Beast World: From Villainess to Cub-Raising Chef

Lu Tingyan hadn’t expected her to bring him here, to the rice shop at the foot of the mountain.

Xiao Mi was dozing off while watching the store.

When she saw Bai Su walk in with someone, her expression soured, and she immediately tried to kick them out.

Bai Su quickly stopped her. "Don’t get excited! I’m here today to help you solve a huge problem! You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you throw me out!"

Xiao Mi grabbed a broom and went for her. "Fuck you! How dare you show your face on my turf again!"

Two minutes later.

Xiao Mi, her face swollen and bruised like a pig’s head, sat obediently in the corner, sobbing, "Bai Su, you &@#$ crazy bitch... %...#$ coming to someone else’s turf... #$%..."

The corner of Bai Su’s mouth twitched as she tossed the broom aside. "I told you not to start anything. You can’t beat me anyway..."

Xiao Mi started wailing.

Bai Su said, "Alright, stop crying. I know you’re worried about your kid. Don’t worry, didn’t I bring Major General Lu here for you?"

Hearing this, Lu Tingyan raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is going on?"

Bai Su asked Xiao Mi, "Did Wang Biao’s men come to your house with a contract for selling a child, claim you had signed it, and say they were going to take your kid unless you paid up?"

"And your son overheard this, thought you were going to sell him, and that’s why he deliberately stole rice to get back at you, right?"

Realizing Bai Su had seen through everything, Xiao Mi cried even louder. "WAAAH... #$@ that motherf... %... I’m not you! I’d never do something as despicable as selling my own child!"

"I obviously never signed that document, but they insisted I did. They’re forcing me to either pay up or hand over my child."

"I don’t have any money, and I could never bear to give up my children. This is going to be the death of me!"

Lu Tingyan quickly grasped the key point. "Then why not report it to the police?"

The corner of Bai Su’s mouth twitched as she shot him a glance. "Goes to show you’ve never spent time in the backwaters, huh?"

"What good would calling the police do? This area isn’t within Federation jurisdiction. It’s a lawless, grey zone. Even if the police came today, couldn’t those rogue Beastmen just stay indoors? They’d never get caught."

"And if they can’t be caught, the problem can’t be solved. Not unless the police posted up at her house every day to act as her personal bodyguards."

Lu Tingyan frowned slightly, a sharp glint passing through his eyes.

Bai Su said, "So you see, we’re all just victims. They forge these documents so they can brazenly snatch our children and sell them off."

"That’s how the children from my orphanage on the mountain were taken, too."

’In reality, the original owner of this body lost a gambling debt and despicably sold them herself.’

’But she wasn’t about to take the blame for the original owner’s screw-ups.’

The last time she was at the port asking a crewman about the whereabouts of the sold children, the man had been very clear.

People in the trafficking business are extremely cautious. To avoid leaving any leverage, they don’t leave behind any evidence or sign any documents whatsoever.

The entire process is handled via word of mouth. The children who are sold don’t even get a number or a name; they’re treated like cabbage, chicken, duck, or fish at the market.

That was why Bai Su could be so certain she had never signed such a thing.

Wang Biao would never have had her sign something that could be used as evidence, because if they were caught, everyone involved would be dead.

But Bai Su had only learned today that Wang Biao’s gang would forge documents like this to snatch children.

Whether these documents were real or fake was entirely up to them.

If they weren’t caught, they could use these to threaten the less-educated Beastmen in the villages down the mountain.

If they were caught, they’d surely have a way to prove the documents were fake—that they just made them for fun—allowing them to get off scot-free.

Lu Tingyan was a smart man; he also quickly understood the crux of the matter. "So all of this was forged by Wang Biao’s gang."

Bai Su nodded. "To root out this problem completely, we have to quietly find their base of operations and take them down in one fell swoop."

Xiao Mi shook her head, crying. "It’s useless. That gang is incredibly sharp. The moment there’s the slightest sign of trouble, they know immediately."

As if recalling something, the light in her eyes gradually dimmed. "It’s not like the Federation’s search teams haven’t received reports before. They came countless times and came up empty countless times. After a while, they just... stopped coming..."

Bai Su patted the tall Lu Tingyan beside her, amused. "He’s not one of those small-fry investigators. Look at the insignia on his military cap. This is a Major General. Do you have any idea how high-ranking a Major General is?"

Xiao Mi stared at the two of them blankly.

Bai Su turned to Lu Tingyan. "Major General Lu, my innocence, the safety of these villagers, and the well-being of the Little Beastmen—I’m entrusting it all to you!"

A ripple went through Lu Tingyan’s eyes. Ever since his spiritual power had been crippled, it had been a long time since he’d felt needed like this.

Bai Su buttered him up. "You’re a Major General! With just a lift of your finger, you’ll have countless people at your command. Wiping out a gang of local thugs should be as easy as flipping your hand, right?"

"Something that’s just a flick of the wrist for you is a life-saving favor for us! From now on, however much of my cooking you want to eat, I’ll supply it anytime!"

She thought for a moment, then added stingily, "But you’ll have to reimburse me for the groceries."

Lu Tingyan’s lips curled into a smirk. He looked at Xiao Mi. "Don’t worry, I’ll handle this matter."

Xiao Mi’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Did I hear that right? You’re really going to get involved?"

On the mountain road, Bai Xue was leading an investigator and a large crowd of onlookers down in hot pursuit.

Bai Su frowned slightly. "Those local thugs are extremely sharp. This matter shouldn’t be blown out of proportion."

Lu Tingyan nodded.

Bai Xue and her group arrived, eager to make an arrest, but Lu Tingyan blocked their path. He called over his adjutant and assistant and took the case from the investigator’s hands.

The investigator looked at Bai Xue, dumbfounded.

Bai Xue frowned at him. "Major General Lu, you..."

Lu Tingyan said, "This matter ends here."

"Ends here?" Bai Xue was stunned for a moment, her eyes wide. "How can it end here?! This is a serious matter! Lu Tingyan, do you have any idea what you’re—"

"Miss Bai," Lu Tingyan cut her off impatiently. "You have no right to question my decisions."

Standing nearby, Lu Tingyan’s adjutant, Yodel, and his assistant exchanged a look, both instinctively shrinking back.

The Major General hated it when people questioned his orders.

Back when their Major General still had his spiritual power, anyone who dared to defy or question his orders in public would receive light physical punishment or, in severe cases, could even be shot on the spot.

You should never question the decision of a wolf pack’s alpha unless you have a death wish.

Bai Xue was still furious. She had finally gotten some dirt on Bai Su and was on the verge of seeing her sentenced to lifelong exile, never to return to the Federation. How could she possibly let such a perfect opportunity slip away?

Bai Xue blocked the way, preventing Lu Tingyan from taking Bai Su. "Major General Lu, this is a serious matter. I don’t think you should be making this decision on your own."

Yodel and the assistant exchanged another look. "..."

’A child trafficking case outside the Federation’s borders might be a big deal locally,’ they thought, ’but their Major General was, after all, a *Major General*—and the former Federation Leader who had stepped down, no less.’

’How big of a deal could a local matter possibly be?’

’And their Major General couldn’t make his own decision?’

’To put it bluntly, outside Federation borders, the Major General could pull out his gun and shoot a few people, and no one would be able to say a word about it.’