“Hu Mei, what are you doing here?”
Xue Ying exclaimed in surprise. Hu Mei was known for her proud nature and rarely paid attention to herbivorous Beastmen like them.
Being popular among male beasts, she seldom appeared in the forest for gathering or hunting. Why would she be in the woods today?
Thinking of this, Xue Ying suddenly remembered the rumors in the tribe about Hu Mei having feelings for Wu Chen. Her expression changed immediately, and she quickly stepped in front of Lin Xi.
Seeing Xue Ying’s obvious protective gesture, Hu Mei couldn’t help but let out a scornful laugh. Ignoring Xue Ying, she turned her gaze to Lin Xi.
“Are you Lin Xi?”
Lin Xi was taken aback, faintly detecting hostility hidden within Hu Mei’s question.
She composed her expression and nodded, “Yes.”
After a moment’s thought, she added, “Thank you for your warning earlier.”
Hu Mei found Lin Xi’s way of speaking somewhat strange, but remembering she was from an external tribe, she dismissed it.
She still couldn’t understand why Wu Chen would fall for this Female beast from an unknown place?
She was so thin and small—not even tall among herbivorous Beastmen, and not particularly beautiful either.
At least not as beautiful as the bird tribe Beastmen, not even comparable to the little rabbit beside her!
It wasn’t even late autumn yet, but she was already wearing such a long Animal Hide Skirt, appearing quite vulnerable to cold!
Where exactly did she lose out?
Most importantly, even her own beloved elder brother liked her! But why would she reject Hu Cong yet choose the Crippled beast Wu Chen?
Did she and Wu Chen truly believe that a crippled male beast and a weak Female beast who couldn’t hunt could survive the winter together?
“You shouldn’t be with Wu Chen!”
Hu Mei suddenly spoke while looking at Lin Xi.
Lin Xi was startled, then understood—so this was one of Wu Chen’s admirers?
She raised an eyebrow slightly but before she could speak, Hu Mei continued:
“You’re too weak to hunt with Wu Chen. Relying on Wu Chen alone, your food supplies won’t last through this winter.”
Lin Xi remained silent, though she did consider the Female beast’s words.
In terms of appetite, her food consumption was negligible compared to Wu Chen’s.
From their recent meals together, even the scraps Wu Chen left behind were enough to fill her up.
So if Wu Chen could sustain himself through previous winters, adding one more person shouldn’t make much difference.
Although she couldn’t hunt, that didn’t mean she couldn’t obtain food through other means. At the very least, she could gather wild fruits with the herbivorous Beastmen.
Therefore…
“Are you telling me this to stop me from forming a Mate-bond with Wu Chen?”
Lin Xi always agreed with that popular online saying, “Sincerity is the ultimate weapon.”
This question she asked with particular genuineness.
She was genuinely curious!
Although Wu Chen was essentially her “fiancé”—the kind she would marry soon—the moment she sensed Hu Mei’s subtle possessiveness toward Wu Chen, the gossip-loving part of her brain couldn’t help but stir.
Of course, it would be false to say she wasn’t feeling somewhat jealous.
Though she didn’t have deep feelings for Wu Chen yet, knowing that something belonging to her was being coveted by others still made her uncomfortable.
She needed to get this clear!
While Lin Xi was lost in thought, Xue Ying beside her grew increasingly anxious.
She quickly glanced back at Lin Xi, then turned to Hu Mei angrily and said, “Hu Mei, stop talking! Wu Chen and Xi Xi are going to mate-bond tomorrow!”
Wu Chen was a young beast without parents. When her own father was still alive, whenever he managed to bring back prey, her mother would have her take some over to Wu Chen.
Later, after her father was killed by a Giant Beast, her mother rarely managed to catch any prey. Wu Chen then followed her mother eating fruits until he learned to hunt on his own. From then on, he started bringing prey to her mother and herself.
Now, the fact that she and her mother could eat beast meat and have pelts to survive the winter was largely thanks to Wu Chen.
Her mother said that Wu Chen was now like her own young beast, and also her older brother.
Now that Wu Chen had finally found a Female beast he liked, who didn’t look down on him for being a Crippled beast, she absolutely couldn’t let Hu Mei speak ill of him!
Hu Mei wasn’t too surprised by Lin Xi’s retort; she had always preferred straightforwardness.
Being able to understand the unspoken meaning in her words at least showed that this Lin Xi was fairly intelligent.
She glanced amusedly at Xue Ying, thought of something, and instead of refuting the accusation, continued speaking to Lin Xi:
“Yes, Wu Chen is the male beast I’ve set my sights on. I already have a mate, Hei Li. If Wu Chen joins us, all three of us can hunt together and won’t go hungry even in winter.”
“You could choose a stronger Beastmen as your first mate. If you stay with Wu Chen, you might not survive this winter.”
“Thank you for the reminder.”
Lin Xi found that she actually quite liked this Beastmen’s straightforward character—it was far better than dealing with hidden daggers.
“But, as Xue Ying said, Wu Chen and I are about to hold our mate-bond ceremony. I have no intention of changing mates. I really like Wu Chen. As for winter, we’ll figure something out ourselves.”
Lin Xi wasn’t lying or exaggerating.
She truly liked Wu Chen a lot!
His face, his physique, the brief glimpse of his transformation, the sense of strength he exuded, and his loyal, devoted nature toward his mate.
She suddenly smiled and looked at Hu Mei: “By the way, you’re welcome to come watch our mate-bond ceremony tomorrow.”
“You…”
The straightforward nature of Beastmen meant Hu Mei had never experienced such a stinging feeling before.
She had just told her she wanted to take her male beast, and yet she was inviting her to their mate-bond ceremony?
How could she possibly go!
“I’m not coming!”
Hu Mei glared angrily at Lin Xi, feeling that the Female beast’s smile grew more and more irritating the longer she looked.
Hu Cong liked this Lin Xi and could still become her second mate even after she bonded with Wu Chen.
But if Wu Chen bonded with her, then she truly couldn’t be with Wu Chen anymore!
Yet there was nothing she could do to stop it!
Frustrated and angry, Hu Mei found herself at a loss for words. In the end, she could only snap at the Female beast before her:
“Winter is coming. I hope we’ll still see you next spring!”
With that, she tossed her long hair, and Lin Xi saw a large swath of hair fly up. The next moment, a red-furred fox as large as a modern Siberian tiger appeared before her eyes, then vanished into the forest in the blink of an eye.
Lin Xi savored the memory of that beautiful fox fur, feeling a pang of envy for a few seconds. Coming back to her senses, she exchanged a look with Xue Ying.
Xue Ying, afraid that Lin Xi might regret forming a Mate-bond with Wu Chen because of Hu Mei’s words, quickly grabbed her arm: “Xi Xi, don’t listen to Hu Mei! Wu Chen is very, very capable—he definitely won’t let you go hungry in winter!”
“I know.”
Lin Xi held the little rabbit’s hand in return: “I can find food on my own too, and I’ll work hard not to starve!”
“However, I don’t know enough types of fruits yet. You’ll have to help me learn to recognize a few more edible ones, so I can gather them and store them in the cave before winter arrives.”