He looked at her trembling eyelashes, like butterfly wings, and sighed. "What happened today is partly my fault."
Kana slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Tuzé's face twisted like a bitter melon, she explained, "Back when I was with the fox clan, many beastmen criticized me because of my fertility."
"After three days, with the shaman and the chief as witnesses, no beastman will be able to talk about it anymore."
She didn't really care before, but now it was affecting her family. Even if she didn't mind, she had to stand up.
"Those beastmen today actually helped me."
But Tuzé was still worried. He thought Kana was only stalling for time. He regretted asking Shilu for help, which made things worse.
In the wolf tribe's cave, Yuxing was cornered by his father Shilu and his brothers. They scolded him, saying the same things over and over, about that female beast and how irresponsible he was.
Yuxing's face was dark as he packed his things.
Shilu asked, "What are you doing?"
Yuxing left some of his hunted prey behind and packed the rest into a fur bag. Without looking up, he said, "I'm Kana's mate. I'm going to live with her in the Akoste family."
Then he gathered white wind around himself, blowing all the beastmen in the cave down, and ran out while they were struggling.
By the time Shilu realized what had happened, Yuxing was gone.
"Go find him and bring him back!" Shilu shouted at his sons.
One brother finally couldn't hold back and said, "Father, Yuxing has his own thoughts. Why do you always force him to follow yours? Even when hunting, you make him ambush. Why are you so harsh on your own son?"
Shilu was stunned and couldn't speak, only sitting down angrily.
"Bang."
Yujin and Wayin were discussing what gifts to bring to Kana when Yuxing came in carrying a pile of things.
"From now on, I'm part of the Akoste family and Kana's mate."
Yujin rubbed his hands, his eyes shining at Yuxing's wealth. Of course, he welcomed him. He had long wanted to see the skills of a great archer.
"Is it true that Kana said she is pregnant?" Wayin asked worriedly. He cared about his sister. After all, Yuxing and she hadn't known each other long. Even if beastmen could be together once they liked each other, he was afraid she would be abandoned if she lied.
Yuxing scratched his head but firmly said, "I believe her."
"Let's go hunting first. Pregnant women need fresh meat. The dried meat she saved won't last long."
It was true. In the shaman's house, Kana already felt very hungry. The dried meat she used to eat now tasted like wax.
Tuzé noticed something was wrong and asked, worried, "What's the matter with you?"
Kana looked at him. Tuzé wasn't exactly hateful, but he wasn't pleasant either. Better not to see him.
"You should go. I need to rest."
But before she could finish, the hunger hit her again.
Tuzé left reluctantly when she pushed him away.
As soon as he stepped out, Kana opened her system space, pulled out all the dried meat, and devoured it quickly.
Tuzé stood outside the window, quietly watching everything.
So, she was just hungry.
The beast people rarely came out at night, usually only to hunt or set traps, so she wasn't worried at all.
This confidence didn't just come from her strength.
Tuzé's figure slowly blended into the darkness.
As the night grew darker and the dried meat was nearly gone, someone knocked at the shaman's door.
Kana slowly got up and opened the door.
To her surprise, her brother and Yuxing were there, carrying a deer they had just hunted.
Wayin carefully cut the best, tenderest pieces and handed them to the shaman.
The shaman didn't say anything and took them.
They patiently separated the deer meat, cut it into small pieces, and served it to Kana.
For some reason, seeing the fresh meat, Kana couldn't control herself. She ate wildly and finally transformed into her beast form, lying on the deer and feasting happily.
She said shyly, "I'm really hungry. Maybe the babies in my belly want to eat too."
Yuxing's eyes lit up. He gently touched Kana's fur but quickly withdrew his hand, afraid of hurting her.
He whispered softly, "The babies…"
Watching her eat so heartily, Yuxing felt extremely happy and gradually relaxed.
After all, pregnant females had much bigger appetites than non-pregnant ones.
The shaman watched Kana eat and quietly made a note in his mind.
Then he spoke gently to Kana, "I'm already living in the Akost family's cave. From now on, I'm truly your partner."
Kana looked at him in surprise. She had seen how much Shilu opposed this.
Then she smiled warmly, "Thank you for enduring so much. From now on, we face everything together."
At first, Yuxing had some worries, since female beasts were usually hard to deal with, but he didn't expect Kana to agree so quickly.
"Let's eat together," Wayin said with a smile.
The beast people feasted in the shaman's house. After eating, they covered the traces of food with clean soil and cleaned the rest of the house.
The shaman nodded in satisfaction.
The Akost family's beast people were really different from the others.
No wonder Yuxing liked them.
If he were younger, he might have sought a female beast from the Akost family too.
"Is there water?"
Kana had eaten too much meat and felt a little overheated.
Her face was glowing with health, even more beautiful than when they first met.
Yuxing stared at her in awe.
This was the female beast he would spend his life with.
"There's not only water but also Yuxing's staring eyes," Wayin teased from the side. "And you haven't even lived in the same cave yet. Looks like I'll have lots of time as an uncle in the future."
Hearing this, they turned their heads, embarrassed, but Yuxing couldn't help sneaking glances.
The other beast people laughed loudly. Though it was cold outside, inside the house it was lively and warm.
"I… I'm hungry again," Kana said, lying on the prey and starting to eat again.
They looked at her in surprise, and even the shaman's expression changed.
The shaman summoned a magic circle with many supplement potions inside.
"These are all made from pure plants. Drinking them will give you more energy."
Kana drank them obediently, but she was still hungry.
"Do you have more? I still haven't had enough."
The shaman sat in front of Kana, holding her hands and carefully checking her body for any problems.
"Normally, your appetite shouldn't be an issue, but you're eating almost as much as an adult beastman. That's definitely a problem."
The shaman examined Kana closely, but his expression didn't relax.
"Everything seems normal."
"Keep giving her food as usual. I'll observe her closely these next few days."
The other beastmen finally relaxed.
Before leaving, Yuxing gently kissed Kana on the forehead. "I'll come see you again tomorrow."
Once Kana was alone in the room, she finally asked the system.
"System, why am I suddenly so hungry?"
"It's natural. The baby is absorbing your energy. If your energy isn't enough, you will feel hungry."
"If the baby keeps growing, will it need more and more energy?"
"Yes."
Kana realized that she could already eat enough to shock a beastman. If the baby kept growing, she would need to eat constantly.
She pictured herself with a strong jaw and square face.
No!
Kana shook her head hard, not wanting to imagine what she would look like.
"Is there a magic pill that can stop me from feeling hungry?"
"There is, but since you are pregnant, you must eat food."
"Is there food that's so strong that one meal is like ten meals?"
"Of course. Don't underestimate me."
Kana saw a book appear in her mind. It looked old, with a cover full of intricate patterns.
"This is a Beast World guidebook. It has many useful things you can eat, more than enough for your future needs."
Kana slowly flipped through it.
Many magical beasts appeared in the book. She even found the beasts that attacked the fox clan.
Surprisingly, they were edible, and the system even included cooking methods.
This wasn't a guidebook—it was a cookbook.
Kana laughed.
This system really had the spirit of her past life's foodie culture.
Eat what you can, cook what you can't, and if you can't cook it, turn it into medicine or powder. Everything should be used to its fullest.
"This Beast World guidebook is really helpful."
She kept looking for supplements suitable for pregnant women, especially ones that could improve her baby's attributes.
The guidebook quickly gave an answer.
Guiyan Flower, a special red plant that grows among red rocks, has no leaves and is three inches tall. Its flowers look like roaring beast heads. When mature, they produce a sweet nectar called Guiyan Flower Dew, which is excellent for pregnant women and babies. Immature flowers don't produce nectar, but the whole plant is non-toxic and edible.
The shaman knocked on her door and entered.
"These are some remedies I prepared. Maybe they can help reduce your hunger."
Kana didn't expect him to care so much. She thanked him quickly.
"Shaman, have you seen a completely red, leafless flower that produces nectar?"
The shaman thought for a moment and gave the same answer as the guidebook. "Guiyan Flower?"
"Where can I find it?"
"On the back mountain of the settlement area. There's a patch of red rocks with many Guiyan Flowers."
The shaman asked curiously, "Are you going to gather them?"
"Yes."
He shook his head and explained, "All highly nutritious plants have dangers nearby. Some are guarded by visible magical beasts, some by poisonous air, and some by unknown risks. The wolf clan of our settlement never goes there."
"Especially since the fox clan just moved here, they aren't familiar with this area at all."
"If you want to make a potion, I can still help you with that."
A figure outside left after overhearing their conversation.
But another figure slowly approached and gently knocked on the door.
The shaman stood up and opened it, surprised.
"Merita, what are you doing here?"
She was wearing a worn-out cloak, and because it was cold, white breath came from her mouth.
"I heard there were wolves causing trouble at home, so I thought I'd come check on you."
Kana felt very touched and grabbed Merita's hands, quickly inviting her inside to warm up.
She took a dirty animal-skin bag from under her cloak.
Inside was a small bag of red berries.
"What's this?"
Merita put the berries into Kana's arms and quietly said, "I didn't dare go deep into the berry forest, so I didn't pick much."
Kana knew her life was hard, and didn't expect that even in such a situation, she still thought about her.
Merita stared at Kana's small belly and carefully asked, "Can I touch it?"
Kana held her hand and placed it on her belly.
Merita smiled with satisfaction, then pulled her hand back and hid it under her cloak.
Looking at her face, Kana noticed she seemed thinner than the last time they met.
She had promised Merita could come over for meals anytime, but this little female hadn't come even once since.
Such a stubborn little female.
Kana touched her face. Because it was cold, her skin was chapped, and her fur was rough.
"Tomorrow I'll have my brother come find you, just to sit and chat a bit. You can help me convince him to find a little female soon."
Actually, sending her brother over was also to help Merita lighten her burden and give her some rest.
Merita nodded gently, not refusing.
Kana stuffed a lot of meat, which her brothers had left for her, into Merita's arms and quickly spoke so she couldn't refuse.
"This is your reward for helping me."
Kana smiled gently.
"Tomorrow I'll have my brothers come find you."
Merita looked at the fresh meat in her arms, her eyes shining.
The shaman came in at that moment and took some medicine from her arms.
"I'm old and can't move well. Please take this medicine to the females in the territory. You don't need to bring the extra back, just save it for next time."
Merita nodded, touched. "It's late, so I won't stay long and disturb you."
The shaman and Kana saw Merita to the door, watching her disappear into the night.
The shaman sighed, feeling sympathetic. "Every winter, when hunting is hard, the females in the territory always suffer."
It was easy to see that every time Kana saw her, she seemed to get thinner.
I hope you can hold on until next spring, Merita!
Merita originally planned to return to the territory, but paused, looked toward Shilu's cave, and slowly walked there.
Shilu had already been sleeping but was woken by the knock.
Could it be that troublemaker Tuzé again?
When he opened the door, it was a female who had come to him.
She smiled and walked in. Of course, Shilu had no reason to refuse her and didn't.