The full moon hung on the treetops, finally bringing an end to the night’s clamor.
Tonight’s moonlight was exceptionally bright, illuminating the hillside below the mountain and casting clear visibility upon every stone and blade of grass along the path.
When Lin Xi and Wu Chen returned to the cave, Wu Chen had already taken the initiative to build a fire outside, set up the Fruit shell pot, and head to the river to fetch water without needing any instruction from Lin Xi.
Meanwhile, Lin Xi took out the nearly depleted pack of tissues, pulled four sheets, and prepared to address her physiological needs.
The day when she would run out of toilet paper was drawing nearer, and Lin Xi still hadn’t figured out what to use as a substitute.
According to Wu Chen, Beastmen used twigs year-round, regardless of season.
Under Lin Xi’s insistence, Wu Chen had switched to using leaves followed by water rinsing. But while fresh leaves were readily available in summer, what would they do when winter arrived and the leaves dried up and fell?
Scratching her head, Lin Xi found no immediate solution.
The toilet she had requested had already been dug out by Wu Chen.
It was essentially a simple deep pit with two footrests made of three equally thick wooden poles fastened side-by-side on either side.
The toilet was situated quite far from the cave because Lin Xi believed Beastmen’s sense of smell was too acute. She had Wu Chen build it over twenty meters south of the cave.
That area marked the southern residential boundary of the tribe, with no Beastmen living further up or down the mountain.
Lin Xi had enclosed the toilet’s perimeter with a fence made of branches, then surrounded the outside with densely-leaved branches to block the gaps between the poles.
When Lin Xi returned from the toilet, Wu Chen happened to be heading down the mountain for the third time to fetch water.
Back inside the cave, the first pot of water in the Fruit shell pot had already warmed to a tepid temperature.
She scooped out the water, poured a fresh shell of water into the pot, and began wiping herself down with the basin of warm water.
After finishing her ablutions, she carried the water outside to discard it, just as she encountered Wu Chen returning completely drenched.
“Wu Chen, did you wash in the river?”
Lin Xi frowned. Though Beastmen possessed robust constitutions, they weren’t superhuman and could still fall ill.
It was already autumn, and the deep forest nights were particularly chilly.
Even as she asked, she quickly pulled out Wu Chen’s Curly fur hide and began wiping the water droplets from his body.
Wu Chen stood motionless, allowing Lin Xi to tend to him, but kept his head lowered, his gaze burning intensely as he watched her.
The Beastman’s well-defined pectoral muscles heaved dramatically, while the tail behind him swung uncontrollably from side to side.
Lin Xi worked swiftly to dry him, but with each movement of the Curly fur hide in the Female beast’s hands, Wu Chen felt the heat building inside his chest, an unfamiliar restlessness surging straight to his brain.
Suddenly he grasped Lin Xi’s wrist, the delicate smoothness of her skin against his palm making him instinctively want to squeeze and rub it!
Lin Xi’s drying motions halted abruptly as her wrist was captured.
She looked up sharply, and in the dim light of the cave, she clearly saw the unrestrained expression on Wu Chen’s face.
They were too close!
The Beastman’s lowered head brought his face right before her eyes. In her peripheral vision, she could even see the pair of fluffy ears nearly blending into the darkness amidst his black hair trembling violently atop his head!
“Wu Chen?”
Lin Xi voiced her confusion, but in the next instant, a sudden realization dawned on her about the situation before her.
Even if she hadn’t eaten pork, hadn’t she at least seen a pig run?
The Beastman’s scorching breath had already fallen beside her ear. Lin Xi slightly tensed her body, trying to control the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
She slowly took a deep breath.
Then spent two seconds mentally preparing herself!
Suddenly, she threw aside the Fleece Beast pelt in her hand, raised her arm, and placed it on Wu Chen’s firm, muscular shoulder…
“Rustle, rustle, rustle…”
Passion burned through the night. Lin Xi drifted in and out of consciousness, only vaguely aware of the increasingly loud sound of rain.
Her shoulder exposed outside the animal skin blanket felt icy cold. Just as Lin Xi closed her eyes and frowned, a hand pulled the animal skin blanket covering her arm up higher.
Immediately after, Lin Xi felt herself being drawn into an embrace radiating intense heat.
Her cheek pressed against scorching skin, and her nose, chilled by the cold air, instantly warmed up. Almost immediately, she sank back into deep, dark slumber.
When she woke again, everything before her eyes was pitch black.
Was it still dark outside?
No!
She turned her head toward the faint, flickering firelight outside the cave entrance. Had night already fallen?
Had she actually slept through the entire day?
Suddenly, Lin Xi remembered the faint glimpse of the pale cave entrance she’d caught from the corner of her eye before falling asleep. The initial shock faded, replaced by belated embarrassment and annoyance.
This cat who clearly knew nothing about restraint!!! Once he got carried away, he completely stopped listening to her directions!
Lin Xi gritted her teeth in frustration, unable to resist pounding the grass bed beneath her.
But the moment her hand landed, the soreness radiating through her body made her gasp softly: “Ah!”
She couldn’t help but hiss in pain. That single movement woke up all the sensations throughout her body, and the aftermath of their night of indulgence—widespread soreness—instantly washed over her!
“Xi Xi!”
Almost the moment Lin Xi made a sound, Wu Chen appeared at the cave entrance.
Unlike Lin Xi’s pained expression, Wu Chen’s face clearly showed satisfaction.
He quickly sat on the bed, leaned close to Lin Xi, and before she could react, rubbed his face against hers, then kissed the tip of her nose: “Does Xi Xi want roasted meat or roasted Black bug fruit?”
A male beast actually looking so radiant and content.
Lin Xi didn’t answer immediately. Feeling uncomfortable, she unusually displayed a girlish demeanor. Staring at the handsome face so close to hers, she felt increasingly unbalanced. How come after a whole night, he was still so full of energy?
Suddenly, Lin Xi reached up, pulled the furry head even lower, and bit his cheek.
When she released him, a neat set of tooth marks immediately appeared on Wu Chen’s wheat-colored face.
Lin Xi felt much better.
She didn’t answer Wu Chen’s question right away. Instead, she turned onto her side, grabbed his hand, and said, “Rub me first. Everything hurts.”
As she turned over, Lin Xi noticed that under the animal skin blanket, she was actually wearing underwear, and her body felt clean and dry.
He must have cleaned her and put on her underwear while she was asleep.
Thinking of this, her mood improved considerably.
Actually, Lin Xi found it quite strange. Perhaps that kind of thing really did play a role in bringing two people closer to some extent.
She now felt that the sense of distance she had towards Wu Chen due to gender differences yesterday had completely vanished overnight after what had happened.
Half an hour later, Lin Xi finally crawled out from under the blankets, changed her clothes, and walked out of the cave.
She was hungry.
The evening meal Wu Chen had prepared was already fully cooked. Lin Xi picked up a Black bug fruit to eat, wanting to fill her stomach first.
While eating, she suddenly thought of something! Stopping her meal, her expression turned serious: “By the way, Wu Chen.”
“How long does it usually take for you panthers… after doing what we did yesterday… to give birth to a little black panther?”