Rebirth With the Beast_26

Chapter 121

The little beastman whom the wandering beastman had dubbed a “weirdo” trotted along behind him, chattering nonstop.

The wanderer didn’t speak the whole way. The little beastman, like spilling beans from a bamboo tube, told his whole story. It turned out this child was also an ill-omened beastman, only his traits weren’t obvious, so no one had noticed for a long time. Just recently, he accidentally discovered it himself and confessed to his family. As expected, they drove him out.

He bore no grudge against them. Compared with other ill-omened beastmen, he considered himself lucky. He was already eleven—old enough to hunt and survive on his own. Life alone outside wasn’t as safe as life in a tribe, but he stayed optimistic, treating it as training before adulthood.

The wandering beastman returned to the valley bringing back a small ill-omened beastman. Because he’d brought someone back so abruptly, he worried it might cause trouble for the tribe and went straight to see the chieftain, Lie.

After looking the child over, Lie said little—he simply had someone help set the boy up with a place to stay for the time being.

As for Su Yi and the others, once they had dealt with their greatest concern, Su Yi’s mood improved a lot. In the days that followed, he stayed home watching over the freshly minted little bun.

Little Yilai felt particularly proud these two days. Now that there was a little female in the family, all his friends fawned over him. There weren’t many little females in the valley; with a new one at last, the beast cubs were practically buzzing. Sometimes, when they visited Su Yi’s house with Yilai or Dino, they’d sneak peeks into the room.

Once, when Xinuo came back from hunting, he saw a sturdy, adorable little beastman standing on tiptoe, peering through the window. Seeing the boy drooling like he’d spotted something delicious left Xinuo with complicated feelings. Their treasure was still so tiny, and already the cubs were peeping—he hardly dared imagine what things would be like when she grew up.

Lately, Su Yi’s little treasure looked lovelier by the day—truly prettier every single day. Pink and tender, like a little person sculpted from snow.

When the baby turned one month old, the hot season had arrived. Su Yi finally carried the little bun out the door. As the weather warmed, mosquitoes multiplied. Last year, he had planted mosquito-repelling herbs near the house, and he had Mino make repellent water, which he kept on hand every day just in case.

The little bun was so delicate that a single careless bite left a red welt on that fair skin. Whenever she was bitten, she would shed tears in discomfort. Being premature, even with the spring water’s nourishment, she was still weaker than other little females. When she cried, she only whimpered softly; the sound was tiny. That look of hers made Su Yi’s heart ache every time.

Compared with Su Yi’s little bun, there was far more trouble at Tang Yu’s house. The dragon cub embodied the phrase “little terror.” If you looked away for a moment, he’d be on the roof pulling up tiles.

Whenever Tang Yu saw the mess the house was in, he felt a sudden urge to give the little terror a good spanking.

One day, Su Yi came visiting with his little bun and found Tang Yu scrubbing a mud-covered dragon cub in the courtyard.

Tang Yu’s face was thunderous as he washed and muttered to himself, “Who does this little terror take after? There’s no way he’s mine. I seriously suspect we brought the wrong one home.”

Jels, carrying tiny clothes out of the house, heard him and said, “He’s a dragon cub, not a terror. And I am a dragon.”

Tang Yu rolled his eyes. He was just about to retort when the little dragon in the tub did a “vicious dragon lunge,” splashing water all over Tang Yu’s face and clothes.

“Hmph. Fine, Dragon Daddy—you take over,” Tang Yu said.

Su Yi couldn’t help laughing. Only then did Tang Yu notice him at the door, enjoying the show.

Su Yi walked in and looked teasingly at the dragon cub playing happily in the tub. The little fellow had his rump up, trying to drink the bathwater. Quick as a flash, Jels grabbed him by the scruff and hoisted him out.

Tang Yu wiped his hands and hurried over to take Su Yi’s little bun.

Seeing his own terror alongside Su Yi’s child, Tang Yu suddenly felt little females really were the more well-behaved sort.

After passing the little bun to Tang Yu, Su Yi asked, “Have you decided on a name yet?”

Tang Yu smiled at the soft little bundle in his arms. “Mm. For a nickname, let’s call him ‘Xiao Longbao’—‘little soup-dumpling.’”

Su Yi’s mouth twitched. He had been thinking that if Tang Yu picked a nice name, he’d ask him to help brainstorm one too. Now, hearing this, he suddenly felt like turning around and leaving.

In fact, Tang Yu had taken naming very seriously at first. When the dragon cub was newborn and Tang Yu’s patience not yet worn away, he’d tried all sorts of names. But none lasted more than a few days before being replaced. And so, to this day, there was still no proper name.

“Little Soup-Dumpling” was inspired by Su Yi calling his own baby “little bun,” which suddenly gave Tang Yu the idea.

Jels had no idea what a “soup-dumpling” was, but he recognized the “long/dragon” sound.

After they chatted awhile, someone came looking for Tang Yu to teach them how to raise milk-beasts. Su Yi’s family kept two as well, but he’d been so busy caring for the little bun that he hadn’t paid much attention.

On his way home, he ran into groups of females returning from outside the valley with baskets on their backs. Now that it was hot, the forest was full of vegetables and fruit.

They greeted Su Yi, and when they saw the little bun in his arms—a snow-white baby like a doll—they couldn’t help gathering around to admire her.

Ian came back carrying a spiny dragon on his back and spotted Su Yi, hurrying over.

“Su Yi.”

At his voice, Su Yi turned. Ian dropped the spiny dragon to the ground, wiped his hands on his clothes, and came over to ask for the little bun so he could hold her.

Ian truly adored the little bun. Though frail, she wasn’t afraid of strangers, forever staring with big, glossy black eyes—curious about everything, never getting enough of looking.

With the baby in Ian’s arms, the spiny dragon ended up in Su Yi’s. Having gone so long without proper training, Su Yi realized his stamina had declined. He planned to start hunting again after a while—he couldn’t let having a child turn him into a delicate female.

That day, Su Yi gathered his friends at his house. He planned to use the ice blocks stored from the snow season to make fruit salad, milk ice cream, and minced-meat fruit-and-veg ice porridge. When he served them, Tang Yu and the kids were over the moon. Tang Yu had really missed ice cream; he’d thought he’d never taste it again in this life, and here Su Yi was, making it like a pro.

No one was happier than Dino. Yilai liked it too, but as a cold-blooded creature he couldn’t eat too much cold food. Dino had no such problem—after eating his fill, he even took some to deliver to his future… prospective little partner.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Su Yi finally got to his main purpose: naming his little bun.

Mino had a weakness for cold treats. He kept eating even as Su Yi spoke, until Dilson couldn’t stand it and stopped him; only then did Mino, cheeks puffed out, grudgingly put down his spoon.

Ian thought for a while and asked uncertainly, “Mm… how about Ailier?”

Mino mouthed it silently, then said, “Might as well be Qinos.”

Ian and Mino launched into a debate—back and forth until the final choice surprised everyone: Sunuo. The name came from Tang Yu; he’d tossed it out casually. But Su Yi and Xinuo both liked it—not because it sounded particularly beautiful, but because it combined both of their names.

“Su-Nuo, Su-Nuo—nice,” Xinuo said, his beautiful eyes softened with tenderness as they fell on Su Yi. Su Yi understood his meaning at once and couldn’t help blushing.

He nodded. “Yes. It really is nice.” His gaze met Xinuo’s, and the syrupy exchange made Tang Yu feel like his eyes were about to be blinded.

“If we name kids that way, wouldn’t mine be Tang-Si? ‘Tang-Si’—‘sugar threads’? Cute for a female maybe, but for a beast cub that’s way too saccharine, isn’t it?” As he spoke, Tang Yu couldn’t help glancing at Jels, looking for a verdict.

Jels actually smiled—rare for him—and the cold beauty of his face lit up. He leaned to Tang Yu’s reddening ear and murmured, “If you like ‘Tang-Si,’ then we can work on having another.”

Tang Yu bristled, face flaming, and glared at him. Bluffing, he snapped, “Get lost. Have another? If anyone’s having it, it’s you—not me.”

“Alright, I’ll have it,” Jels said, obsidian eyes gleaming with smugness. In any case, once they got into bed, it was always Tang Yu who ended up pregnant. Tang Yu knew exactly what he meant and gnashed his teeth inwardly, but with so many people present, he couldn’t keep bickering.

Straight-shooter Dilson, seeing both families with babies, grew anxious. He couldn’t help asking, “Jels, is there some method for having children? Why is it that Mino and I work so hard and still haven’t conceived?”

Everyone exchanged looks. Was there really some special way to make a baby?

Even Lie, who was minding his own business, looked up. If there were special methods, he wouldn’t mind hearing them. Ian couldn’t bear children, but as chieftain he could pass any “secret” on to others in the tribe.

Su Yi kept a straight face but was snarking inside: Making babies has shortcuts now?

He didn’t think much of it, but Tang Yu couldn’t help recalling Su Yi’s miraculous spring water. He shot Su Yi a look. Su Yi, being quick on the uptake, immediately caught on.

It wasn’t convenient for Su Yi to say anything outright, so he got up to “fix more snacks.” He paid special attention to what Mino had been eating, then deliberately brought him another serving of the same fruit salad. Dilson was too busy grilling Jels for tips to notice. Only when the crunching beside him registered did Dilson turn and see Mino eating for all he was worth.

Cold treats in the hot season felt amazing. Mino rubbed his tummy, sighing happily—then shivered when he noticed Dilson glaring at him. “Eat that much cold stuff and you’ll be the one suffering later,” Dilson said, getting up. He felt they should leave now, or Mino would keep eating.

Su Yi waved the couple off. When they’d gone, he muttered under his breath, “No idea if that’ll work…”

Xinuo bent to his ear. “You gave it to him?”

Su Yi blinked, surprised he’d said nothing and yet Xinuo knew. After the others left and they’d lulled little Sunuo to sleep, Su Yi nestled into Xinuo’s arms and kissed his cheek. They hadn’t been intimate in a long time. Seeing Su Yi take the initiative, Xinuo glanced at Sunuo in the little wooden cradle and whispered, “Quietly.”

Dilson took Mino home, a bit riled up after being “provoked” by other people’s little buns and by Mino’s disobedient love of cold treats. Mino sensed the low pressure rolling off him and, trying to placate him, stroked his tail and apologized meekly.

This time Dilson didn’t yield as usual. Looking solemn, he said, “On the bed.”

Startled, Mino bit his lip and lay down with reddening eyes.

The moment Dilson saw that pitiful look, his anger melted—but remembering how Mino kept misbehaving lately, he resolved to “discipline” him. “Take off your clothes,” he said sternly.

Mino felt terribly wronged, but he was always gentle and a little timid by nature. And it really was his fault today. Dilson was worried about him; he shouldn’t keep eating cold things. Sniffling, he quickly undressed.

Dilson suddenly thought his little partner was unbearably cute. Tell him to undress, and he stripped in all innocence—then sat there, naked, like a little fool waiting for instructions. Dilson realized this wasn’t punishment for Mino at all—it was punishment for himself. He dropped the pretense and pounced.

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Chapter 122

A month later, the weather grew even hotter.

Everyone put away their fur mats early. These days, Su Yi was busy working with the valley’s females to weave bamboo sleeping mats.

Over the month, the central plaza was tidied up. A plot of land in the valley was cleared to plant vegetables and melons. Near the big river, they opened a large field to plant corn and wheat. To prevent wild beasts trampling the crops, they built a simple fence.

Bored, Tang Yu had gone out recently with Jels and the others—to the nearby salt flats—bringing back a good haul of salt. On the way, they also picked up a discarded little beastman, who turned out to be ill-omened.

The little beastman had just learned to take human form. Once transformed, a platinum-white lightning-shaped beast-mark ran from his forehead to the lower corner of his left eye.

To people here, it was probably ugly. But to Tang Yu, it looked awesome. Especially since the kid had white hair, dark skin, and silver-gray eyes—destined to be a heart-stopper when he grew up. Tang Yu brought him back without hesitation. There were many childless folk in the valley; he wasn’t worried about who would raise him.

Ian took charge of the little one as soon as he arrived.

Ian and Lie couldn’t have children. With one delivered right into their arms, their smiles nearly split their faces—especially Ian, who carried the child around nearly every day.

The boy had many injuries. When he first came to the valley, Mino and Su Yi checked on him. He was a pure-black winged-leopard; his beast form was strikingly handsome. He reminded Su Yi of Aide, who was also a black winged-leopard.

With more children in the valley, Su Yi set his mind to making toys for them. The little beastmen could be taken into the forest to train—that was play enough. But little females were different; they were delicate. Aside from helping gather fruit and such, they were mostly bored. Maybe because he now had a daughter, Su Yi found himself lingering when he saw other people’s little females.

So he pulled out his tools and tinkered for five or six days straight, producing toys: building blocks, seesaws, shuttlecocks, jump ropes, rocking horses, balance beams, and more.

When he brought them to the plaza, a crowd of children swarmed him, chirping questions. Su Yi patiently taught them how to play each one.

With toys to occupy them, even the little beastmen stopped running wild, much to the parents’ relief.

Many females, seeing how fun it was, stepped out of their homes as well. They were quicker learners than the children; once Su Yi taught them, they could pass it on.

While Su Yi busied himself with this, Tang Yu didn’t sit idle either. But unlike Su Yi, who was a “kid king” and made things to amuse children, Tang Yu mostly indulged sudden whims—and usually to make his own life comfier. One day he dragged out a rocking chair, set it under a tree, and lay down for a luxurious rest.

The next day he wove a rattan stool; he disliked the feel of wooden benches, so he kept inventing ways to be comfortable.

That day he brought the dragon cub out with a bundle of snacks, planning to watch the child while napping in the rocker—only to find Jels already lying there, swaying contentedly.

Tang Yu nudged the rocker with his foot, signaling him to get up—it was his throne. Jels ignored him and kept rocking.

Tang Yu set the dragon cub down, then tugged and hauled, trying to forcibly unseat the mountain. Sweaty and defeated, he finally plopped right into Jels’s lap.

Jels slipped an arm around his waist, kneaded Tang Yu’s lengthening hair, and said, “Enough. Sleep a while.”

The corner of Tang Yu’s mouth curved; he turned his head, leaned into Jels’s chest, and happily closed his eyes.

The price of that lovely nap was steep: when they woke, the “Little Soup-Dumpling” had vanished without a trace.

Su Yi emerged with a kite in hand and found Tang Yu in a panic, searching everywhere for his son. Su Yi only raised an eyebrow—by now he was used to the recurring “lost cub” incidents at Tang Yu’s house.

Little Yilai waved. “Quick, Mother-father, let’s fly kites!”

Su Yi had made the kites that very morning. The night before, Dino had found a few plants somewhere that could be used as dyes. That gave Su Yi the idea. He’d gotten up early to craft them.

Xinuo, carrying Sunuo, followed behind the big-and-little pair. These days he’d become the perfect stay-at-home dad.

Lately Su Yi was very popular with the kids; he’d made so many toys and often came to play with them.

“Uncle Su Yi, what fun thing did you bring today?” one little beastman called.

Others chimed in at once, peppering him with questions until his head spun. Su Yi shook the string in his hand and, walking toward the plaza, explained how kites were made.

As the kite climbed higher and higher, cries of amazement erupted.

“Wow, it’s flying! Amazing!” “Yeah, amazing!”

“Of course—my mother-father is amazing!”

If Yilai still had a tail, he’d have been wagging it right then.

Su Yi then let them play on their own. The patterned kites, especially, were a hit with the females.

In the days that followed, many people brought materials to learn kite-making from Su Yi—mostly those with little females at home.

A few days later, watching all kinds of oddly shaped, wobbly kites in the sky, Su Yi felt a sudden urge to avert his eyes. The collective aesthetic sense around here was… uniquely questionable.

To keep that peculiar “aesthetic” from corrupting his still-tiny Sunuo, Su Yi kept her at home for a while.

Three years later—

A milk-soft child, carved like ice and jade, sat astride a black panther, moving slowly along the valley path.

Frowning, the child searched around, little hand gripping the panther’s fur. “Luo’er, let’s not look for my brother anymore. They’re mean—they won’t play with me.”

In a milky voice he grumbled, while the panther stretched lazily. “Then where do you want to go?”

Growing tired of sitting, the child slumped onto the panther’s back. His glossy black eyes rolled, and his snow-white cheek nuzzled the soft fur.

“Mother-father… who knows where he went?”

The panther stopped and cocked his head to look at the child on his back. His silver-gray eyes were clear as crystal, like a field of brilliant stars.

“I smell my beast-father. Let’s go ask him.”

With that, the panther quickened his pace toward a crowd up ahead.

There were many people, all talking at once. The valley had been lively lately because many newcomers had moved in—yes, many ill-omened beastmen who wanted a home, as well as winged-fox clansfolk willing to follow Lie. Not long ago, some of Lie’s own tribe had blundered into the valley.

At the time, Lie had been out training with Luo’er, so he didn’t get the news in time, and the winged-foxes ended up in a full-on brawl with the valley folk.

Only after Lie returned did he realize they were his own people.

When they saw that Lie was the chieftain here, the winged-foxes were proud. Seeing the valley’s beautiful environment and comfortable houses, they decided to stay.

But those beautiful winged-foxes were clearly harder to get along with than other tribes. Lie had a nasty temper, though—after a few unpleasant incidents, he scolded them soundly. They’d been well-behaved ever since.

Many of Lie’s tribesmen knew his temper. He was a ruthless character. They didn’t dare act out—Lie was the boss now. Displease him, and they might end up dead or maimed.

With so many newcomers, Lie consulted Su Yi and decided the later arrivals should live outside the valley. Su Yi proposed fencing off an area on one side of the valley—slightly smaller than the valley itself—and building a wall like a city wall.

It sounded grand, but for the beastmen here, it wasn’t that difficult. They had strength in abundance—and beast forms to boot.

Originally Tang Yu was in charge of the project, but he’d shown signs of pregnancy these past two days, so Su Yi stepped in to supervise.

Lie was discussing how to improve security in the surrounding area with the beastmen when he saw his son, Luo’er, leading little Sunuo along at a leisurely pace.

Lie rolled up the plans and waved everyone off, then crouched to scoop Sunuo into his arms.

By now, Lie had fully embraced Sunuo as his future daughter-in-law and doted on her.

“Why aren’t you playing with Yilai and the others?”

Sunuo’s big eyes swiveled. He also liked this handsome, beautiful “uncle.” “They won’t play with me. I’m going to find Mother-father.”

Lie smiled gently, ruby-red eyes warm. “Your mother-father has many things to do and probably doesn’t have time right now. How about I take you to find someone else to play with?”

Su Yi really was busy—directing the beastmen in building homes and helping Mino treat injured ill-omened beastmen whenever he had a spare moment.

Those ill-omened beastmen were pitiful—and, in a way, lucky. Across this continent, who knew how many there were? Most died very young, unable to survive in the wild at age three—starving, becoming prey, or succumbing to poison. Those who survived carried many scars, old and new.

Today, Su Yi encountered a female who had been captured by a wandering beastman and later discarded. To his shock, the female had a little female with her, over a year old—apparently born alone in the forest.

Su Yi couldn’t imagine how she had given birth under such conditions. He thought of himself—surrounded by people—barely surviving Sunuo’s birth.

The female’s body was like a spent oil lamp—so thin she was skin and bones. When the beastmen brought her back, she didn’t even have clothes. With twig-like arms, she clutched her little female tightly. The child’s looks mirrored hers—like those of a famine refugee.

Su Yi’s heart ached. He added spring water to the medicinal soup Mino prepared and gave them plenty of food.

Because both were females and so fragile, they were brought into the valley for care, temporarily housed at Old Taylor’s, which had many rooms and was convenient for others to help.

By the time Su Yi returned home, another day had passed.

He came in to find Xinuo scolding Yilai.

“As the older brother, it’s your responsibility to look after your sibling.”

“But Sunuo is too weak. I’m afraid if I take him to play, he’ll get hurt,” Yilai said, chin lifted. Now seven, he was no longer soft and doughy. The beast cubs here matured faster and grew bigger than in the original world—at seven, he looked more like eleven or twelve.

Xinuo’s face went cold, and Yilai felt a pang of dread. Xinuo had a good temper, but once he got angry, even Su Yi couldn’t help you.

Yilai frowned, thinking how to appease his beast-father. Just then, he spotted Su Yi.

“Mother-father!”

Sitting on the bed, Sunuo slid down first and ran happily to Su Yi.

Su Yi crouched to catch him, then lifted him into his arms.

“What’s all this?” he asked with a smile, glancing between father and son. Some of the frost left Xinuo’s face.

Yilai quickly admitted, “Mother-father, it’s my fault. I didn’t look after my brother and let him play by himself.”

Su Yi glanced at Xinuo; he said nothing, only considerately took Sunuo from Su Yi’s arms. Su Yi was exhausted lately, even if he wanted to hold his child.

Su Yi sat on the bed and said, “Your mistake isn’t that you didn’t play with Sunuo—it’s that you avoided responsibility. You think, because your brother is a female, he’s a hassle to look after. You don’t want to bring him along, because you’d have to worry while you play. Right?” Yilai looked at Sunuo and nodded helplessly. That was exactly why Xinuo was angry.

“Alright. Apologize to your brother.”

Yilai did so, and Sunuo, not grasping all the logic, forgave him like a little adult when he heard the apology.

“It’s fine. Luo’er will look after me,” Sunuo said.

Su Yi froze at that, then gave Xinuo a wry smile. “Xinuo, when did our baby get ‘claimed’ by Luo’er?”

Xinuo’s expression, which had finally softened, darkened again at Su Yi’s words. Lately Su Yi had been busy, and so had Xinuo—hunting and handling valley security.

Luo’er, the child raised by Ian and Lie, was still young, but he carried Lie’s shadow—like a king of the night, wreathed in inescapable mystery.

In the days that followed, Yilai stuck close to Sunuo. His beast form was a white snake, the kind with hard, plated scales.

Sunuo was still small and tired quickly.

Sitting on Yilai’s back made his little bottom suffer. In the end, he still rode on Luo’er, wandering leisurely around the valley—with a small troop of beast cubs trailing behind, including Yilai and a few of his buddies.

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Chapter 123

As they passed Tang Yu’s home, they happened to spot Kaixi-kai sneaking out. Kaixi-kai was Tang Yu’s little dragon cub, now three and a half and just able to take human form.

His name had been chosen by Old Taylor. Because Kaixi-kai was their first child, Tang Yu adored him and kept wanting to pick the very best name—so much so that by over a year old, Kaixi-kai still didn’t have a proper one. Old Taylor couldn’t stand it anymore and finally picked one for him.

Many of the valley’s beast cubs didn’t like Kaixi-kai. He was only three and a half, yet tougher than the other cubs. On top of that, the females in the valley adored him—especially those with little daughters, who always wanted their girls to play with him. As a result, Kaixi-kai made countless enemies at a young age and had terrible popularity with the boys.

When Sunuo saw Kaixi-kai, he tugged at Luo’er’s fur, and Luo’er immediately slowed. Sunuo tilted his little head and greeted him.

“Kaixi-kai, where are you going?” he asked.

Sunuo was still small and didn’t yet understand the difference between females and beastmen. To him, Kaixi-kai was about his age, and their mother-fathers were close friends, so he greeted him every time.

Kaixi-kai ignored him and marched off on his short legs. His mother-father had gotten oddly temperamental again after becoming pregnant, and he had finally escaped those clutches—he had to get out and roam.

Yilai’s brow creased—he was annoyed at Kaixi-kai’s attitude. How dare he ignore Sunuo, who was so cute?

Sunuo didn’t mind. He pinched Luo’er’s soft fur with his pale little fingers, and Luo’er moved on.

The other children traded looks, then followed Yilai to catch up with Sunuo. Their task was to protect him, so even if they disliked Kaixi-kai, they didn’t make a fuss.

Sunuo wanted to visit Uncle Mino’s house. With so many newcomers to the tribe, Uncle Mino had been busy tending the injured, and often couldn’t stay home to watch his little son, Jili. Sunuo wanted to help—he might be a little “bun” himself, but he could at least keep Jili from running off.

Mino’s Jili was not yet two, a winged-lion cub like his father—an adorable little lion.

When they reached Mino’s, only Dilson and Jili were home. Once Luo’er brought Sunuo inside, the beast-cub “bodyguards,” their mission complete, went off with Yilai to play.

By evening, Yilai came to fetch Sunuo home. He was nearly seven now; children here matured earlier, and a seven-year-old like Yilai looked about ten.

The valley’s cubs were sturdy and well-fed thanks to a peaceful life. At three years old, a cub could begin following his beast-father to learn hunting. Yilai was already a junior hunter, allowed to hunt near the valley alongside the other cubs. They could only take down one beast working together, but they loved it.

A few days later, Aide arrived with the winged-leopard clan. Ever since they had driven off the wandering beastmen together, the winged-leopards had been very friendly toward the valley. Aide seized the chance to bring people by regularly—partly to learn, partly to foster ties between the valley and his clan.

Just last year, one winged-leopard beastman had fallen for a female from the valley and chosen to stay with his beloved.

This time, Aide brought five females—a clear signal. A few were special cases. One had a very delicate constitution, often sickly, and had never found a suitable partner. Though frail, he was gentle and kind. As the new chieftain, Aide hated to see such a female struggle alone and thought that if he sent him here, he might meet someone.

Among the others, one was very handsome but picky and had yet to find a beastman he liked. Another had an injured leg; his prospective partner had rejected him. In short, they were “complicated cases.”

Aide wasn’t trying to foist trouble on the valley—he simply wanted to try his luck, especially knowing many new beastmen had arrived. If they didn’t find matches, he would take them back.

Their arrival drew a lot of attention, especially from the young beastmen.

The five females felt flustered under the stares and shrank behind their clansmen. Aide had explained his plan beforehand: the purpose of this visit was to find partners. Though nervous, they still couldn’t help stealing glances around.

No one expected the most proud, hard-to-please female to be the first to find someone he liked. Back in the winged-leopard clan, he hadn’t looked twice at anyone; yet the moment he arrived here, he spotted a beastman and marched straight toward him, bold as brass.

Su Yi, busy with work, wandered over to see the commotion and watched the beautiful female stop in front of a beastman. The surprise was that he had set his sights on an ill-omened beastman.

This ill-omened beastman had come to the valley later than most. He was a winged-wolf with a scarred face, an icy expression, and even a hint of viciousness in his eyes. When he first arrived, many had opposed letting him in. So he didn’t live in the valley proper, but outside with the newer arrivals.

The beautiful female had stunning peach-blossom eyes, a tall figure, and very long legs. Even so, he seemed small beside the winged-wolf.

He rose up on tiptoe, smiling brightly. “We meet again.” The winged-wolf clearly didn’t remember him; he frowned almost imperceptibly, didn’t even look, and turned to leave.

The beauty froze, then glared with those peach-blossom eyes, unhappy but dogged—he followed.

Some winged-leopard clansmen looked to Aide in concern. “Letting him go alone—will it be dangerous?”

Aide waved a hand. “Let him go. It’s safe here.” With that, he left them to it and chatted amiably with the valley beastmen.

Su Yi arched a brow. Well now—that looked promising.

That afternoon, Lie hosted a tournament—beastmen challenging each other in friendly matches. In Tang Yu’s words: making friends through martial arts. In truth, only Lie and Aide knew the real purpose: to give young females a chance to pick out the beastmen they liked.

No one expected the “special-status trio”—Lie, Xinuo, and Jels—to become everyone’s favored targets. Especially Jels; he drew the most envy, and eventually fought five challengers at once.

The kids were even more excited than the adults, cheering for their favorite beastmen. Kaixi-kai hadn’t wanted to come, but Tang Yu did, and Kaixi-kai worried his scatterbrained mother-father might hurt the baby through carelessness. So he came along. As others whooped over Jels being challenged again and again, Tang Yu’s face looked grim with worry about his mate getting hurt. Kaixi-kai, by contrast, was impassive, as if the whole spectacle didn’t exist.

Tang Yu’s worry proved needless. Jels didn’t just stay uninjured; he dispatched each opponent with ease, and only when no one chose him anymore did he return, calm as ever.

When Xinuo was picked, little Sunuo didn’t understand. His beast-father handed him to his mother-father, and he stared with clear, wide eyes as his beast-father “fought” someone.

“Mother-father, why are they hitting Beast-father?” he asked innocently.

“They’re not hitting him—they’re sparring to see who’s stronger,” Su Yi said patiently, eyes fixed on Xinuo’s beast form at the center of the ring, his white, armor-like scales blazing in the sun. Even now, Su Yi found it unbelievable that a straight man like himself had fallen head over heels for someone like this without a second thought.

Perhaps sensing Su Yi’s gaze, Xinuo turned and looked at him. Neither spoke, but both smiled with their eyes; something unspoken flowed between them.

When the adults’ bouts ended, a pack of chaos-loving kids clamored for their own tournament. Lie refused. These little terrors had no sense of restraint; a contest of pride could easily lead to real injuries.

Five days later, Aide departed. Of the five females he brought, four stayed. Only one—who actually liked the valley—couldn’t get past his aversion to ill-omened beastmen and chose to return with the winged-leopards. In exchange, Aide’s group took away a winged-fox female who was smitten with still-single Aide. She pestered him relentlessly until he let her tag along, to the winged-leopards’ great amusement.

As for the four who stayed: the most beautiful one moved in on his own with the scarred winged-wolf. The sickly one collapsed from heatstroke on his second day while helping pick fruit in the heat; Jero carried him to Mino for treatment, and from then on the two grew closer.

Everyone welcomed the newcomers—especially since they were females.

When the new outer wall around the valley was finally completed, Tang Yu safely gave birth to a little female—the first female born in three years besides Sunuo, and the focus of everyone’s attention.

By now the valley’s population had reached nearly a thousand. With the people’s consent, Lie proposed choosing a grand name for the tribe. Name-demon Tang Yu rattled off options: “Yanhuang Tribe,” “Summoner’s Canyon,” “Nuwa Tribe,” “Yellow Emperor Tribe,” “Huaxia Tribe,” and so on—leaving Su Yi’s face twitching and cold sweat on his brow.

In the end, the tribe was named the Ruisges Tribe. On the orc continent, Ruisges is a flower symbolizing good fortune. The name was meant to tell other tribes that even with ill-omened beastmen among them, they would remain blessed and well. Because of that name, in the years to come many homeless ill-omened beastmen, wandering beastmen, and even ordinary folk came seeking refuge.

Vegetables and fruit were planted in and around the valley, and Su Yi secretly watered them with his spatial spring water. Without anyone noticing, people’s health improved, and the fertility of the tribe’s females grew stronger. Many other tribes began dreaming of pairing with Ruisges females.

But the Ruisges females were formidable. They not only cultivated food, they also went hunting in groups. Anyone wanting to pair with them had to give up his own tribe and come to Ruisges as a “live-in son-in-law.”

Author’s Note:

After the ending, I’ll slowly add some extra side stories.