Hu Ya flinched at her harsh tone, her expression growing even more sorrowful.
Her brilliant golden, fox-like eyes welled with shimmering tears as she looked pitifully at Shi Wei.
“Su Yu, don’t be so harsh.
I…”
But that one look made her words die in her throat.
Shi Wei didn’t spare her a single glance.
His gaze was lowered, a smile playing on his lips as he looked indulgently at the female standing before him.
He seemed quite pleased with her display of possessiveness in front of another female.
In other words, her act was completely wasted.
Just then, Jinwei came limping back from the woods.
When Jinwei saw Hu Ya’s pitiful state—tears in her eyes, “trembling all over”—he instantly assumed Su Yu had bullied her again while he was away.
He flared up at once, shouting, “Su Yu!
Are you picking on Ayala again?!”
Upon hearing his voice, Hu Ya’s body went rigid.
She stared at Shi Wei in disbelief, the aggrieved expression on her face finally crumbling.
‘Jinwei isn’t dead!’
‘This Wolf Beast lied to her!’
Su Yu raised an eyebrow, and her ears twitched.
Making sure Jinwei was close enough, she finally spoke.
“Don’t go around falsely accusing a female.
I wasn’t picking on her.”
With a dark expression, Jinwei pulled Hu Ya behind him and glared at Su Yu unhappily.
“If you weren’t picking on her, then why is she crying?”
“You were always picking on and bullying Hu Ya back at the tribe!”
Su Yu pursed her lips and said mischievously, “She’s crying because she thought Shi Wei killed you.
She was crying for you.”
Jinwei froze for a second.
A hint of joy instantly spread across his bruised and swollen face.
He turned and grabbed Hu Ya’s hand.
“Ayala, is what she said true?
Were you just crying for me?”
“Does this prove you have feelings for me?”
“Ayala, I have feelings for you, too!
Let’s become mates tonight, alright?”
Jinwei was overjoyed.
After Su Yu had left the tribe, Hu Ya had been playing hot and cold with him.
When he mentioned becoming mates, she had told him she needed to think about it.
The other single males in the tribe were also eyeing her covetously, which had made Jinwei very insecure these days.
But he had never expected Hu Ya to be willing to shed tears for him.
It was common knowledge that females could have many male partners; they wouldn’t even care if one or two of them died.
For a female to be willing to cry for a male—that meant he held a very, very special place in her heart!
Overcome with joy, Jinwei cupped Hu Ya’s face and gave her a forceful, domineering kiss.
“Ayala, I’m so, so happy!”
Hu Ya’s face turned pale with disgust, but she didn’t dare to struggle.
Only after Jinwei had kissed her did she manage to steel herself and push him away.
“Seeing you’re not dead…
I-I’m very happy, too.”
Jinwei gripped Hu Ya’s hand tightly, wishing he could make her his mate on the spot.
When he looked at Su Yu again, he no longer found her so detestable; in fact, she seemed much more agreeable.
It was only then that Jinwei realized Su Yu was different from before.
The Su Yu of the past had hair so long it hid her face.
She always kept her head bowed timidly, her clothes were perpetually dirty and gray, and on the rare occasion she did look up, her face held a deep-seated hostility that was incredibly unsettling.
But the Su Yu before him now was spotless.
She wore a black Beast Skin Skirt that matched the Wolf Beast’s fur, her petite frame enveloped in a wide, black Beast Skin cloak.
The face that peeked out was fair and exquisite.
Her once-messy long hair was now in a braid, falling smoothly over her chest, and her previously listless eyes seemed to have brightened a little.
Jinwei was both stunned and amazed, a dazed look crossing his face.
‘That vicious female, Su Yu…
was she always this beautiful?’
‘She looks…
maybe even a little prettier than Ayala.’
‘Her skin is so fair…’
Shi Wei’s face instantly turned cold.
With a sweep of his long arm, he pulled Su Yu into his embrace.
“Look again, and I’ll gouge your eyes out.”
Jinwei frantically tore his gaze away from Su Yu.
Though he maintained an expression of disgust for her, his tone had softened unconsciously.
“Seeing as you told me such important news, I’ll let you off the hook for today!”
With that, he grabbed the pale-faced Hu Ya and hurried away.
Annoyed, Sang Guo rolled her eyes at their retreating backs.
She pointed after them and turned to the other male and female Beastmen from the Liaoshui Tribe, ranting loudly, “See that?
That’s how shameless the females and males of the Bataang Tribe are!
They’re clearly the ones in the wrong, yet they have the nerve to turn around and call other people vicious!”
“You all better keep your eyes peeled!
Don’t get involved with any females or males from the Bataang Tribe!
You won’t even know what killed you!”
Jinwei and Hu Ya faltered for a second, then ran off even faster.
The females and males of the Liaoshui Tribe nodded earnestly.
“Got it!”
Su Yu couldn’t hold it in any longer.
She turned and buried her face in Shi Wei’s broad chest, her body shaking with muffled laughter.
She whispered to him, “How did Hu Ya’s face look?
It must have been hideous, right?”
She had done it on purpose.
She knew that a “protagonist” with such high standards would never be interested in an ordinary male like Jinwei.
Hu Ya was just stringing him along to make her own life in the tribe a little easier, since she couldn’t leave the Bataang Tribe yet.
That’s why she had deliberately misled Jinwei, making him think that Hu Ya was genuinely heartbroken that he had died.
Now he would pester her to become his mate, which would keep her from coming to bother Su Yu for a while.
She wasn’t a pushover, after all.
If Hu Ya was going to come looking for trouble, she would naturally return the favor.
Shi Wei smiled dotingly and whispered in her ear, “Her expression was absolutely foul.
That male even kissed her.
Judging by her look, she wanted nothing more than to slap him.”
Knowing she couldn’t see clearly, Shi Wei carefully described Hu Ya’s reaction to her—the shock and astonishment, how she had frozen up, too awkward to refuse.
Su Yu let out a few more muffled laughs, then clicked her tongue in regret.
“It’s a shame I can’t see clearly.
It would’ve been wonderful to appreciate her expression with my own eyes.”
Shi Wei’s gaze deepened, and he gently stroked her hair.
“That day will come.”
He had asked Granny Wu Zhi about it before.
To completely heal Su Yu’s eyes, he would have to go into the Exotic Beast Forest and find certain Exotic Plants.
‘Once things settle down and I’ve dealt with the Wandering Beastmen lurking nearby, I’ll find a new Beast Husband to watch over my little female.
Then, I’ll make a trip to the Exotic Beast Forest…’
Filled with tenderness, Shi Wei gently kissed Su Yu’s eyelids.
‘If these eyes could shine brightly once more, they would surely be more brilliant than the stars in the sky.’
Su Yu’s eyelashes fluttered, and she shyly pulled back a little, murmuring, “There are so many people around, don’t do that…”
Shi Wei chuckled.
Knowing how easily she got embarrassed, he didn’t tease her further and led her back to tending their stall.
The Liaoshui Tribe had brought a fair amount to the gathering this time, mostly Beast Skins and Earth Eggs.
They had discovered an Earth Egg patch near their tribe and dug up a huge amount, so every Beastman’s cave was well-stocked.
Many herbivorous and omnivorous Beastmen curiously came over with Beast Skins to trade, wanting to get a taste of these round, golden-colored foods.
Su Yu meticulously explained how to prepare the Earth Eggs to make them delicious, warning them that eating undercooked ones would cause an upset stomach.
Sang Guo, meanwhile, shrewdly broke a cooked Earth Egg into several pieces for them to sample.
The cured meat and jerky Su Yu and Shi Wei had brought were also traded away.
Shi Wei exchanged them for some softer Beast Skins, intending to make clothes for her.
After a busy afternoon, the sky began to darken.
The Beastmen didn’t leave, however, planning to stay the night before heading back.
It was also a sort of social mixer between the tribes, giving single males an opportunity to find females.
Several tribes worked together to build a large, central bonfire, and each tribe’s designated area had its own smaller fire as well.
Because of her poor eyesight, Shi Wei had settled Su Yu on a stone stool to sit quietly.
Sang Guo and a few other females sat with her, chatting, while several males stood guard nearby.
Shi Wei, meanwhile, went hunting in the woods with Lu’er Huto and the others.
She didn’t notice that a short distance away, Jinwei was staring at her with a dazed expression.
The leader of the Bataang Tribe walked over to Jinwei’s side, chewing on a piece of jerky.
He lowered his voice and asked, “Jinwei, did you notice how much food the Liaoshui Tribe brought with them?”