The two females also noticed the Beast God, their eyes instantly lighting up. They adjusted their postures, knelt on the ground, and pressed their faces to the floor.
Shen Yunyun's mouth twitched. "Rise."
The two females stood up, looking at Shen Yunyun with adoration and fervor in their eyes.
This was nothing like the palace or household intrigues.
If it were a script of court or domestic strife, these two females would be hostile toward Shen Yunyun, constantly throwing obstacles in her path, and she would shine brilliantly every time they tried to trip her up.
But the script before her was clearly that of believers and their deity.
Believers worship their god, love their god, and are willing to shed blood and sacrifice for their god.
And their god bestows blessings upon them, protects them, and grants their every wish.
Shen Yunyun smiled at them. The two females' eyes sparkled even brighter with joy, and they nearly jumped up in excitement.
Zhi waved his hand, and the two females immediately knelt, kowtowed, and left. Once outside, they told the other beastmen the good news that the Beast God had appeared.
Shen Yunyun asked curiously, "Are they your wives? Uh, your mates?"
Zhi shook his head and said, "No, they're ones I rescued."
After a pause, he added, "They fell into a hunting trap, and I saved them."
Shen Yunyun understood.
From the beast-world novels she'd read, females were a scarce resource in the beast world.
Conflicts between tribes weren't just about territory and food, but also about capturing females.
But wasn't this a bit strange?
Watching nature documentaries, during mating season, males usually did everything they could to show off in front of females.
Yet what she'd just seen were two females showing themselves off to Zhi.
So, was Zhi so exceptional that he didn't need to show off, and females came to him instead?
Zhi looked at Shen Yunyun with fervent eyes, as if gazing up at his goddess.
Shen Yunyun felt her chest warm under that gaze and said with a smile, "It's good that someone is willing to bear your children. But you can only have one, not too many."
Zhi immediately knelt on one knee, looking up at her with utmost devotion, expressing his loyalty: "I am an offering dedicated to the Beast God. In life or death, I belong only to the Beast God."
Shen Yunyun looked at his fervent, sincere gaze and suddenly understood the relationship between a deity and their followers.
It transcended the physical, transcended bloodlines—it wasn't just a collision of souls, but a fusion of lives.
"I believe in your loyalty, so I must consider your future. As the tribe's leader, your wife must be pure, untouched by others, and yours alone for life. You must not take another wife beyond her, nor have other women, unless your wife cannot bear you offspring."
Zhi didn't fully grasp the Beast God's words, but he understood her meaning.
For instance, when she said "woman," he knew she meant female.
When she said "husband and wife," she meant what they called mates.
In their beast world, a female could have many males; monogamy didn't exist.
For the sake of reproduction, many males fought bloody battles over mating rights with females.
He never expected the Beast God to tell them that one male should match with one female.
But with so few females and so many males, it was impossible to distribute them.
Shen Yunyun continued to instill many monogamous ideas into Zhi, like a deity transmitting laws to her followers.
Before she could finish, a beastman ran over and shouted, "Bad news, the Great Elder is dying."