Si Shuo was more than a little touched by Ji Liang's words.
In the Luoni Tribe, few Beastmen spoke up for Zhi Le, and fewer still stood up to support him.
The fact that Ji Liang, a mere trader, was willing to say such things made Si Shuo feel a little ashamed of herself.
She shouldn't have labeled him a cold-blooded animal.
"Thank you!" She gave another deep bow, but by the time she straightened up, Ji Liang had already leaped down and departed.
Si Shuo sat back down and sighed to Yimei, "I'm still... too inexperienced, too narrow-minded. Ji Liang is a good Beastman."
Yimei's expression turned a little strange. 'Good Beastmen in the Beast World Continent? There's no such thing. It's just a male developing an interest in a female!'
Yu Jiao was the first one to notice the commotion. In the morning, Tao Yun had been fawning all over Si Shuo in the plaza. In the afternoon, Ji Liang had leaped up to her cave to strike up a conversation. 'Heh, that little sister of mine really has a way with men.'
Even though she was supposedly infertile, powerful males still flocked to her one after another.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her irritation. 'The most pressing matter right now is to use the few days the Dark Crow Trading Team is in the tribe to win over a powerful Rogue Beast to be my Beast Husband!'
'No matter what kind of male, they all have a strange obsession with having cubs. My fertility is above average, and I'm not lacking in looks or figure.'
Yu Jiao changed into a new set of clothes, told Bu Meng—who was supposed to be accompanying her—to stay behind, and called for Ma Hui to go hang out in the plaza with her.
Although Zhi Le was away on the spring hunt, he and Si Shuo had a shared space.
Whenever Si Shuo made something delicious, she would habitually place a portion in the space for Zhi Le to retrieve and eat whenever he had a spare moment.
Every day, Zhi Le would fill the space with fresh water, leave some firewood for her, and dispose of her used bathwater. Whenever he came across beautiful flowers, tasty fruit, delicious beast meat, or fine Beast Skins, he would stuff them into the space for her.
Through this constant give-and-take, the unspoken affection between them grew ever deeper.
Si Shuo mused to herself. 'When Zhi Le gets back, I'll slowly teach him Pinyin. That way, we can use it to send messages whenever we're apart!'
With the Dark Crow Trading Team in the village, the tribe's gathering parties became lively again. Si Shuo had her mind on getting some thorny vine seeds, so she went out with Yimei.
Many of the vining, thorny plants in the undergrowth grew quickly, making them particularly suitable for her Catalyst Technique.
She gathered wild fruit to keep up appearances, all the while secretly stashing various kinds of seeds into her space.
The thorny vines were good for defense but lacked offensive capabilities, so she also made a point of collecting plants with narcotic or toxic properties to use in combination with them later.
After this one trip, she could hole up in her cave and wait for Zhi Le's return.
The weather had just begun to warm up, but for some reason, Si Shuo felt exceptionally hot and restless today.
After her bath, she rinsed out her clothes and placed the wastewater into the space. Once her hair was dry, she tied it into a low ponytail. Loose strands framed her exquisitely beautiful face as she changed into a plain, gray set of Beast Skins.
With no male in the cave, she tried her best to dress inconspicuously.
Opening the entrance to air out the dampness, she stood on the ledge in front of her cave and happened to see the Warriors returning from the hunt.
To her surprise, Ji Liang had also participated in today's hunt, and he had even taken down an exceptionally enormous Fighting Horned Beast.
To her, the Fighting Horned Beast looked like a bull magnified seven or eight times. It had a burly physique, a pair of thick, powerful horns on its head, and eyes as large as bowls. Even though the beast was long dead and cold, its ferocious appearance was still terrifying.
'This one Fighting Horned Beast must weigh five or six thousand kilograms, right?'
"A Fighting Horned Beast! That Wild Beast is incredibly hard to capture. It's immensely strong, pure brute force. Even several Level 6 Beastmen can't contain one, and they like to travel in herds..."
"That's Ji Liang for you. He goes out once and brings back an incredible Fighting Horned Beast. The meat of this Wild Beast is firm and delicious. I wonder if we'll be able to trade for a bit to bring back to our females..."
As Ji Liang passed below Si Shuo's ledge, he faced her direction but looked away, smiling as he announced to the crowd, "Tonight, there's a share of the Fighting Horned Beast for everyone! We'll light a bonfire and have a celebration!"
Wu Chuan cheered in agreement and immediately began organizing the evening's feast.
Si Shuo's eyes brightened. The Beast World Continent teemed with life, and the males hunted many Wild Beasts every day, but there was a world of difference from one type of meat to the next.
The males weren't picky eaters; they would heartily devour any kind of meat, often stuffing it into their mouths when it was still undercooked and dripping with blood.
She might have been transported to a new era, but her tastes hadn't changed; she still loved chicken, duck, fish, pork, beef, and lamb. She had tried the local river fish, which was exquisitely delicious when cooked properly. She had also eaten long tusked pork, which was tender, fatty, and rich in flavor.
Now, she was quite looking forward to trying the Fighting Horned Beast's meat and wondered what cut she might get.
Yimei pulled her toward the plaza, and they sat down with a group of acquaintances.
One of the females had just gotten pregnant, and everyone was incredibly envious. Although their fertility wasn't high, it just meant that conceiving was difficult. Most would only give birth to two or three cubs in their lifetime, and their offspring's aptitudes weren't always outstanding.
Si Shuo listened to them talk with a soft smile, and for some reason, an image of a litter of Snow Leopard cubs popped into her head.
Her heart melted at the very thought.
When Zhi Le was around, she often had him change into his beast form so she could hug him and happily bury her face in his fur, though it was a bit of a shame he had to curl up in such a small space.
Watching Si Shuo's gentle smile in the firelight, Ji Liang's usually steady heart suddenly began to pound.
The corners of his lips curved up. He walked over with a basket of meat in each hand, stopped beside Si Shuo, and placed the meat in front of the group. "Our Dark Crow Trading Team has been imposing on everyone in the tribe for the past few days, so we hunted a Fighting Horned Beast for all of you to have a taste."
As he spoke, he placed a cut of meat weighing about ten pounds, wrapped in leaves, in front of Si Shuo, just as she looked up at him.
Ji Liang froze for a second. He knew this young female was beautiful from the moment he first laid eyes on her.
But now they were so close—close enough that he could see the fine peach fuzz on her cheeks and watch her eyelashes tremble with a mixture of nervousness, fear, and shyness.
Her eyes reflected both the flickering firelight and his own image, both of which bloomed beautifully on her exquisite face.
Ji Liang's Adam's apple bobbed as he suppressed the primal urge to flick his tongue out.
The thought that his tongue might touch her if he did so sent an unbearable, clamoring desire through his body.
He took a slow, deep breath and smiled, silently mouthing the words to her, "It's the tenderest meat from the loin. Do you know how to roast it? Need any help?"
Si Shuo quickly shook her head. After whispering a "thank you," she pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze.
Ji Liang's chest tightened. 'So I'm being shut down, too?'
He gave a helpless smile, then stood up and walked away.
Si Shuo was sitting in a relatively secluded spot, so their brief, two-breath interaction didn't attract any attention.
'Of course, a good steak tastes best when it's seared slowly.'
She couldn't bear to waste it, so she discreetly swapped the fine meat for a different cut she had and put the good portion into her space.
After the meal, she returned to her cave and felt a bit cooler. The heat from the bonfire had made her feel groggy.
But the coolness only lasted for a moment before a strange yet familiar heat began to rise within her.