After much difficulty, Hu Jiaojiao finally found the home of her original self and the big villain.

On the way, she encountered several bare-chested male beastmen, but as soon as they saw her, they acted like they’d seen a ghost and hurriedly avoided her.

She didn’t even have a chance to ask for directions.

Fortunately, the author had described that both her original self and the villain, despised by the tribe, could only live in the most remote area. So, she walked in the opposite direction from the other beastmen.

And she was right.

In front of her stood a foul-smelling, dilapidated wooden house that looked like it could collapse with a gust of wind. You probably couldn’t find a worse house in the entire tribe.

“Finally found it.” Hu Jiaojiao was teary-eyed. Only she knew how painful it was for a homebody like herself to spend even one more minute outside.

Just as she was about to go in, she suddenly heard the sound of an argument not far away.

“No! This food was given to us by our father. You can’t take it!”

“Damn it! Give it back…”

“A blind kid and an ugly one, and you still think you deserve to eat meat? You shouldn’t have been born. Starving to death is what you deserve.”

“From now on, all your meat belongs to me, got it?”

Following the voices, Hu Jiaojiao walked over and saw several small cubs being pushed around by a group of older kids, around ten years old.

The little ones were so thin they looked like they hadn’t eaten in half a month, with no strength left to fight back. They curled up as the older kids threw mud at them.

The mud wasn’t painful, but it felt like a needle piercing their hearts.

The cub’s eyes flashed with resentment.

Hu Jiaojiao remembered that the original body had five cubs, one of whom was blind and another disfigured.

Being bullied was one of the key reasons her cubs would later turn evil.

Hurriedly, she stepped forward and sternly shouted, “What do you think you’re doing? Stop that right now!”

The cubs huddled together, trembling even more violently when they heard Hu Jiaojiao’s voice. They looked at her with terror in their eyes.

Was she going to beat them again?

In the past, whenever they were bullied or got into conflicts with other cubs in the tribe, this woman would always beat them, blaming them for being useless and embarrassing her.

Hu Jiaojiao had always tried to impress Ying Yuan, so she never scolded the cubs who bullied them.

The cubs were already bracing themselves for more pain.

The mischievous older kids saw Hu Jiaojiao and made faces at her before turning and running away.

Hu Jiaojiao had always hated naughty brats. Seeing this, she angrily grabbed some mud and threw it at them.

Beastmen were naturally strong, and as an adult, her aim was surprisingly good.

The older kids hadn’t expected Hu Jiao Jiao to actually retaliate. A few were hit squarely on the back of the head with mud balls, and the ones running last even fell face-first into the mud.

The younger ones, now terrified, started bawling.

“Why are you crying? My cubs didn’t cry when you hit them, and you dare to?!”

“If I see you bullying my kids again, I’ll beat you!”

Hu Jiaojiao wasn’t one to hold back. She glared at them fiercely, threatening them.

After all, everyone in the tribe already disliked her. What did it matter if she bullied a few kids? Survival was her priority.

Scared out of their wits, the kids ran off.

The cubs in the mud pit stared in disbelief, their faces filled with shock.

This woman actually drove away the bullies.

What did she just say?

“My kids”? Was she talking about them?

She used to call them “worthless scum, bastards”…

The cubs’ eyes were filled with disbelief as they looked at Hu Jiaojiao, confused and doubtful. Was this really the same vicious female?

After watching the brats run away, Hu Jiaojiao dusted off her hands, but the mud wouldn’t come off. She bent down and wiped them on the grass before walking toward the cubs.

The cubs were covered in mud from head to toe, like little dirt creatures, with mud on their heads, faces, and bodies.

Hu Jiaojiao noticed there were only four of them. Looking more closely, she saw that the only female, Long Ling’er, was holding a small black snake with red eyes in her arms.

It dawned on her—due to malnutrition and the original body’s mistreatment, the youngest, Long Yao, hadn’t yet transformed and was stuck in his beastly dragon body.

“Are you hurt? Let me help you up…” Hu Jiaojiao asked gently, heart aching as she reached out to pull the cubs from the mud pit.

Though she hated bratty kids, she had a soft spot for innocent little ones. Brats and cute kids were like two different species entirely.

As a seasoned homebody, her greatest joy had been online parenting forums. Now, seeing these pitiful children, her maternal instincts kicked in.

But as soon as she moved, the cubs eyes were filled with terror, recalling their past nightmares.

“Please don’t hit us. We know we were wrong.”

“We’ll never do it again. Please don’t hurt us!”

The cubs huddled together, trembling.

“If you have to hit someone, hit me. Don’t hurt them. It’s all my fault,” said the eldest, Long Yu, stepping forward with outstretched arms, his frail body shielding his siblings with a defiant look in his eyes.

At his words, Long Ling’er and the blind Long Xiu cried out.

“Big brother!”

“No, don’t hit him.”

They hadn’t eaten a full meal in half a month. If this evil woman beat them again, they might not survive.

“If you’re going to hit us, do it. We’re not afraid of you!”

The third eldest, Long Zhong, stepped up beside Long Yu, glaring at Hu Jiaojiao with his scarred face, eyes filled with hatred.

Looking at her cubs pleading for one another, Hu Jiaojiao felt a wave of complex emotions.

It seemed the original body had left a deep scar on their hearts. They couldn’t believe she had changed.

She sighed, pulling her hand back with a wry smile. “Who said I was going to hit you?”

The cubs remained wary, watching her intently.

Hu Jiaojiao sighed again and pointed to the setting sun. “The sun’s going down. Are you planning to sleep in the mud? Get up, clean yourselves, and I’ll cook dinner for you.”

Hearing this, Long Ling’er hesitated. “You… You really won’t hit us?”

Food? Sleep? They hadn’t dared hope for such things.

Not getting hit was already the best outcome they could imagine.

Long Zhong quickly tugged Long Ling’er’s hand. “Ling’er, don’t believe her. She’s tricked us before, saying she wouldn’t hit us, only to lock us up and beat us nearly to death once we were inside. We couldn’t even escape.”