Chapter 131 - 129: Arriving at the Desert Mine Area

Three Beast King Priests escorted them under strict watch.

Xuan Jin moved unhurriedly with Nan Zishi.

Chi Xiao was gone. Hu Bai was gone. Lanxing was gone. And all the cubs were gone too!

The little female was nestled obediently in his arms.

’For Xuan Jin, this was heaven!’

’A Snake Beastman shouldn’t be living a family life. He should have the little female all to himself!’

As they passed a few wild beasts, the Seven-striped Snake King even stylishly took one down with casual ease.

Right under the watchful eyes of the three Beast King Priests, Xuan Jin gathered wood, asked Nan Zishi for the flint, and then expertly started a fire to roast meat.

’He was learning to take good care of the little female, too, you know.’

The three Beast King Priests: "..."

Ying Li flew down from the sky and landed beside Nan Zishi, but Xuan Jin’s large tail immediately blocked the way, separating the two of them.

Ying Li: "..."

"Xuan Jin, are you starting a fire? What for?"

Completely oblivious to his status as a Beast Prisoner, Xuan Jin sharpened a stick, rinsed it with water, skewered the meat, and leisurely began to roast it.

"I’m not like you single males. I have a female master, and my female master is hungry." The Snake Beastman’s brow arched in a devilish smirk.

Nan Zishi sat down beside Xuan Jin without a hint of shame. Looking up, she asked innocently, "I’m hungry. You’re not going to let me eat, are you?"

Ying Li, Hu Qian, and Bao He: "..."

Hu Qian said, "What Ying Li meant to ask was, how do you know how to make fire?"

There were hardly any Beastmen in the entire Beast World who weren’t afraid of fire, yet this Snake Beastman not only had no fear of it, he even knew how to use it.

Xuan Jin replied, "What’s so difficult about it? Every beast in my family knows how, even the five-year-old cubs."

The priests’ eyelids twitched.

Ying Li said, "Just make sure you don’t burn the little female."

Xuan Jin obligingly handed the cooked meat to the little female next to him.

Nan Zishi pulled out some cumin powder from a pouch at her waist, sprinkled it on the meat, and took a large bite.

While Xuan Jin was still insistent on feeding her meat, he was no longer obsessed with it being raw, and his grilling skills were improving rapidly.

The fresh meat was grilled to perfection—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and bursting with juices. It was rich but not greasy.

’Delicious.’

Watching the little female eat with such relish made the three Priests’ mouths water.

Hu Qian asked, "Xuan Jin, can we have the leftover meat from your kill?"

Xuan Jin turned, the faint smile on his face vanishing. "As Eight Pattern Priests, you can’t hunt for yourselves?" he asked coldly.

Bao He retorted, "Is this about hunting? It’s about not being wasteful. Are you going to eat that entire beast by yourself?"

Xuan Jin’s eyes turned sinister. "You’re escorting my female master to go mining, and you expect me to give you meat?"

’If he wasn’t using these three Eight Pattern Priests as bodyguards, he would’ve shaken them off long ago.’

Xuan Jin picked up the last skewer of grilled meat and went to feed his little female again.

Nan Zishi narrowed her eyes and slapped his hand away. "Why don’t you eat it yourself?"

"I want to feed you."

"I’m not used to it," she demurred.

"You’ll get used to it," the male Cold-blooded Snake Beastman said, leaning closer. "Okay?"

"Not okay."

Nan Zishi still refused to let him feed her. She snatched the skewer from his hand and began eating it herself without any fuss.

But Xuan Jin wasn’t the least bit angry. His eyes held a faint, rare smile.

He watched Nan Zishi while he ate. After finishing his meat, he wrapped his large tail around her, pulled her into his lap, and held her like a child. Turning his head, he ordered the three Eight Pattern Priests behind him, "Move out."

He took the lead and strode forward, leaving the three Eight Pattern Priests to look at each other in dismay.

’Are they going to be punished, or are they on vacation?’

’And what’s the deal with him ordering us around?’

...

The journey from the coast to the desert was not an easy one.

Nan Zishi watched as the lush, green forest gradually grew barren, eventually turning into a desolate desert.

Here, the scorching sun bleached the gravel, and shifting sands snaked through the cracks between scattered rocks.

Grit-filled wind blasted their faces, the coarse gusts stinging the corners of their eyes. Nan Zishi’s mouth and nose started to feel dry.

Xuan Jin took a piece of his own Snake Shedding and fashioned it into a veil and head covering for Nan Zishi.

He continued to hold her, and she buried her head in his chest to shelter from the wind and sand.

"Are you all right?" Xuan Jin asked in a low voice.

"I’m fine. Are you tired?"

Xuan Jin asked, "Are you worried about me?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Oh," Xuan Jin said, his lips curling into a smile. "I’m exhausted."

Nan Zishi was speechless. ’Yeah, right,’ she thought.

With the exception of Ying Li, who was accustomed to this environment, the other two Eight Pattern Priests were clearly struggling, and their pace slowed considerably.

Hu Qian shouted, "Xuan Jin, wait up!"

Xuan Jin just sneered. He had no intention of waiting for them and continued to forge ahead.

Bao He was exasperated. "Is he going to be punished, or is he in a hurry to get himself reincarnated?"

Hu Qian panted, completely exhausted. "Why are they so eager? I feel less like a Priest escorting them to their punishment and more like a Priest assigned to protect them..."

Bao He added, "This is the weirdest mission I’ve ever been on."

Hu Qian was filled with regret. At this point, he felt like getting revenge wasn’t even worth it anymore.

Hu Qian sighed. "Forget it. Let’s just get them there so this annoying mission can finally be over."

Bao He and Hu Qian trudged along, trying to keep up.

They were all Beast Kings, after all, so their speed wasn’t slow.

Nan Zishi and her entourage finally arrived at the Western Desert Mine Area.

She hopped down from Xuan Jin’s arms. As she looked up at the desolate mine, the Beastmen there bowed to her with the utmost respect.

’Heavens, a female escorted by four Beast Kings! She must be a VIP from Ten Thousand Beasts City here on an inspection tour!’

’We have to show our utmost respect to someone this important!’

"Greetings, My Lady."

Hu Qian, having finally caught up, shouted in exasperation, "Are you blind? This is a criminal female who committed the grave crime of killing another female! She’s sentenced to one month of labor in the mines!"

"A criminal who killed another female?" the Beastmen of the mine repeated in astonishment.

"That’s right, she’s a criminal!"

’If she’s a criminal, then why are you Beast Kings treating her so nicely?’

’Besides, this female and the male Snake Beastman seem perfectly fine.’

’In fact, it’s you three Ten Thousand Beasts City Priests who look like you’ve been through hell.’

’This doesn’t look like a prisoner escort at all!’

Hu Qian was too frustrated to even speak.

Bao He snapped, "What are you dawdling for? Just do as you’re told! Get this female registered, assign her a mine shaft, and let her get to work."

"Yes, yes, of course." The mine’s Beastman quickly processed the paperwork with Bao He and Hu Qian, then led Nan Zishi into the mining area.

This place was filled with Beastmen from all over the Beast World who had committed various crimes.

Their skin was tanned dark and glistened with sweat under the harsh sun as they toiled on the barren land.

There were quite a few Beastmen serving sentences in the mine, but a quick glance revealed they were all male. There wasn’t a single female in sight.

So, when Nan Zishi walked in, she immediately drew the attention of many of the males.

Many of them stopped their work and put down their pickaxes to stare.

"A female is here."

"Is she some important person from Ten Thousand Beasts City?"

"She looks so clean. She has to be someone important from Ten Thousand Beasts City."

"Look, they’re assigning her to the crystal mine section. She’s a criminal?"

A few Wandering Lizard Beastmen, who had been slacking off from their mining to watch the spectacle, stared with their mouths agape when they saw Xuan Jin.

"It’s Lord Xuan Jin!!"

"What is Lord Xuan Jin doing here in the mines?"