Wu Chen left the tribe with unease, heading to the eastern forest. He was worried about Xi Xi being alone in the tribe and wanted to return before nightfall.
As soon as Wu Chen left, Xue Ying directly grabbed Lin Xi’s hand and pulled her to sit on a grass bed to the side.
Xue Ying was an extremely beautiful Beastman!
With red lips, fair skin, a slender figure, and smooth white hair cascading down her back, she looked like a real-life 3D model!
However, her personality differed from her mature appearance—she had a very lively and adorable nature.
The layout of Xue Tian Ama’s Shack was actually quite similar to that of Wu Chen’s cave.
The main difference was a supporting pole in the middle of the floor, with a grass bed on either side. The beds were also covered with animal hides, but these were clearly pieced together from several smaller animal skins, incomparable to Wu Chen’s single large hide.
Xue Ying was very interested in Lin Xi’s backpack and soon couldn’t resist asking about it.
“Xi Xi, what is this on you? Why is it on your back?”
Hearing this, Lin Xi turned around, took off her backpack, and showed it to Xue Ying. The backpack she had made was essentially a drawstring bag style with straps attached to both sides, allowing it to be carried on the back or by hand.
She had also sewn a palm-sized pouch on the front for storing small items.
“This is called a bag, or a backpack, used for carrying things.”
As she spoke, Lin Xi opened the backpack to show Xue Ying. Inside were several Black bug fruits wrapped in leaves, which she had packed when leaving home, intending to use them to build rapport with the Beastmen.
Now they were indeed coming in handy.
Lin Xi casually took out a few Black bug fruits and handed them to Xue Tian Ama and Xue Ying.
“Xue Tian Ama, these are Black bug fruits I roasted this morning. They’re delicious—please try them.”
Xue Ying looked at the items in her hand, puzzled. “These are… Black bug fruits? But why are they… burned?”
Xue Tian Ama also looked at Lin Xi with confusion, but she had already caught the aroma of the roasted Black bug fruits, and her puzzled expression gradually turned to surprise!
“These Black bug fruits… were roasted with fire?”
Xue Tian Ama broke open the Black bug fruit in her hand, revealing the black but now soft and fluffy flesh. As the fruit was split open, the rich fragrance of the cooked Black bug fruit spread even more intensely!
“Yes.”
Lin Xi nodded. “Roasted Black bug fruits taste better than eating them raw and are a bit sweeter, but the outer skin isn’t edible.”
“Wow, Ama, it really is sweeter!”
While Lin Xi and Xue Tian Ama were still talking, Xue Ying had already curiously taken a bite. After chewing it a few times, she couldn’t help but exclaim to Xue Tian Ama,
Her hand already reaching for a second Black bug fruit: “Ama, you have to try it—it’s so soft!”
Urged by Xue Ying, Xue Tian also took a bite of the roasted Black bug fruit in her hand. Soon, her face showed the same expression as Xue Ying’s.
By then, Xue Ying was looking at Lin Xi with a delighted expression: “Xi Xi, how did you think of roasting Black bug fruits to eat? I never knew these fruits could be roasted with fire! With such soft fruits, Xue Tian Ama won’t have to worry about not being able to chew them during winter!”
“It wasn’t my idea. The tribe I used to live in ate them this way. Many fruits can be roasted, but I’m still not very familiar with what fruits grow in our forest here.”
“No problem, I know them well. I’ll take you to identify them.”
“But…”
At this point, Xue Ying scratched her head somewhat sheepishly: “I also want to make a bag like yours to carry fruits. Can you tell me how to make it?”
“Of course I can.”
This wasn’t any important secret, and it could help win the Beastmen’s favor.
So Xue Ying immediately rummaged out a pile of animal hides.
These hides came in various colors, but all were relatively small, looking similar to the hides on the grass bed.
Lin Xi picked out an earth-yellow fur and a black one, telling Xue Ying: “We can patch these two colors together – it’ll look quite nice too.”
“Great!”
Xue Ying had no objections, simply watching Lin Xi as she took out the bone knife. Whatever Lin Xi needed to do, Xue Ying would assist from the side.
Meanwhile, Xue Tian Ama sat nearby, smiling cheerfully as she watched the two “little beasts” work.
Half an hour later, a black-and-yellow patched animal hide bag was successfully completed through the joint efforts of Lin Xi and Xue Ying!
Xue Ying immediately couldn’t wait to sling it over her shoulder, pulling Lin Xi to leave. Lin Xi glanced at Xue Tian Ama, seeing her nod in agreement, so she followed Xue Ying out of the shack.
Along the way, Lin Xi finally learned about Xue Ying and Xue Tian Ama’s Beastmen clan –
They turned out to be rabbit Beastmen.
No wonder both of them had pairs of blood-red eyes.
When Xue Ying discovered that Lin Xi couldn’t distinguish Beastmen scents, she was surprised for quite a while, but she quickly accepted Lin Xi’s differences.
The tribe was still some distance from the forest. After the two reached the edge, they ventured deeper inside, as areas too close to the outskirts rarely grew any fruits.
Lin Xi followed step by step behind Xue Ying, curiously observing their surroundings. Actually, it looked similar to the eastern forest where she had first arrived – trees, flowers, and plants, some she recognized, others she had never seen before.
Just as Lin Xi was looking around, Xue Ying ahead suddenly let out a happy cry: “Xi Xi, there’s Little Sweet Fruit here!”
Lin Xi hurried over and saw a large patch of Sweet Fruit Grass covered with purple fruits growing ahead.
“So many?”
“Yes, I came to pick some just a few days ago. These have ripened over the past few days.”
As she spoke, Xue Ying had already started harvesting.
Seeing this, Lin Xi quickly joined in the work.
Little Sweet Fruit tasted quite good, and it was currently the only food she could eat as fresh fruit. Of course she couldn’t pass it up. Come winter, they might not be available anymore.
Lin Xi wondered whether she should preserve some as dried fruit to eat during the winter season.
The two soon cleared out all the Little Sweet Fruit from this patch.
Then, carrying their backpacks, they changed direction. Soon, Xue Ying discovered Black Bug Fruit and another type of wild fruit Lin Xi hadn’t seen before.
No – actually, it was a fruit Lin Xi hadn’t encountered in this world, but had eaten before –
Fuzzy peaches!
“Xi Xi’s people call Fuzzy Fruit ‘fuzzy peaches’?”
“Yes.” Lin Xi nodded, reaching to pick one. The fuzzy peaches weren’t very large – she could hold two in one hand. She just didn’t know how they would taste.
She turned to ask Xue Ying: “Xue Ying, are these delicious?”
Xue Ying had already picked two and put them in her bag. Hearing Lin Xi’s question, she looked up and nodded: “They’re delicious, very crisp and sweet.”
So Lin Xi felt reassured and picked six peaches herself. She found some large leaves to wrap them before placing them in her backpack, not wanting to get peach fuzz all over her bag.
Seeing this, Xue Ying quickly followed suit. The two girls exchanged a smile before continuing their search through the woods.
Just as they were about to venture deeper, a clear female voice suddenly sounded behind them:
“Don’t go any further. Cang Ju can’t see that far in – it’s dangerous.”
Lin Xi froze, then turned around to see a girl with striking red hair flowing freely, snow-white skin, and a curvaceous figure standing not far away, watching them with a calm expression!