The evil female is weak and the males of the whole continent are out of control and fall.

Chapter 703 The Baby is Missing

The child's voice was still choked with sobs, "Mommy! My brother... my brother and the others ran away secretly! They told us not to tell you, saying... saying they were going on an adventure! But it's already dawn, and they still haven't come back."

Bai Wanwan's heart tightened, and she immediately grabbed the clothes next to her and put them on.

Chief Rong quickly dressed and scooped the lion cub up from the ground.

"You mean they left last night?"

The little lion cub felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look at its father, instead casting its gaze at Bai Wanwan.

Bai Wanwan was anxious, but she still comforted him, "You're great! Telling your mom about the potential danger in time and protecting your brother is a brave and correct thing to do!"

After saying that, she took the cub into her arms and said to the chieftain beside her, "Go and tell them to go and find the adult cubs!"

They've been out all night; in this weather, who knows what might happen?

The chieftain's face darkened, but his movements were as swift as lightning. "Fine, you stay home, we'll go find them!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already been blown out of the room like a gust of wind.

Soon, the whole family was alerted.

Zhu Xiu, Jin Yi, Yan Lie, Xin Feng and other males quickly gathered at the main house. Upon hearing that several half-grown cubs had dared to secretly leave home on a snowy night and had not returned, their faces were all solemn.

Without needing to say more, they tacitly divided the search directions and areas.

“I’m going to the northern mountains and forests. There are many caves there. The kids might go there to escape the snow.” Zhu Xiu’s voice was cold and hard, filled with suppressed anger.

“I’ll take some men to check out the eastern valley,” Jin Yi sighed. These kids are such a handful.

"Leave the west side to me," Yan Lie said, then turned and left.

Xin Feng and Hua Han followed closely behind.

“I’ll go too. Father Beast and Ember Shadow are at home. Jiao Yin, you stay and guard Wanwan. I’ll go searching too. I can see further from the sky.”

In a short while, almost all the powerful males in the house came out, transforming into several agile figures that quickly disappeared into the vast snow, leaving only messy footprints and...

Bai Wanwan held the little lion cub who had come to deliver the news, standing still, feeling the chill gradually spread from the soles of her feet to her entire body.

She suppressed her panic, hugged the trembling lion cub in her arms even tighter, walked to the window, and lifted a corner of the animal skin curtain to look outside.

The world was a vast expanse of white, and the heavy snow showed no signs of stopping. The wind whipped up snowflakes that pelted against the windows, making a fine, unsettling sound.

In this kind of weather, even adult beastmen have to be careful when they're out and about, let alone a few half-grown cubs...

Do they have enough food? Are the animal hides warm enough? Will they encounter hungry wild animals forced out of their dens by the heavy snow? Will they get lost in the snow, or... accidentally fall into a snow-covered pit?

Countless terrifying thoughts pierced her heart like icicles.

Time seemed to slow down and agonize during the wait.

The other, younger cubs who stayed behind seemed to sense the unusual tension as well. They quietly gathered around Bai Wanwan's feet, their little faces upturned, their big eyes filled with unease.

One of the children whispered, "Mommy, will the brothers come back?"

Bai Wanwan took a deep breath and forced herself to put on a reassuring smile, "Yes, the father beasts have already gone to look for them and will be able to bring the brothers home soon."

Her tone was firm, as if she were comforting the children, but more like she was convincing herself.

She asked the older cubs to take care of her younger siblings, while she got up and began pacing around the house, occasionally looking out the window or at the door, listening intently for any signs of their return.

The breakfast, which had been warm in the stone pot, had long since gone cold, but she had no appetite. Every time the wind rustled through the curtain, her heart skipped a beat, and she looked out with hope, only to be disappointed time and time again.

The snow outside seemed to be falling even harder; all you could see was white.

The boundless white seemed to devour everything, including the fading hope in her heart.

In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed.

"Why... there's still no news..."

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly during the wait.

Bai Wanwan was restless, feeling as if her heart was being slowly roasted over a low flame.

Seeing her pale face and the deep worry between her brows, Jiaoyin stepped forward and hugged her softly to comfort her: "Wanwan, don't worry too much. The chieftains are experienced and will definitely find the children. Besides, they've grown up and are quite talented. They'll be fine."

"Hmm," she replied absentmindedly; she couldn't put her mind at ease until she saw them.

Amidst this anxious chaos, Jin Ying (Fu Jinshen) glanced at Bai Wanwan's furrowed brows and worried profile, and a barely perceptible pang of heartache flashed in his deep eyes.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he silently turned around, quietly left the warm room, and plunged into the blizzard outside through the back door where visibility was extremely low.

His departure caused no ripples. Jin Ying had only one simple thought in his mind: he couldn't let anything happen to Wanwan's child, otherwise Wanwan would be heartbroken.

He thought that if they could have a few children of their own, Wanwan would definitely be the best and warmest mother in the world.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiaoyin went to add charcoal to the fire.

Bai Wanwan also went inside to see Jiao Yuan. It was at this moment that Bai Wanwan subconsciously looked around and suddenly realized that something seemed to be missing.

"Father, have you seen Ember Shadow?" she asked, somewhat puzzled. "I haven't seen him outside either, so why... isn't he inside either?"

"What happened outside just now?"

Bai Wanwan had no choice but to recount how her cubs had run away. "Father, don't worry, Zhu Xiu and the others have already gone out to look for them."

Jiaoyuan was indeed very worried and wanted to go out and search as well.

If he didn't know where Jinying had gone just now, after hearing Wanwan's words, he would know without even thinking.

Ember Shadow must have gone out to look for the cubs as well.

“Jinying must have overheard your conversation and knew you were worried about the cubs, so he went out to look for them too. Most of the capable males in the family have gone out, so he left, leaving the father beast to take care of you.”

He paused, then added, as if to reassure her or to state a fact, “Don’t worry, most of the ferocious beasts hide and hibernate during the snow season. Finding them is only a matter of time.”

"Um,"

Bai Wanwan nodded, but her heart couldn't find peace.

She walked to the window again and again, almost obsessively, forcefully pulling back the heavy animal skin curtain to peer outside.

Under her gaze, the sky was undergoing an irreversible change.

The dim afternoon light was fading rapidly, and the leaden clouds hung lower and lower, as if they were about to crush the entire valley.

The snow showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, the dim light made the swirling snowflakes appear even denser and colder.

From a hazy gray-white, to a somber dark blue, and now to the ominous gloom rising at the edges.

(End of this chapter)