Lin Xi and Shoupan were scolded until their expressions turned ugly.
But Gao Yue was a female little brat, so it wasn't easy to lay hands on her.
Even if they broke the customary rules of the beastmen and actually attacked her, Moya, a Tier 5 powerhouse, stood beside her in the posture of a protector.
Lin Xi held back her anger, staring resentfully at Moya, and asked bitterly, "...You're just going to watch her humiliate me like this?"
Moya glanced at her coldly. "What she said is exactly what I wanted to say. Stay away from my territory from now on."
Looking at his cold, ruthless expression, Lin Xi's breath caught, and a sudden panic she couldn't control welled up in her, her face changing instantly.
Shoupan turned his head sharply to look at Lin Xi.
Noticing his gaze, Lin Xi shot him a light glare, then returned to her expressionless state.
Shoupan withdrew his gaze and looked at Gao Yue with a half-smile. "I won't bother arguing with a female cub like you."
Then he turned his venomous words on Moya. "But I never expected you'd even seduce a female cub, coaxing her into standing up for you. Keep putting on this act for now. When Lin Xi and I formally become companions at the Beast God Festival, I'll be waiting to see the look of regret on your face!"
With that, supported by Lin Xi, he turned and left, bearing his injuries.
Hah.
That shameless outburst infuriated Gao Yue to no end. Her face flushed red as she shouted at their retreating backs, "You two are the most self-righteous people I've ever met! Shameless—!"
After they left, Gao Yue kept fuming for a good while, muttering angrily to Moya.
Moya listened with a smile.
The more Gao Yue vented, the more worked up she got, but as she ranted, her mind cleared and she started to feel a bit of delayed fear. She asked Moya cautiously.
"That... I think I got a bit too worked up back there, haha. Will it cause trouble for you? You two really won't get back together, right?"
Hearing this speculation, Moya had thought he would get angry.
But all he could picture in his mind was Gao Yue stomping her feet and scolding them just now—he figured if there'd been a rock nearby, she would've climbed on top of it to yell at the two of them.
So he was surprised to find that not only was he not angry, he even let out a couple of low chuckles, his large hand ruffling Gao Yue's hair.
"We won't."
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved at the corner of his lips as he said, "Didn't you say it yourself? If I really liked her, I'd fight to get her back. That just proves I never liked her to begin with."
Gao Yue studied his expression and found he'd gone back to his usual lazy, boneless demeanor, and she relaxed.
It seemed he really didn't have any feelings left for that Lin Xi—otherwise, after a scene like that, he'd surely be moping for a while.
The two of them chatted a bit more.
Gao Yue asked him what his plans were for the day, whether he had anything he needed to do.
A hint of trouble surfaced on Moya's languid face—as a python, he was prone to sleepiness, and he hadn't gotten enough sleep today. If Gao Yue weren't around, he'd go to the shore of the Holy Lake, revert to his true form, and sleep hanging from a tree, or lie on the shore, or soak half his body in the lake water while sleeping.
Once he woke up and got bored, he'd go hunt fierce beasts outside the tribe to stretch his muscles.
But with Gao Yue around, none of that was really feasible—he had to keep an eye on this female little brat.
Gao Yue couldn't enter the Holy Lake, and hunting was far too brutal; her grasshopper-sized courage might well be scared to death just watching from the side.
Moya: "No plans."
Gao Yue: "Don't you need to hunt? What about food?"
Moya said lazily, "No need, there's leftovers from this morning's hunt. As for the vegetables, fruits, and roots you wanted, that's simple too—just buy some from someone else."
Gao Yue: "Oh."
Hearing this made her want to grit her teeth for some reason. This guy was really living the easy life. Back on Earth, during her school years she used to burn the midnight oil studying, feeling guilty over wasting even half an hour, waking up earlier than the rooster and sleeping later than the owl.
Once she started filming videos in college, most of her time went into work, her eyes glued to computer screens, phone screens, and ring lights, until her eyesight had worsened by three hundred degrees, all because she was terrified that if she didn't work hard, she wouldn't be able to pay off the mortgage.
But then again, everyone on Earth was an overworked ox or horse... Thinking of Earth's overworked oxen and horses, Gao Yue suddenly remembered her freeloading pet—the zebra that had transmigrated over together with her from Tanzania!!
She'd completely forgotten about the old fellow.
He was, after all, a fellow countryman who'd crossed over from Earth together with her. She had no idea how he was doing.
Gao Yue: "Is my zebra still alive? I want to go see it, is that okay?"
Moya: "Someone else is taking care of it. I'll take you there."
As he spoke, he scooped her up with practiced ease.
Gao Yue, just as practiced, looped her good left arm around his neck.
She looked toward the cave, a bit worried. "With us not there, will anyone break into the cave? Is it fine to just leave my box like that? Should we find somewhere to hide it?"
Moya: "No. Breaking into my cave means declaring an endless feud with me. If your box had already been brought into my cave entrance yesterday, Shihua wouldn't have dared to open it."
Gao Yue felt a bit reassured at that, but then thought about how there were no doors or cameras here—how unreliable that was—and she straightened up again, her round eyes fixed on him.
"But how would you know if someone broke in or not? Couldn't they just run off before we got back?"
Moya chuckled softly. "Their scent would linger. We're not leaving for months on end—the scent inside the cave won't fade that fast."
Gao Yue thought this was even sharper than a dog's nose, and felt completely at ease. "Then let's hurry and go!"
……
At that moment, Hefeng Lü was crouched miserably in front of the zebra, bitterly holding out a handful of grass, begging this lord of a horse to eat.
Yesterday, he'd gone to great lengths to save this strange, ordinary-looking striped horse.
Since it was Moya who'd asked him for help, and had specifically said it must be saved, he not only set every one of its broken bones but also, gritting his teeth, brought out his precious stash of medicine for treating internal organs to heal its crushed internal injuries.
He'd even scrubbed its fur clean!
But this strange striped horse seemed to have suffered some enormous shock—it wouldn't drink, wouldn't eat, its body trembling nonstop, not moving an inch.
Horses were the kind of animal that would die quickly if they didn't move their bodies.
At this rate, it wouldn't survive two more days.
With no other option, Hefeng Lü had gone out of the tribe again late last night and cut a huge bundle of Huihui grass—something no horse, deer, or goat could resist—hoping to soothe it.
But this black-and-white striped horse simply refused to eat a single bite.
He thought it might help if the horse had a companion.
So, poor soul that he was, he went out early in the morning and specially caught two horses to keep it company—already the smallest ones he could find, but still several sizes larger than the black-and-white horse. Instead of feeling comforted, the zebra was frightened even worse.
Hefeng Lü tied the two horses by a tree.
Now the two horses were stretching their necks as far as they could, tongues extended, trying to reach the pile of Huihui grass on the ground.
But they simply couldn't reach it.
Yet even with Hefeng Lü holding the Huihui grass right up to the little zebra's mouth, the creature remained completely unmoved, like a rigid statue.
Hefeng Lü was about to lose it.
He'd never seen such a timid horse in his life—at this rate, it was going to scare itself to death!
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