Beast World: From Villainess to Cub-Raising Chef

Chapter 165: Chapter 164: Wen Dabao Heroically Saves Her Mother

Her heart went cold. Before she could even react, a hand clamped over her mouth, and she was dragged deeper into the alley.

Kong Ji, his arms full of food, watched her disappear right before his eyes. He hurriedly released his spiritual power, conducting a blanket search, but found nothing.

As Bai Su struggled, she was just about to pull out an item she had redeemed from the system to escape.

Suddenly, a small figure dropped from the sky and, with one kick, blew apart the head of the person behind her.

Bai Su froze. The little one was fully armed and wrapped up from head to toe, leaving only their eyes visible.

The only other things exposed were two red fox ears and a fluffy fox tail.

’A little fox Beastman?’

With clean and efficient movements, the little one drove off the person who had restrained her.

Strangely enough, the assailant, who had been so fierce just moments ago, gave up with surprising haste and simply ran off.

The little one didn’t give chase, just turned to look at Bai Su. "Are you okay?"

Their voice, muffled by a mask, was low and raspy, like that of a little boy with a hoarse throat.

Bai Su shook her head. "I’m fine. Are... are you okay?"

The little one shook their head.

Bai Su said, "Thank you for saving me just now. You’re amazing."

The little one suddenly said, "I know you. Your cooking is delicious."

Bai Su paused, then smiled and nodded. "Yes, that’s right. Would you like to come to my place for a meal? It would be a good chance for me to thank you for your help today."

The little one shook their head, then nodded. After a long moment of indecision, they looked up at her. "If you want to thank me, could you give me one of your homemade puddings? A strawberry-flavored one."

Bai Su smiled and nodded. "Of course!"

She took the little one’s hand and led them out of the alley, meeting up with a frantic Kong Ji not far away.

「In the depths of the alley.」

The figure hidden in the shadows had a slender, graceful build—it was, surprisingly, the very person who had just tried to abduct Bai Su.

A subordinate standing nearby trembled. "Boss, you failed the mission?"

This was their department’s second-in-command, the strongest after Leia, and she had never failed a mission before.

The mysterious person hummed. "Mhm, I failed."

The subordinate’s expression turned strange. "But you’ve never failed before. This..."

The mysterious person glanced at him. "Tsk... you have a point."

She stroked her chin, her eyes lighting up. "If I kill you, then no one will know I failed!"

The subordinate’s face drained of color. He dropped to his knees to beg for mercy, but it was too late.

The shadow of a scorpion tail, like that of a colossal monster, fell over the subordinate, engulfing him.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the alley, followed by the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.

The mysterious person stepped out of the shadows and slowly removed her mask, revealing none other than Li Yue from the Lanton Research Room.

Unlike her usual ice-cold demeanor at the research lab, her face now held a careless smile, her red lips curved slightly.

"Tsk... Don’t say I didn’t warn you that danger is approaching, little Susu."

’The food she feeds me every day is so delicious. If she really dies at the hands of that little psycho Leia, I’ll be heartbroken.’

*

Bai Su led the little fox, who was wrapped up like a little mummy, back home.

No one was home at the moment. Lu Tingyan and Yelias must have gone to work.

The three little ones weren’t home either.

Hua Hua was there, but it was probably sleeping.

Without disturbing anyone else, Bai Su led the little one to the kitchen and lifted them onto the counter to sit.

The little one seemed a bit uncomfortable. "You... don’t hold me."

Bai Su let out a little laugh. "Okay, I’m sorry. You’re just too cute, I couldn’t resist."

’Who could say no to a fluffy little benefactor?’

She then asked, "Have you had breakfast? Want to eat something together?"

The little one was silent for a moment, just about to voice their refusal.

Bai Su listed off, "Tomato and sour soup noodles? Shredded potato and egg pancakes? Braised noodles with a fried egg? Pumpkin soup with shrimp dumplings? Or baked milk and sandwiches?"

After a long silence, the little one said coolly, "Just a box of strawberry pudding, to go. Is that okay?"

Bai Su looked at them in surprise, not expecting the little one to have such strong willpower.

She nodded. "Sure. Wait just a moment, I’ll make it for you right away."

The little one said, "Thank you."

While waiting for the pudding to chill and set, Bai Su curiously sized up the little one and noticed a small wound on their tail.

She frowned slightly. "How did you get hurt here? Let me heal it for you..."

The little one shot out a hand and grabbed her wrist. "Don’t."

Bai Su slapped her little paw away. "I’m not going to charge you. What’s with the big reaction?"

As she spoke, her hand, glowing with a warm, white Healing Ability, was already stroking the little one’s tail.

A steady stream of warmth flowed from the wound into her body, and the injury slowly began to heal.

The little one’s visible eyes watched her warily, her whole body tense as if she were ready to knock Bai Su unconscious and flee at any moment.

When Bai Su pulled her hand back, she met her bright, clear eyes.

Bai Su felt a tightness in her chest and a strange sense of familiarity. She blurted out, "Have we met somewhere before?"

The little one looked away. "No."

Bai Su shook her head, then caught the rusty scent of blood on the little one’s jacket. She couldn’t help but chuckle. "How long has it been since you washed your clothes? They seem to smell like blood."

The little one looked down at her clothes and fell silent.

Bai Su added, "Take it off, and I’ll wash it for you. It’ll dry quickly."

Knowing the little one was about to refuse again, she said first, "It’s a day off today, so a lot of people are going in and out of the city, and security is tight. If you go out with a blood-stained jacket, you could easily get stopped and questioned."

’She figured that since the little one was wrapped up so tightly, she probably didn’t want to attract attention.’

After a moment of silence, the little one decisively took off her clothes and stuffed them into Bai Su’s hands.

Bai Su smiled and ruffled her little fox ears. She tossed the clothes into the washing machine, and after they were quickly cleaned, she redeemed a small gadget from the System Mall to dry them in one second.

The clothes now smelled of sunshine mixed with the fresh scent of laundry detergent.

Bai Su handed the clothes to her and finished packing up the pudding.

As she handed over the pudding, she noticed the little one was holding her collar and sniffing it.

Bai Su paused. "What’s wrong? Is it not clean? Does it still smell like blood?"

The little one hastily let go of her collar as if to hide what she was doing and cleared her throat. "No."

Only then did Bai Su hand her the pudding. "Here you go."

The little one nodded her thanks. She was about to say something when she suddenly seemed to sense something, quickly took the pudding from Bai Su, pushed open the kitchen window, and climbed out.

Bai Su stood there, stunned. Just as she was about to speak, she heard the PITTER-PATTER of footsteps outside.

"Mommy! We’re home!"

"It smells so good, so good, so good!"

"Mommy, what delicious thing are you making?!"

Bai Xiaolang, Bai Xiaoshe, and Bai Xiao Zhu, the three little human cannons, came running back, covered in sweat. They were filthy and caked with mud from rolling in a puddle, looking for all the world like little mud monkeys just pulled out of a rice paddy.

Bai Su had no time to think about the little one from before. She hurriedly dodged her children’s embraces. "What happened to you all!"

"Did you come back from rolling in the mud?"

"You’re so filthy! Go wash your hands first!"

"Bai Xiaolang! No pudding until you wash your hands!"

"And you, Bai Xiao Zhu! Did you think I didn’t see that spider silk?"

"Eating without washing your hands—do you have any idea how many germs are on them?"

Bai Su grumbled as she picked up the three little ones’ mud-caked jackets and schoolbags from the floor. Then she raised a hand to smack the backs of their hands, stopping them from grabbing the pudding.

「On the roof of the castle-like mansion.」

The little fox dropped her disguise, revealing a still-youthful but already powerful lizard tail.

She listened quietly to the commotion in the kitchen for a moment, then pursed her lips. With a few leaps, her tail and hands turning into suction cups, she vanished into the night, carrying a box of strawberry pudding.