As the setting sun painted the edge of the Dark Forest in warm gold, the hunting party appeared along the forest path.
Behind Feng Mian trailed a Rock Armored Beast larger than his own frame, its Crimson Flame Spirit Fox fur glinting gold and red in the sunset. Though dust clung to it, its sharp aura was undeniable.
“Impressive, Feng Mian.”
Li Heng patted his shoulder, a note of genuine admiration in his voice.
“That sixth-rank Rock Armored Beast—thick hide, tough meat—I might not have taken down all three, and yet you handled it with a wave of your hand!”
Today, Li Heng was truly impressed by the ninth-rank’s strength.
Although Zeyu, the tenth-rank, had easily dealt with the Earth-Splitting Bear last time, Li Heng had been unconscious and hadn’t witnessed it firsthand!
Hearing it isn’t the same as seeing it.
Feng Mian lifted his chin, tail tip swishing in pride.
“Of course! When this young master strikes, what can’t he handle? A mere sixth-rank? Pfft, I didn’t even take it seriously!”
Li Heng: “…Am I being subtly insulted here?”
“Really impressive.”
Beside them, A’tang’s beast-husband, Sui Yan, approached.
Ming Zhu, being more meticulous, usually took care of A’tang at home.
“That Crimson Flame Net was incredible too. When you trapped that Striped Tiger, I was completely stunned.”
“Naturally.”
Feng Mian soaked up the praise, his steps lighter than before.
“I’ll teach you both when we have the time. I guarantee your hunting efficiency will double.”
Li Heng shook his head with a laugh. This guy… a little sunlight and he glows.
But he couldn’t deny it: with Feng Mian around, today’s harvest was nearly fifty percent more than usual. The tribe members hadn’t even broken much of a sweat—Feng Mian had handled the hardest tasks in just a few moves.
Taking him along had been the right decision!
The party chatted and laughed on their way back to the tribe, spotting the wooden palisade and rising smoke in the distance.
The familiar aroma of cooking meat, mingled with the scent of fresh grass and trees, immediately made the hunters’ stomachs rumble after a long day.
“Father and the others must be cooking already.”
Li Heng sniffed the air and quickened his pace.
He wanted that Spring Bamboo and Beast Bone Soup.
Feng Mian’s ears twitched, and his own pace quickened unconsciously.
Thinking of the stewed bamboo and meat from yesterday, he couldn’t help but anticipate tonight’s dinner.
Turning past a cluster of low shrubs, the village came into view.
Each beast returned to their respective dwelling.
In front of Li Cheng’s cave, under the familiar big tree, two figures sat on a wooden bench, the sunset casting golden light over them like a thin veil.
Li Zhu lowered her head, deftly weaving wildflowers into Ming Yuan’s hair.
Ming Yuan’s long, black hair had been parted into several sections, each adorned with tiny pink-and-white wildflowers. Li Zhu was finishing the last strand, tucking a pale yellow flower in gently.
“Mother, look! Is it pretty?”
Li Zhu eagerly tugged Ming Yuan over to the water bucket, lifting the lid.
The stone mirror reflected Ming Yuan’s image.
Her once casually tied hair had been braided into intricate plaits, dotted with wildflowers in shades of pink like morning clouds, yellow like honey, softening her facial features.
Ming Yuan covered her mouth in surprise.
“Is… this really me?”
“Of course, Mother.”
Li Zhu smiled, tidying the wisps at her forehead.
“These flowers are too beautiful to go unused. See? Braiding like this keeps you cool and the flowers stay put while walking.”
“And with this style, Mother looks gorgeous. When Father sees you, he won’t be able to look away!”
Li Zhu held Ming Yuan’s hand, speaking happily.
In reality, her mother was only thirty-five or thirty-six in modern terms. With modern cosmetics, she could probably have a slew of admirers!
Ming Yuan smiled and playfully scolded her, fine lines forming at her eyes.
“I’m not doing it for him!”
“Yes, Mother is right. We only need to enjoy it ourselves. I’ll braid a different hairstyle for you every day!”
Ming Yuan laughed, her eyes never leaving the mirror, occasionally touching her hair.
Li Zhu also examined her own hairstyle with satisfaction.
Half her hair was pulled into a fluffy bun on top, adorned with a pink flower. Small braids on either side were woven back, while the rest of her long hair draped over her shoulders, with tiny light-purple flower vines entwined along the tips. The breeze made the petals sway gently, like butterflies landing.
Li Heng and Feng Mian had just turned the corner and saw this scene.
Li Heng froze for a moment. He had never seen Mother smile like this, never imagined that the woman who constantly scolded him for being foolish could look so gentle when dressed up.
Feng Mian, too, was completely stuck in place.
The sunset light fell on Li Zhu’s hair; the flowers made her skin even fairer, and her amber eyes curved into crescent moons. He could even see the faint shadows her long eyelashes cast on her eyelids and hear the soft, lilting tone of her voice, like feathers lightly brushing against his heart.
With a sudden “boom,” Feng Mian felt his cheeks instantly heat up, his ears turning bright red.
He hurriedly looked away, his heart pounding as if it might burst, his mind a complete mess, with only one thought left: She’s so cute.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
Li Heng noticed his odd behavior and nudged him.
“Sure, I know my mother and sister are beautiful, but you don’t have to get this worked up, do you?”
“I-I’m not!”
Feng Mian snapped back, like a wolf whose tail had just been stepped on.
“You’d better not be!”
Li Heng turned and gave him a sharp look before heading toward the big tree.
“Come on~ Let’s go find my mother and them~ Don’t be jealous now~”
Feng Mian: “…”
Stupid rabbit!
I hate you!
Watching Li Heng’s departing back, Feng Mian couldn’t help but glance again at that elfin female.
Then… without thinking, he spun around and dashed toward the stream, his gold-red hair tracing a hurried arc in the sunset, leaving the Rock Armored Beast standing there, utterly innocent and unmoving.
Li Heng turned back, about to call him to hurry, but saw Feng Mian’s flustered retreat and scratched his head, puzzled.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to wash up! I’ll be back soon!”
“Eat first, then wash!”
Feng Mian didn’t look back.
He didn’t know why, but just now his mind had flashed with the image of her—clean, radiant, and… sitting at dinner with him, filthy and sweaty…
He suddenly felt embarrassed.
What if she found him disgusting?
What if she hated him from now on?
Under the tree, Li Zhu and Ming Yuan heard the commotion and looked up.
“Brother, you’re back?”
Li Zhu waved, the small flowers in her braids swaying gently. “How was the harvest today? Huh? Where’s Feng Mian?”
Li Heng finally snapped back to reality, hoisted the Rock Armored Beast off the ground, and strode over, proudly lifting his chin.
“The harvest was huge! Look, we even got a Rock Armored Beast—impressive, right?”
“As for Feng Mian, not sure what got into him, suddenly decided to wash up… kind of strange.”
Li Zhu understood; after a whole day of hard work, he must have been sweaty. Washing up before eating would be more comfortable.
“Brother, do you want to wash up too? I’ll go check how Father and the others are doing with dinner.”
She turned toward the cooking area near another cave entrance but was stopped by Ming Yuan.
“I’ll go. You’re carrying the little one, so you should rest more.”
She patted her own hair, glanced at the water bucket, and then nonchalantly walked toward the cooking area.
Li Heng: “…”
Mother didn’t even glance at him just now, and he hadn’t properly admired her new hairstyle!
And now, she couldn’t wait to show Father!
Clearly, he and Li Zhu were the unexpected ones here!
“Ah, fine, fine. I’ll wash up too, be back soon.”
He shifted into beast form and sprinted toward the stream.
He didn’t care if dinner was ready—waiting for Feng Mian meant he could wait a little longer himself.
“Be quick, or Father won’t save you any dinner!”
Li Zhu called after his gradually fading back. Her father had a tendency to do exactly that.
After a while, the smoke from cooking grew thicker, and the aroma of meat and rice filled the entire village.
Feng Mian, fresh from his bath, took a deep breath and marched toward the cave as if facing death itself.
He had made up his mind.
He would tell her—he wanted to be her beast husband!
Even if Zeyu killed him, he would still say it!