53: Chapter 53 The Snake King Takes a Finger at Tang Ruan's Beast Husband, Fox Che

Yan Qing looked her up and down. "You? Are you from the Snake Tribe?"

Realizing he had misunderstood, Tang Ruan hurriedly waved her hands. "I'm not. I just know how to hatch female snakes."

She should have thought of this sooner. Yan Qing was the Snake King, after all; he must have access to a vast amount of resources. Getting him to help look for Lang Lie would be much faster than her asking around one by one.

But Yan Qing's expression clearly showed disbelief. Seeing him about to leave again, Tang Ruan chased after him and spread her arms to block his path. "I will prove it to you! If I succeed, you help me find Lang Lie!"

Lang Lie again. He had heard this name so much tonight that his ears were about to grow calluses. "Let's talk after you've done it!" Yan Qing didn't want to get entangled with her any further and walked away.

The slogan had been shouted, but Tang Ruan had absolutely no idea how she was going to prove it to him. First of all, the lack of a thermometer was a major issue. Furthermore, no beastman would be willing to use their own eggs for an experiment. She thought about it all night long.

The next day, she learned about Hu Che's brave intrusion into the Snake Kings Cave. He had been beaten quite badly, and he wouldn't let Tang Ruan use her Supernatural Ability. Every day, he would just curl up in the cave in his small fox form.

Tang Ruan served him delicious food and drinks. She picked medicinal herbs and brewed medicine for him in the cave. Sometimes, he would lie at her feet and watch curiously. Sometimes, when Tang Ruan made something delicious, he would jump onto her lap and lick his lips at the roasted chicken leg.

To prevent him from stealing food, Tang Ruan could only hold him with one hand while roasting meat with the other. Whenever this happened, Tang Ruan truly regarded him as a pet, completely forgetting that he was a Male Beastman.

And Hu Che seemed to be the same. Sometimes, he would even take the initiative to jump onto her lap to sleep. Tang Ruan guessed that perhaps a beastman's weakest state was just like a small animal, so she didn't hold it against him.

Until one day. She woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly discovered a young man curled up in her arms. The young man's head was tucked under her arm, and he even rubbed against her gently.

Tang Ruan: ... Tang Ruan sat up abruptly. The young man woke up instantly, covered her mouth with his hand, and pinned her underneath him. "You didn't see anything, you didn't see anything..."

A rose-colored halo swirled in Hu Che's eyes. Tang Ruan thought it was beautiful. Her eyelids felt so heavy... Then, she drifted off to sleep again in a daze.

The next day, she saw Hu Che jump onto the table to steal the meat she had covered up yesterday. His little paws clawed at it for a long time. With a "clang," the bowl fell to the ground. He jumped up in fright and scrambled under the table.

Tang Ruan pinched the bridge of her nose. What kind of ridiculous dream had she had last night!

"Tang Ruan!" A middle-aged Female Beastman's voice came from the cave entrance. It was She Yan, the Snake Tribe Female Beastman she had chatted with before. "Sister, are you looking for me?" Tang Ruan quickly ran out.

"A friend of one of my Beast Husbands is from the Outer City. He asked my Beast Husband to bring you some things."

Ever since the story, "Tang Ruan exhausted her Supernatural Ability to save an Outer City beastman and nearly lost her life. Her Beast Husband Hu Che bravely broke into the Snake Kings Cave, and the Snake King generously saved them," began to circulate, Tang Ruan suddenly became a celebrity in Wan Shou City.

The attitude of the Outer City beastmen toward Yan Qing had also undergone some changes. It was said that a portion of the beastmen were already willing to follow the Snake Tribe's arrangements to hunt and live in designated areas.

Tang Ruan opened the package; it was once again filled with a large amount of meat. They were struggling to survive themselves, yet they had tried every possible way to send the best portions to her. Such kind beastmen reminded her of the Marmot Tribe.

Tang Ruan wanted to share some with She Yan to show her gratitude, but she refused. "The prey my Beast Husbands hunt is more than we can eat. I was actually planning to give you some!"

She glanced into the cave and saw Hu Che in his small fox form, lying on the ground gnawing on a chicken leg. She leaned into Tang Ruan's ear and lowered her voice: "This Beast Husband of yours, although he looks good and loves you enough, he's useless! How about I give you five of my sons, what do you think?"

Tang Ruan: ... Could they not talk about this topic the next time they met?

She Yan wasn't angry at being rejected. "Tang Ruan... Sister is doing this for your own good. What if one day... the Snake King tells you to give Hu Che away..." She Yan gave her a frantic look, gesturing with her eyes.

Tang Ruan suddenly thought of the other version of why Yan Qing was willing to save her that had been circulating recently: "The Snake King has his eye on Tang Ruan's Beast Husband Hu Che." Tang Ruan pursed her lips. How was she supposed to prove to her that Yan Qing wasn't gay? She couldn't exactly say that she had already tested that when she was in the other world!

After finally sending She Yan away, Tang Ruan shouldered the package, preparing to take the items back to the Outer City beastmen and, while she was at it, ask them about Lang Lie.

As soon as the Outer City beastmen saw her, they greeted her warmly. "Witch Doctor, it's so good that you're okay!" "We were worried to death!" "Witch Doctor, could I trouble you to take a look at my Cub?"

Tang Ruan gave the little female beast a simple examination and was just about to use her Supernatural Ability when she suddenly felt a gaze fixed on her. She turned her head and saw that Hu Che had followed her at some point. The other beastmen noticed him too.

"Witch Doctor, this must be that Beast Husband of yours who was beaten into his Beast Form!" someone called out. Hu Che: ... Tang Ruan: ... Hu Che jumped onto Tang Ruan's lap and, as if to assert his dominance, pressed down on her arm, not allowing her to use her Supernatural Ability.

The little female beast's illness could also be treated with medicinal herbs. It was just that Tang Ruan had grown accustomed to using her Supernatural Ability to treat illnesses back in Dongdong Valley. Now she knew that her Supernatural Ability couldn't be consumed recklessly. Back then, after she fell asleep, how many times had Lang Lie secretly channeled Energy to her...

Thinking of Lang Lie, her heart ached as if it had been pierced. But now, no one would care for her like that anymore... Tang Ruan said to the little female beast's parents: "I'll take you with me to pick herbs."

Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish. While leading everyone to pick herbs, Tang Ruan taught them the treatment methods for common illnesses and the necessary medicinal herbs.

Suddenly, a finger-thick red snake darted out from the grass. Tang Ruan was startled. Hu Che immediately pounced and bit the snake's neck in one go. Immediately after, another green snake of the same size darted out. Hu Che stepped on it with one paw.

Then, a whole group of snakes came slithering out. Hu Che: ??? Tang Ruan scooped him up and jumped to the side. Hu Che, who had intended to play the hero saving the beauty: ...

"It's fine, it's fine. This kind of snake usually doesn't bite people. They just look bright and colorful, but they're actually non-venomous." An old beastman said to Tang Ruan and Hu Che with a chuckle. The Witch Doctor and her partner are truly affectionate...

Tang Ruan suddenly found these snakes quite interesting. "Why are they red and green?" "These should be a nest of snakes. The red snakes are female, and the green snakes are male."

A flash of inspiration struck Tang Ruan. Aren't these the perfect test subjects? As long as she could make the baby snakes hatched from one nest—all be female! Yan Qing might just let her use the Snake Tribe's eggs for experiments!

"Hu Che, I thought you looked so cool catching those snakes just now!" Tang Ruan suddenly said with a grin. Hu Che proudly held his head high. "So, could you catch the mom and dad of this nest of snakes for me?"

Hu Che: ... Tang Ruan: "I'll give you an extra chicken leg tonight." Hu Che gave a wicked smile.