Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Difficult Labor
Su Yan recognized her at once.
Rona Lei Shi—the mouse clan’s Clan Chief’s daughter.
She was here for Zulu. That much was obvious. But the way she looked at Su Yan… it wasn’t just dislike. It was hunger edged with hate, as though she could swallow Su Yan whole and still not be satisfied.
Su Yan had guessed right. Rona had come to find Zulu.
The moment she heard Zulu had killed the two-headed wolf devil beast that dominated the Greenwood Plains Beast Forest, her resolve turned absolute.
To secure him, she’d even borrowed aphrodisiacs from Ashley—planning to force the matter, get pregnant with a child in one move, and leave Zulu no room to refuse.
As for Su Yan… Rona had looked down on her since the coming-of-age ceremony.
And yet the moment she saw her, jealousy surged anyway.
Jealous of her face. Furious that with just that face, Su Yan could steal the male Rona wanted.
First Lin Lang, then Zulu.
Lin Lang had Ashley—super high-grade fertility. Rona couldn’t compete, so she’d swallowed it.
But Zulu? How could Su Yan have him?
A bottom-tier female with no fertility, bound for the breeding den sooner or later.
Rona shot Su Yan one more vicious look, paid for the jewelry in her hand, and turned away.
Su Yan watched until she left the map’s range, then withdrew it, unease settling deep in her bones like a thorn.
“Rona Lei Shi… does Brother Zulu know her?”
“The mouse clan’s Clan Chief’s daughter.” Zulu’s tone was flat. “I’ve seen her twice.”
“She has high-grade fertility.”
Zulu didn’t even blink. “So what? The rabbit clan has plenty of high-grade fertile females. If I only cared about offspring, I could find super high-grade whenever I wanted.”
“I believe you can choose a partner freely,” Su Yan said lightly, though her gaze stayed on the direction Rona had gone. “Females admire males for strength. Males admire females for children. But you don’t seem like Tai Yi.”
“I don’t know about other people, and I don’t care,” Zulu said. His fingers tightened around hers, not painful—protective. “But I’m sure I’m not like that. Offspring isn’t what matters most to me.”
“A male without offspring gets looked down on in the clan, doesn’t he?”
Like Little Luo. He’d been an adult for years, but with low talent and a thin body, no female chose him. No offspring meant no standing. He was pushed out of hunting teams and ignored.
A male with offspring—even without a female partner—had a place. He could walk with his head high.
Zulu’s eyes narrowed, sharp with quiet arrogance. “Who would dare?”
Su Yan laughed. “Alright. You’re talented. You’re amazing.”
She tilted her head, half teasing, half testing. “Then if I really have a child… you’ll raise it?”
Zulu’s gaze swept over her—too slender, too delicate. Her waist looked like he could encircle it with one hand. Soft as silk, all fragility and sweetness.
Even if she managed pregnancy, childbirth would be a cliff’s edge.
He couldn’t stand the thought of her falling.
“Yan Yan,” he said, voice low, “I don’t want a child. You don’t have to have one either. Don’t force yourself.”
“What nonsense,” Su Yan snapped, rolling her eyes. “I’m already pregnant.”
She lifted her chin. “I asked my dad. Every tribe is the same. The child is raised by the male. The female just gives birth. That’s considered fulfilling her duty.”
“Right,” Zulu said, and his tone turned fierce, almost savage with sincerity. “If you really give me a child, forget raising him—I’ll worship him like an ancestor. But only if you give birth. If someone else gives birth… I’d rather have no descendants at all.”
Something in Su Yan’s calm heart rippled, faint as a stone dropped into still water.
“We’re here.”
Zulu stopped and pointed at an open-air shed by the road.
Inside, males drank and talked, laughter thick with wine. The smell of fermented fruit hung in the air. There wasn’t a single female.
So when Zulu brought Su Yan in, every head turned—surprise, curiosity, open astonishment.
“Old Wolf,” Zulu called, “a bowl of wine. And a plate of fresh fruit.”
An old man approached with a huge bowl of wine and a glistening fruit plate. His eyes fell on Su Yan. “This is Oro’s daughter, isn’t she?”
Su Yan offered a gentle, polite smile. “Hello, Old Wolf. I’m Su Yan Mi Lu Te. I’m glad to meet you.”
Old Wolf blinked, startled to meet a female this courteous. His expression softened. “Good, good. Today’s on me. Eat and drink as you like.”
“Thank you.”
Her smile was bright enough to steal breath.
Old Wolf stared for half a heartbeat too long, then cleared his throat and recovered. “Don’t mention it. Call if you need anything.”
Someone called him, and he turned away to serve them.
Su Yan picked up a yellow berry and chewed. Sweet, tangy—like pineapple, almost. Juice burst across her tongue.
“This is good,” she said, licking a drop from her lip without thinking. “When we go back, let’s buy some.”
“You like Yellow Yuan Fruit?” Zulu asked.
“Mmm.”
“Then tomorrow I’ll go pick you some fresher ones.”
“Okay!”
The warmth between them hadn’t faded when someone burst into the shed, voice tearing through the noise.
“Bad news! The tribal shaman’s granddaughter is in difficult labor!”
Su Yan froze with fruit still between her fingers.
Voices erupted at once.
“How is it difficult labor?”
“Who knows? She just can’t deliver! We can only save one—mother or child!”
“Ashley isn’t even from the mouse clan, and she has super high-grade fertility. How can this happen?”
“High fertility makes it easy to get pregnant, not easy to give birth,” someone answered grimly. “Childbirth is the same for every female. One wrong moment, and you go back to the Beast God.”
Su Yan moved straight to the messenger. “When did you hear?”
The man hesitated, staring at her snow-white hair and flawless face. “You’re… the Mi Lu Te family’s female?”
“Yes.”
“My brother went to the rabbit clan to fetch the tribal shaman. That’s how I found out. It hasn’t been long—about one sha hour.”
About two hours.
Su Yan rubbed her wrist, the small habitual motion she always made when weighing a choice. Her mind was already elsewhere.
Little Mei, she asked silently, is there a pill that can save someone in difficult labor?
The reply came crisp as a bell: Peaceful-Birth Pill. Fifty points.
Su Yan’s eyes lifted. “Where does the tribal shaman live?”
Zulu caught her arm. “What are you going to do?”
“Go take a look,” she said. “We’re from the same clan.”
“I’ll take you.”
They moved quickly. The road seemed shorter when fear pressed at their backs.
The tribal shaman lived in a vast natural cave. Water ran nearby, cold and clear, and patches of flowers and grass softened the stone. It was almost beautiful enough to forget dread.
The Beast God Temple stood there too, solemn against the mountain, its presence like a shadow cast over the heart.
A wide open space spread before it, perfect for gatherings. Right now it was filled with clan members praying for Ashley’s safe delivery, their murmurs rising and falling like waves.
Su Yan spotted a familiar female—Sha Wa Bu Luo Li Ke.
Shava.
Su Yan asked to see Ashley. Shava, warm and straightforward, went at once.
The answer came back quickly: Ashley agreed.
Grom emerged from the Beast God Temple after prayer and saw Su Yan moving toward the delivery room.
Her face darkened. “Who let you come?”
Ashley’s early labor, in Grom’s eyes, had Su Yan’s shadow on it.
If Lin Lang’s heart hadn’t been tangled up with Su Yan, if he hadn’t ignored Ashley until her mood sank into misery during pregnancy… how could it have ended like this?
“Ashley wants to see me,” Su Yan said evenly.
Shava nodded. “Yes. Sister Ashley asked to see her.”
An elder female assisting with the birth stumbled out, both hands slick with blood. Her voice shook. “Tribal Shaman—something’s wrong!”
Grom spun and rushed inside.
Su Yan hesitated only a breath—then followed.
As she crossed the threshold, she exchanged for the Peaceful-Birth Pill at the System Shop, the cost burning like a coin dropped into flame.