An Jin was holding a shovel and had just tilled two patches of ground when a sickly-sweet, familiar voice called out. Before she could even turn her head, a blue figure pounced at her like a puppy.
With a loud THUMP, they both face-planted in the dirt.
"Oof!" Cold strands of hair brushed against her face. As An Jin opened her eyes, still reeling from the shock, she looked up, panting lightly. Xi’s devastatingly beautiful face filled her vision.
Thankfully, the ground was soft, freshly tilled soil, and the pebbles had been cleared away, so she wasn’t injured. She rubbed her waist, which ached from the impact. "Xi?"
She never expected it to be the Little rfolk she hadn’t seen for days.
’Why is he back?’
Shock still lingered in An Jin’s eyes. With him lying on top of her, she raised a hand and lightly pinched his supple cheek. A red, swollen mark appeared instantly.
’Now I’m sure of it. He’s one of the naturally delicate and beautiful rmaid Clan.’
’I’m not dreaming.’
Xi blinked. Feeling the sting on his skin, the delicate and frail Little rfolk’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. "Ah Jin~"
His soft, lodic voice was tinged with a hint of resentnt.
"Why are you back? Wait, no, get off first. You’re crushing !" An Jin wailed.
Xi struggled to push himself up with his arms, his face flushing crimson. His blue ear-fins drooped limply. After a long mont, he stamred pitifully, "I-I can’t get up... Ah Jin, I’m sorry! Xi isn’t quite used to these legs yet..."
His legs felt like jelly; he had no strength in them at all.
He’d seen how wonderful An Jin’s legs were, how she could run around so freely and unrestrainedly on land.
But when he finally used all his might to manifest a pair of legs, they felt like mush the mont he stepped on land. He couldn’t put any force into them at all.
The rfolk was draped in pure white Shark Sha, and the long legs peeking out weren’t muscular and powerful like those of the Land Beastn. Instead...
Instead, they were more like a woman’s legs—fair and slender, graceful but lacking any sense of power.
’Whoa... Who wouldn’t be srized by a sight like that?’
It was no wonder he couldn’t control them properly.
In the end, An Jin had to grit her teeth and shove him aside. She pushed herself up, dusted off her beast-hide skirt, and then pulled Xi to his feet.
The mont he touched her warm, delicate hand, Xi froze. His cheeks flushed faintly, his heart pounded in his chest, and his love-struck mind went into overdrive.
An Jin glanced at him. "The last ti I saw you, you still had a fishtail. Now you’ve successfully managed a human form. Can you maintain the legs for long periods? Can you live on land normally?"
"Mhm, mhm!"
Xi nodded eagerly, like a small pet begging for praise. He moved closer and nuzzled her face. "Ah Jin, Xi tried so, so hard to practice~"
In order to return to land and see An Jin again, he’d channeled all the ferocity from when he first broke his pod at birth into diligent practice to make up for his shortcomings.
An Jin asked, "Why are you back? Don’t all rfolk live in the deep sea?"
The question stumped the Little rfolk. He couldn’t very well admit that he’d co of age and it was ti to go ashore to find a female. Such a brazen ambition would completely shatter his persona.
Faced with her question, Xi rubbed his tear-filled eyes. ’Ti for a performance,’ he thought, silently apologizing to his Mother King and Beast Father, who were far away in the deep sea.
Mist quickly gathered in the rfolk’s damp, azure vertical pupils, and teardrops clung to his curled lashes. "Xi... Xi was abandoned by his tribe..."
He looked utterly pitiful, his voice choked with sobs. "SOB... They said Xi was too weak... that I was only a Third Rank Beastman... so they bullied ... and cast out..."
A look of pity filled An Jin’s eyes. She couldn’t stand to see a beautiful person cry. She quickly pulled him into her arms to comfort him. "In that case, you can co live in my tribe. Do you still need to live in water?"
Xi’s expression changed in a flash. Wiping away his tears, he flashed her a beautiful, docile smile. "Don’t worry, Ah Jin. I can live in water or on land. I just need to have a few buckets of cool water handy when it gets too dry or hot."
"Then I’ll take you to my tribe?"
"Mhm, okay~" The rfolk’s blue eyes shone with astonishing brightness. This was exactly what he had been hoping for.
But on the way back, Xi fell again. This ti, it was on a narrow forest path covered in thorns and sharp stones. Several cuts appeared on the rfolk’s fair, delicate elbows and knees from the gravel.
Xi’s ankle also had a few bloody scrapes, and the joint itself was twisted inward at a slightly bizarre angle.
"Ah Jin, my... my ankle! I twisted it!" It hurt so much he almost cried. Having been doted on and overprotected his entire life, Xi couldn’t bear the slightest pain.
An Jin crouched down, took his slender ankle in her hand, and looked up, asking calmly, "Is this where it hurts?"
"...Y-Yes, that’s it."
Xi’s voice trembled. Her small hands wrapped around his ankle made him so nervous the tip of his tongue quivered.
As An Jin slowly rubbed and kneaded the joint, Xi’s face rapidly flushed crimson.
His mind went completely blank, and he forgot how to speak.
"CRACK—"
A sharp jolt of pain shot through him, and Xi’s face went deathly pale. A mont later, he wiggled his foot and discovered he could move it freely again.
An Jin dusted off her hands and pulled him to his feet. "That should do it," she said with a gesture. "I just popped the dislocated joint back into place. Try taking a couple of steps and see how it feels."
Xi did as she said and took a few steps forward.
Slowly, his walk turned into a run. He did a few small hops and then circled An Jin several tis.
"Ah Jin, you’re amazing! My foot is all better!"
He was as thrilled as a child learning to run for the first ti, his excitent completely genuine. "Ah Jin, I’ve gotten used to the terrain here now. I definitely won’t have any more accidents. Let’s go ho~"
"’Ho?’"
An Jin raised an eyebrow. ’He says that so casually,’ she thought.
"Of course! Ah Jin’s tribe is my second ho now. On land, I want to live with you!" Xi threw his arms around her, affectionately nuzzling his cheek against hers. He was certainly quick to make himself at ho.
If his Beast Father in the deep sea found out, he would probably be kicked out of the tribe for real.
Beneath his innocent and harmless facade, Xi was busy with his own little calculations. ’Infiltrate the tribe, get one step closer to winning her over. Best-case scenario, I can act cute, and we’ll end up sharing a room... sleeping together.’
’I’m so handso and charming, Ah Jin definitely won’t refuse ,’ he thought. ’Today is another day closer to having our little hatchlings.’
But Xi would soon realize he was being far too naive.
Were the female’s potential hatchlings more important? Or was his own life?
It was a difficult question.
An Jin led Xi back to the tribe’s wooden cabins, deliberately avoiding everyone. rfolk were a rare and mysterious deep-sea species; revealing him so suddenly might cause a commotion among the tribe.
Coincidentally, Ling Hong and Mi Yin had just led the other Beastn out on a hunt to gather one last supply of food before the rainy season, so there were few people left in the tribe.
In the Beast World, females averaged four male partners, so the wooden cabins had all been designed with four rooms on the main floor.
Besides the rooms for Mi Yin and Ling Hong, there were exactly two left, one of which was perfect for Xi.
[Resident Population: 52↑ (6 Females)]
[Population Details: Land Beastn (41), Flying Beastn (4), Water Beastman (1↑)]
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