"Bei Ji, Xi Qing, time for bed."
She couldn't tell them, "Your mother is dead, and I am not your real mother now."
She couldn't say that. So some things had to be communicated through actions alone.
Despite the brief time they had spent together, she had wholeheartedly accepted and grown fond of these two cubs. She was determined to heal the hurt the cubs had endured, little by little.
Bei Ji was very cooperative and eagerly burrowed into the covers.
Xi Qing stood there motionless.
He had refused to go to bed the night before. Though this female had carried him to bed in the middle of the night, he still felt oddly stubborn about it.
Si Yan asked, "Xi Qing, aren't you going to sleep in the bed?"
This cub was different from Bei Ji; he seemed to harbor more hatred towards her. Si Yan wasn't the type to try and curry favor with someone who was giving her the cold shoulder. She also wasn't sure if the cub would be willing to sleep in the bed if she hadn't carried him there secretly.
As expected, Xi Qing replied coldly, "I don't want to sleep in the bed!"
Xi Qing looked at Si Yan, and Si Yan looked at Xi Qing; the two of them locked eyes for a moment. Xi Qing's lips were tightly pursed, stubbornness evident in his expression.
Si Yan said, "Fine, don't sleep then; sleep on the floor if you prefer!"
Xi Qing, somewhat angrily, huddled in a corner of the floor to sleep. But he did remember how soft and comfortable it had been to sleep in the bed last night. He felt a twinge of regret. He gritted his teeth.
In the middle of the night, Si Yan still got out of bed and carried Xi Qing into it. The cub, once asleep, was adorable. Si Yan touched the stubborn cub's little face.
Really, such a silly habit, insisting on sleeping on the floor.
「The next morning was bright and clear.」
Si Yan woke up to the unexpected sight of both cubs waiting for her inside the cave.
"Not bad, some improvement there," Si Yan lazily stroked the heads of the two cubs.
Xi Qing swatted away Si Yan's hand, while Bei Ji accepted the head pats with a smile.
Looking at the two cute cubs, Si Yan felt a profound sense of contentment.
After washing up, she cooked sweet potato porridge for the cubs. Once breakfast was over, she carved several simple shovels from wood using snake scales. Each cub took a shovel, and together with Si Yan, they began to till the land near the cave.
The cubs worked very hard, displaying a zeal Si Yan hadn't seen in the post-apocalyptic world. It was as if they truly believed that working the land was a sacred and honorable task.
With the cubs' help, Si Yan's workload lightened significantly. They made quick progress with the land. Midway, Si Yan washed her hands and went back to prepare food. There were still pumpkins left from the day before, which she steamed and served to the cubs.
After they had eaten and washed their hands, Si Yan led the two cubs in planting potatoes and sweet potatoes. She also scattered some pumpkin seeds that she had previously infused with the energy of the wood element in a separate plot.
Once they had completed these tasks, she picked a ripe pumpkin from the field and, just like the previous day, concocted a new batch of insect repellent powder. The powder was placed in a glass bottle within her space and soon filled it completely.
After preparing the medicine, Xi Qing, Bei Ji, and Si Yan all took it. Before long, they excreted many worms. However, it was much better than the first day.
Si Yan said with certainty, "If we take it for two more days, we should be cured!"
Bei Ji's little face lit up with excitement. Knowing he was not going to die, he hummed emphatically.
Then he suddenly stepped forward and said, "Mother, can you give me a little more medicine?"
"What do you want the medicine for?" As soon as she finished speaking, Si Yan suddenly realized what the two children wanted to do. On their second day after she transmigrated, the two cubs had taken potatoes and potato-braised meat; she had thought they were just getting it for themselves. But that might not be the case. They had two other brothers, Dongchi and Nan Mo. After the original Si Yan had sold Dongchi Nanmo, those two cubs had been living in constant hardship. They only barely managed to survive because Xi Qing and Bei Ji occasionally helped them out.
Bei Ji's face flushed red as he stammered, "Mother... I... I just..."
Si Yan immediately said, "Wait a moment. I'll wrap some up with leaves."
She found several leaves, cleaned them, and then wrapped the medicine, making four packets.
If it was for Dongchi and Nan Mo, that would be enough for two days.
Si Yan instructed, "One packet a day. Just mix with water to take it."
Bei Ji nodded. "I understand. Mother, can I also take some pumpkin?"
"Hold on a moment." Si Yan got a large leaf and wrapped up a big piece of steamed pumpkin. "Take this with you as well."
Xi Qing and Bei Ji nodded, and the two little cubs ran out.
Watching the direction the cubs went, Si Yan let out a soft sigh.
「...」
As Xi Qing and Bei Ji passed by one cave after another, the caves echoed with unbearable sounds. When they passed by, open caves revealed scenes of five or six males and a female engaged in a brawl.
In the Yanxiang Tribe, there were only 17 females, and nearly every female's cave bore such spectacular mating scenes. Only Si Yan's cave was unique, without any males.
In this aspect, Si Yan was indeed better off than the other females.
After bypassing several caves, Xi Qing and Bei Ji finally arrived at Xiong Rou's cave.
Previously, Dongchi and Nan Mo had been sold to Xiong Rou's cave by the wicked female for two beast skins.
Xiong Rou was a female with over a dozen male Beastmen, but she had only given birth to one litter of cubs—the four bear cubs that had stolen the Red Earth Fruit from Xiong Nai a few days ago.
Xiong Rou didn't like the cold-blooded Snake Beastmen and even enjoyed bullying and mistreating them. She had exchanged Dongchi and Nan Mo for two beast skins just to ill-treat them.
Dongchi and Nan Mo were sold as slaves to Xiong Rou, who hardly fed them and forced them to work every day. They didn't even have time to look for food on their own and often went hungry.
Slaves had no rights, living a life worse than death. If not for the occasional assistance from Xi Qing and Bei Ji, they probably would have starved to death long ago.
Dongchi and Nan Mo, after being sold off, harbored even greater resentment towards Si Yan, the wicked female, than Xi Qing and Bei Ji did.