"What? We can't enter!"
Mo Yan took out the token of exile, his expression grim. "This is an order from the Beast Emperor. On what grounds are you stopping us from entering!"
The Han Ling City guard said impatiently, "I said you can't enter, and that means you can't enter. These are the City Lord's orders. No one in, no one out."
"To be honest with you, the Young City Lord was kidnapped. The city gates are closed so we can find him."
'The City Lord is already swamped,' the guard thought. 'It's not worth getting on his bad side for a useless female with zero Fertility.'
Mo Yan was furious, but since Yu An didn't want to expose her Divine level fertility, he had no choice but to leave.
"What do we do now?"
Yu An frowned. Her superpower was weak right now, not enough to protect herself, let alone her three Zaizai.
Mo Yan hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment.
'Hmph, they're not my Zaizai. I'm the victim here. Why should I stay and protect the vicious female who ruined me!'
'However, after we break the contract, I could at least do one last good deed and return the motherless Zaizai to their Beast Fathers.'
With this in mind, Mo Yan said with a cold expression, "Yu An, I've already fulfilled our agreement... Watch out!"
The guards' patience with the Beastmen crowding the gate finally snapped, and they gave the order to drive them away.
One of the Beastmen lost his footing and lunged toward Yu An. Mo Yan reacted in a flash, pulling her out of the way to keep her from being crushed.
The small female crashed into his arms. Mo Yan only registered how soft she was, and how fragrant—the unique scent of a female.
He hadn't been in such close contact with Yu An since that night. He never realized females were this soft. His mind screamed at him to let go, but his body refused.
Yu An didn't struggle, letting him hold her. It wasn't for any other reason than the sharp, explosive sound from Lu Lu in her mind.
"An'an! I've detected an Origin Core Fragment! It's inside this male Beastman's body!"
"As long as you're in physical contact with him, I can draw out the Origin Core Fragment!"
But it would take some time. Before Lu Lu could succeed, Mo Yan let her go.
"I'll take you back to the cave, and then I'm leaving. Let's go."
Mo Yan started walking ahead. Yu An blinked, then hurried a few steps forward and took his hand.
"Mo Yan, if you leave, what will happen to me and the Zaizai?"
She looked up, on the verge of tears, and said, "Could you please stay a little longer? Once we can get into the city, I promise I'll let you go immediately."
Mo Yan avoided her gaze, his voice hard. "They're not my Zaizai. Go find their Beast Fathers."
'Yu An had three Beast Husbands in one night, yet the other two managed to escape exile.' Mo Yan felt a deep sense of injustice.
"Beast Father, are you leaving?"
Da Hu popped out from Yu An's arms. He couldn't shapeshift yet, and his round, dewy eyes stared at Mo Yan.
Mo Yan froze, then hardened his heart and turned away. "I'm not your Beast Father."
The little guy pretended not to hear, leaping into Mo Yan's arms to wheedle and act cute. Yu An also moved closer, pleading softly. Dazed, Mo Yan was somehow coaxed back into the cave by them.
Beastmen place great importance on blood relatives. A newborn cub will only be close to its Female Mother and its biological Beast Father. Mo Yan never expected Da Hu to call him "Beast Father."
Inside the cave, Yu An used the excuse that she had things to do and shoved Da Hu and the two eggs into Mo Yan's arms.
With the fragile cub and two eggs in his arms, Mo Yan didn't dare to move. "F-Fine, I'll stay a few more days. Just a few days. But don't get any funny ideas."
'Whatever. I've already endured three months. A few more days won't make a difference.'
Yu An grinned and promised, "I won't, I won't."
'As soon as I get the fragment, I'll let him go. I'm not used to living with a stranger anyway.'
'Except for my Zaizai, of course. They're my own flesh and blood, after all—so smart and quick-witted. They knew to play along with just a single look.'
Receiving a look of praise from his Female Mother, Da Hu was filled with pride.
Yu An really did have something to do. She glanced at her space, where a new mission had appeared on the mission board—
[Sell one thousand buns within seven days. Type is not restricted.
Special Reward: Infinite Shelf (Placed goods have an infinite supply. Limited slots.)]
Yu An's eyes lit up. 'Does this mean that for some seasonings and ingredients that I can't make myself or find in nature, I can just place them on the shelf and have an infinite supply?'
She accepted the mission without hesitation. In the next second, a food cart appeared out of thin air, stocked with all the necessary cooking utensils.
While explaining to Mo Yan and her Zaizai what she was about to do, Yu An had Qing Teng search for ingredients.
"An'an, I've found wild wheat five hundred meters outside the cave."
The space also provided a flour mill. Qing Teng extracted the moisture from the wheat and threw it directly into the mill to be ground into flour.
Mo Yan and Da Hu, one big and one small, watched with wide-eyed curiosity, finding everything novel and fascinating.
Hearing Yu An say she was going to make delicious food, Mo Yan thought of that tempting bowl of egg fried rice and swallowed, instinctively offering to help.
All thoughts of wringing the vicious female's neck and getting revenge were temporarily forgotten.
The one thing the Beast World had in abundance was meat. Yu An asked him to get some beef and pork, preparing to make buns with two types of filling.
Mo Yan went out without a word and came back carrying a whole cow and a whole pig, making the already small cave seem even more cramped.
Yu An: "..."
After a flurry of chaotic activity, the ingredients were finally ready. For buns to be delicious, the wrapper is crucial.
Mixing the dough, kneading the dough, letting it rise... Yu An was very skilled. Thinking about the large appetites most Beastmen had, she made the buns as large as an adult's fist.
This was her first time selling, so she wasn't sure what to expect. Yu An started by making a hundred buns.
She wrapped and steamed them simultaneously. The steamer from her space was fast, and a batch was cooked in no time.
Steam billowed up, and the fragrance of cooked dough and savory meat wafted out from the steamer, filling the entire cave.
"Female Mother, it smells so good!"
Da Hu had been practicing his pounce. He had to be prepared to protect his Female Mother and his younger siblings after Mo Yan left.
But he couldn't resist the aroma of the buns and came running over on his short little legs.
Yu An smiled. Seeing that it was about time, she lifted the lid of the steamer. A blast of hot steam rushed into her face.
An even richer, more overpowering aroma filled the air. Before he even took a bite, the tiger cub was already dazed by the smell.
Mo Yan was sitting by the flour mill, threshing wheat. He was completely distracted. Though his body was still there, his soul had long since drifted over.
Yu An picked out a hot pork bun. The skin was soft with a pleasant, springy chewiness. As she broke it open to let it cool, savory juices burst out.
She gave half to Da Hu, then took a bite herself—
The meat filling was tender and juicy, its fragrance exploding in her mouth. With every bite, she could taste the rich, savory flavor of the meat!
The bun was still very hot, but the little guy couldn't bear to let go, his eyes watering from the heat.
Amused, Yu An helped break his bun into smaller pieces. Then she picked up a plate, placed five buns on it, and walked toward Mo Yan. She had noticed his glances for a while now.
Mo Yan hastily lowered his head, pretending to be busy.
"Here, these are for you."
The small female with the bright smile bent down slightly. When Mo Yan looked up, he found himself looking right into her beautiful eyes.
The birthmark on her face seemed less terrifyingly ferocious and more like a red flower blooming in Mo Yan's heart.
'In truth, Beastmen don't really care about appearances.'
"What are you spacing out for? Eat them while they're hot."
Mo Yan snapped back to reality. Just as he reached out to take the plate, a sudden RUSTLING sound came from outside the cave.
He immediately stood up and pulled Yu An behind him. "Careful, there's a wild beast!"
Yu An looked bewildered. "A wild beast? How come I didn't sense anything?"
"A very powerful one," Mo Yan said, his expression grave. "This is probably going to be a tough fight. You and the Zaizai find a place to hide!"
She didn't need him to tell her. Yu An could see it too—a massive black shadow appeared at the mouth of the cave, enveloping it completely.