Little Family Treasure of the Apocalyptic Boss

Chapter 4: Leaf

When An Nuo brought Ye Ze back from the stream, the male beastman was soaked all over, his face pale and lifeless. His body was covered in gruesome wounds, and the blood flowing from them had dyed the stream red.

For a moment, An Nuo thought that the black gem would shatter.

Therefore, subconsciously, An Nuo still regarded Ye Ze as a more needy patient to take care of. It wasn’t until he held the ointment and leaves, lifted the man’s wrist, and saw a spotless and flawless skin.

Clearly, there were wounds that hadn’t scabbed over this morning.

An Nuo stared at Ye Ze’s intact and sturdy forearm, looking bewildered. Many question marks seemed to hang on his forehead.

Ye Ze was amused by the little snake sub-beast’s confused expression.

He found that being with the little snake sub-beast always brought a lot of fun.

Then, he extended his fingers, pointing at the wounds on An Nuo’s body. “I think you might need treatment more than I do.”

Saying that, Ye Ze patted the stone bed next to him again, smiling, “Come here, sit. I’ll apply the medicine for you.”

The situation suddenly reversed.

The little snake sub-beast blushed so much that smoke seemed to rise from the top of his head. With flushed cheeks, he hurriedly shook his head, “No, no, no need!”

Originally, it was an excited tone.

But in the little snake sub-beast’s mouth, it turned into a soft and sweet candy.

Ye Ze teased him intentionally, glancing at the wounds behind the little snake sub-beast, “Can you reach those places by yourself?”

The little snake sub-beast’s speech became even more hesitant.

The sugar had melted.

The blood streaks from the wounds didn’t care for sugar. They continued to seep out, and the little snake sub-beast’s body was still covered in dust. He had only focused on Ye Ze’s injuries earlier, so he had deliberately washed his hands before applying the medicine.

If left unattended, the wounds might get infected.

Thinking he had provided a “preview” for the little snake sub-beast, Ye Ze’s expression turned serious, revealing the majesty of the post-apocalyptic overlord. Once again, he patted the bed. “Come up.”

The little snake sub-beast shrank his neck, obediently climbing onto the stone bed like a primary school student being scolded by the head teacher. He attempted to lift the animal hide to avoid getting it dirty.

Ye Ze stopped him with a glance, and he immediately let go, smoothing it out and sitting quietly on the soft and warm animal hide.

Ye Ze found it both amusing and exasperating.

Clearly, he was always generous and careful when taking care of others. Why did he become so careless when it came to himself?

“Where’s the water for washing?”

The little snake sub-beast’s tail moved, showing signs of wanting to get down and do the task.

Once again, Ye Ze glared him back.

“…It’s in the small storage room to the right when you go out.”

An Nuo felt a bit wronged. He looked toward the entrance of the cave, puffed out his cheeks, almost imperceptibly.

It was the first time he encountered a male beastman who wouldn’t let him work and, instead, took the initiative to do the work himself!

Ye Ze directly took the largest basin and brought water back to the cave. He saw the little snake sub-beast sitting on the stone bed, looking unsure of whether to come down or not. When their eyes met, a layer of misty moisture suddenly appeared in his eyes, on the verge of tears.

Ye Ze sighed silently. He felt that he could never be gentler than he was now.

“No need to be so restrained, relax a bit. Mutual support between people is a common thing.”

How absurd.

The overlord of the apocalypse was extremely indifferent in his heart, recalling only the suppression of strength and the greedy betrayals. Interpersonal relationships in the apocalypse were even less comfortable than the competitive interests in the dimensional shopping mall.

Compared to that, the little snake sub-beast turned out to be an exception.

Wrapped in a blanket like a small heater, soft and warm. The closer you got, the more irresistible it became.

But he was a bit timid and easily bullied.

Ye Ze tossed the cloth into the water and began washing.

An Nuo’s gaze couldn’t help but drift to the bucket filled with water. Then, he sniffled pitifully.

He actually wanted to say that it was tiring to carry this water up from the mountain and that it didn’t need to be wasted on him.

However, seeing Ye Ze’s gentle and comforting appearance, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

An Nuo felt that what Grandma Kanglan said about “male beastmen being completely clueless about anything other than hunting” might be true.

So, considering that the male beastman might be doing such work for the first time, he decided not to say too much to the beastman.

An Nuo struggled to reclaim his disobedient gaze, looking at Ye Ze’s earnest and focused profile, nodding obediently.

Ye Ze smiled again.

The little guy was so soft and cute.

Just didn’t understand how to take care of himself.

Ye Ze lifted the cleaned cloth, wringing it. Suddenly, the rough texture of the fabric became even more apparent in Ye Ze’s hands.

If it were rubbed on the little snake sub-beast’s wounds, the uncomfortable sensation would undoubtedly double.

Ye Ze frowned slightly. After some thought, he simply set the rough cloth aside and tore off a piece of soft fabric from his own sleeve.

The sound of “shh” echoed particularly loudly in the quiet cave.

“Ah! Why did you tear your clothes?” The little snake sub-beast was startled. By the time he came to his senses, the beautiful black garment had lost its arms and legs, a tragic sacrifice.

The little snake sub-beast felt extremely distressed.

Not knowing what kind of fabric it was, the clothing was soft, comfortable, and looked extremely valuable.

He couldn’t afford it.

Ye Ze timely caught the hesitant little snake sub-beast, pressed him back onto the stone bed. Seeing his anxious expression, Ye Ze didn’t know how many times he had been amused by it.

“Don’t worry about these things.” While cleaning his wounds, Ye Ze explained seriously, “We’ll soon be able to buy better clothes.”

Even though it sounded high-end like the dimensional shopping mall, clothes without any special enhancements like these were quite cheap.

If he weren’t genuinely penniless now, he wouldn’t be so stingy, tearing his clothes to use as a towel.

Thinking of this, Ye Ze suddenly remembered the red apple he had planned to give as a gift to the little snake sub-beast.

After cleaning the little snake sub-beast, who obediently accepted the treatment, Ye Ze poured out some water, took the red apple he had put in his pocket, washed it, and handed it to the little snake sub-beast. “Take it, try it.”

Different from the sweet fragrance of wild fruits, the aroma of the apple wafted over, making the little snake sub-beast dizzy. Subconsciously following Ye Ze’s voice, he took the red apple into his hands.

The night fell outside the cave.

The arrangement of the glowing mushrooms in the cave came into play.

Even in the slightly dim warm yellow light, this round and plump fruit emitted an enticing luster.

—Another thing beyond An Nuo’s understanding.

It must also be very expensive.

An Nuo held the apple cautiously. He felt a bit embarrassed.

Can he really eat such a good thing?

Thinking so, An Nuo’s arm moved slightly, wanting to return the beautiful gem-like fruit.

“Hold it. Eat it.”

Ye Ze spoke with authority as if he had eyes on the top of his head. Clearly not looking up, he was still treating his tail, but he spoke faster than his movements, objecting to An Nuo’s attempt to give the apple back.

With a somewhat forceful tone, An Nuo was startled and hiccupped. Holding the apple, he took a small bite.

The taste was crisp, sweet but not cloying. Abundant juice flowed between his lips and tongue, leaving only a sweet aftertaste without the usual bitterness of wild fruits.

An Nuo was amazed by the taste of the apple artificially bred and enhanced by the wood-type ability. His eyes widened innocently and obediently.

Unlike a snake. More like a little hamster that was ready to run away and steal food at any time.

Ye Ze looked at the little snake sub-beast’s unconsciously hooked tail tip and chuckled silently.

Without a change in expression, he discreetly mixed the powder of the medicinal pill into the shell box. Then, using a leaf, he scooped out the ointment and gently applied it to the tail of the little snake sub-beast.

The beast form of the sub-beastmen was far more sensitive than other areas.

Stimulated, the little snake sub-beast jumped, his cheeks instantly reddening as he realized that Ye Ze was still treating him.

Even the round tip of his tail no longer stood upright, staying tensely still.

The curve at the corner of Ye Ze’s mouth lifted slightly. “An Nuo, I currently have no place to go and plan to settle nearby. Are you willing to be my neighbor?”

Having just recovered from the stimulation on his tail, the little snake sub-beast was once again stunned. Feeling too many recent surprises, they were like the Happi Fruit falling from a tree, hitting him one after another. Sweet and beautiful, it felt like dreaming!

“Of course, I’m willing!” An Nuo’s attention had indeed been shifted. He responded excitedly, nodding his head. His golden eyes sparkled, radiating a dazzling light that was hard to look away from.

However, after the excitement, the little snake sub-beast returned to reality. With cautious trepidation, he said, “But, there won’t be such delicious fruits around the tribe, and it’s hard to find comfortable and gorgeous clothes…”

According to what people in the tribe said, only the larger tribes outside would have these exquisite items.

He was worried that Ye Ze wouldn’t be comfortable.

Then, he would become alone again.

“Do I look like I care about these things?” Ye Ze chuckled. His calm voice gave An Nuo a sense of reassurance. “Don’t worry. If I need them, we will have these things.”

An Nuo didn’t know how these nonexistent things would become available, but he knew that Ye Ze really wanted to stay and live with him!

The little snake sub-beast, who had always been alone from childhood, was extremely happy. The tip of his tail swayed happily, welcoming Ye Ze.

This was probably the only place on the whole body of the little snake sub-beast that showed flesh.

Round and chubby, with a cute little curve.

Watching it, Ye Ze’s heart was stirred and itched.

“If you don’t mind, we can dig another room on the other side of the cave. This way, with the winding entrance, we can block the strong wind and rain from entering the room. In the warehouse, there are stone tools I exchanged for. Tomorrow, we just need to mark the specific location, and we can start construction!”

“We can make the cabinets using the large trees outside. Ye Ze, you can tell me what kind of cabinet you want! I know the colors and scents of many types of wood!”

“And for the bedding on the bed, I still have a piece of stitched beast skin stored. We can use it temporarily. If you don’t like it… Oh! I remembered! The big trade caravan that passes by the tribe every year should be coming soon. I’ll prepare some goods this year, and we can exchange them with the caravan for large pieces of colored fur!”

“By the way, Ye Ze, do you like glowing little mushrooms? Do you need decorative trinkets, flower vases for flower arranging?”

An Nuo happily planned for the future, bit by bit, feeling that nothing was tedious or lengthy.

Clearly, it was a rudimentary environment, but Ye Ze suddenly felt an unprecedented warmth and stability.

“Ye Ze… Ye Ze… Yezi, ah!”

The somewhat tongue-twisting name changed its pronunciation under the excited call of the little snake sub-beast.

The little snake sub-beast covered his mouth, extremely embarrassed. He timidly assessed Ye Ze’s expression, afraid of Ye Ze’s offended anger.

But he only received a gentle smile, “Ye Zi is easier to pronounce, right? From now on, just call me Ye Zi.”

As his beginning in this new world.

A name that only you can call.

(T/N: Yezi meaning leaf… hence the chapter name…)