“About the salt-making matter—I just wanted to discuss with you who should be sent, since we’re far from the sea. Who do you think is suitable?” Zhu Dahai was an open-minded father. He knew his daughter’s ambitions, and whenever something came up, he always consulted her.
Guo Guo thought for a moment before replying: “Send Leopard Cang’s team. Forget Shi Yi—he’s not suitable.”
“That’s what I was thinking too. Salt-making is important, but Shi Yi…”
At this point, Zhu Dahai frowned. “Ever since he took a mate, he’s become more and more unbearable. Sometimes he won’t even listen to what I say.”
Zhu Dahai didn’t know the word *arrogant*, nor the phrase *looking down on everyone*.
Simply put, Shi Yi, as the Beast Tribe’s strongest warrior and now mated to the shaman’s grandniece, had grown increasingly inflated—so much so that even the chieftain was beneath his eyes.
“As long as you’re aware, Father. These days, Shi Yi has been hanging around outside Yun Jiao’s cave—it’s obvious he hasn’t given up. Yun Jiao will definitely be the one to teach everyone about salt-making, but she doesn’t like Shi Yi. Don’t put them together. Most importantly, this salt-making will probably have to wait until after Yun Jiao gives birth. She’s struggling with the cub—it’s not suitable for her to travel far.” Guo Guo spoke calmly, analyzing while eating.
Hu Yun felt that at this moment she seemed to shine all over—radiant and beautiful. His heartbeat quickened. Even when mating with Guo Guo, he hadn’t felt this way. What was happening to him?
“I understand.” Zhu Dahai nodded, then sighed. “Shi Yi really is unlucky. Yun Jiao used to like him so much, but he, sigh. If he had just waited another year, he would have been the Sacred Female’s first beast husband.”
To miss out on being the Sacred Female’s first husband was hard enough for anyone to bear—let alone for the proud and arrogant Shi Yi.
Guo Guo sneered: “Father, don’t waste sympathy on males who don’t deserve it. A heartless male like Shi Yi—if he had become Yun Jiao’s first husband, that would have been Yun Jiao’s misfortune. *The bird reveals the vile heart.* Yun Jiao was lucky to see his true nature early.”
Zhu Dahai nodded vaguely, puzzled: “*The bird reveals the vile heart*? What does that mean?”
“Uh…” Guo Guo choked a little, uncertain: “I think it means when a bird flies up to the sun, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Beast God, it can see clearly whether a vile heart is black or white.”
Zhu Dahai looked doubtful: “And what exactly is a vile heart?”
“That’s the kind of heart Shi Yi has—heartless. Yun Jiao taught me that.”
“…” Yun Jiao really knew a lot—worthy of being the Sacred Female.
At that moment, Zhu Dahai felt grateful that he was a fair and just chieftain. Otherwise, the Beast Tribe would never have been able to keep Yun Jiao.
…
The next day, Yun Jiao was awakened by the tempting aroma of meat. She had vomited badly the night before and gone to bed early, without eating anything.
As soon as Lei Xiao saw her awake, he immediately fussed over her—helping her eat, helping her dress—treating her as though she were a child. Even when Yun Jiao told him it wasn’t necessary, he wouldn’t listen.
Yun Jiao had no choice but to let him be.
While Lei Xiao was tidying up, Yun Jiao ran her fingers through her hair and muttered softly: “If only I had a comb.”
Lei Xiao, always attentive to her, asked curiously: “A comb? What’s that?”
“It’s something to tidy your hair with.” Yun Jiao found it hard to explain, so she picked up a twig and drew the shape of a comb on the ground: “Like this. It can be made from wood.”
“When I go hunting later, I’ll see if there’s a suitable tree. I’ll bring some back and make one for you.”
Lei Xiao noted it down, then came behind her to smooth her hair, “Whatever you want, just tell me. I’ll do my best.”
“Then I won’t be polite. I also want a bed, a wardrobe, a table, chairs, and stools.”
“I’ll chop more trees later.”
Even though he didn’t understand what those things were, Lei Xiao carefully memorized each one. After finishing up, the two of them headed toward the center of the tribe.
Every day, the hunting teams and gathering teams assembled here. The hunting team was made up of males, while the gathering team was made up of females.
Females were responsible for picking fruit, while males were responsible for hunting and protecting the females.
By the time Yun Jiao and Lei Xiao arrived, many beastmen were already standing there. The noisy chatter made it feel like a marketplace. But when they saw Yun Jiao, the noise abruptly stopped.
The females looked at Yun Jiao with complicated expressions, while the males’ eyes lit up.
Being stared at by dozens of eyes at once made Yun Jiao’s scalp tingle. Without showing it, she quietly shrank behind Lei Xiao. Why did it feel like there were more people today? And why were they all looking at her like that?
Shi Yi and Bai Wei were expected, but there were also many unfamiliar faces—even Mu Bai was there. Were they all beastmen of the Mountain Tribe? What were they doing joining the hunt?
What surprised Yun Jiao most was that the shaman was among the group.
When Yun Jiao looked at her, the shaman looked back, her expression still calm and detached.
“Yun Jiao.” Guo Guo spotted her and came over, leading a large fiery-red fox. “We were waiting for you.”
Yun Jiao smiled and nodded, glancing at the shaman: “The shaman is going too?”
“Yes. She said she’s out of medicine and needs to gather herbs.”
“She’s so old—can’t she ask someone else to help?”
“If everyone could identify herbs, then everyone could be a shaman, right?”
Guo Guo sighed helplessly: “She taught me to recognize herbs before, but to me, they all look the same. I just couldn’t learn it.”
“?” Yun Jiao thought, *How could they look the same? They’re clearly easy to tell apart!*
After a bit of small talk, the chieftain appeared: “I won’t be going today. Leopard Cang will lead the team.”
The beastmen were momentarily surprised, then their gazes shifted—first to Shi Yi, and finally to Yun Jiao.
In the past, Shi Yi had always led the team. Had he offended the Sacred Female, and was the chieftain now venting on her behalf?
Leopard Cang looked at Shi Yi with schadenfreude, then stepped forward: “Don’t worry, Chieftain. I’ll make sure the males take good care of the females.”
Zhu Dahai nodded in satisfaction: “Set out!”
“Wait!” Shi Yi’s face darkened. Unable to hold back, he demanded: “Chieftain, I’ve always led the team. Why is it Leopard Cang now?”
Bai Wei added: “Yes, Chieftain. Shi Yi often leads the hunts. Leopard Cang can’t compare to Shi Yi.”
She had chosen Shi Yi precisely because of his status as the first warrior. But what was happening now? Was Shi Yi about to become the second warrior?
Being questioned in public, Zhu Dahai’s expression grew displeased.
Leopard Cang didn’t like Bai Wei’s words either. What did she mean, he couldn’t compare to Shi Yi? In truth, his strength was about the same as Shi Yi’s. Was it his plain looks, his lack of appeal to females, that made him second?
Leopard Cang sneered, then nodded: “Yes, in your eyes I can’t compare to Shi Yi—just like in Shi Yi’s eyes, you, a good female, can’t compare to Yun Jiao, the Sacred Female.”
Yun Jiao, suddenly dragged into the quarrel: “??” Seriously, brother? We’ve got no grudge between us—why are you pulling me into this mess?
Bai Wei’s face went pale, her body swaying as if she might collapse. In the past, whenever she acted like this, Shi Yi would immediately notice, support her, and scold whoever had upset her. But now, she had been swaying for quite a while, and Shi Yi hadn’t reacted at all. When she looked up, she saw Shi Yi staring at Yun Jiao.
“Shi Yi!” Bai Wei cried out in disbelief. “I’m being bullied, and you don’t care?”