Living with the Dangerous Beast-Chapter 81: A Method to Have a Child

He knew all too well that as soon as the frost set in, she’d start talking about having babies again like she always did.

The weaker the creature, the stronger the instinct to reproduce. Being a small and delicate fox, Sohwa had an especially fierce desire to bear children.

Dohwi, who hadn’t wanted children in the first place, thought of Yongbeom and Hwibeom more often, rather than Sohwa.

Tigers may cut ties with their children once they leave the den, but memories of feeding, clothing, and caring for his sons could never be erased.

He made a mental note to ask sage Cheesan, who traveled all over the land, if he had heard any news of Yongbeom and Hwibeom.

Just as that thought passed through his mind, Woongsik came rushing in from the courtyard, broom still in hand.

“My lady, someone is here to see you.”

Sohwa, still lying down, turned to Dohwi with a curious look.

“Someone’s here for Sohwa? Who?”

“She said her name was Ryeonhee. A very beautiful young woman.”

Sohwa muttered the name to herself.

“Ryeonhee... Ryeonhee?”

Suddenly, she remembered the face of the first prey she’d ever caught—Ryeonhee, a soft and squishy brown rabbit, round and plump like a rice cake.

“Ah, I remember now. And she came here to see me?”

“Yes. Should I bring her in?”

“Please do.”

Though that rabbit had once kicked her hard and teased her by calling her a white rice cake, Sohwa was more pleased than angry.

That rabbit’s still alive and well, living safely here in Mount Taeryong?

‘I wonder if she completed her mission for the Dragon King?’

Sohwa had so many questions—how had she been, why was she here now? She sat down on the porch, preparing to greet her guest.

Soon, a cautious voice called out from just outside the inner chambers.

“Ma’am, are you here?”

Ryeonhee trembled in fear, overwhelmed by the heavy scent of predators that filled the grand residence. There was a tiger, a bear, and even the maid sweeping the yard was a wildcat with sharp claws.

Sohwa couldn’t help but feel proud of the small rabbit who had dared step into such a dangerous place.

“It’s been a while. What brings you here?”

“Ma’am....”

What could be so important that she would come all this way, trembling with fear but still so determined?

“I have something very important to ask you, Ma’am.”

“Something to ask? Me? About what?”

“I heard you know how to have a child with someone from a different species... I know I was rude to you before, and I deeply regret it, but I had no choice but to come and ask for your help.”

“A child?”

“Yes. I heard people say that you and the Lord of the Mountain have built a happy family together.”

With a trembling voice, Ryeonhee begged Sohwa.

“I want to have a child with my husband! Please, Ma’am, help me!”

Sohwa, feeling awkward, exchanged a glance with Dohwi.

How far had the word spread, for even a rabbit she’d only crossed paths with once years ago to come looking for her like this?

She wasn’t some kind of goddess of fertility.

“Well, uh... It’s not like there’s a special method or know-how for that....”

Borrowing an orb from a kind Imoogi would do the trick.

But how could a rabbit ask a serpent, her natural enemy, for something like that?

The poor thing would be lucky not to get swallowed whole.

Afraid of giving Ryeonhee false hope and in the worst-case scenario, possibly sending her to her demise, Sohwa kept her mouth shut.

“Please, tell me the secret! I will do anything! I can do anything, Ma’am!”

Sohwa cleared her throat and licked her lips, trying to appear calm.

“Well, if that’s the case....”

After a brief cough, Sohwa feigned confidence as she spoke.

“Before you and your husband... Try to have a child... Roll left, right, forward, and backward three times each. And don’t forget to bow 108 times to the goddess of fertility.”

For Ryeonhee, who was desperate enough to do literally anything, that didn’t sound too hard.

With a bright smile, Ryeonhee asked.

“Really, is that all I have to do, Ma’am?”

“Of course. I used the same method to have my two lovely sons.”

“Thank you, Ma’am! Thank you so much!”

Ryeonhee, bursting with joy, quickly left the palace.

Her joy made Sohwa feel slightly sorry for her, but there was no way she could tell Ryeonhee to go beg a serpent for an orb.

“Teasing a poor rabbit like that....”

Dohwi, who had been quietly watching Sohwa from behind, spoke with a chuckle.

“I wasn’t teasing her. I was worried the foolish rabbit might walk straight into a serpent’s mouth on her own.”

“You know her?”

“Of course. She was my first prey.”

To be exact, she was both the first and the last prey Sohwa ever hunted.