A chorus of startled screams broke the stillness of the usually quiet Hot River Valley, adding an unexpected touch of liveliness.
The serpent beastmen who had been leaving turned back in alarm.
One of them — a man with a human upper body and a long blue snake’s tail — hurried forward, snatching up two small green snakes and holding them aloft.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry,” he said in embarrassment. “These two little ones must’ve scared you.”
Among the Beast Clans, the serpents were infamous — cold-blooded, lustful, with a fierce drive to reproduce — and thus not often favored by females.
The two little snakes writhed and squirmed in his grasp, letting out childish cries of “Ow! Ow!” as they twisted about. Their tails flicked, coiling around their father’s arm, yet their tiny heads stretched toward the female on the ground, tongues flicking eagerly.
The man squeezed them lightly.
“Apologize.”
The two little snakes only wiggled and hissed, their voices milky and indistinct.
“So good… smells so good.”
“Female smells so good!”
The blue snake man’s face darkened in mortification.
“Stop calling her that! She’s Duan Si’s female, not yours!”
These two little things weren’t even old enough to take human form — who knew if they’d ever have females of their own one day? How could they call another male’s mate their “female” so casually!
Jiang Xi finally caught her breath.
She told herself firmly in her mind — They’re all beastmen. They can take human form. They won’t hurt me. They’re beastmen, not snakes…
“I-it’s fine,” she stammered, clutching her chest where her heart nearly leapt out. She tried to stand.
But as she pushed herself up, her hand met something cool and smooth — not sand or stone, but scales.
Her heart stopped for half a beat. She nearly screamed again.
Turning her head slowly, she saw a tail — crimson scales glinting faintly — the tail tip gently supporting her weight and lifting her to her feet.
Standing before her was the red-haired, sharp-eyed youth she’d seen earlier leaning against the tree.
Now that she was closer, Jiang Xi could see clearly his bare, muscular torso, and the lines of his waist disappearing into a sheath of scales — a sleek, dangerous beauty.
“Th-thank you,” she said stiffly, forcing herself to look away.
Not only he, but the blue-tailed man was also bare-chested. And from both sides of the valley, through the trees, other serpent beastmen had slithered out — all human above the waist, serpentine below, peering curiously at her.
Compared to a dozen snake heads poking out from the brush, this was far more overwhelming — a row of half-naked beastmen, tails coiled and gleaming.
In all her life, Jiang Xi had never seen such a scene.
She straightened quickly, flustered.
“I’ll just… go look for some plants in the woods. You don’t have to mind me.”
She deliberately didn’t mention food, afraid that if she did, these beastmen would insist on sitting her down to eat — and that would mean dining surrounded by half-naked men.
The blue snake man looped the two little snakes around his neck. Watching the female disappear into the forest, he turned to the red serpent with curiosity.
“Nakan, are you in your heat cycle already? It’s winter — it shouldn’t be possible.”
Before Nakan could answer, a faint rustle came from the vine-covered cave nearby.
A pair of scarlet eyes glowed faintly within, sweeping once across the valley before vanishing again behind the vines.
But that single glance was enough to send a wave of violent energy pulsing through the air.
The blue snake man frowned.
“Duan Si, your power is getting more unstable. Your female came to the valley — it’s the best time to let her help you balance it. Don’t force it anymore.”
They’d heard from the serpent beastmen of the Lion Roar Tribe about Duan Si — his strained relationship with his female, and her supposed cruelty.
Yet seeing her now, she didn’t seem nearly as bad as the rumors said. In fact, she seemed patient — unlike most females who treated males with disdain.
True, her appearance might not be as beautiful as others.
But for a beastman exiled to the Cursed Lands, having any female at all was already a blessing.
If an ability user’s power went too long without regulation, their energy would spiral out of control, driving them mad — and eventually, their body would rupture and die.
If they’d known that Duan Si had once been a death-fighter in the Holy City’s underground arena, they might never have allowed him into the Hot River Valley at all.
The more one used their ability, the higher the risk of a violent backlash.
And in the underground arenas, no beastman had ever walked out alive — least of all a serpent, whose kind was especially sensitive to the cold of winter.
Yet no matter how the blue snake man urged him, the vine-covered cave remained silent.
At the river’s edge, Nakan’s tail flicked idly as he rubbed his chin, his golden vertical pupils narrowing thoughtfully.
“Iv, did you feel it? That female’s mental power… it’s different.”
Iv — the blue snake man — froze, then flushed bright red.
“Nakan! What are you saying? She’s not your female — how could you possibly know what her spiritual power feels like? Don’t talk nonsense!”
“If you truly like her, then pursue her properly. Ask to marry her! Don’t be like those lecherous beasts in the Cursed Lands, always trying to seduce someone else’s mate!”
Nakan scratched his head awkwardly.
“That’s not what I meant. It just feels… strange. Something about her feels different.”
Before Iv could reply, the two little snakes around his neck piped up again in their childish voices —
“Smells good! The female smells so good!”
Iv’s expression darkened. He grabbed the little snakes, ready to scold them again.
Other beastmen began to slither out from the valley pools — some from the Lion Roar Tribe, others from neighboring clans.
“Duan Si’s female doesn’t seem that bad after all,” one of them remarked.
“Yeah. Though even with her face covered, you can tell she’s… not very good-looking.”
“…”
The serpent beastmen from the Lion Roar Tribe looked bewildered.
Had they ever seen Duan Si’s mate like this before? Whenever she appeared, she was loud, arrogant — never this quiet or polite.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xi had slipped into the forest.
And soon, all thoughts of embarrassment were gone.
Because she’d just discovered a tree full of wild black fungus!
She didn’t pick them right away. Instead, she explored further — and in the area nearby, she found purslane, shepherd’s purse, wild potatoes, taro, even pepper trees, chili plants, ginger, and wild grapes.
Jiang Xi’s eyes lit up.
It was a wild treasure trove!
Not that she was especially knowledgeable — but after ten years in the apocalypse, food had been so scarce that she’d learned to recognize nearly anything edible.
Naturally, she knew exactly what she was looking at.
Overjoyed, Jiang Xi got to work.
Lu Liufeng had left her the bamboo backpack, and she now darted around the forest like a rabbit, gathering everything she could.
When the basket grew too heavy, she set it down, filled another load, and went back for more.
Before long, she’d filled the basket completely — black fungus, potatoes, taro, ginger — a little bit of everything.
After resting for a moment, she began looking for a sturdy stick to dig up the root crops.
But she had barely lowered her head for a few seconds when she suddenly felt it —
The air around her had turned cold.
