He lowered his head without a word. Or perhaps he did, but his voice was too quiet for her to hear.
The arm around her waist slowly slackened.
After a long moment of silence, he finally spoke in a subdued tone.
"No more. I don’t want them anymore."
An Jin’s eyes widened in astonishment. "??!"
’Wait, who was that Snake Beast pestering her every day before he left, begging her to lay snake eggs and have little snakes for him? Why the sudden change of personality??’
"Ever since I devoured my last sibling, I inherited the complete memories and secrets of my race."
Sorrow clouded Gu Yin’s features, yet his eyes remained devoid of emotion. The grief was for her benefit. "A single clutch typically produces a dozen to two dozen Snake Beasts, and they each inherit a portion of my power and ancestral memories."
"But they must devour and slaughter one another. Only the last, strongest Snake Beast to survive can inherit my full power and bloodline."
"I know what you’re thinking right now."
Gu Yin stroked her small, delicate nose. His gaze fell upon her beautiful, confused face, and joy uncontrollably welled up in his heart.
He reached out, tipping up her smooth, delicate chin, and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips. His long, thick lashes brushed against her cheek, making An Jin blink in agitation. "Is there really no other way? Why do they have to devour each other? Can’t they just grow up peacefully like normal little snakes?"
"That would be unfair to them."
Gu Yin frowned and looked down at her, his tone growing serious. "Jin’er, you may think you’re doing what’s best for them, that you’re showing you care, but it’s actually the most unfair thing you could do."
"To possess the bloodline of the mighty King Snake, yet be forced to live with the abilities of a common wild snake... Do you have any idea how tragic that is?" He had been through it once and didn’t want his offspring to suffer the same fate.
’Alright, she was being too soft-hearted. Perhaps it was maternal instinct, or just her normal human mindset, but An Jin couldn’t bring herself to see things from Gu Yin’s perspective.’
’She truly couldn’t bear the thought of her own children slaughtering one another, but she also wouldn’t try to unilaterally change the laws of this world.’
"Alright, I can try to understand, but I’ll need some time." She nodded silently, but another key piece of information from Gu Yin’s words had caught her attention.
"King Snake?"
She blinked, confused, as she mentally prompted Mirror Mirror to search for related information.
’There were just too many Beastman races in this world; she couldn’t possibly remember them all.’
[The only known King Snake race in the Beast World is the Soaring Snake! Their power is the greatest of all Snake Beasts!]
Mirror Mirror’s shriek echoed in her mind. [AAAAAH—Master, you’ve really hit the jackpot! I thought you’d never meet a legendary King Beast in your entire life, but now you’ve run into two in less than a year! It’s like they’re as common as cabbage at the market. It almost made me think the system data was wrong~]
[But since he’s your mate, I still have to remind you, Master: the Soaring Snake clan’s method of reproduction is... rather peculiar...]
[Most King Beasts only produce one litter in their entire lives, and their offspring are born as Half-Kings, a rank above all other Beastmen. The Soaring Snake clan, however, can reproduce without limit. The consequence is that their bloodline is diluted, so the Snake Beasts from the same clutch must cannibalize one another to inherit the purest bloodline...]
Seeing her spacing out on the bed in the middle of their conversation, Gu Yin leaned over and gave her a punitive nip on the lip. It wasn’t too hard or too soft, just enough to leave a faint mark.
"Hiss~" An Jin quickly pulled out of her conversation with Mirror Mirror. She rubbed her slightly swollen lips and shot a look of feigned anger at the smiling man. Reaching out, she touched the red mark between his eyebrows. "Is this the King Beast mark?"
’She remembered seeing one on Ze Sheng’s face, too. His was purple, while Gu Yin’s was red, and the patterns were slightly different. It must be because they were different races.’
"Mhm." He nodded happily, genuinely overjoyed. ’Now that I’m stronger, I can protect Jin’er better.’ "After becoming a King Beast," he explained, "a King Beast mark appears on the forehead, and the beast markings on the arm disappear."
An Jin ran her hand over his arm, feeling the smooth muscle beneath. The beast markings were indeed gone. Taking advantage of her posture, Gu Yin pulled her close and drew the blanket up to her neck. "Alright, time to sleep. The Beast God Fruit is full of powerful Energy. You need to rest quietly for a few days to fully absorb it."
He left a soft kiss on her.
...
By the time the dust settled, the third wave of the rainy season had passed, blessing the continent with two weeks of clear skies.
Meanwhile, the city’s waterworks project was now in full swing.
To draw clean water from the nearby river, the first step was to make pipes.