yun Jiao’s stare, Guo Guo spun around proudly: “So? Isn’t my first beast husband amazing?”
Then she looked curiously at Yun Jiao’s tightly wrapped beast skin: “Why are you covering yourself so much?”
“It’s nothing, just a little cold,” Yun Jiao replied calmly, removing the beast skin draped over her. Only then did she realize—in this world, females took pride in the marks on their bodies. Once a female had her first beast husband, they would compare with one another. The more marks, the stronger the husband was, and the more face she had when going out. Not only that, but the first beast husbands also compared among themselves, with the strong mocking the weak.
Though Yun Jiao didn’t understand it, she didn’t want Lei Xiao to be looked down upon.
Sure enough, when Guo Guo saw the marks on her, her eyes widened.
Even Hu Yun was briefly surprised: “The snake tribe really is formidable.”
“Of course!” Guo Guo nodded in agreement. “Two at once—truly living up to their reputation. If not for being cold-blooded, snake beastmen would be the most popular among females.”
Yun Jiao’s face flushed crimson, wishing she could crawl into a hole. She quickly changed the subject: “Weren’t we going to learn roasting meat? I’ll go gather some firewood.”
Guo Guo: “Hu Yun, you go. We two will chat!”
“Alright. But what is firewood?”
“It’s dry wood—you can burn it to make fire.”
Beastmen were naturally afraid of fire. But perhaps because Guo Guo had mentioned it to Hu Yun the night before, he showed no fear at all. After asking a few questions, he immediately transformed into a crimson fox and ran off.
More obedient than a dog!
Once he left, Guo Guo pulled Yun Jiao down to sit: “You don’t even know—our tribe is buzzing with excitement.”
“Huh?” Yun Jiao was confused.
“It’s all because of you, our sacred female. After yesterday, many males from other tribes didn’t leave. Early this morning, they went to my father, saying they wanted to be your second beast husband.”
“What did the chief say?” Surely he wouldn’t agree without her consent?
“My father said choosing a second beast husband is your decision. He didn’t give them an answer—just told them to come find you!”
“Oh!” Yun Jiao sighed in relief. The chief was reliable.
But then Guo Guo added: “You need to be careful of the shaman. She’s been urging my father to agree to those males, saying you’re a female of the tribe and must accept the chief’s arrangements.”
Yun Jiao frowned: “I *am* a female of the tribe, but this isn’t the only wandering beast tribe. At worst, there’s always the rat tribe. Doesn’t the shaman fear I’ll leave if she insists?”
“My father said the same. But the shaman seems relentless—she’ll definitely come to you soon.”
“Let her. I don’t plan on taking a second beast husband right now. Even if I did, who is she to decide for me?”
“Exactly! The older she gets, the harder she is to deal with. Don’t worry, my father and I are on your side.”
“Thank you…” Yun Jiao knew she wasn’t money—she couldn’t expect everyone to like her.
In any group, there would always be conflicts, and a few particularly annoying people making trouble. As long as the leader was reasonable, problems wouldn’t be too serious.
That was why, even when she had been mistaken for a useless female and treated coldly by most of the tribe, she still chose to stay in the Mountain Tribe. Of course, another reason was simple—fear of death!
Seeing her expression darken, Guo Guo quickly changed the subject with a smile: “Let’s not talk about that. I told you before that Lei Xiao liked you, but you didn’t believe me. Yesterday, when you made him your first beast husband, his smile nearly reached the sun.”
“That’s called standing shoulder to shoulder with the sun.”
“Yes, yes, that’s the phrase!”
“And you? Hu Yun seems good to you.”
“He’s alright. I hadn’t planned to choose him as my first beast husband. But Hu Yun said if I did, he’d bring the entire fox tribe to merge with our Mountain Tribe. Once I heard that, I agreed immediately.”
“So you don’t like him?”
“I don’t like anyone else either. Better to use the position of first beast husband for something meaningful.”
“… Wow. An ancient female beastman with such foresight.”
Compared to her—a modern woman who had watched countless palace dramas—Yun Jiao felt ashamed. She said seriously: “Guo Guo, you’re outstanding. You’ll definitely achieve something great in the future.”
“I think so too. Who says females can only bear children? One day I’ll succeed my father as chief of the Mountain Tribe and make it stronger. Then you’ll be an elder of the tribe. All the big tribes have elders.”
“We’ll achieve something great together!” Guo Guo put her arm around Yun Jiao’s shoulder, her round face glowing with hope for the future.
Yun Jiao smiled and agreed: “Alright. You’ll be chief, and I’ll be elder.”
Not long after, Hu Yun and Lei Xiao returned, chatting happily.
Hu Yun carried a bundle of firewood, while Lei Xiao hefted a wild boar several times larger than an ordinary one.
Yun Jiao hurried forward: “I was wondering where you went—so you went hunting? But don’t we already have plenty of pork at home?”
Lei Xiao grinned: “That meat isn’t fresh anymore. Later I’ll eat that. You’ll eat this fresh one.”