Beastmen were tall to begin with in their human forms. Now, packed tightly around the mouth of the cave, they created a suffocating atmosphere. Even though Su Yu couldn't see clearly, the blurry masses of color made her feel oppressed.
It was especially reminiscent of her past life, of the countless times she'd been rushed to the emergency room, with doctors crowding around her bed in the very same way.
Su Yu took a deep breath and instinctively took a step back.
Shi Wei, who had been watching her closely, immediately moved in front of her, shielding her with his body.
He glanced at the Earth Eggs on the ground, his sharp, wolf-like eyes locking onto the man. "Ranmu, what is the meaning of this?"
"What's the meaning?" Ranmu sneered, directing his question at Shi Wei. "I should be asking you what you and your female are trying to do! Don't you know Earth Eggs are poisonous? And you still brought them back to the tribe."
"What if one of the ignorant cubs or young females eats one and dies from the poison?"
"Our tribe was kind enough to take her in. Is she trying to harm us on purpose?"
Before Shi Wei could speak, Sang Guo's indignant voice cut in. "Ranmu! Don't you dare make false accusations! Su Yu would never do such a thing!"
"I just told you that she has a way to make the Earth Eggs safe to eat, but you wouldn't listen to my explanation! You just brought people here to cause trouble for her! What kind of male are you?!"
"If I wasn't a proper male, I wouldn't have come here with the Earth Egg in the first place!" Ranmu said, jutting out his chin. "You say she has a way to make them safe? Then let her speak! Let her prove it!"
Ranmu declared viciously, "If she can really make the Earth Eggs non-poisonous, I'll voluntarily become her second Beast Husband! How about that?"
He had heard the rumors. The female Shi Wei had picked up was congenitally weak, blind, and lacked Fertility.
'Only a weirdo like Shi Wei would dote on such a female as if she were a treasure.'
'No other Beastman would ever want a female that frail!' He considered this a truly dire oath.
Ness, who had just wandered over, couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap! You're a crafty one, aren't you? Coming up with such a ruthless plan to get into Su Yu's den!"
By now, Su Yu understood what all the fuss was about. She gave Shi Wei's Beast Skin Skirt a gentle tug, then slowly stepped out from behind him. "No, thank you," she said. "I have no desire for a Beast Husband with such a malicious heart."
Ranmu sneered. "You look down on me? I'm the one who looks down on a congenitally disabled female like you!"
Shi Wei's expression turned frigid. He shifted into his beast form and lunged at Ranmu, pinning him to the ground with enormous wolf paws. He let out a furious roar: "AWOOO—!"
'How dare he insult my female! He's asking to die!'
He was so fast that Ranmu was pinned to the ground before anyone could react.
Ranmu transformed into his beast form as well—
A gray wolf.
And just like that, the two males began to fight in front of the cave.
The onlooking Beastmen, spirits soaring, began to cheer enthusiastically.
As Beastmen, a primal nature still lingered in their bones, and the sight of a brawl only fueled their excitement.
Su Yu, unable to see, could only stand anxiously at the cave entrance under Sang Guo's protection.
A moment later, a wolf's roar echoed through the air, accompanied by a spray of cool mist.
Shi Wei and Ranmu, tangled in their fight, were instantly soaked to the bone.
The leader, Ruer, swatted at them both. His paw sent Ranmu's head tilting to the side, and Ranmu whimpered, tucking his tail between his legs.
Shi Wei, however, was agile enough to dodge backward, avoiding Ruer's Iron Sand Palm.
Ruer glared at them, exasperated. "Real impressive, you two! Starting a fight in front of so many females! Aren't you afraid of scaring them?"
With his tail between his legs, Ranmu whined pitifully, "Leader, I was just thinking of the tribe's cubs and females. Those Earth Eggs are genuinely dangerous..."
"You have the nerve to say that?" Ruer shot back. "Sang Guo already told me everything. She tried to explain it to you, but you refused to listen!"
Ruer, furious at his foolishness, cuffed him again. "Picking on a female makes you feel powerful, is that it?"
Ranmu didn't dare to utter a peep.
'This wasn't about picking a fight with the female. It was clearly about picking a fight with Shi Wei.'
'He knew it too. With Shi Wei's status as the tribe's number one Warrior, causing trouble for him directly was a minor nuisance at best. But going after his female was a different story.'
'He'd originally thought Shi Wei would swallow his pride for the female's sake and offer some compensation to the tribe. Who knew the female he'd found was just as unyielding?'
Ruer chewed them out a bit more before ordering them to shift back into their human forms.
When Shi Wei returned to Su Yu's side, she anxiously ran her hands over his body. "Are you hurt?"
Shi Wei couldn't handle her touch. His ears and tail, which he had just retracted, POPPED back out. He quickly grabbed her soft hands. "I'm fine."
'But if I let her keep touching me,' he thought, 'there's going to be a problem.'
Ranmu rolled his eyes and shouted at Su Yu, "Hey! You! The female! Now's your chance to prove how you're going to make these Earth Eggs non-poisonous!"
Su Yu pulled back the hand that had been surreptitiously feeling his abs and put on a serious expression. "If I really do have a way to make the Earth Eggs safe to eat, then you will apologize to Shi Wei and me. You shouldn't have falsely accused us, and you certainly shouldn't have stormed over here to cause trouble without knowing the full story!"
Ranmu agreed without hesitation. "Fine! But you have to eat the prepared Earth Eggs yourself. Only then will I be sure your method actually works!"
He didn't believe for a second that this female Shi Wei had picked up was capable of making Earth Eggs safe to eat.
'This time, I'm going to get a good laugh at Shi Wei's expense!'
Su Yu agreed just as readily. "Deal!"
Shi Wei grew frantic, grabbing Su Yu's hand. "What do you mean, 'deal'?! No! I won't allow it!"
It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It was because he had personally seen a Beastman die from eating an Earth Egg.
Su Yu gently patted the back of his hand and smiled. "Trust me, okay?"
"I won't let you down."
Seeing her smile, Shi Wei's resolve melted. "Okay."
'At worst,' he thought, 'I'll eat all the Earth Eggs she makes.'
'If someone has to die from the poison, it'll just be me.'
-
Su Yu didn't waste any time. She had Sang Guo bring out some of the Earth Eggs they had dug up and place them in the clearing where the tribe usually held its bonfires.
Next, she directed Shi Wei to build a simple stone stove. He stuffed it with wood and lit a fire, then she had him bring out the stone pot used for the morning's meat broth and set it on top.
Su Yu planned to make the simplest roasted Earth Eggs and hot and sour shredded Earth Eggs.
Of course, she hadn't found any chili peppers, but she had found prickly fruit and sour fruit by the stream.
The prickly fruit had a spicy flavor, though not as intense as a chili pepper, so it could serve as a substitute. The sour fruit was as tart as a lemon.
Since Su Yu couldn't do it herself, she stood by the stone stove and directed Shi Wei and Sang Guo. First, they were to peel and wash the Earth Eggs, then use a Stone Blade to cut them into fine, even shreds.
Then, they filled the stone pot with water and the juice of a sour fruit, soaking the shredded Earth Eggs for ten minutes.
'This will remove the starch from the surface, prevent them from oxidizing and turning black, and keep them crisp.'
After ten minutes, they took out the shredded Earth Eggs. They refilled the stone pot with water, brought it to a boil, added more sour fruit juice, and then put the shredded Earth Eggs in to blanch. They cooked for about a quarter of an hour, until the shreds turned translucent, then removed them and drained the water.
For the final step, they rendered fat from a Tun Tun Beast to get oil, then stir-fried the shredded Earth Eggs quickly. At the end, they added the juice from the sour fruit and prickly fruit, along with some salt. And with that, a simple dish of hot and sour shredded Earth Eggs was ready.
All this activity attracted the attention of many of the tribe's females and cubs. A few males also gathered around out of curiosity. When they learned Su Yu was cooking the poisonous Earth Eggs, an uproar ensued.
"The Earth Eggs are poisonous! That pot is ruined now, isn't it?"
"Su Yu said they're only poisonous when raw. Once they're cooked, the poison is gone. She's cooking them now."
A few of the more food-loving females couldn't help but gulp, staring greedily at the shredded Earth Eggs still sizzling in the pot. "It smells amazing... I wonder if she'll let me have a taste later."
Ruer and Ranmu were also in the crowd. Ranmu's expression was as dark as a thundercloud.
He couldn't stop a sliver of doubt from creeping into his mind.
'Could Earth Eggs prepared this way really be non-poisonous?'
'No! Impossible!'
'Amu roasted Earth Eggs once, but she still died after eating them!'
Su Yu silently counted the seconds as the shredded Earth Eggs cooked. Once she was sure they had stir-fried long enough, she told Shi Wei to put them on a plate.
The plate itself was one Sang Guo had just carved from a type of non-poisonous wood found in the tribe's territory.
The moment it was plated, before Su Yu could even take a bite to test it, Shi Wei grabbed a large handful and stuffed it into his mouth.
The intense, spicy flavor instantly exploded in his mouth. Shi Wei's fair face flushed crimson. He clutched at his throat, his brows knitted in what looked like agony.
Ranmu's eyes lit up. He pointed at Shi Wei and yelled, "See! I told you it was poisonous!!"