Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Male, Want to Pair Up?

Is this really not a condemned house?!

Chang Xia stared at the earth-pit tent, about fifty or sixty square meters, patched together from tattered animal hides stretched over branches and tied with vines. It was crude and plain. She couldn’t help but twitch her lips twice, speechless and choked with emotion. The clanspeople who had brought her here had already left.

She set down her basket, placed her luggage to the side, and didn’t rush to do anything.

No mistake—this was going to be her home for the rest of her life.

After quietly taking it in for a moment, Chang Xia turned to look at Shen Rong behind her. He was pale, unsteady on his feet, and looked weak at a glance.

“You wait outside. I’ll go in and clean up,” Chang Xia said.

“It’s fine, let me come with you. No one’s lived in this animal den for a long time. Besides clearing out bugs and ants, we should check if the roof’s rotted anywhere.” Shen Rong smiled slightly, explaining himself. He couldn’t just let Chang Xia do all the work.

Although the clanspeople had helped check the den and there shouldn’t be any major problems, who knew what minor issues there might be? After all, this place was a bit of a distance from the main tribe, and the den had been abandoned for ages. No matter how weak he was, he was still a male beastman—stronger than a female.

Chang Xia thought for a moment, then agreed.

Every year, the tribe would bring adult males and females to Normandy. Normandy was the largest market in the Misty Forest, where beastmen, birdfolk, fishfolk, and many other races gathered. If a male and female took a liking to each other, they’d pair up and decide which tribe to live in.

Chang Xia rubbed her rumbling stomach, eyes scanning the passing crowds.

A rustling sound crept into their ears.

“What’s that—?” Shen Rong asked curiously.

This place was extremely dangerous. Without the tribe’s protection, even she couldn’t guarantee survival. Having lived through the apocalypse, Chang Xia’s only thought was to stay alive.

“……” Shen Rong fell silent. Had he been away from the Misty Forest too long? Were females always this bold and direct now? For a moment, he was stunned and couldn’t react.

Watching the crowds, Chang Xia felt a headache coming on.

“I eat a lot. Are you sure you can feed me?”

Bugs and ants quickly crawled out of the den, clearly unable to stand the smell of mugwort. After a few minutes, the mugwort burned out, and no more insects emerged.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

This continent was different from Earth.

After all, she wasn’t completely helpless.

Even after years of struggling through the apocalypse, Chang Xia still found this hard to accept.

Beastmen valued offspring. Even though Chang Xia wasn’t related by blood to the Heluo Tribe, the clanspeople had raised her with care. Unfortunately, her body was weak, and even as an adult, she still looked sickly.

Shen Rong glanced at Chang Xia, then at the fish balls in front of him. Maybe living in the Heluo Tribe wouldn’t be so bad. “My name is Shen Rong, from the Wolf Clan of the beastmen. I’ve just wandered into the Misty Forest.”

Chang Xia didn’t care much about strength or power.

She couldn’t help but recall what the chief had said.

Of course, beastmen weren’t forced to pair up as soon as they reached adulthood. Chang Xia was a special case—weak and prone to illness. The tribe couldn’t keep supporting her as an adult. If she didn’t pair up, everyone worried she’d starve.

“You’re too weak. You’d better find a male to pair up with soon, or how will you survive?”

She’d followed the Heluo Tribe to Normandy, where many males and females were looking to pair up. Led by her clanspeople, Chang Xia went on blind dates. She was small and frail, and as a chinchilla beastman with weak fighting ability, most people rejected her.

Naturally, she was thin and weak.

Chang Xia looked at Shen Rong’s face seriously—he was really good-looking. After a moment’s thought, she took out a clay jar from her basket and pulled out two fish balls, each the size of a baby’s fist.

She stepped forward.

Shen Rong had just returned to the Eastern Continent and was a bit out of it. Unexpectedly, a female stopped him.

Shen Rong couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Alright. I picked some mugwort earlier. I’ll burn it to smoke out the bugs and ants, then you can check the roof.”

“Chang Xia, are you sure about this?” Gen, the chief, was a bit stunned. Just a few minutes ago, Chang Xia had brought Shen Rong to the Heluo Tribe’s settlement, introduced him, and told him this was the mate she’d chosen.

At the edge of the market, a skinny male approached—tall, over two meters by the look of it. His hair was messy and tangled, his face pale to the point of translucence, his steps slow and unsteady, as if he was gravely ill and didn’t have long to live.

The so-called market was really just a collection of animal-hide tents. Beastmen lived rough, with little concern for hygiene or aesthetics. Only the birdfolk and fishfolk were a bit more particular; beastmen usually just slept on the ground...

Seeing the male dazed and distracted—

Though the clanspeople weren’t satisfied with Shen Rong, they ultimately chose to bless Chang Xia.

Otherwise, how could she handle the wild beasts out there?

It was the birdfolk who cared about looks, and they rarely intermarried with beastmen. The same went for the fishfolk.

Her palm-sized face was dominated by a pair of lively, spirited eyes.

“My name is Chang Xia, from the Heluo Tribe of the beastmen. What’s your name, male? Are you paired up? Want to pair with me? Room and board included.”

This kind of energetic female—he’d never seen one before. He couldn’t help but feel a bit curious.

Chang Xia had a weak body, ate little, and was picky.

Beastmen were all big and burly. They looked down on her, and honestly, she wasn’t interested in them either. All muscle, probably big eaters, and ugly too.

That fish was seven or eight jin (about 4 kg).

Chang Xia held out the fish balls. “Fish balls. For you.”

A few days ago—

Chang Xia waved her hand and called out loudly, “You don’t want to?”

“Chief, I’ve made up my mind.” Chang Xia nodded seriously. “Shen Rong may look weak, but he’s actually quite strong.”

Chang Xia’s stomach growled—she was hungry. In the tribe, all they had was roasted meat or random stews, and the taste could only be described in one word: awful.

The whole Heluo Tribe was stunned.

A moment later—

She’d caught the fish with a trap she’d secretly made, and turned it into fish balls.

After all, she had no choice—no other male wanted her.

“I’m not even an adult yet. Who comes to the Normandy market before adulthood? Never mind if I’m direct—will you pair up with me or not?” Chang Xia looked Shen Rong up and down, then stepped forward and patted him twice. “You look sickly. No female would pick you. Don’t worry, I can take care of you. So… want to come back to the Heluo Tribe with me?”

The two of them went to see Gen, the chief of the Heluo Tribe.

Chang Xia didn’t have ginger, scallions, or garlic, so she just made the fish into balls.

The Heluo Tribe was in the Misty Forest of the Eastern Continent, a paradise for beastmen. To the east were the birdfolk, to the south the sea and the fishfolk. Beyond that, Chang Xia didn’t know.

Beastman matchmaking wasn’t like on Earth. Looks didn’t matter much; what mattered was race, fighting ability, and strength.

But you couldn’t stand out too much in the tribe either. She had to put up with it. This time, coming to the Normandy market, Chang Xia was determined to find a pleasing male. If not to stop the chief and others from nagging her, then at least for the sake of food—she had to pair up, or life would be unbearable.

One moment, Chang Xia was busy fighting off high-level zombies, struggling to survive. The next, she became a female of the Heluo Tribe—a beastman named Xia.

Shen Rong was probably the only male at the Normandy market who didn’t mind Chang Xia. Since she’d be living in the tribe anyway, if nothing else, the clanspeople could help look after them.

Chang Xia didn’t want to pair up, but it was the only way to be accepted by the tribe.

Seriously, these beastmen were all giants—an average height of two meters!

At 1.7 meters, Chang Xia felt like she’d landed in the land of giants.

Thin and sallow-faced.

Gen’s face twisted, but he agreed.

She was small—

So, when the market ended—

Chang Xia quickly started tossing out the junk from the animal den, keeping an eye on Shen Rong as he checked the roof, while her mind wandered back to the events of a few days ago.

Thinking back—

Beastmen had to live independently once they reached adulthood.

Gurgle.

The Normandy market was on the Normandy Plain.

He looked down at the female who barely reached his chest.

Was today going to be a waste too?

Chang Xia had no choice but to curl up in a corner.

Most importantly, this male was really good-looking—definitely the most handsome she’d ever seen.

Shen Rong followed Chang Xia to the Heluo Tribe’s territory.

Chang Xia was small and weak, and as a chinchilla beastman with no fighting skills, of course no one wanted her.

Seeing this—

“Back up!” Shen Rong grabbed Chang Xia, picked up the basket, and quickly retreated seven or eight steps.

A pungent smell quickly spread.

They lifted the animal hide curtain to let the den air out.

The sun was setting.

“Are you an adult?” Shen Rong hesitated, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Are all beastman females this direct? I thought only birdfolk were that blunt.”

“Male, want to pair up?”

Chang Xia had always been sickly. She’d lived in the Heluo Tribe for as long as she could remember, raised by the clanspeople. She’d never met her parents. According to the chief, Gen, she’d been found by a shaman on the outskirts of the Misty Forest. The shaman lived alone on Mount Kana and couldn’t raise her, so she was sent to the Heluo Tribe.

Back at the tribe, Gen didn’t delay and assigned her the den she’d picked out earlier. Beastmen didn’t have any formal pairing rituals—if you liked each other, you just moved in together and that was that.

Chang Xia was too weak to build a den herself.

This den had been left behind by a former tribesperson—a special case.

They were basically living off the tribe’s charity.

(End of Chapter 1)