Chapter 108: Truth

Seeing this, Leng Xiao placed a thin beast‑skin blanket over Yun Li's belly.

After the four cubs ate their fill and drank, they also began to feel sleepy.

The third cub was thoughtfully placed by Leng Xiao onto Yun Li's body, while the three male cubs curled up on A Mu's lounge chair, and soon fell asleep leaning against each other.

When Mu Qing returned, this was what he saw; he placed a gentle kiss on Yun Li's forehead, then went with Leng Xiao to deal with the items they had sent over.

Gulu gulu~

Yun Li woke to a bubbling "gulu gulu" sound; she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she seemed to smell a faint salty scent.

It's salt!

They've found a plant that can make salt!

Yun Li hurried down from the lounge chair, and who could have known what would happen next.

howl

A mournful wolf howl came from below, startling Yun Li into looking down immediately.

She saw the fourth cub wailing beneath her feet; Yun Li's mind exploded—could she have stepped on the cub's tail?

The more she thought, the more panicked she became; Yun Li stepped away while shouting, "A Qing! A Xiu! Come quickly, it looks like I stepped on little four…"

Before she could finish the word "tail", Yun Li stared dumbfounded at her own fourth cub; as she walked away, it followed her, then tilted its head and flopped under her foot, letting out a chilling wolf howl right under her nose.

Yun Li: Damn!!!

She'd been tricked by her own cub!

When Mu Qing and Leng Xiu rushed in from outside, all they saw was Yun Li staring silently at them, her gaze tinged with a hint of bewilderment.

"A Li, what's wrong? What's up with fourth?"

Yun Li recounted what she had just witnessed; Mu Qing and Leng Xiu fell silent, unsure what expression to wear for their odd feelings.

Looking at the fourth cub, who always had the weakest presence among the four, Leng Xiu rubbed his forehead, bent down to lift the fourth cub, who for some unknown reason had collapsed under A Li's feet.

But as soon as his hand reached out, the fourth cub quickly scrambled up on its own, darting to hide behind Yun Li.

"Why are you clinging to A Mu?"

Leng Xiu furrowed his brows and said to the fourth cub, "Come here, second father."

Mu Qing is Yun Li's First Beast Husband, the senior father, while Leng Xiu, having formed a Mate Bond with Yun Li earlier and being older than Leng Xiao, is the second father.

If Yun Li has other Beast Husbands behind her, they would be the cubs' middle fathers.

Nevertheless, Leng Xiu's words were in vain; the fourth cub still clung to Yun Li's calf, unwilling to leave.

Seeing his reluctance, a helpless expression flashed across Leng Xiu's face; he went to grab the cub, but Yun Li blocked him, saying, "Alright, alright, he's not causing any trouble. I guess he just likes me too much, so he sticks to me."

Just now, while observing the fourth cub, Yun Li had a little speculation in her mind.

Because the fourth is female, unlike the third, it naturally receives the family's attention; it's not like the first, who is lively, active, and clever, nor does Mu Qing favor it, nor is it like the second, which tends to cause trouble and bully the fourth; Yun Li does put some thought into the second.

The fourth cub has a low presence among the four and is unintentionally neglected by them, which likely means it's seeking the family's affection.

Thinking this, Yun Li scooped up the fourth cub, kissed its head and coaxed, "Are you bored? Want A Mu to turn into a beast body to play with you?"

When Leng Xiao entered, he heard this and, with a plaintive look, said to Yun Li, "A Li, you're too fond of them. My brother and I wanted you to become a beast body at home, but you never agreed."

"And whenever the cubs like your beast form, you always transform. If you love them, why not love me and my brother as well?"

The cubs aren't as fun; you can just press them without worrying about getting hurt.

Yun Li, now able to automatically block his constant pleas for intimacy, said, "They're cute, that's why. You're already a big beast‑person; after turning into a beast form, I can't even bite you. Every time I'm the one being bullied, so why should I become a beast form to play with you?"

Unlike the cubs, being with them maxes out the emotional value.

"My brother and I never bullied you; we just lie there and let you do whatever you want."

Leng Xiao said that with an innocent expression, looking at his own female.

Obviously Yun Li knew he was talking about after both turned into beast forms; he would let her, lying on the ground, letting her pounce on him however she wanted.

But the first image that flashed in her mind was Leng Xiao, naked on the bed waiting for her; realizing she had misinterpreted, Yun Li felt embarrassed, and couldn't help giving Leng Xiao a light glare.

"And from now on, don't even think about touching my beast form."

Leng Xiao wore a puzzled expression; had he said something wrong?

A Li actually got angry.

Carrying the fourth cub out of the house, she saw a large Stone Pot over a campfire, and Yun Li asked, "Is the salt done yet?"

"The water hasn't dried yet; we have to wait a bit longer."

Mu Qing replied beside her.

"When you fell asleep this afternoon, we boiled red sugar from black rod grass. Its taste differs a bit from the sugar we made before."

The sweet from the thorn fruit is sweet, but after eating it leaves a faint astringent aftertaste; although it doesn't affect the overall flavor, compared to the red sugar from black rod grass, Leng Xiu, a sweet‑to‑the‑taste beast‑person, clearly prefers the red sugar.

"Is that so? Then we have two kinds of sugar now?"

Yun Li smiled, "Once the Witch Doctor from Youbuluo replies, we'll have more leverage to rescue the remaining few females."

Speaking of the females still to be rescued, Leng Xiao interjected, "Do we also need to rescue that female Rui?"

Hearing that female's name, Mu Qing and Leng Xiu both frowned.

Yun Li's smile faded; Mu Qing and Leng Xiu, of course, hadn't hidden what they'd discovered from her.

Who could have known that Meng and Rui, as a pair, had such entanglements with the Original Owner A Fu and A Mu? Meng liked Rui, while Rui usually couldn't stand Xuancao (the Original Owner A Mu); Xuancao, for his brother's sake, kept yielding to her so that he could smoothly form a Mate Bond with Rui.

This yielding became a habit; after Meng and Rui formed a Mate Bond, it continued.

Rui, countless times, asked Meng to get food from Xuancao's family, and when their family had trouble, she would ask Xuancao and his family for help.

Especially when Meng was injured from hunting trips, Rui naturally had Xuancao's family find herbs to help his recovery.

So no one expected that when Xuancao was about to give birth, Rui brought news of Meng's severe hunting injury, which triggered Xuancao's sudden labor.

In the end, Xuancao suffered massive hemorrhage; the emergency birth turned into a difficult delivery, and she ultimately bled to death.

The Original Owner A Fu was at home then, failed to stop Rui's intrusion, and was naturally scolded by the still‑alive but lightly‑injured Meng, who accused him of not protecting his sister.

Later, the young Ahe saw Rui tangled with the Original Owner's father, and only then realized that Rui liked the Original Owner's father, but at that time she didn't understand why, after the Original Owner's father forcefully pushed her away, Rui, in a furious fit, said to him the words, "Xuancao, you're the one who killed (it)."

It was only when Mu Qing, Leng Xiu, and their companions discovered that Rui had conveyed the wrong message that the fact that Xuancao died in a difficult delivery was revealed.

Ahe, only later, realized that it was Rui's jealousy, and also Meng's jealousy; harming Yun Li's mother was not enough, they also wanted Yun Li's father to spend every day bearing the pain of having killed his own female.

In the very end, that cowardly fox‑beast man chose to escape; he abandoned Yun Li, left the Ping Shan Tribe, and from then on disappeared without a trace.