The destination was about a kilometer away, quite close, and they'd get there just by walking slowly.
There was no need to carry her anymore, but Moya still picked Gao Yue up.
Hefeng Lü looked utterly shocked.
If Moya weren't only twenty this year, and thus unable to have birthed such a large female cub, he would have suspected this was his own daughter.
If he hadn't seen wrong, the little female's injury was on her arm, not her leg, right?
Seeing Hefeng Lü's uncomprehending expression, Moya rarely bothered to explain: "She trips when she walks on her own."
Hefeng Lü: "...?"
So, afraid she'd trip, he carried her everywhere he went? Even for a real father, doting on a cub this big was a bit much.
Actually, he'd misunderstood.
Moya still remembered how Gao Yue had nearly fallen back in the cave yesterday. From here to Zhihua's Family there would be a stretch of slippery creek-stone road, and he figured letting Gao Yue walk on her own would likely end in a fall.
It was fine if others fell, but if Gao Yue fell, her bones would break.
That would be injury upon injury upon injury upon injury.
He'd want to find a body of water and drown himself.
Better to just carry her for a stretch — it wasn't even that much effort.
But he couldn't very well tell others about Gao Yue's actual physical condition.
So in everyone else's eyes, it looked like Moya doted on Gao Yue to an extreme degree, unwilling to let her even walk on her own.
Hefeng Lü's feelings were extremely complicated.
He'd never once seen Moya be that good to Lin Xi. If Moya had ever doted on her even a fraction as much, he'd bet Lin Xi and Moya wouldn't be in their current situation.
Moya acting like this... could it be he intended to become a little female brat's Protector?
She looked to be only thirteen or fourteen — was he really going to wait four or five years???
To succeed as Patriarch, one had to take a Mate first. With Moya's current strength, he could have long since succeeded to the position of Patriarch — was he really going to wait four or five years?
Gao Yue was carried slowly by Moya toward Zhihua's Family.
Hefeng Lü tied up the zebra properly and walked alongside his big daddy, Dahe. Hefeng Lü's heart was in turmoil, though none of it showed on his face; he chatted with Dahe now and then.
Gao Yue had a question she wanted to ask Moya.
But she knew people here had sharp hearing, so she cupped her hands around his ear and asked in a very quiet voice: "Why did they call you Young Master earlier?"
Moya's ear tingled, and his face grew a bit hot.
Realizing he'd been unwittingly teased by a female cub, he couldn't let it show on his face, and deliberately deepened his voice:
"Because I'm the strongest among the younger generation of the Youpython Tribe."
Gao Yue nodded, deeply impressed.
So she'd latched onto quite the catch!
The look in her eyes as she gazed at Moya changed, brightening a bit, with a hint of admiration.
Moya pretended not to notice, continuing to carry her along with an air of composure, his feet treading steadily over the smooth, massive creek stones.
Gao Yue glanced at Hefeng Lü and Dahe, then asked, "Why did your friend call him big daddy just now, and call the other one Father? This big daddy and Father — are the two of them a couple?"
Moya, who had been walking so steadily, nearly stumbled.
"What are you thinking?"
His face felt like it was about to crack.
Just what kind of bizarre tribe was Gao Yue's tribe, that two male Beastmen could possibly be together?!
"Their Companion is Auntie Zhihua. Hefeng Lü's father is Auntie Zhihua's Second Beast Husband, and Uncle Dahe is her First Beast Husband," Moya explained once he'd steadied himself.
This time it was Gao Yue's turn to be shocked.
Wha— what?
Gao Yue: "Ah, so how many Companions does Auntie Zhihua have?"
Moya: "Six Companions. She's given birth to fourteen male Beastmen, one female Beastman, and over fifty Giant-type pythons."
Gao Yue was already too stunned to speak.
There was too much information to process; she struggled to deal with the first part first.
"You said she has six Companions?"
Moya hummed in confirmation: "Auntie Zhihua wasn't willing to take many more Mates, so she only has six males."
Gao Yue was completely floored.
What did that mean, he said "only" — did that mean six was already considered few?
In that instant, that famous meme of the lawless outlaw flashed wildly through her mind — is marrying six husbands against the law? Nope, not against the law.
Could a woman marry six husbands? Was that what this meant?!
Her pupils quaked.
Seeing Gao Yue's astonished expression, Moya raised an eyebrow: "You think she took too few Companions?"
Gao Yue: "No, no, no, I think it's a bit too many."
A woman didn't need many husbands — the more she had, the more children she'd bear. This Zhihua woman had six husbands, so of course she'd have had a lot of children.
She'd actually given birth to fifteen children and over fifty Giant-type pythons! Was her body even okay after all that?
Back on Earth, having even one child was hard enough on the body — was this really fine?
The moment those words left her mouth, Moya abruptly stopped in his tracks and looked down at her, his olivine-colored pupils contracting into vertical, needle-thin slits.
Gao Yue's scalp prickled under that gaze, as if she'd been locked onto by some primordial beast.
"What's wrong?"
Hadn't she just said it was a bit too many? Was that answer really so unthinkable, some violation of female virtue?
"Nothing."
Moya continued on, still carrying her.
..
They soon arrived at Zhihua's Family.
It was a large household with over a dozen people, bustling with noise, but like a single dot of red amid a sea of green, Zhihua was the only female — everyone else was her Beast Husbands and sons.
The sons who had already come of age, like Hefeng Lü, had long since been sent off to live independently, dwelling in nearby caves. Their female daughters had also already taken Mates, and lived together with their own Beast Husbands.
Even so, what remained still added up to over a dozen people.
There was a Fire Pit in front of Zhihua's Family's cave as well.
With such a large household, this Fire Pit was built on a scale far larger than the one at Moya's Family.
On it sat two massive Stone Pots, practically the size of stone vats, along with many stone slabs on which various meats and vegetables were being grilled. Wisps of fragrant aroma drifted from the pots, enough to make one's mouth water.
Zhihua, the mistress of this household, smiled warmly as she introduced things to Gao Yue: "One pot has chestnut braised chicken, and the other is Pork Rib Soup."
Gao Yue's mouth immediately started watering.
She had a huge appetite, and it had already been three hours since the breakfast that had left her stuffed — her stomach had room again, and she wanted to eat.
Their group sat down around the Fire Pit.
Auntie Zhihua looked quite young. Gao Yue had originally assumed that since her son Hefeng Lü was already so grown, and she'd borne so many children besides, Auntie Zhihua must be fairly old — but she looked to be at most in her mid-thirties.
She was tall, statuesque, and athletic, with unremarkable features that still leaned somewhat masculine.
The Beast Husbands, on the other hand, were all handsome.
Even the eldest among them had the look of a mature, dashing uncle, while the youngest looked like some kind of idol celebrity.
Suddenly Gao Yue found herself not too eager to go back — if she didn't have to bear children, staying here would actually be pretty nice. But then she thought of the terrifying number of children Auntie Zhihua had borne, and decided going back was still for the best.
Everyone ate and chatted at the same time.
The topics all centered around Gao Yue and Moya.
With Gao Yue, they asked what tribe she was from, how she'd met Moya, whether she planned to go back, and so on.
The questions for Moya were much more tactful, probing indirectly to find out what was going on between him and Lin Xi.
Gao Yue and Moya worked in perfect sync — when Gao Yue was asked something, Moya helped deflect it, and when Moya was asked something, Gao Yue helped brush it off.
By the time they were half full—
the other pot of Pork Rib Soup still wasn't ready.
Gao Yue was starting to feel restless. These people were like relatives during New Year's, constantly asking questions, questions, questions, as if they wanted to dig out every detail of her past life in the "tribe."
Just then, Auntie Zhihua asked if she'd like to go to the back hill to see the rabbit.
There was a rabbit raised on the back hill that could do ten somersaults in a row; she suggested her sons take Gao Yue over to see it.
Gao Yue couldn't turn down a little rabbit that could do ten somersaults, and besides, she didn't want to keep being interrogated. So, thoroughly intrigued, she turned to ask Moya's opinion: "Can I go?"
Moya said flatly, "Go if you want."
And so Gao Yue happily went off.
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