Chapter 5: A Family
Lin Huanhuan originally wanted to buy a pair of shoes, but beasts did not like to wear shoes, so no one sold such things.
Helpless, Lin Huanhuan could only think about making a pair of shoes herself.
Making shoes required a needle and thread. Thankfully there was someone selling them.
Lin Huanhuan looked at the needles and hesitated.
She was penniless, and the only way to buy anything was to have Bai Di pay for it. However, he had already bought her two dresses. She was embarrassed to ask him to pay for more things.
He looked at her for a moment, then pulled out a crystal coin and bought the entire set of needles.
After getting the needles and thread, he said to Lin Huanhuan, “Tell me what you want to buy. I have crystal coins.”
Lin Huanhuan blushed. “Thank you. Take it as though I’m borrowing those crystals from you. I’ll make money to pay you back in the future.”
But he said, “You’re my female. We’re family. Everything I have belongs to you. I’ll give you anything you want.”
The word ‘family’ was like a big hand that gently held Lin Huanhuan’s heart.
The warmth made her want to cry.
She had once yearned for a family of her own. However, the early death of her parents forced her to bury this desire in her heart.
But now, this beast in front of her had awakened her desire with a single sentence.
She really wanted a home.
He saw the little female’s eyes turn red and was immediately flustered. “Don’t cry! Are you feeling unwell? Or did I do something wrong? Tell me and I’ll fix my behavior!”
He wanted to touch her, but he was worried as she was crying. All he could do was circle around her anxiously.
Lin Huanhuan wiped her eyes and smiled embarrassedly. “I’m just too happy.”
“Happy?” He wondered why she would cry when she was happy.
Lin Huanhuan held his fingers. “I’m really happy because I have a family now.”
…
After visiting the market, the sun was about to set.
Lang Zhu sent someone to get Bai Di and his female, but Bai Di refused.
He knew what Lang Zhu was up to.
There were many wolves in the tribe, but there were only about a dozen females while there were over 300 males.
Having more males than females was common in this world. In order to reproduce, each female was surrounded by many male mates.
The females of the Wolf Tribe were no exception, but even so, many young males still failed to find a female to be their mate.
To the wolves, every female was extremely precious.
Lang Zhu wanted Lin Huanhuan to stay so she could choose a few young males from the Wolf Tribe to be her mates.
Bai Di was furious at the thought of other males sharing Lin Huanhuan with him.
Lin Huanhuan was his mate alone. He would never allow anyone to touch her!
Bai Di carried Lin Huanhuan away from the foot of the mountain and found a cave nearby.
He spread thick hay on the ground, then put Lin Huanhuan down on it.
“I’m going hunting nearby. I’ll be back soon. Stay here and wait for me. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Okay.”
Bai Di deliberately used a large rock to block the entrance of the cave to prevent anyone from seeing Lin Huanhuan. Only then did he reluctantly leave.
Lin Huanhuan opened the cloth bag and took out the kindling.
She gathered some dry wood, stacked them, and carefully lit them.
There was a fire!
Lin Huanhuan felt the warmth that she had not felt in a long time, and a happy smile bloomed on her face.
Using the light from the fire, she began to leaf through the book.
The first few pages of the book briefly introduced the continent. Two points were highlighted.
The first point mentioned was the existence of soul beasts, while the other point was about females.
Soul beasts were beings that evolved from ordinary beast people and were very powerful.
As for females, they were even rarer than soul beasts. They were responsible for reproducing.
They were so rare that each female would have many male mates in order to reproduce better.
When she read this, Lin Huanhuan became really embarrassed.
She did not expect this world to advocate polygamy.
She read on and got to the part about the fragrant and crunchy fruits.
The leaves and fruits of woody plants could be used as medicine. Consuming them could extinguish excessive heat in the body, while applying them externally can stop bleeding and reduce inflammation.
Lin Huanhuan immediately opened the hide pouch that Lang Zhu had given her and grabbed two crunchy fruits from it.
The dark red fruit was round. Upon taking a closer look, she could smell a faint sweet fragrance.
With the little female in the cave on his mind, Bai Di finished off his prey as quickly as he could before hurrying back while dragging the carcass behind him.
It was late at night, and the mountains were pitch-black. The firelight coming from the cave was especially bright.
As soon as he saw the fire, his expression changed.
Fire in the cave!
His little female was still in the cave!
Bai Di quickly dropped his prey and raced into the cave.
Lin Huanhuan, who was studying the crunchy fruits, looked up slowly and froze when she saw Bai Di’s anxious expression.
“W-What happened to you?”
He rushed to her and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s get out of here!”
Lin Huanhuan was confused. “Why? Did something happen?”
“There’s a fire. It’s dangerous!” Bai Di grabbed the animal hide and lunged for the fire! He had to put it out!
Lin Huanhuan was shocked by his actions.
She quickly took his arm. “Take it easy! I lit this fire!”
He stopped what he was doing and stared at her in astonishment. “You lit the fire? Did you know that fire is dangerous? Anything that touches it will be incinerated!”
“I know, but as long as I’m careful, I won’t be burned.” Lin Huanhuan tried to convince him. “I’ve been sitting by the fire for so long, but I wasn’t burned. It’s enough to prove that it’s not as dangerous as you think. And I need the fire. It can provide me with warmth and cook food for me.”
He hesitated for a moment, then relented.
The little female needed fire, and he didn’t have the heart to refuse her.
Bai Di dragged the prey he had dropped earlier into the cave. He carefully peeled the skin and set it aside, intending to wash it in the morning.
His little female liked to collect hides. He was going to satisfy this hobby of hers.
Bai Di cut the most tender piece of meat and shared it with Lin Huanhuan.
He watched as Lin Huanhuan cut the meat into strips and skewered them on a branch before roasting them on the fire.
The meat sizzled as it roasted. The grease dripped into the fire, sending up sparks.
Bai Di watched, terrified that his little female would be burned. He was tense as he got ready to pounce and rescue her if needed.
Lin Huanhuan handed him the roasted meat and looked at him encouragingly. “Try it.”
He hesitated a moment, then took the skewer and bit into it.
It was hot but fragrant.
It was much better than raw meat!
Bai Di finished the skewer in big bites and praised her sincerely. “Delicious!”
Seeing that he liked it, Lin Huanhuan was very happy.
Bai Di immediately cut the rest of the raw meat into pieces and set them over the fire to roast.
He seemed to be very talented in cooking and immediately understood the technique of roasting meat.
The meat he roasted was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was crispy and delicious!
Lin Huanhuan ate four skewers of barbecue and was full. The rest of the barbecue went into Bai Di’s stomach.
The deliciousness of the roasted meat finally made him less afraid of fire.
The well-fed Bai Di turned into a white tiger and sprawled beside the fire. He would occasionally lick his wounds from time to time.
The wounds his prey had given him earlier in the day were still on his forelimbs. They had stopped bleeding, but they still hurt.
Lin Huanhuan moved over. “Let me bandage your wounds.”
She took out a crunchy fruit, chewed it, and carefully applied the paste to Bai Di’s wounds.