Yu An made a snap decision. "Mo Yan, ignore them. Let's go around."
'Are you kidding me? In a place with no surveillance and no police, am I really going to let a bunch of fluffballs scam me?'
"AWOOOO—"
Seeing that they were about to leave, the leading Red Fox let out a cry, and the wild beasts following it hurriedly threw the pheasants they were carrying in front of the vehicle.
The pheasants were divided into two piles. The fox placed its front paw on one of the piles, gestured to Yu An with its paw, and yelped.
Yu An and Mo Yan looked at each other. Clearly, they had no idea what the fox was saying.
Da Hu studied them curiously and guessed, "Female Mother, do you think they want you to cook the pheasants?"
"One pile is your payment, and the other is for them to eat."
The Red Fox heard this and nodded its head frantically.
'Yes, that's exactly what I meant! As expected of the child I watched being born—so smart from such a young age!'
The Red Fox wasn't strong, but in terms of intelligence, it was one of a kind among the wild beasts. When Yu An was giving birth to her cubs, it had been in the beast pack, trying to take advantage of the chaos.
Later, when it saw things were going south, it had quickly slipped away.
Yu An's eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh, so that's what you mean. Since you're so sincere, then I..."
The wild beasts looked at her expectantly.
"I'm not doing it."
The wild beasts: "???"
Shock was written all over their eyes. Yu An spread her hands. "First of all, I've been frying chicken all day and I'm dead tired. But even if I wasn't, I'm a Beastman. Why would I cook for wild beasts?"
"Especially you," she said with a smirk. "Little fox, you were part of the pack of wild beasts that attacked me when I was giving birth, weren't you?"
The Red Fox froze, seeming not to know how Yu An had found out.
It had clearly been at the very back of the pack, and one of the first to flee.
Yu An hadn't had time to observe anything back then, but Lu Lu had. A section of its vine had gone out to scout the enemy and happened to notice this particular Red Fox with its conspicuously bright fur.
It was hard not to notice—while all the other beasts were advancing, it was the only one retreating.
The Red Fox grew tense. Under the stares of the other wild beasts, its legs went soft and it knelt on its front paws.
It was very smart, which was why it had been sent to negotiate with the female Beastman. But now, it looked like the other beasts wanted to tear it to shreds!
"AWOOOO!"
The Red Fox trembled for a moment, then suddenly yelped, leaped up, and disappeared into the bushes.
Just as Yu An thought it was running away, it reappeared, holding a small packet made of leaves in its mouth.
Placing it in front of Yu An, it motioned for her to open it.
"I'll do it," Mo Yan said, stepping forward. He shot the Red Fox a warning glance. "Be careful, it could be dangerous."
The Red Fox looked completely innocent. If it could speak, it would be crying out about the injustice.
Inside the packet was a piece of a branch stained with a bit of blood. Yu An noticed that as soon as it was opened, the wild beasts suddenly grew agitated.
The way they looked at Yu An was clearly like they were staring at a delicious feast.
Mo Yan, realizing something, quickly wrapped the branch back up. His expression was grave as he said, "This is Beast-Attracting Powder. Any beast that smells it will frantically attack the person carrying the scent."
After speaking, he subconsciously looked at Yu An, who was also looking at him. They both said in unison, "Those wild beasts were affected by the Beast-Attracting Powder!"
"No wonder," Yu An muttered to herself. "They were attacking me like they were crazy."
She remembered that the Red Fox had been one of them, but for some reason, it hadn't gone into a frenzy.
But the Red Fox couldn't speak, so it couldn't reveal who the real culprit was...
Yu An was conflicted for a moment. Her gaze swept over the wild beasts, and she decided to take them in. If they encountered the culprit, perhaps the Red Fox could identify them.
Besides, they could act as bodyguards and hunters. It was killing three birds with one stone!
So, Yu An put on a smiling face and said, "Beastmen and wild beasts come from the same roots. Maybe five hundred years ago, we were all one big family! Come on, I'll go make you all some delicious food!"
The wild beasts: "..."
'Do all female Beastmen change their minds this quickly?'
There were too many wild beasts for the cave to hold, so Yu An had them wait at the entrance.
It was only then that she realized the area around her cave had already become a gathering place for wild beasts. They had just been hiding their presence by rubbing some kind of herb on themselves, so Yu An and the others hadn't noticed.
As Yu An put the prepared chicken into the pot to fry, she asked casually, "What kind of herb is it? Can Beastmen use it?"
The Red Fox squinted and yelped a few times, then went out and came back carrying a bundle of it in its mouth.
Yu An was pleasantly surprised. She had seen this herb, called Concealing Breath Grass, in the original owner's memories. It was considered an incredibly precious item in the Beast Emperor City.
Because it could mask one's aura, it was an excellent tool for assassinations.
To think that out here, the wild beasts just crudely crushed it and smeared it on their bodies.
While inwardly lamenting what a terrible waste it was, Yu An had the Red Fox go gather some more.
"As a reward, in addition to the pheasant, I'll add two more dishes for you."
One was chicken frames, and the other was rice porridge.
Yu An had thought about selling fried chicken frames before, but preparing them was a lot of trouble, so she'd given up on the idea.
The rice porridge was to cut through the grease. She added wild vegetables and salt to it, so they could have a sip whenever the fried food became too rich.
She was busy until nightfall. Yu An directed Mo Yan to move the fried whole chickens and chicken frames outside the cave, and to let the porridge cool to a warm temperature before giving it to the beasts.
The two rows of wild beasts ate with gusto, and the sound of their contented munching and rumbling filled the air. Yu An had the strange feeling that she was raising a dozen or so giant dogs.
She casually reached out and patted the Red Fox on the head. "Good dog."
The Red Fox was busy fighting with the other beasts for food and didn't even look up. If it meant getting food this delicious every day, it wouldn't mind being called a dog at all.
The others didn't react much, but Han Li's face fell. He bit Yu An's sleeve and tried to pull her away.
'What "good dog"? Isn't having him as her one and only dog enough?'
'Females are always so fickle!'
Yu An understood what Han Li meant and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, alright, I won't pet it anymore. You're my good little dog."
She casually scooped Han Li up into her arms and scratched his chin.
Han Li squinted in comfort, refusing to leave Yu An's embrace.
This earned him several eye-rolls from Da Hu and Xiao Yu. Mo Yan, however, didn't react. As long as Yu An wasn't being intimate with other males right in front of him, he didn't care.
*Ahem*, 'it's not like he was jealous. He was just upholding the dignity of a male, that's all.'
That evening, while preparing the ingredients for the next day, the wild beasts helped with some miscellaneous chores, leaving Da Hu and the others with nothing to do.
The two little ones played in the grass. Xiao Yu's tail, flopping back and forth, flattened a patch of it.
Han Li lay nearby, watching over them, a gentleness in his eyes that he himself hadn't noticed.
'Once I get my human form back, I can take the two little ones to play somewhere farther away.'
'Hmm, maybe three of them. San Dan is about to hatch soon, too.'
The area around the cave was bustling with activity. In a bush not far away, a bear cub picked up some fallen Concealing Breath Grass from the ground.
"Heh heh... the Beast God must be on my side."
'With the priceless Concealing Breath Grass, and the witch doctor's secret-weapon herbs, I can definitely avenge my Female Mother and Beast Father.'
A cold, sinister gaze flashed over the frolicking Zaizai, so fast that no one noticed.
'Even if I can't kill that detestable, ugly female, I'll kill one of her brats and make her suffer for the rest of her life!'
With this in mind, the bear cub silently chanted Da Hu's name and lit a dried herb. The herb, colorless and odorless, began to spread silently through the air.