600! 600 points! How many stalks of Light Grass would she have to pluck to afford that!
“Sister, fish can be collected too,” Tongtong’s words suddenly opened a new door for Bai Ning.
That’s right, fish could be collected! Not just fish, but river shrimp, crabs, and all sorts of things—weren’t those all potential points?
Bai Ning didn’t hesitate any longer. She clicked “purchase,” and 600 points vanished instantly. In her spatial storage, a book titled The Encyclopedia of Weaving appeared. Looking at her remaining balance of only 661 points, Bai Ning couldn’t help but clutch her chest—it truly was heartbreaking!
Focusing on the Encyclopedia of Weaving in her space, she tried to flip the pages with her mind. As expected… she could control the items in her space using her thoughts.
Excited, Bai Ning shifted her body slightly and quickly flipped to the page on weaving fish traps, studying it intently. To an outsider, it looked like Bai Ning was just lost in a daze.
Beichuan looked back at her from time to time. Seeing her sitting there obediently, he felt relieved enough to continue gathering the wild grass that all looked the same to him.
The steps in the Encyclopedia were extremely detailed. Even though Bai Ning had never touched weaving before, she could understand it clearly. Looking at the seemingly simple steps in the book, her hands started to itch. She felt like she had already mastered it!
Bai Ning closed the book excitedly and looked at the small river in front of her. Hehe… little fishies, just wait. Sister will be coming to enjoy you very soon!
She looked around to see if there were any plants suitable for weaving a fish trap. However… there was nothing but grass. Only to her right were a few small trees laden with fruit that looked very familiar.
Clear Fruit!
She hadn’t noticed until now that the Clear Fruit she wanted was right next to her! Bai Ning was delighted, but remembering that Beichuan was nearby, she suppressed the urge to pick them. She was afraid that if Beichuan saw her, he wouldn’t bring her out next time.
Bai Ning pouted, her hand unconsciously tugging at the grass around her. Forget it, I can’t pick the fruit, and I don’t have materials for the fish trap yet. I’ll just keep reading!
She had to admit, the content of this Encyclopedia was very comprehensive. Bai Ning became so absorbed that she completely forgot her original reason for coming out.
Beichuan finished gathering a round of plants in the vicinity. Feeling that he hadn’t missed anything, he carried the bag back to find Bai Ning. She was so engrossed that she only noticed he was back when Tongtong alerted her.
Beichuan sat down beside her, carrying a bag that was nearly half-full of wild grass. “I’ve searched most of this area. See if there are any wild… er, green vegetables that you recognize.”
As he spoke, Beichuan pulled a stalk of grass from the bag and handed it to her. Bai Ning took one look and shook her head. “This isn’t it.”
Beichuan kept handing them over. “No.” “Not this one either.” “…” “This! This one is edible!”
Bai Ning looked at the shepherd’s purse in her hand and waved it happily at Beichuan. Beichuan took it, examined it carefully, and committed it to memory. “Alright, I’ll look for this tomorrow.”
By the time they finished going through the half-bag of grass, Bai Ning had identified several wild vegetables she knew: shepherd’s purse, dandelion, purslane, wild garlic, mugwort, fish mint, and lamb’s quarters. Except for fish mint—the taste of which she really couldn’t get used to—she liked all the others.
Beichuan noted each one down, planning to dig up more tomorrow. The two of them were busy for quite a while (mostly Beichuan), and the sky began to darken.
After Beichuan carried Bai Ning back, he lit the fire. Dinner was roasted meat again. Since there were only a few stalks of vegetables and Beichuan needed to use them as samples tomorrow, Bai Ning could only continue eating roasted meat.
After dinner, Bai Ning returned to the cave. Beichuan helped her crush the herbs, cleaned up the outside, and then went to the river to bathe. Bai Ning lay on the bed, her consciousness sinking back into her space to continue reading the Encyclopedia. As she read, she drifted off to sleep.
When Beichuan returned, Bai Ning was already asleep. He entered quietly, helped her cover up with animal skins, checked the fire, and then left the cave.
Beichuan shifted into his wolf form and ran swiftly, stopping in front of another cave. He didn’t go in or make a sound, but waited silently. He knew the person inside was aware of his arrival.
Before long, a tall, middle-aged beastman walked out. He gave Beichuan an annoyed look and stepped to the side. Beichuan followed silently, stopping a short distance from the cave.
“What is it now?” Lei Lang asked with a hint of disdain.
Beichuan found a spot to sit down and spoke gloomily, “The method you told me didn’t work!”
“Didn’t work? What? The little female is disgusted by you? Tsk, then you must have learned it wrong. Look at you, a full-grown beastman who doesn’t even know how to woo a female and needs his father to teach him. Your mother and I are both so smart, how did we give birth to such a stupid cub!” Lei Lang sat opposite Beichuan, his face full of mockery.
Beichuan looked at his father listlessly and curled his lip. “You act like you actually wooed a female, Father. If it wasn’t for your luck in saving Mother, she might not have even spared you a glance!”
“Hey, you brat, what do you know? Luck is a part of strength! Otherwise, why wasn’t it another beastman who saved your mother? What does that show? It shows that your mother and I were meant to be a pair!” Lei Lang glared at Beichuan, hands on his hips, looking completely righteous.
Beichuan rolled his eyes but couldn’t refute him, as that did seem to be the case. Luck really was a part of strength—otherwise, how could he have encountered Bai Ning?
“Fine, fine, stop talking about useless things. Father, help me think again. What should I do to make her lower her guard and like me?”
Lei Lang rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “Hmm… let me think! I think you said something very important: you need the little female to lower her guard! We were too impatient yesterday. The little female is injured and just escaped from rogue beasts; her defensiveness must be very high. Making her accept you immediately definitely won’t work. I think you can do this…”
Beichuan nodded repeatedly as he listened. It had to be his father after all! Why hadn’t he thought of that? What the little female needed most right now was companionship. As long as he stayed by her side and took care of her meticulously, one day she would lower her guard and accept him.
As for how long? It didn’t matter. He had been single for so long anyway. As long as he could be with her, what did it matter if it took a bit longer?
Beichuan grinned and stood up to look at his father. “Thanks, Dad! I’ve got it! I’ll head back now. I’m afraid Bai Ning will be scared if she wakes up and can’t find me. You should head back too!”
With that, he shifted into his beast form and ran quickly toward his cave.
“This brat… truly discarded after use!” Lei Lang cursed half-heartedly, stood up, brushed the dirt off his body, and returned to his own cave.
Just as he lay down, a soft body leaned over. “You’re back? Was that Beichuan?”
Lei Lang pulled his partner close and patted her gently. “Yeah, it was Beichuan. It’s nothing, go back to sleep.” Qing Yue snuggled into Lei Lang’s chest without a word and soon fell back asleep.
Beichuan ran all the way back to the cave and listened to the movement inside. Bai Ning’s breathing was steady; she was clearly sleeping soundly. Only then did Beichuan relax and return to the small cave.
He needed to sleep early. Tomorrow morning, he had to go dig up wild grass for the little female. Although he didn’t know what was so good about eating those weeds, if she liked them, he would dig up as many as possible for her.