Bai Wanwan had just gotten home when she noticed the fish and shrimp in the water jar were almost gone. She picked up the bamboo basket Xin Feng had helped weave, intending to go catch some more.
Just as she reached the cave entrance, she saw Xin Feng walking slowly toward her, his legs clearly unsteady.
She quickly put down the basket and hurried over to support him.
"You're injured. Don't you know you should be resting in bed? What are you doing running around?" she chided, shooting him a sideways glance.
Hearing the hint of reproach in her voice, Xin Feng wasn't offended at all. Instead, he broke into a smile.
He pulled two stones from his clothes and handed them to her. "The Fire Stones you wanted."
Bai Wanwan's eyes lit up, happiness practically overflowing. "You really got them for me?"
Seeing how happy she was, Xin Feng suddenly felt that a Golden Lion Beast Skin was no big deal.
'As long as my little female is happy, that's all that matters.'
But Bai Wanwan's smile didn't last long. She recalled that the two males hadn't gotten along at all.
'Would that Traveling Merchant really give the Fire Stones to Xin Feng so easily?'
Her smile faded as she looked him in the eye. "What did you trade for them?"
Xin Feng paused for a moment, then said with a smile, "A beast skin."
"Liar." Bai Wanwan didn't believe for a second that, given their relationship, a single beast skin would be enough to trade for Fire Stones.
"Tell me the truth, or I don't want these Fire Stones."
She made a move to put the Fire Stones back in his hand.
The smile on Xin Feng's face slowly vanished, replaced by a hint of panic.
"Wanwan, it really was just a beast skin. A Golden Lion Beast Skin."
Bai Wanwan paused, her hand still outstretched. She looked up at him, her eyes full of questions. "Is that skin very valuable?"
Afraid of making her angry, Xin Feng didn't dare hide the truth. He nodded. "Yes. It's one I was lucky enough to get before my Talent was destroyed. Golden Lions are hard to find, and even harder to kill. The one I encountered was already injured."
After hearing his explanation, Bai Wanwan thought for a moment before placing the Fire Stones back into his hand.
A look of confusion flickered across Xin Feng's face. "Wanwan?"
Bai Wanwan gave him a small smile. "That Golden Lion Beast Skin must be important to you, right? I can't take something important from you for a trade. When I have time, I'll ask him if we can trade something else for it."
Xin Feng immediately shook his head. "It's just a thing. It was the first one I ever hunted, so I wanted to keep it as a memento, but it's not important anymore... "
Bai Wanwan met his gaze and seemed to understand his unspoken words.
She suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. "Alright then, I'll keep the Fire Stones. When you get your Talent back, I'll be waiting for you to hunt even more Golden Lion Beast Skins."
Seeing her accept them, Xin Feng felt even happier than when he had first gotten the Golden Lion Beast Skin himself.
Now that he had his little female, everything he did was to give her a better life.
'It's just one beast skin. Even if she asked for everything I have, I would give it willingly.'
Bai Wanwan went into the cave, gathered some dry grass, and walked back outside.
She tried striking the two Fire Stones together. After only a dozen or so strikes, a spark ignited the dry grass.
Xin Feng followed close behind. Watching the grass catch fire, his expression unconsciously grew tense.
Whether they were wild beasts or Beastmen like them, they all had a natural fear of fire.
If his female hadn't wanted the Fire Stones, he never would have wanted to touch the things.
Bai Wanwan turned her head excitedly and shouted to Xin Feng, "Xin Feng! Xin Feng, did you see that? It really lit up!"
When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, a sight that could make anyone's heart feel happy.
Xin Feng's expression gradually relaxed, a smile touching his eyes.
"As long as you're happy."
"Mhm, I'm very happy. I'll make you some cooked food tonight."
She was already rubbing her hands together in anticipation. She didn't have much to work with, but she could grill meat on a stone slab.
'Slice the meat thin, sear it on a hot stone, sprinkle on some salt...'
It had been almost ten days since she'd arrived in this world, and she hadn't had a single satisfying meal.
Just thinking about it made her mouth water.
Xin Feng didn't refuse. Seeing her so happy, he was also a little curious what meat cooked with fire would taste like.
The dry grass slowly burned out. She stood up and stamped it out with her foot.
Noticing Xin Feng was still standing behind her, she quickly reached out to support him. "Why are you still on your feet? Go rest. If you don't let that injury heal properly, it'll be even worse when winter comes."
She fussed over him as she helped him back to the stone bed to rest.
"I'm telling you, from now on, you are not to get off this bed. You have to stay here until you're fully healed."
Xin Feng's eyes were full of tenderness as he took her every word to heart.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
He had never thought he would one day meet a female like this—one who made him yearn for immense power, just so he could provide her a better life than any other female.
He thought of the Golden Lion Beast Skin. He would just have another Beastman deliver it to Roger later.
The merchant caravan wasn't going to leave in the next few days anyway.
Once Xin Feng was lying down, Bai Wanwan began preparing their dinner.
She had originally planned to catch fish and shrimp, but now that she had the Fire Stones, she decided she was in the mood for something different.
She walked into another stone alcove and picked out a well-marbled piece of meat, bringing it out to slice with a Stone Knife.
As she sliced, she glanced back at Xin Feng and said, "Once you get used to eating delicious food like this, you'll never want to eat raw meat again."
She had just finished speaking when a sound came from the entrance.
Bai Wanwan looked away from her work and toward the mouth of the cave.
To her surprise, it was the two brothers, Xin Shan and Xin Yu.
When they saw Bai Wanwan turn around, both of their expressions became a little awkward.
"Wanwan," Xin Shan said, "to welcome the Traveling Merchants' arrival tonight, my Father Beast is having everyone gather in the square. We'll be sharing Unicorn meat."
Unicorns were enormous beasts. Although not particularly aggressive, they were incredibly agile. Unless a Beastman had a powerful Talent, it was nearly impossible to catch one.
Their meat was tender and juicy, a favorite food among many of the females.
Usually, when a Unicorn was caught, it was prioritized for females with superior fertility.
The two that had been caught recently were originally going to be made into jerky and distributed among the females, but then the Traveling Merchants arrived.
So, the Clan Leader decided to use both Unicorns to entertain them tonight.
From the original owner's memories, she knew that Unicorn meat was a mouth-watering delicacy.
But she would much rather stay home and have a barbecue.
So she refused outright. "No, thank you. I don't feel like eating Unicorn."
Xin Shan pressed his lips together, only speaking after a long moment. "Wanwan, it was our fault. It's normal for you to hate us, but Unicorns are a rare treat. Eating the meat will keep your body warm so you won't get sick as easily this winter."
Bai Wanwan was about to refuse again, but Xin Feng thought the two brothers had a point.
Wanwan only had him as her Beast Husband, and he was injured. This winter was not going to be easy.
If she could drink the Unicorn's blood, his little female would have a much better chance of surviving the winter.
"Wanwan, the flesh and blood of a Unicorn will do you good. I'll go with you in a little while."
"You're injured, what are you going for?" Bai Wanwan shook her head. If Xin Feng couldn't go, she didn't want to join the crowd either.
Her intuition told her that Roger was bad news. It was better to stay far away from him.
Xin Shan and Xin Yu had also heard about what happened to Xin Feng and Wanwan in the mountains.
"Xin Feng, Wanwan can go with us. Don't worry," Xin Shan offered.
'That's exactly why I can't be at ease,' Xin Feng thought. He knew exactly what the Clan Leader was planning.
He spoke up directly. "No need. I am her Beast Husband, I can take care of her. You two go back first. Wanwan and I will head over later."
Xin Yu wanted to say something else, but Xin Shan pulled him back.