She raised the fruit to her mouth again, took a bite, chewed it up, and swallowed.
Then she went back to watching the show.
Outside the stone cave stood the Clan Leader, his two sons, and Hu Ya.
But of the four, only Hu Ya wore a smile.
As if she couldn’t see the Clan Leader was furious, she beamed with joy. "Clan Leader, I will take good care of Xin Shan and Xin Yu from now on."
The Clan Leader let out a heavy snort. Perhaps sensing Bai Wanwan’s presence, he turned his head, the fury in his eyes still blazing.
He even shot Bai Wanwan a glare.
Bai Wanwan froze. The fruit in her hand suddenly lost its flavor.
’How dare this old geezer glare at me? I haven’t even settled the score with him yet!’
An idea sparking in her mind, she gnawed off the last bite of fruit and swaggered over to the group of Beastmen.
Hu Ya saw her approaching and was about to gloat, but Bai Wanwan beat her to it.
"Well, well, two new Beast Husbands just like that?"
Her words hit the Clan Leader right where it hurt, and his expression darkened even further.
But Bai Wanwan acted as if she hadn’t noticed, turning to look at him.
Her eyes crinkled into a smile. "Clan Leader, congratulations! Xin Shan and Xin Yu are finally mated with Hu Ya. Why aren’t you smiling? Are you unhappy?"
Her pointed questions were like adding fuel to the fire.
If it had been any other female, the Clan Leader would have had no qualms about putting her in her place.
But she was the Holy Female—the Cat Clan Tribe’s only one in several hundred years.
’Since she doesn’t want my two sons as her Beast Husbands, she can just bear cubs for the other Warriors of the Cat Clan. She can keep giving birth, over and over, until she can’t anymore.’
’Then our Cat Clan Tribe will surely become glorious and powerful!’
"Hmph!"
Without another word, the Clan Leader let out a heavy snort, spun around, and stalked off.
After successfully driving the Clan Leader away in a huff, Bai Wanwan shifted her gaze, crossed her arms, and faced Hu Ya.
Hu Ya’s face was a mask of smug pride.
"Bai Wanwan, Xin Shan and Xin Yu are my Beast Husbands now. You stay away from them."
She was eager to stake her claim. Ever since Bai Wanwan had become the Holy Female, nothing had gone smoothly for her.
This time, she’d finally scored a point.
"Fine by me. I won’t go near them, and you don’t go near Xin Feng. I can manage that. Can you?"
Bai Wanwan shot her a sidelong glance before turning to leave.
Hu Ya, assuming she was just jealous, gloated, "Bai Wanwan, I know you’re angry, but no matter how mad you get, Xin Shan and Xin Yu are my Beast Husbands. I’ll have you know, we already had our forms carved today, witnessed by the Clan Witch."
Bai Wanwan couldn’t be bothered to listen, walking toward her home at a steady, unhurried pace.
’I know the Clan Leader will never let me, his personal breeding machine, go. So this Cat Clan Tribe is no place for me long-term. Once the snow season is over, I have to find a way to leave. The child-bearing system I’m bound to might have destined me to be a tool for procreation, but I’ll be damned if I don’t at least control who I have children for.’
She went inside to grab a bamboo basket and a stone basin.
"Xin Feng, I’m going to catch some fish. Wait for me here."
If it got any colder, the water would freeze over. She had to hurry and catch a lot now, because she had no intention of going out for a good while after this.
It was just too cold, and without thermal underwear or a down jacket, she couldn’t bear these conditions.
Soon, she’d probably be stuck huddling by the fire in the cave every day.
Just as she picked up her tools to leave, she saw Xin Feng approaching. He took the stone basin from her hands.
"Wild beasts come down from the mountains to forage in this weather. It’s not safe. I’ll go with you."
Bai Wanwan glanced at his slightly unsteady gait. ’In his condition, he probably can’t even protect himself,’ she thought.
But when she saw the look in his eyes as he turned toward her, the words that came out were, "Alright, you can come with me then."
She deliberately slowed her steps to match Xin Feng’s pace.
The stream behind the mountain hadn’t frozen over yet, but the bone-chilling cold made Bai Wanwan shiver uncontrollably.
This is torture!
It wasn’t even the coldest part of the season, and the water was already glacial.
Fortunately, the Beastmen didn’t care for fish or shrimp, finding them bony and lacking in meat. As a result, the river was teeming with them.
Even for someone like her, with no particular skill or technique, every scoop was a guaranteed catch.
But in her excitement, she got carried away. Her foot slipped, and she nearly plunged headfirst into the frigid water.
Thankfully, a strong arm wrapped firmly around her waist and yanked her tipping body back from the brink.
She patted her chest. "That scared me to death! If it weren’t for you, I would’ve fallen right in."
Xin Feng could tell the little female was terrified of the cold. Without loosening his grip on her waist, he used a bit of strength to lift her away from the water’s edge and set her down safely inland.
"Go rest. I’ll do it."
He took the basket from her hands, walked to the bank, and started catching fish.
Bai Wanwan plopped down on a stone ledge on the bank, watching him catch fish on his stiff leg.
’His leg is clearly injured and makes it hard for him to move, so how did he manage to pull me back with one arm and lift me inland just now?’
She propped her cheek on her hand and started giving directions. "Xin Feng, there’s a school of them to your back and side!"
Xin Feng immediately turned to scoop them up.
Working together like this, Xin Feng quickly filled the basin to the brim with fish and shrimp.
"That’s enough, that’s enough! There’s no more room."
Xin Feng turned back, his face—that extreme collision of beauty and ugliness—seemed to be bathed in a radiant glow under the sunlight.
"You like eating them. This isn’t enough. I’ll come with you again tomorrow."
His voice was incredibly gentle. Bai Wanwan stared at his face, and her heart gave a strange flutter.
She subconsciously touched her chest and mumbled, "How strange..."
While she was lost in a daze, Xin Feng had already hobbled over to the stone basin. He squatted down, preparing to hoist it up.
Bai Wanwan quickly stood up and ran over. "Let me try."
’I can’t just let an injured person do all the work.’
But the moment she tried, things got awkward. An empty stone basin, she could carry.
But a stone basin filled to the brim with fish and shrimp? She couldn’t budge it!
"I’ll do it."
"You’re injured! What if carrying something this heavy makes it worse?"
Her expression was one of extreme conflict, but she made a decision in an instant.
Grabbing the stone basin with both hands, she prepared to dump some of the fish and shrimp out.
But before she could, Xin Feng’s hands quickly took hold of the basin. With a slight effort, he hoisted it onto his shoulder.
Bai Wanwan jumped in alarm and quickly stood up to stop him.
"Don’t be reckless! If you make your injury worse, you’ll be stuck in bed, and don’t even think about coming out with me again."
Xin Feng shook his head. "The injury is in my leg. It’s fine to use my arms."
With that, he started walking, carrying the stone basin.
Frightened, Bai Wanwan hurried to keep up. To her surprise, aside from his slightly slowed pace, he wasn’t flushed or out of breath. It really didn’t seem to be a big deal.
She couldn’t help but marvel at the physical constitution of male Beastmen.
’And this is with his Talent destroyed,’ she mused. ’His body still recovers this quickly, and his stamina seems better than an ordinary man’s. If his Talent were restored, just how incredible would he be?’
She had been worried that moving around so much with his injury would lead to long-term damage.
But seeing him recover so quickly, she couldn’t be bothered to nag him about it anymore.
Humans and Beastmen were simply incomparable. Her old way of thinking just didn’t apply here.
She quickened her pace to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
"Was the roasted meat last night good?"
Seeing the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, the corners of Xin Feng’s own lips turned up. "Yes, it was delicious."
"Just wait, I’ll grill some fish and shrimp for you. They’re even tastier!" she coaxed, her own mouth watering at the thought.
"Alright, whatever you say."
Xin Feng was a man of few words; it was mostly Bai Wanwan chattering away. But he always managed to chime in at just the right moment.
The two chatted as they walked back. But as they reached the entrance to their cave, Bai Wanwan’s cheerful voice came to an abrupt halt.
She stared at the uninvited guest who had appeared in her cave. "What are you doing here?"