Chapter 28 - 25: Beauty? Fish?_1

The original animal skin skirt was so worn that it had become stiff and crusty. She had given new animal skin skirts to Xi Qing and Bei Ji, but she still didn’t have one for herself. Indeed, she didn’t want to wear the stiff animal skin skirt on her body anymore, so Si Yan accepted Mu Xiao’s gift. "I’ll repay you in the future," Si Yan, who didn’t want to owe anyone any favors, promised. Si Yan hid in the seawater to quickly clean herself up, then put on the new animal skin clothes and skirt. The red crocodile skin outfit fit snugly and comfortably, perfectly presenting her figure and causing Mu Xiao to stare with wide eyes. In Beast World, healthy and robust females were always considered beautiful, and he had always thought so too. He had never imagined that one day he would find a thin and small female attractive. Si Yan moved around. She found that the seawater crocodile skin outfit Mu Xiao had prepared was breathable and allowed for easy movement. Unlike her previous bulky animal skin skirts, it wouldn’t hinder her during hunts. It was very nice. She happily accepted it. As Si Yan roasted barnacles, she casually said to Mu Xiao, "Mu Xiao, I’m healed now. I can go back." Mu Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. He had only just lured this little female away from the Yanxiang Tribe; he wanted to spend some more time alone with her. He didn’t want to send her back just yet. Mu Xiao turned around slowly and, putting on a pitiful act, said, "Little female, I accidentally trespassed into a seawater crocodile’s den just now and got injured. I might need a few days to recover before I can return." Si Yan looked at him with a particularly incredulous expression. "You’re injured?" The distrustful look in Si Yan’s eyes made Mu Xiao feel quite hurt. He lifted the feather cloak he was wearing, and Si Yan saw the fresh red wounds beneath his white feathers. Mu Xiao, with his drama queen tendencies flaring up, exaggeratedly collapsed onto the ground, "I am seriously injured. I might be dying..." It did indeed look like he was injured. Si Yan set aside her suspicions and started eating her seafood breakfast. Mu Xiao complained, "Little female, the Yanxiang Tribe doesn’t treat you well. In our Myriad Beasts City, females never have to hunt. The females of our city can take care of children if they want or just sleep and play if they don’t. Whether it’s hunting, processing food, cleaning, or any other work, all these tasks are for males!" Si Yan wasn’t paying much attention, but she listened anyway. In her mind, she slowly sketched out the relationship between males and females in Beast World. Females at home could do whatever they wanted with bravado. A bunch of males would hunt, work, and all together support a difficult female. Hmm, such a world seemed quite blissful for females. Seeing Si Yan’s expression soften, Mu Xiao continued his gentle persuasion, "Little female, why don’t you come with me to White Eagle City? I’m sure you’d have a very good life there. Not to exaggerate, but our White Eagle City has a true envoy of the Beast God. If you don’t want to, I can join the Yanxiang Tribe too. I won’t let you do these dangerous tasks anymore." Si Yan understood Mu Xiao’s meaning. Males in Beast World were indeed very direct. She smiled calmly and said, "Thank you, but I can hunt for myself." She stood up and patted herself off. "Thanks for the clothes. I’ll repay you with the animal skins I hunt." Mu Xiao immediately said, "The gifts I, Mu Xiao, give do not need to be returned!" Si Yan did not respond. She felt thirsty. Seawater wasn’t drinkable, so she decided to look for a freshwater source on the island. Si Yan glanced at Mu Xiao. A male who was injured and needed to recuperate should just stay and heal. Taking him along might just be a burden. Si Yan calmly said, "Just rest." Mu Xiao immediately stood up. "Where are you going, little female? You’re just a weak female; how could I, a strong male, possibly let you wander around alone!" Si Yan ignored him and walked deeper into the island. Mu Xiao muttered complaints under his breath as he followed behind. Si Yan took out the purple snake scale in her hand and swung at the vines in front of her to make the path easier to walk. The island’s plant resources were still quite abundant. After finding one or two fruits, Si Yan used her Plant-based Ability to check for poisons. If there were none, she’d eat some fruit to rehydrate. Mu Xiao watched this special female and eventually accepted the setup of following behind her. He asked, "Little female, I’ve always had a question for you. How did you learn to control fire?" Si Yan became cautious. She had also come to understand the significance of fire to the Beastmen, so she needed to think of a plausible reason to explain. After thinking for a while, Si Yan casually replied, "I had a dream. I dreamed of the Beast God, and the Beast God taught me." Mu Xiao looked at her in astonishment. "You saw the Beast God? Are you an emissary of the Beast God?" Si Yan turned around and patted his head. "You talk too much!" However, with that pat, Si Yan suddenly noticed a trail of watermarks on the path beside them. She stopped Mu Xiao, who was about to speak, and went forward to observe the watermarks. Looking closely at the watermarks, which reflected some iridescence, Si Yan could basically determine that these were traces left by a living creature. "Such a strong fishy smell," Mu Xiao exclaimed. He sniffed the air. "It’s a big fish." "How could there be fish here?" asked Si Yan. "Are your fish here amphibious?" "Our place? Amphibious?" Mu Xiao shook his head. "I don’t know." Si Yan took the lead and ran ahead, while Mu Xiao complained as he followed, "My beautiful white feathers are all dirtied by these filthy branches and leaves." Si Yan retorted, "You Bird Beastmen can dislike branches and leaves?" Mu Xiao responded with exasperation and frustration, "Of course, we like them. But this sticky mess is just so annoying." Just as he finished speaking, they passed through the woods, and suddenly the view opened up. Si Yan stopped in her tracks and held back Mu Xiao. They saw a huge pit ahead, with only a small amount of water left inside. However, in this huge pit lay a whale the size of a ship. A fish the size of a ship was definitely not small. However, judging by the scale of a whale in the Beast World, where living creatures were generally larger, this one was probably a juvenile. Let’s just say it was a whale child, for the time being. Yet such a massive whale was trapped in the dried-up pit, its body almost completely dehydrated, its skin dry and whitening, its eyes tightly closed in agony. Mu Xiao’s voice suddenly sounded in Si Yan’s ear, "It’s a Beastman. A mermaid!" Beautiful? Fish? Separated, she understood each of those words, but combined, she was confused. How could such a large fish, especially a whale, be a mermaid? Mu Xiao could hardly hide his surprise. He explained, taking a couple of steps forward, "Aquatic Beastmen are different from us; they usually can only transform into their humanoid form after reaching adulthood. In their juvenile stage, aquatic Beastmen cannot change their body shape. Regardless of gender, they all remain in their beast form." If the other was a fish meant for eating, Si Yan might not have cared much. But if it was a Beastman, then in Si Yan’s eyes, it represented a life equal to her own. Looking at this life that was about to dry up, Si Yan couldn’t remain indifferent. So, she asked, "Can you carry her to the sea?" Mu Xiao shook his head outright. "I’m not that capable."