Hei Ting: "..." Is Ya Ge female?
His expression cracked slightly, unsure whether to believe the little female's words, or if it was just a coincidence of names.
Shu An put on the animal skin skirt, and tied two pieces of animal skin around her feet. She felt exposed and unaccustomed without a small undershirt, and the animal skin was a bit stiff and uncomfortable against her skin.
Hei Ting suppressed the urge to strip the animal skin off her and asked, "Are you hungry?"
Shu An nodded, "I'm hungry, I want to eat roasted meat."
Hei Ting patted her head, "I'll take you out to eat."
Shu An dodged his touch, glaring at him unhappily, "Don't touch my head, I won't grow taller if you do!"
"After breakfast, I want to return to the Triceratops tribe to check on Big Horn Brother's injuries."
Putting aside the term "Triceratops" for now, Hei Ting found it strange, "Why do you call a herbivore 'brother'? And how did you get here from the other side of the sea?"
He was grateful to the Beast God for sending the female back to him, but he wanted to know more about how she got here.
Mentioning this made Shu An even angrier, "I was kidnapped by bad people, that's how I ended up here!"
She wondered what happened to Shui You, who had sent her here. Water was his domain, so he should be fine.
Hei Ting: "?" Tell me more!
Shu An didn't want to say too much, "I don't want to talk about it now. I'll tell you when I feel like it. Right now, I want to eat." She was very hungry!
Hei Ting: "..." Only she could be so presumptuous with him!
Outside the cave, the fallen beasts only knew that their leader had brought back a female last night. Upon seeing her this morning, they were surprised that their leader's chosen female was both beautiful and young. As expected of their leader, he always went for the best!
Watching their leader depart, the fallen beasts were excited. With their leader having a new female, did that mean the White Spirit Beast in the tribe would be theirs?!
They didn't understand what their leader was thinking. He had snatched the White Spirit Beast but didn't mate with her, instead keeping her for observation, bathing her clean every day. Despite her cleanliness, their leader never touched her. What a peculiar habit!
Of course, these were thoughts they only dared to have in their hearts. Sometimes, they were also grateful for their leader's "peculiar habit," as it benefited them.
Little did they know, Hei Ting detested females who had been touched by others. This White Spirit Beast, snatched from the Waka tribe, had a mixed scent of males on her, with at least two male partners. She had even given birth, which Hei Ting could not tolerate!
He was proud and would rather remain single for life than settle!
Hei Ting had known that raising a female was troublesome, requiring animal skins for modesty, cooked food, and various types of sustenance. He hadn't thought much about it before, as he could delegate these tasks to his subordinates.
But when he finally found a female he truly desired, he realized he couldn't bear the thought of any other male touching anything belonging to his mate, nor did he want her to be seen by others. Thus, without a second thought, he went to roast meat in the wilderness.
In the past, when hunting, he would choose large and strong beasts, as they had a satisfying chew. Now, as he moved through the forest, he was searching for a small beast, said to be one of the favorite foods of females.
Shu An sat on the beast's back, watching Hei Ting hunt, feeling a strange sensation. She felt that Hei Ting was different from the fallen beasts she had seen before; he wasn't as bad. Although he had done something shameless, he hadn't truly harmed her, and she could sense his care for her.
It was a peculiar feeling.
After the hunt, Hei Ting's claws were skewering a small gray-furred beast. Shu An glanced at it, unable to name it.
Hei Ting led her to the riverbank from the previous night, a place with special significance to him.
However, one had to overlook his clumsy skinning technique; it could be said that this was the first time he had done such a troublesome task.
Seeing him cleaning the prey for her, Shu An felt she couldn't just watch idly, so she said, "I'll go pick up some dry firewood. Do you have a flint?"
Hei Ting: "..." He forgot to bring it!
"Yes, I do. Don't worry about it, let me handle it." His deep voice carried a hint of dominance.
Shu An shook her head, "I'm very hungry now. If I help, it will be faster. Besides, you're cleaning too slowly."
She had helped with housework since she was young. Cleaning prey was a simple and quick task; she had watched her father do it for over ten years. But Hei Ting's efforts were… indescribable. She wouldn't comment.
Since he caught the prey for her to eat, it wouldn't be polite to be too picky.
Hei Ting: "..."
His face turned green and then red. He hadn't expected to be deemed slow by the little female. If he had known, he would have practiced beforehand!
He was about to tell her to stay put and not move, but when he turned around, the little female was already skillfully gathering branches, and smartly, she wasn't wandering far, remaining within his senses.
Suppressing the strange feeling that arose in his heart, Hei Ting silently turned back and continued his task. This feeling was new and unprecedented...
By the time Shu An finished gathering branches, Hei Ting had finally finished cleaning the prey. The shape was not worth mentioning, but it was washed quite clean.
"Give me the flint, I'll start the fire." Shu An extended her hand to him.
Hei Ting paused for a moment, placed the skewered prey on the makeshift branch rack, and said, "Wait for me, I'll be back soon."
With that, he shot out like an arrow. Shu An watched him leave, a faint smile on her lips. She knew he was lying; she had seen him leave without anything before they went out, and she had reminded him to take the animal skin skirt.
Hei Ting's scent was present here, so wild beasts wouldn't approach for a while. About ten minutes later, Hei Ting returned.
When he transformed back into his human form, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing was slightly labored, indicating the haste of his journey.
He not only brought the flint but also salt.
Shu An looked at the salt wrapped in leaves and sighed again, "What is it?"
Shu An put down the salt and said, "These salt blocks don't taste good. I miss the fine salt from my home."
Another unfamiliar word, "Fine salt? What is that?"
Hei Ting felt a bit dejected. From her words, it was evident that the little female's home was likely much better than his own.
Shu An explained what fine salt was. Then, Hei Ting grabbed the leaves containing the salt and squeezed them tightly, breaking the salt blocks into smaller pieces.
Seeing this, Shu An's mouth twitched, "It's not like that. You'll understand when you see it in the future."
Hei Ting: "..."
Speaking of home, Shu An looked at the burning flames and a thought suddenly crossed her mind. She tilted her head to look at the beast beside her and asked, "Hei Ting, do you sincerely want to be my mate?"
Hei Ting: "Of course!"
Hearing this, Shu An said with anticipation, "Then take me home. Let me introduce you to my parents. If they are satisfied with you, I'm willing to try dating you."
The female's gaze was sincere, but Hei Ting seemed to hear a joke, "I am a fallen beast. Do you think they would agree?"
Shu An: "..." So you do know your identity!
"Hei Ting, you don't know this, but in our East Sea region, there are no fallen beasts. As long as you change your fallen beast habits, you are no different from ordinary beastmen."