Xue Ling carried Huanhuan all the way to the territory where the feather tribe lived.
As soon as they landed, many feather beasts surrounded them and spoke at once.
Huanhuan felt dizzy from listening and didn’t hear anything clearly.
In the end, Xue Ling interrupted the feather beasts to calm them down.
“Stop arguing. Take your time.”
Huanhuan looked confused. “What’s going on?”
At this moment, the leader of the feather tribe, Shen Yan, walked through the crowd. He clenched one hand into a fist and pressed it to his chest. He bowed slightly and solemnly.
“On behalf of the feather tribe, I thank you for giving us new life!”
Huanhuan was still confused. “Huh?”
Xue Ling smiled and explained, “I gave the medicine you gave us the last time to the females in the tribe. They all got pregnant this winter and gave birth to nearly 40 bird eggs one after another. Today, all these bird eggs hatched.”
In recent years, the fertility rate of the birds had been decreasing. Each female could only lay one egg a year, and the egg might not hatch successfully. Many of them were dead eggs that would never hatch.
Some of them barely hatched. In the end, the hatchlings died not long after because they were weak and sickly.
However, the 40 bird eggs that were born this winter had all hatched successfully, and every hatchling was very healthy.
This could be considered the most successful mass reproduction of the feather race in decades!
This made all the feather beasts excited!
“So that’s what happened.” Realization dawned on Huanhuan. “That’s good. Congratulations for being able to add to the population.”
Shen Yan said sincerely, “It’s all thanks to your medicine that our females could all get pregnant and their eggs could successfully hatch. In the future, you’ll be our benefactor. As long as you say the word, we’ll go through fire and water for you!”
The idiom ‘going through fire and water’ was something Huanhuan taught to the children of the rock mountain. After they returned home, they told their parents, friends, and relatives. Hence, the beasts would bring up an idiom or two in conversations now.
Huanhuan quickly waved her hand. “I didn’t do anything. There’s no need to trouble yourself. In the future, our tribes will get along well. We can just support each other when we’re in trouble.”
Seeing that she did not blackmail him into returning the favor, Shen Yan heaved a sigh of relief. At the same time, he admired her magnanimity.
He smiled kindly. “Since you’ve already become mates with Xue Ling, it means that the Rock Wolf Tribe and the feather tribe are family. We’ll definitely help each other!”
The other beasts agreed.
“That’s right! Elder Xue Ling will be yours from now on. You have to quickly give us a few more children!”
“We’re family from now on. If you need any help, feel free to let me know!”
“I wish you happiness!”
…
In the face of everyone’s blessings, Xue Ling clenched Huanhuan’s right hand, and his smile grew brighter.
Huanhuan shook off his hand and frowned. “When did I become your mate?”
She didn’t speak loudly, but the beasts had a keen hearing.
Everyone heard her clearly and couldn’t help but be stunned.
Xue Ling said calmly, “Although we haven’t officially mated, you’ve already promised to be my mate. You said it yourself. We even exchanged love tokens.”
He waved the ring on his ring finger to show that he was telling the truth.
Huanhuan felt that this person was really good at avoiding important issues.
“You lied to me back then. I agreed to be your mate because I thought you were dying.”
“I was indeed about to die at that time, but I lived. I wasn’t completely lying to you.” Xue Ling looked at her with a faint smile. “Besides, isn’t it good for me to be alive? Do you have to be mates with a dead person?”
“You!” Huanhuan was so angry that she couldn’t speak properly. “You’re being unreasonable!”
Xue Ling took her hand again and comforted her. “Alright, alright. Don’t be angry. I was wrong that time. I promise I won’t lie to you again.”
Huanhuan shook off his hand again. “I told you, I won’t believe anything you say again! Not a word!”
With that, she ran back.
Xue Ling stood alone and accepted everyone’s gazes.
Everyone’s eyes were filled with confusion.
They didn’t understand what was going on between the two of them.
The corners of Xue Ling’s mouth were still slightly curled up into a faint smile, but there was no warmth in his blood-red eyes. They were frighteningly cold.
“What are you looking at? Have you never seen a couple have a conflict?”
Shen Yan waved his hand and dismissed everyone.
After everyone had left, Shen Yan patted Xue Ling’s shoulder and asked tentatively, “Was what Huanhuan said just now true? Did you really lie to her?”
Xue Ling sneered. “If I hadn’t lied to her, she would’ve never seriously considered me.”
He had never been a gentleman. If he wanted something, he would fight for it.
Even if the methods he used were a little inferior in some people’s eyes, it was fine as long as he could achieve his goal.
Shen Yan looked at him with a complicated expression. “But Huanhuan looks really angry. Will you end up pushing her farther away?”
“She’s never been close to me. Even so, how far can she go?”
Xue Ling’s tone was cold as if he had expected this outcome.
However, Shen Yan heard the sadness in his voice and hesitated. “If it really doesn’t work, forget it. Although females are precious, she’s not the only one.”
Xue Ling said, “If I could just look for any female, would I have waited until now to mate?”
It wasn’t that he was narcissistic. With his conditions, even though female beasts were rare on the continent, he would have no problems attracting many females to him.
For him, Huanhuan was different.
She was irreplaceable.
Shen Yan sighed helplessly. “Alright. Even if you have to have her, you have to change your way of pursuing her. With your current attitude, you’ll die sooner or later.”
Xue Ling glanced at him. “What do you have in mind?”
“First, you have to make yourself look gentler. Females like to be gently cared for. When they choose a mate, they’ll be more inclined to pick the male beasts that are gentle and kind, like that tiger beast.”
Xue Ling scoffed. “Bai Di is gentle and kind? He has the deepest mind out of the three.”
“But at least he looks gentle and kind! Females love him! Huanhuan is completely under his control!”
Xue Ling was speechless.
Shen Yan continued to give him ideas. “Also, you have to learn to show weaknesses. Females are born with a maternal instinct. It’s easier for them to get close to weak and harmless creatures. This will make them feel like mothers. They’ll subconsciously want to protect the weak.”
Xue Ling thought of Sang Ye. That guy always looked pitiful in front of Huanhuan. Hence, Huanhuan’s heart ached for him.
“Last but not least, use fewer tricks and show more sincerity! Although Shuang Yun is neither gentle nor pitiful, he’s sincere. Many females can’t resist his straightforward passion.”
Xue Ling chuckled. “He’s just stupid.”
“But he’s so silly that he’s cute! Unlike you, who’s full of tricks. Huanhuan can’t even tell whether what you say is true or false. Huanhuan will definitely think that you’re not a good male beast that she can trust.”
Xue Ling stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I think I understand what you mean…”
