’Chou Rong’s intuition is terrifying. I obviously have the System, my cheat, covering my tracks, yet he still suspects me.’
’Looks like I’ll just have to stay as far away from him as possible from now on.’
Maybe it was because she was walking too quickly, but she felt as if something had kicked her slightly protruding belly.
She hadn’t felt much before, so she’d almost forgotten she was pregnant with Chou Rong’s cub.
She rubbed her belly, a little worried.
’Beastmen are especially sensitive to their own bloodlines. If Chou Rong happens to see the baby after it’s born, I won’t be able to hide it at all. He’ll definitely find out.’
"Hua Sheng, when the time comes, can you pull some strings so he won’t find out?"
"Host, I was only able to interfere before because of the novice protection period. Later, you will need to use Points to exchange for items to protect you and the cub."
"So, when all is said and done, I still have to go through with this birth?"
"Correct."
"Fine. Anyway, I’ll be dropping this load in about a month."
Cat Beastman pregnancies only last a little over a month.
While talking with the System, she had already returned to the plaza.
"Back so soon?" Xin Feng looked a little surprised to see her.
She tugged on his beast skin. "It’s too noisy here. Let’s talk when we get back."
Xin Feng had only come to accompany her anyway, and they had already gotten their share of the Unicorn meat.
"Alright, let’s go."
The Beastmen in the plaza were still horsing around as Bai Wanwan helped Xin Feng walk home. She was noticeably quieter on the way.
"Wanwan, did something happen just now?" Xin Feng turned his head, his gaze landing on her face.
Bai Wanwan wasn’t the type to bottle things up.
She began angrily, "It’s the Clan Leader, scheming against me again! He wants me to perform the bonding ritual with Xin Shan and Xin Yu. That old bastard is a real piece of work. He used to look down on me and always wanted to send me to the Female Cave, and now he’s trying everything he can to push his two cubs on me."
"You and I haven’t even performed the ritual yet! What right does he have to scheme and force me to do it with someone else?"
Xin Feng squeezed her hand. "I’ll go find the Clan Leader tomorrow."
Bai Wanwan immediately shook her head. "No need. Xin Shan just promised me that they will mate with Hu Ya. I also said that if the Clan Leader tries to scheme against me again, I’ll leave the Cat Clan Tribe. If that happens... would you be willing to leave with me?"
After spending the last few days together, she had really grown to like Xin Feng.
"You are my Wife. Where you go, I go." His answer came without a hint of hesitation.
Bai Wanwan didn’t hide her happiness. She smiled and patted her belly. "Once I give birth to this litter of cubs and help you recover sooner, we’ll see who dares to mess with me then."
The System had said that Xin Feng’s Talent was incredibly strong. It might not compare to the most powerful males from the Super Tribes, but in a large tribe, he would be considered top-tier.
For him to have grown up in a small tribe like the Cat Clan was an honor for the Cat Clan Tribe.
Unfortunately, the Cat Clan Tribe couldn’t protect him, and he lost his Talent so quickly.
Xin Feng smiled and nodded, his voice full of affection. "Alright. Once I’ve recovered, I’ll throw out any male you don’t like."
A smile finally returned to Bai Wanwan’s face. "Then from now on, whoever I point at, you throw them out for me."
Chatting, the two of them slowly made their way back to their cave.
She helped Xin Feng onto the stone bed. "You rest for a bit. I’m going to start a fire. I’ll call you when the food is ready."
Xin Feng tried to stop her, but Bai Wanwan was already too impatient and had turned and run off.
She had tried to start a fire before with kindling she’d gathered, but without a Fire Stone, she’d only managed to rub her hands raw with blisters without success.
Now that she had a Fire Stone, it wasn’t nearly so troublesome.
She struck it against the tinder a few times, and the dry grass caught fire.
But starting a fire was a skill, and she had no prior experience with wilderness survival.
It would catch, then go out, catch, then go out. After six or seven tries, the fire finally caught the wood and began to burn brightly.
The firelight illuminated the entire cave. Bai Wanwan’s eyes curved with her smile as she looked up and shouted toward the back of the cave, "Xin Feng, come look! I started the fire!"
The orange-yellow light shone on her pretty face, which was smudged with dirt on both sides, but her eyes were exceptionally bright.
Seeing her so happy, Xin Feng thought that trading a Golden Lion Beast Skin for the Fire Stone had been well worth it.
Bai Wanwan was just letting him know. After shouting, she got busy again.
She had made a lot of preparations beforehand in her quest to eat cooked food.
Not only had she made a cutting board, but she had also found a very thin, flat stone by the river.
Once the fire was built up, she propped the washed stone over it.
She hummed a tune as she sliced the meat, laying each piece on the stone slab as it was cut.
The Stone Knife wasn’t very easy to use. She couldn’t slice the meat as thin as the machine-cut beef rolls from her modern world. Instead, they were more like thin-cut steaks that would need to be grilled for a few minutes.
The stone slab made a SIZZLE. Bai Wanwan used her Stone Knife to scrape at the meat and flip it over.
Just as she finished flipping the last piece, Xin Feng walked over and squatted down in front of her.
"What are you doing up?" She glanced up at him.
Xin Feng supported himself on his leg as he sat on a nearby stone stool, taking the Stone Knife from her hand. "Let me. You go do something else."
"You know how?" She didn’t refuse, just raised an eyebrow and smiled at him.
"I just watched you do it. I’ll give it a try."
"Alright then. The job of flipping meat is all yours."
’When a male wants to cooperate, you don’t spoil the fun.’
’If I teach him how, it’ll make my life easier later on.’
She got up and went into the cave to find a few pieces of fruit.
The Beastmen called this fruit "golden fruit." It was a bit like an orange—very sour, and the texture wasn’t great, but the females loved to eat it.
Bai Wanwan didn’t like it; she preferred sweet things. But it might be good as a seasoning.
She immediately peeled the fruit and squeezed out its juice... then she took out the salt brick Xin Feng had given her and scraped some salt powder into it.
"Wanwan, it’s about to burn! Take a look..."
Bai Wanwan quickly put down her seasonings and ran over to crouch down and check.
"It’s not burnt, it’s perfect. Use the Stone Knife to pick it up and put it on the plate over there."
Xin Feng did as she said, and then Bai Wanwan directed him to put a few more raw pieces on.
"Here, open up. Let’s see if it’s good."
She used her homemade wooden chopsticks to pick up a slice of meat, dipped it in the sauce, and held it up.
Xin Feng obediently opened his mouth and took the piece of meat.
Xin Feng was used to eating raw food and had no expectations for this discolored, cooked stuff.
But seeing the expectant look in Bai Wanwan’s eyes, he opened his mouth and took it anyway, as if compelled by some unseen force.
But what he hadn’t expected was that the moment the food entered his mouth, he was captivated by the taste.
Bai Wanwan noticed his brows un-furrowing and his surprised expression.
"Is it good?" she asked, leaning in with a wide smile.
"Mhm, it’s good," Xin Feng said, staring at the cooked meat in astonishment. "How can meat that’s been burned by fire taste so good?"
Bai Wanwan quickly corrected him. "It’s not that ’burned’ meat is good. Grilling is all about timing. This level of doneness is just right. If you cook it any longer, the meat gets tough and doesn’t taste good. And after it’s grilled, you add the golden fruit and salt for seasoning and to enhance the flavor. That’s why it’s so delicious."
Bai Wanwan popped a piece into her own mouth, chewed, and nodded in satisfaction.
’It can’t compare to the barbecue restaurants of my past life,’ she thought, ’but it’s passable.’
She hadn’t eaten a cooked meal in so long. The moment the grilled meat, dripping with sauce, entered her mouth, it was like fireworks exploding on her taste buds...