48: Nighttime Heart-to-Heart Talk

Nan Zhisui fed all the cubs goat milk powder. The piece of meat hanging from Hu Qi's waist was also shared and finished.

White Fox stood up, looking thoughtfully into the distance before turning his head back to Nan Zhisui.

Although today had passed just like that, tomorrow he would need to go hunting.

Hunting was dangerous, and he had no way to bring his female master and the cubs along.

But if he left his female master and the cubs behind to wait for him, they might also encounter danger.

What should he do?

Night fell.

White Fox found a relatively flat spot and laid down some hay. Nan Zhisui took out her outdoor camping gear, including two sleeping bags, and taught them how to use them.

Although it wasn't the first time the cubs had seen sleeping bags, they still found them very novel, crowding around Nan Zhisui to ask all sorts of questions.

The Little Merman slept in the water bucket.

White Fox and Hu Qi shared one sleeping bag, while She Yang and the Little Wolf Cub took up no space at all, squeezing in with White Fox and the others.

Nan Zhisui enjoyed the favoritism of her beast husband and the cubs, sleeping in her own sleeping bag by herself.

In the middle of the night, Hu Qi couldn't sleep and secretly crawled from White Fox's sleeping bag into Nan Zhisui's.

He poked his cute little head out and called out to Nan Zhisui in a sweet, low voice, "Mother~ Can we sleep together?"

Whoa, who could resist this?!

Nan Zhisui naturally gave in to him and coaxed him to sleep.

"Alright then, you have to be good and don't kick me while you're sleeping tonight," Nan Zhisui said, feigning sternness.

"Mm-hmm!" Hu Qi nuzzled into Nan Zhisui's embrace.

Watching the mother and son from the side, a smile curved on White Fox's lips.

After the cubs had all fallen asleep, Nan Zhisui whispered to White Fox, "White Fox, are you asleep yet?"

White Fox opened his beautiful eyes.

Although he was resting, he wasn't sleeping deeply. After all, as the Male, he was responsible for everyone's safety and had to take on the duty of keeping watch.

"female master."

Nan Zhisui asked softly, "I saw you looking very troubled today. What are you thinking about? Is it because leaving Stone Village makes you uneasy, or do you have some other concerns?"

Lying in the sleeping bag next to her, White Fox shook his head gently. "No, I have no concerns. I was just thinking..."

"Thinking about what?" Nan Zhisui was curious.

White Fox lowered his eyes slightly, and after a moment of hesitation, he asked, "female master, where are the other Males in our Family?"

"Huh?"

White Fox sighed and said, "If I go hunting, there will be no one to protect you. But if I don't go hunting, everyone will have no food."

He knew Nan Zhisui had her space, but she had also said that the space contained emergency supplies—once used, they were gone for good.

He was a Male, and he had to take on the responsibility of providing for and protecting his Family's Female and cubs, so he should go hunting.

But as long as he went out to hunt, Nan Zhisui and the cubs would be without a Male's protection.

Wild beasts and Wandering Beastmen outside loved to pick on lone Females and cubs who had no Male protection.

It was very dangerous.

Ultimately, there were just too few Males in the Family.

White Fox was very distressed.

"There are others."

Facing White Fox, Nan Zhisui felt like a young wife facing her husband. She asked timidly in a low voice, "If I say I have more than one beast husband, would you be jealous?"

"What is 'jealous'? What is 'vinegar'?" White Fox asked.

"Being jealous is... that sour feeling in your heart."

"I would," White Fox nodded with certainty. "Because I like you, I would be jealous. But... every Female's home has many Males. I can understand."

A sour feeling in the heart... sometimes when she stroked Little Hu Qi's head and gave him too much attention, his heart would feel sour.

If she got too close to another Male, how sour would his heart be... he could hardly imagine it.

A Female was the core unit of a Family. Once a Female had multiple Males, the beastmen would band together, condensing into the strength of a Family.

In a Family, the more powerful Males there were, the more it proved the Family's strength, making it less likely to be bullied by other families.

Moreover, the Beast World was dangerous. Females and Cubs needed protection. When a Male went out to hunt, there had to be other Males at home to protect them.

Therefore, White Fox took it for granted that Nan Zhisui would have multiple Males.

Caught off guard by White Fox's "I like you," Nan Zhisui's face immediately flushed red.

While touching her somewhat hot face, she said, "There are indeed other beast husbands, but... I don't know where they are either. If we run into them, we'll just let nature take its course."

Actually, after hearing about Uncle Xiang's experience, Nan Zhisui felt a tiny bit of guilt toward her beast husbands.

If they weren't doing well, she would bring them all back. If they were doing well, she would just take a look from afar and then walk away.

"Mhm." White Fox looked at her with sparkling eyes. "female master, can't you sleep?"

It wasn't that Nan Zhisui couldn't sleep; she had actually deliberately waited for the Cubs to fall asleep so she could have a heart-to-heart with White Fox.

"If I can't sleep, would you coax me to sleep?" Nan Zhisui asked curiously, wrapped in her sleeping bag.

White Fox's eyes curved slightly. "I would."

Nan Zhisui laughed softly. "White Fox, come here. I'll give you a small gift."

"A gift?" White Fox got out of his sleeping bag, walked to Nan Zhisui's side, and crouched down.

Nan Zhisui shifted her position to lie differently. White Fox looked down at her from above her head, with the bright, clear moon behind him.

Nan Zhisui was once again struck by the beauty of this stunningly handsome fox.

She swallowed and took out a Fishbone Bracelet she had prepared.

"White Fox, give me your hand."

White Fox reached out his left hand to her in confusion.

The muscles on the Male's arm weren't bulky; the beauty of his lean muscle was absolutely captivating to her.

Especially those snow-white arms and the smooth lines of the arm muscles.

Nan Zhisui resisted the urge to rub his arm and fastened the Fishbone Bracelet onto White Fox's wrist.

"This is from the first fish I caught by the river when I was a child. After I took it home and ate it braised, I made a bracelet out of its bones. Now, I've added a few red Agate Beads to adjust the size..."

After tying the Fishbone Bracelet, Nan Zhisui smiled slightly. "Look, White Fox, it's so pretty, and the size is just right."

White Fox raised his hand to look at his wrist. For the first time, he felt that his wrist was actually useful—it could wear something she gave him and make her praise its appearance.

Nan Zhisui said, "White Fox, you can think of this bracelet as... a Seal I've given you."

"A Seal?" White Fox looked down at her in confusion.

"Yes. As long as you wear this bracelet, you cannot casually use the power of your Ancient Bloodline."

"When you see it, remind yourself that your female master, Nan Zhisui, cares about your body and does not allow you to use your abilities if it endangers your life! Do you understand?" Nan Zhisui's beautiful black eyes looked at him.

"Of course, once your body can adapt to your power and it no longer affects your health, you can use it."

White Fox raised his arm, looking at the beautiful bracelet on his wrist against the light.

"I have been sealed by my female master."