Bai Ning casually brushed the dirt off her back and smiled, saying, “I didn’t fall. I’ve just been sitting for too long and wanted to move around a bit. I must have rubbed against something without noticing.”
Beichuan’s brow furrowed, his eyes full of concern. “Didn’t I tell you to call me if you needed anything and not to move on your own? Your leg hasn’t healed yet; what if you trip or bump into something again?”
Without waiting for an answer, Beichuan scooped Bai Ning up in a princess carry and walked toward the large rock.
Startled by the sudden lift, Bai Ning instinctively hooked her arms around Beichuan’s neck, a look of self-consciousness flickering across her face. Held in his arms, she could clearly feel the searing heat radiating from his body.
After gently placing her on the rock, Beichuan turned back into the cave. Moments later, he emerged with a piece of clean animal hide, knelt down, and carefully wiped away the patches of mud on her.
Watching his focused expression, Bai Ning felt a complex mix of emotions. She had thought her previous words would make Beichuan back off, but now it seemed he had no intention of giving up.
“I’ll go get you some food,” Beichuan said as he stood up after finishing the cleaning. “No running around this time. Stay put and be good.”
Watching his retreating back, Bai Ning chuckled to herself. She had realized that this guy had changed his tactics—the “puppy-dog” type had transformed into a “domineering CEO.”
Beichuan poked at the fire pit. Seeing sparks still inside, he added some dry grass and blew on it; flames soon flared up. Once the dry firewood was added and the fire grew stronger, he went to the small cave to fetch a large piece of meat, along with the wooden sticks he had sharpened earlier.
He split the meat in two. Taking the smaller portion, he cut it into tiny cubes and skewered them one by one with clean sticks, setting them aside. Then, he used a thicker branch to skewer the larger remaining piece.
Once the meat was ready, he walked to the river, picked a few leaves, and washed them in the water. After shaking them dry, he returned.
Setting the leaves aside, he picked up the small skewers and knelt by the fire to start grilling. Bai Ning remained silent, watching him work. Seeing his face flush red from the heat and sweat dripping down his forehead, she couldn’t help but speak up.
“Why don’t you prop the meat on a forked branch? It’s too hot to hold it like that.”
Beichuan looked up at her and smiled. “The pieces are small, and I’m afraid of burning them. It’s easier to control this way.”
His words touched something deep inside Bai Ning, leaving her feeling a bit tingly and soft-hearted. What a dummy!
Once her meat was cooked, Beichuan placed the skewers on the leaves next to her. “It’s a bit hot, eat slowly.”
“Okay, thank you.”
As she ate, she watched Beichuan set up two forked branches on either side of the fire to prop up his own large portion of meat. The flames licked the meat, and fat dripped onto the fire with a “sizzle,” sending up puffs of aromatic smoke.
Beichuan turned the branch from time to time to ensure the meat cooked evenly. The firelight danced across his face, highlighting his rugged and focused profile.
Chewing on the slightly bitter, salty meat, Bai Ning’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to him. Beichuan seemed to sense something and turned to look at her. When their eyes met, Bai Ning looked away in a panic, her cheeks feeling slightly hot. A small curve appeared at the corner of Beichuan’s mouth as he turned back to the fire.
After lunch, the sun grew increasingly fierce. Beichuan asked Bai Ning if she wanted to go back inside to rest. She naturally agreed. Although she was used to working under the scorching sun in the apocalypse and didn’t find this heat unbearable, she wasn’t the type to suffer unnecessarily if she didn’t have to. She had spent the whole morning outside, earning a good amount of points, and since she was still pretending to be an injured patient, it was time to head in for a nap.
Enjoying the “princess carry” treatment once again, Bai Ning was surprised by the changes inside the cave when she entered. The once-bare space, which had contained nothing but a bed and a pile of furs, had undergone a little makeover.
Where the furs used to be piled, there was now a wooden rack with the skins neatly arranged on it. Beside the bed stood a table covered with a layer of animal hide, creating a look that combined rustic charm with wild energy. In the middle of the cave, some stray pieces of wood were piled together.
“It’s a bit messy. Rest first, and I’ll tidy it up right away.” Beichuan placed Bai Ning on the bed, helped her lie down, and tucked her in with a fur blanket. He then turned to start clearing the wood and sawdust from the floor.
Bai Ning looked curiously at the table beside her. From her angle, she could see exactly how it was built. It used four thick branches as legs, with four thinner branches and animal hide strips tied to them to form a rectangular frame. For stability, Beichuan had tied four more sticks at the bottom, then covered the top with branches of similar thickness, trimmed to the same length, and topped it with a fur. A simple table was born.
She had noticed the wooden rack was built in a similar way. She had to admit, the beastmen were quite clever. They knew how to make fire, use tools, and build simple furniture. It wasn’t like some novels she’d read where the beast world was portrayed as primitive people who knew nothing and relied entirely on the female lead to save them.
She wondered what the rest of the Wolf Tribe looked like. So far, she had only met the Witch Doctor, Hongye, Muye, and Luoxia.
After cleaning the floor and adding a few logs to the fire, Beichuan stood up and looked at Bai Ning. “Bai Ning, sleep for a while. I’ll be just outside. Call me when you wake up, and don’t move around on your own so you don’t hurt your wound.”
“Okay,” she replied.
After he left, she rolled over, ready to nap, but suddenly remembered something. When she first woke up, she had been too shocked to think about it, but she had transmigrated in her own body, wearing her clothes from the apocalypse. If her clothes had been changed to animal skins… where were her original clothes?
She thought about asking Tongtong but decided against it. It was just an outfit; at worst, she could say it was from her old tribe. The Beast World was vast; there were bound to be places they didn’t know about. As long as her underwear was still there, she didn’t want to be “too free.” Besides, the System Mall had everything, so she wasn’t worried about replacements.
Having sorted it out, Bai Ning yawned, and her eyelids grew heavy. For some reason, since coming to the Beast World, her sleep quality seemed to have improved significantly.
While Bai Ning slept, Beichuan was busy outside. He was digging a toilet for her. Actually, he was more than happy to carry her to the designated area every time, but he could tell she didn’t like the environment there, and knowing her personality, she wouldn’t wait around for him to carry her. The morning incident was proof of that. Besides, he had promised to build her a convenient place nearby.