20: He couldn't be him.

"You're willing to teach me?"

The firelight reflected in his eyes, which were frighteningly bright.

Nan Zhisui realized that this Male might like her.

She was a task-taker forcibly bound by the childbearing system, and her mission was to give birth to cubs in the Beast World. In this situation, it was best not to show any affection and simply choose a few Males to complete her childbearing missions.

However, Nan Zhisui happened to be a soft-hearted woman.

How could she not understand that the snow-white Male Fox before her was intentionally drawing close to her? Yet, she still let down her guard and taught him how to use fire bit by bit.

She lit a small fire nearby, and the Male jumped up in fright.

Nan Zhisui couldn't help but laugh as she said, "Look, at a time like this, I can put it out by stepping on it or using a branch, just like this..."

While Nan Zhisui was demonstrating, the Fox Male Creature was terrified. "Don't, it's too dangerous!"

Nan Zhisui extinguished the fire in a few quick movements and then couldn't help but smile at him.

The Male Fox was truly frightened and couldn't help but lunge forward to hug her.

That day was spring in the Beast World, very similar to the current season, but it was before the Minor Rainy Season.

A gust of wind blew, making the flowering trees sway and petals fall in drifts.

The Male Fox proactively offered his kiss.

He was courting her.

He was pursuing her.

He wanted to mate with her.

His objective was all too obvious, but Nan Zhisui, burdened with her mission, did not refuse.

She took his hand and taught him patiently.

"Didn't I teach you to hollow out a tree trunk to make a wooden bucket for fetching water?" Nan Zhisui asked.

The Fox Male Creature looked at her with a face full of smiles and nodded.

Nan Zhisui lit another flame and then poured a wooden bucket of water directly over it. The flame was extinguished.

"This isn't the only way to put out a fire. We can also bury it with sand and soil, like this."

Nan Zhisui lit another flame and then kicked up sand and soil to bury it.

The look in the Male Fox's eyes as he watched her was full of admiration. "Nan Zhisui, you're really amazing."

"You must always be careful when using fire. If it causes a forest fire, it becomes a sin. Now, I'll teach you how to start a fire and how to control it..."

Nan Zhisui taught him how to drill wood to make fire and also gave him two pieces of Flint, teaching him how to use them to spark a flame.

Then she taught him to surround the fire with stones so that it wouldn't spread.

That nameless Male Fox learned everything she taught him.

On a night in the mountain forest, he and she mated in a Cave. Everything happened naturally and as it should.

In the Cave, as she accepted him, he whispered in a low, raspy voice, "female master, give me a little more time. I'll soon be able to let you see my face and tell you my name."

To make her childbearing mission easier, the System had given her a childbearing pill.

But Nan Zhisui had accidentally lost the childbearing pill, so she gave birth to the little fox cub after two months of pregnancy.

Perhaps because she was human, she wasn't as productive as the beastmen; she only gave birth to one in this litter.

She had indeed spent more than two months with that snow-white Fox Male Creature.

It wasn't until later, when the childbearing system issued a new mission and used a life countdown to urge her to start it, that she sent the Fox Male Creature back to his village overnight and gave the village chief many supplies, entreating her to take care of the father and son.

—

When Nan Zhisui looked down at White Fox, the beautiful Fox Male Creature happened to look up, and their gazes met.

Nan Zhisui quickly averted her eyes and closed them.

He couldn't be him.

Her fox beast husband was an important Priest Apprentice. In any tribe, the status of a priest was very high; he couldn't have ended up like this.

Moreover, although his body hadn't been that strong, it wasn't as frail as it was now.

Furthermore, even though she hadn't seen his face, he knew her. If he really were her beast husband, why wouldn't he recognize her?

...The next day, Nan Zhisui took White Fox's temperature as usual. His temperature had successfully gone down, and he was no longer feverish.

However, the IV drip couldn't be stopped yet. Nan Zhisui still set up the IV for White Fox and stayed by his side to watch over him.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" White Fox leaned against the bedside and looked at her, seemingly casually.

Nan Zhisui let out a yawn. "I thought of some things and suddenly couldn't sleep."

"Then do you want to catch up on some sleep?" White Fox asked. Nan Zhisui heard a trace of concern in his tone.

She shook her head. "No, I'll be going out once your IV is finished. How are you feeling now? Are you still coughing?"

"Much better than before."

White Fox lowered his eyes slightly and asked again, "Are you still coming back tonight?"

"Huh?" Nan Zhisui looked up at White Fox. Although his tone was cold, he did give her a sense of familiarity.

Nan Zhisui hesitated for a long while before saying, "If you're still willing to let me stay, I'll try to come back."

"Mm, okay." White Fox's tone was calm, and his face no longer bore the sense that he might get angry at any moment like in previous days.

Once White Fox's IV was finished, Nan Zhisui pulled out the needle, laid out the other medications nearby, and then turned to leave the Cave.

After Nan Zhisui left the Cave, White Fox leaned against the entrance. His long snow-white hair hung down, and his white eyelashes fluttered gently.

He just watched her retreating figure until he could no longer see it... Inside the wolf den, the Mother Wolf's recovery from the C-section was going well. Nan Zhisui disinfected the wound again and fed her an anti-inflammatory pill.

Then she checked on the six cubs again.

The first, second, third, fourth, and fifth were as healthy as usual.

Little Sixth probably still couldn't compete for milk, as its size was still a whole circle smaller.

Nan Zhisui continued to supplement its milk. After finishing, she wanted to return Little Sixth to the Mother Wolf.

But something unexpected happened; the Mother Wolf kicked her hind legs and refused to nurse Little Sixth.

Nan Zhisui was somewhat shocked, and her heart tightened. "You're refusing to raise it? It's your child."

Nan Zhisui looked toward the Wolf King, but the Wolf King turned his back and flicked his tail.

"Awoo!" The Mother Wolf tried to explain something to Nan Zhisui. Even though Nan Zhisui couldn't understand, she could roughly guess its meaning.

Resources were limited, and the Mother Wolf had to tilt those limited resources toward the stronger cubs. This little cub would have difficulty surviving, so she was going to give up on it.

"You're really going to give up on it?" Nan Zhisui asked.

Little Snake Yang poked his head out, hissed a couple of times, and then pulled his head back in.

He was also a cub who had been abandoned by his Father Beast and Female Mother, so he could easily feel sympathy for the Little Wolf Cub before him.

But he wasn't an adult either; he couldn't even feed himself, let alone a wolf.

Nan Zhisui looked down at this Little Wolf Cub that she had worked so hard to save.

It was supposed to have died when it was first born. It was she who had forcibly dragged it back from the brink of death.

It was also supposed to have died from insufficient nursing, but it was she who had supplemented its milk time and again to keep it alive.

Now, to just watch this little life that was struggling to live die...

She couldn't bear it.