49: He left, but she couldn't turn back.

Hain walked out of that tent; the night was already deep.

He suddenly felt a sense of loss, as if something that should have been his had slipped through his fingers.

With a helpless smile, he mocked his own sentimentality.

The sisters on Sea Soul Star always said he possessed a calmness rarely seen in the Male Beasts of Sea Soul Star, or rather, what his gentle exterior wrapped was a sense of equality where no one was truly held in his eyes.

Who would have thought he would also have moments of feeling lost?

But since Tu Nan had already made her choice, he would not force it. That was not Hain Montoya's character.

Holding the hem of his clothes in his hand, he leaped down from the Beetle and landed lightly on the military vehicle.

Starting the car, he drove toward the depths of the yellow sand.

He didn't look back even once.

In his later life, however, he would always regret this letting go.

If he could bring a message from the future to the current Hain, he would tell his current self, who was putting up an arrogant front: Turn back! Grasp Tu Nan's hand, tell her not to worry about any other problems, and stay with him.

Unfortunately, the Goddess did not take pity on him; such a miracle did not happen to him.

Thus, for the rest of his life, the invisible distance between him and Tu Nan grew further and further.

The things between them gradually increased from this moment on, so much so... that he was helpless against the mockery of fate.

***

Tu Nan stared at the swaying door curtain for a long time.

She knew she had watched a great opportunity slip away, but she had no choice.

Li lay quietly before her; if it weren't for the heart-strengthening injection and healing fluid provided by Hain, he might have been cold by now.

Tu Nan observed Li where she stood for a while, then got up to fetch a basin of clean water from outside, intending to wash him first.

"I heard that lord arranged for someone for you to take care of?" Ji Yu lifted the curtain.

Then she naturally saw the bloody Male Beast.

"How is he so badly injured? How can he survive this?"

"He will survive." Tu Nan had no doubt about this.

How would he dare not to survive? Tu Nan had once again tied her life to his, and there was also that little life, quietly waiting in her belly.

Ji Yu was surprised by Tu Nan's firm attitude, but she always had a blind trust in Tu Nan's decisions.

In her eyes, Tu Nan was a kind of miracle, representing a life she couldn't even imagine; she was willing to pray and devoutly believe in Tu Nan.

"I'll help you." Ji Yu also picked up a cloth and helped clean the bloodstains off Li's body.

"Did that lord say when he would come back to get him?" Ji Yu asked.

"He won't be coming back." Tu Nan organized her thoughts while she worked.

? Ji Yu stopped her movements, waiting in confusion for Tu Nan to explain.

"He..."

"...bought me, is my nurturer, and is also... the father of the Children in my belly."

Tu Nan dropped three bombs in a row.

Ji Yu was momentarily dazed by the explosion of too much information. She sat down on her legs, holding her forehead, and murmured, "Wait a moment, let me process this."

"You're saying... you're pregnant? The Children are his?"

"Yes, quite unfortunately." Tu Nan smiled slightly. "I just found out myself, otherwise I would have run away."

"Shh!" Ji Yu pulled her in fear. "Don't let him hear you."

Her fear of these "buyers" was hidden in her bones, originating from an animal instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm.

Offending one's nurturer would make a Foster Mother's days very miserable.

"So... that lord was Life Qi and abandoned you?"

Tu Nan tilted her head and gently wiped Li's face clean.

"Probably not, he's very gentle. He likely just thinks of me as some noble Young Miss bound by worldly rules."

"Then..." Ji Yu looked around, steeled herself, and made a gesture to Tu Nan.

The meaning was, why not just let this Male Beast disappear?

Tu Nan laughed in shock, but a warm current welled up in her heart.

Ji Yu, who had just been scared into retreating, was only giving a suggestion completely at odds with her gentle nature because she wanted to protect Tu Nan and allow her to completely break free from her status as a Foster Mother.

Putting down the cloth in her hand, Tu Nan hugged Ji Yu tightly.

"No need... really, it hasn't come to that."

Seeing Ji Yu still suspiciously eyeing Li, Tu Nan said to her seriously, "It's true. Hain almost killed him, but I was unwilling. I have a reason why he must stay alive."

Tu Nan looked at Li, recalling various past events. "I don't have womanly compassion, but Li hasn't been bad to me. I shouldn't strike at him."

"...I'll listen to you." Ji Yu actually breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't care much about the life or death of this Male Beast, but instead stared at Tu Nan's belly.

"You have a baby..." She was somewhat worried.

"What's wrong?" Tu Nan was puzzled; shouldn't a Foster Mother be used to this?

Ji Yu felt that Tu Nan truly lacked common sense. She wondered what had gone wrong with her Nursery education, as she seemed to know nothing at all.

"Your genetic Rank... anyway, if you want to give birth safely, you really need to take good care of your body."

Ji Yu sighed deeply.

"What Rank is he?" She gestured toward Li and asked Tu Nan.

Tu Nan was stunned for a moment and shook her head.

"I'm not quite sure, but I think he should be Rank A?"

"What?" Ji Yu was greatly surprised.

"He's a Chaotic Beast, yet his Rank can reach A? How is that possible?"

Tu Nan was just making a wild guess based on Li's ability to trade a few blows with Hain. Moreover, Gaia was Rank B, and Li was stronger than Gaia, so Rank A was normal?

"Do you know that Ken, who can be the guard captain of the Oasis Merchant Caravan, is only Rank B+? Though they all say he has barely touched the threshold of Rank A."

"The reason they welcome Gaia so much is also partly because Gaia is not only Rank B but also a Dog Beastman, which is very useful."

"There are only a few Rank As in the entire Sand Star, and you're telling me the one lying here is one of them? Then how did he end up half-dead like this?"

Tu Nan remained silent. Her heart was shaken; only now did she realize what it meant for Hain to be evaluated by Gaia as possibly being Rank S.

She also understood more clearly what kind of opportunity she had given up.

She touched her lower abdomen.

But there was no other way.

If she wanted to get what she desired, she had to pay a price. She believed it was worth it.

"What does his Rank have to do with me?" Tu Nan instinctively felt that Ji Yu's question had some hidden meaning.

Sure enough, Ji Yu paused, became worried again, and continued the previous topic.

"Because the higher the Rank of the Male Beast, the harder it is for their Children to be born."

"The gestation period is also longer."

She touched her own belly.

"The leader is Rank B, and I only carried Xiao Xiong for 3 months. But Ken's Rank is higher; I've been pregnant with this one for three months now, and there's no sign of movement yet."

"If it's truly confirmed he is a Rank A beastman, your pregnancy will be at least 6 months for these Children."

Tu Nan didn't know; it was also hard for her to say exactly when she had conceived these Children.

If counting from the first time, it had already been... two months, right?