Yun Jiao felt sweet inside, but said aloud: “I’m not that delicate…”
“You think you’re delicate?” Lei Xiao retorted impatiently. “Look at the females in the tribe—if something doesn’t go their way, they throw tantrums. One moment they want this, the next they want that. They scold their beast-husbands for no reason. That’s what I call delicate. Compared to them, you’re so much better.”
“…”
A straight man’s compliment could sound unexpectedly touching. Yun Jiao’s face grew even redder.
Lei Xiao hadn’t been thinking much, but Yun Jiao’s expression reminded him of last night. The female beneath him had been shy yet bold, constantly stoking the fire in him. If he pressed her too hard, she cried. The more she cried, the more he wanted to tease her. But since it was her first time, he held back out of pity. Otherwise, things might still not have ended by now.
Just then, Guo Guo interrupted Lei Xiao’s daydream: “Hey, what do you mean by saying all the females in the tribe are delicate? Am I delicate?”
“You’re not. You eat everything, easy to raise.” Hu Yun quickly declared his stance.
Guo Guo snorted lightly and looked at Lei Xiao: “Did you hear that? Don’t lump everyone together like a block of wood.”
Yun Jiao corrected her: “…That’s called ‘using one pole to kill a whole boat of people.’”
“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I meant.”
“…” Yun Jiao wiped her sweat silently, not knowing what to say about this girl.
If you said she had poor memory, every time Yun Jiao used some phrase not belonging to this era, Guo Guo remembered it.
If you said she had a good memory, she never remembered the original version correctly, especially with idioms. Last time Yun Jiao had said (Yǒujī kě chéng) (opportunity to take advantage), and Guo Guo remembered it exactly that way.
Next time she said it, it turned into (Yǒu jī kě qí) (having a chicken to ride)—which made Yun Jiao laugh so hard she couldn’t straighten her back.
…
Yun Jiao set up the dry firewood Hu Yun had gathered, then began drilling holes in it to make a fire while also teaching Guo Guo some basic fire safety knowledge.
“Fire isn’t a divine punishment sent down by the Beast God—it’s actually very useful. In winter, females can use it to keep warm, and it can also be used to cook food.”
“Of course, when using fire, you must pay attention to safety. Someone has to watch it, and when it’s not needed, it must be put out. That way, it won’t cause a forest fire.”
Guo Guo’s eyes lit up: “Females can keep warm in winter?”
“Yes!” Yun Jiao held her hand closer to the fire pit. “See? Isn’t it warm?”
Guo Guo found it amazing: “It really is! With fire, females don’t have to rely on males to survive the winter.”
Hu Yun and Lei Xiao had been a little afraid, especially Lei Xiao, being a cold-blooded beastman, he instinctively kept far away once the fire was lit. But when he heard that fire could keep females warm, he forced himself to move closer despite his discomfort. In winter, he would hibernate, and if this thing could keep Yun Jiao warm, she wouldn’t freeze to death even without relying on a male.
Once the fire was ready, it was time to roast meat.
Yun Jiao had Hu Yun tear the meat into chunks and skewer them, while she asked Lei Xiao to make a stone pot on the spot and pour clean water into it.
Guo Guo asked curiously: “Yun Jiao, what’s this for?”
Yun Jiao explained patiently: “Meat can be roasted, but it can also be boiled. Boiled meat can be eaten even by slightly older cubs—it’s easier to digest.”
Guo Guo nodded, half-understanding, watching her movements.
When the water began to bubble, Yun Jiao put smaller pieces of meat into the pot to boil. Once the meat was cooked, she sprinkled in salt and a bit of chopped green onion.
These onions, like the small red peppers, were things she had gathered while foraging—though not in large amounts.
Soon, with both roasted and boiled meat cooking, the aroma filled the air.
Guo Guo sniffed hard, nearly drooling: “It smells so good! I never thought fire could be this useful. This meat is so much more fragrant than when it’s raw.”
Hu Yun nodded vigorously: “Just smelling it makes me want to eat.”
Lei Xiao didn’t say anything, but his nose kept twitching as he stared fixedly at the pot.
It really did smell far better than raw meat. Especially the roasted meat—golden and glistening, it looked irresistible.
Yun Jiao laughed: “If you spread a layer of honey on it, it would taste even better. Too bad I don’t have any.”
Lei Xiao’s eyes flickered, silently making a note of that.
Then Yun Jiao suddenly grew serious, recalling something from the original host’s memory: “By the way, every year, many females and cubs suffer from worms in their stomachs, sometimes even dying in pain. That’s because they eat raw meat. Raw meat contains lots of bacteria, and once those bacteria enter the stomach, they turn into worms. Eating cooked meat can greatly reduce this problem.”
As for adult males, she had never heard of them getting worms.
Yun Jiao wasn’t sure why—maybe their constitution was stronger.
Guo Guo grew excited: “Yun Jiao, is what you’re saying true? Eating cooked meat really won’t cause worms?”
“Not that it *never* happens, but it can prevent it to a large extent. It depends on the person… hmm…” Yun Jiao thought for a moment and added: “At least it can reduce the risk by more than half!”
She had originally wanted to mention that she knew remedies for expelling worms. But then she thought of the tribal shaman and held back.
The shaman already bore hostility toward her. If Yun Jiao stepped forward to cure everyone, the witch doctor might think she was trying to replace her. Showing too much ability was not a good thing.
“That’s wonderful!” Guo Guo said excitedly. “Hu Yun, did you hear that?”
“I heard. I’ll go back to the Fox Clan later and tell Father this news.” Hu Yun was delighted.
Every year, too many females and cubs died from stomach worms—who would have thought it was all because of eating raw meat?
And all of this was thanks to fire. Before, Hu Yun had only seen fire as dangerous. Now, he thought it was adorable.
Lei Xiao didn’t say a word, but he watched Yun Jiao’s every move intently. From now on, he would do these things himself—Yun Jiao should just rest.
Finally, the meat was ready.
A pot of meat soup and a pile of roasted meat.
Guo Guo ate so much she couldn’t close her mouth, her lips shining with oil. The soup was delicious, and the roasted meat was just as good.
Hu Yun and Lei Xiao also dug in, though both clearly preferred the roasted meat. Soon, the soup and the roasted meat were all gone.
Yun Jiao and Guo Guo were about full, but the males—Hu Yun and Lei Xiao—were obviously not satisfied yet.
So Yun Jiao had to keep roasting meat with Guo Guo for them.
For the sake of eating, Guo Guo learned quickly. After fumbling through two skewers, she started to get the hang of it.
But the appetite of male beastmen was *far, far, far* too large.
Guo Guo went from enthusiastic to exhausted: “Yun Jiao, can’t we just roast the whole animal at once? I’m about to faint from the smoke.”
“To roast a whole animal, the fire has to be much bigger, and it has to be done in an open space. Otherwise, it could cause a forest fire.”
“Fine!” Guo Guo sighed miserably and kept roasting.
After a while…
“I’ll do it. You go rest.” Lei Xiao, feeling confident he had learned enough, stepped forward and took over Yun Jiao’s work.
Yun Jiao laughed: “Are you sure you can handle it?”
“I can. If you don’t believe me, I’ll roast a skewer and you can taste it.”
“Alright!”
Yun Jiao sat to the side, watching the handsome man roast meat.
Hu Yun glanced at Yun Jiao, who was sitting leisurely, then at Guo Guo, who was blackened from the smoke yet still roasting meat for him. Suddenly, the roasted meat in his mouth didn’t taste so good anymore, and he stepped forward to take over her work.
The two males were clever, and the meat they roasted actually turned out quite well.
Guo Guo even thought Hu Yun’s roasted meat was tastier than hers, and she happily ate three more skewers.
Yun Jiao, however, couldn’t manage much—she only ate half of the meat Lei Xiao roasted before she was full, and the rest went straight into Lei Xiao’s stomach.
Yun Jiao stared at his belly in wonder. Even though his beast form was large, this was his human form—where did all that food go?
Just then, a sharp voice rang out: “What are you doing?”