Mother actually came to protect them.
Mother really did come to protect them.
Bei Ji watched Si Yan, who was confronting Xiong Rou, feeling as if he were dreaming.
Mother really had changed; Mother had become better. But none of his three older brothers believed it. What should he do?
Bei Ji looked at Si Yan anxiously, "Mother."
Bei Ji's call of "Mother" made Dongchi and Nan Mo both furrow their brows.
The female who had sold them, who didn't want them anymore, didn't deserve to be their mother!
A smile touched Si Yan's otherwise cold eyes the moment she saw Bei Ji.
"Little ones, Mother will take you back home in a bit."
The four cubs looked at Si Yan, each with a different expression. Bei Ji, extremely worried, finally said, "Mother… don't go, it's dangerous… We're used to being beaten; we'll be fine."
Si Yan frowned displeasedly.
How could anyone say they were used to being beaten up?! And this person was her own cub! Damn it, she was getting angry.
Xiong Rou said to Si Yan with a strange smile, "Aren't you going to listen to what your snake cubs are saying? Maybe it's better to sell them to me."
Si Yan smiled gently at Bei Ji, then turned to follow Xiong Rou. The moment she turned away, however, her expression turned cold. She lowered her head slightly. Some things were better if the cubs didn't see them.
She looked at Xiong Rou with icy indifference.
Suddenly, Xiong Rou felt her blood run cold, seized by a feeling that Si Yan was terrifying.
She shuddered uncontrollably.
It must be an illusion. What was there to be scared of in such a frail little female?
Xiong Rou led Si Yan into the cave, followed by three males.
Xiong Rou shifted her plump body to find a huge stone stool to sit on. The commotion she made as she sat down caused Si Yan to lift her eyelids.
Xiong Rou looked at Si Yan and said cheerfully, "In the Beast World, a strong female like me is considered beautiful and popular. Si Yan, you're so thin and ugly, unwanted—just like those unwanted snake Beastmen. You're a perfect match."
Si Yan merely flicked her gaze up indifferently. Seeing Xiong Rou's males searching under various rocks, she walked over and strolled leisurely around the cave.
Xiong Rou had bullied her cubs to this extent; how could she not demand some compensation?
In the Beast World, salt was the most valuable commodity. Xiong Rou's salt was very well hidden, but Si Yan still found its location effortlessly. She moved inconspicuously towards it and silently opened her space, sweeping an entire large bag of salt into it!
Xiong Rou, heavy with flesh, was too lazy to move her plump body once seated. Before long, one of the males shouted, "Mistress, the slave contract has been found!"
Xiong Rou ordered, "Show it to me!"
The male handed the slave contract to Xiong Rou, who laughed heartily. "Si Yan, take a good look! This is the slave certificate you personally wrote, selling your cubs to me as slaves!"
Si Yan immediately sealed her space. She turned around and, seeing the wooden plaque in Xiong Rou's hand, spoke casually, "Let me have a look."
Xiong Rou commanded, "Let her see it."
Si Yan took the wooden plaque. The few characters engraved on it were clearly not from the apocalypse, yet strangely, she could understand them.
It was indeed the slave contract for Dongchi and Nan Mo.
Si Yan furrowed her brow. What on earth had her body's previous owner been thinking, to so heartlessly sell her own cubs?
Two males supported Xiong Rou as she stood up. "Si Yan, your cubs are my slaves! That can never change, not in a lifetime! You can't deny it now!"
Si Yan stared intently at the wooden plaque, a green hue twining around her fingers, her brows deeply furrowed in utter concentration. "We'll see about that."
"What are you doing?!" Xiong Rou suddenly sensed something was amiss. She gestured with her hand. "Don't let her look at it anymore! Hurry and snatch the slave contract back!"
The moment Xiong Rou's males approached Si Yan, Si Yan suddenly looked up. "Xiong Rou, can't you read?"
"What?" Xiong Rou was perplexed.
Si Yan picked up the wooden tablet and shook it. "This isn't a slave contract; this is a work contract."
"Impossible!!!" Xiong Rou heaved her massive body forward, right in front of Si Yan, and snatched the wooden tablet from her hand.
Her eyes were fixed firmly on the wooden tablet. Si Yan walked to her side, smiling. "Your handprint and mine are on it, Xiong Rou. You can't deny it."
Si Yan smiled faintly as she circled Xiong Rou. "I only agreed to lend Dongchi and Nan Mo to you for ten days in exchange for two beast pelts. Yet, you've made them work for you for months without returning them. Xiong Rou, don't you think you owe me some compensation?!"
Si Yan was skilled in her Wood-based Ability. When she had held the wooden tablet earlier, she had subtly used her Special Ability to change a few characters on it. Just a few characters, but they completely altered the meaning!
Xiong Rou's mind was in disarray. "Impossible… How could this be? This was clearly a slave contract…"
Si Yan said, "Take a good look before you speak."
Xiong Rou looked at Si Yan, then at the wooden tablet, and immediately shouted, "I know! It was you! You tampered with it, didn't you!"
Si Yan looked at her with composure. "I'm just a little female. What ability would I have to tamper with the wooden tablet?"
Xiong Rou yelled, "Si Yan, it's you! It must be you! You did this!"
As she spoke, Xiong Rou grabbed the wooden tablet, intending to destroy it.
Si Yan said with a cold expression, "Xiong Rou, this is the work contract we signed. If you destroy it, you won't have a single piece of evidence that my two cubs ever worked for you."
Xiong Rou was beside herself with anger. "Si Yan!! You! You!!"
Overwhelmed with rage, she crushed the wooden tablet to dust.
Si Yan looked at the shattered pieces with a hint of regret. The wooden tablet, infused with her Wood-based Ability, had radiated a faint spark of life. If Xiong Rou hadn't destroyed it, it might have even sprouted a green shoot.
Good, it's destroyed. All evidence wiped out!
Bei Ji, blocked by Xiong Rou's males, couldn't get through. Hearing the commotion inside, he cried out anxiously, "Mother!! Mother!!!"
Hearing the commotion outside, Si Yan reflected that the meat she had fed the boy these past few days hadn't been given in vain.
Xiong Rou glared viciously at Si Yan. "Si Yan, you tricked me! I'm going to kill you!! Quick, kill her! Kill her for me!"
Si Yan took a few steps back, her hand reaching for her waist.
She had never fought a male from the Beast World before, and Xiong Rou had a dozen or so of them. She couldn't afford to be careless.
However, just then, a deep, elderly voice suddenly rang out.
"What are you all doing?"
Si Yan turned around to see the village chief and the Witch Doctor standing at the cave entrance.
Xiong Rou's expression became exaggerated. "Chief! Chief! Si Yan, Si Yan is a monster! She's a monster! I did it for the good of the village, for the village!!"
The village chief's profound eyes shifted from Xiong Rou to Si Yan. "Si Yan, what is going on here?"
Si Yan smiled composedly and walked towards the village chief. "Chief, I previously signed a work contract with Xiong Rou for Dongchi and Nan Mo. But Xiong Rou tried to pass it off as a slave contract, intending to snatch my cubs for just two beast pelts. I'm trying to get my cubs back now, but she's refusing to honor our agreement and even wants her males to kill me. Chief, you know I don't have any males by my side; I'm easy to bully."
Si Yan had to admire her own ability to twist the truth.
Xiong Rou was so furious she could barely breathe, grinding her teeth as her breath came in ragged gasps. "You… you!! Si Yan, you!!" She wanted to refute, but words failed her.
The village chief stared at Xiong Rou for a long moment before finally asking, "Xiong Rou, why won't you return Si Yan's cubs to her?"
Xiong Rou, looking utterly wronged—a truly disgusting sight for such a large, fat bear—said, "Chief, Si Yan has already taken two beast pelts from me. Those cubs are my slaves! I don't want to return them! The contract I signed with Si Yan was a slave contract, not some work contract."
The village chief said, "But Xiong Rou, Dongchi and Nan Mo are still cubs, after all."
Xiong Rou said urgently, "But they are snake Beastman cubs! Chief, you know my most beloved first mate was killed by a snake Beastman!"
The village chief saw the malice in Xiong Rou's eyes and sighed. "Xiong Rou, what happened with your mate has nothing to do with these two cubs. Our tribe still believes that birth mothers should raise their own cubs. Regardless, you should return the cubs to her."
"Chief!"
"Xiong Rou!"
Xiong Rou bit her lip and was just about to relent. "Then… then…"
Just at that moment, one of Xiong Rou's males suddenly shouted, "Mistress, our… our salt is gone!!!"