Bai Wanwan had already walked to Xin Feng's side. She leaned against his shoulder deliberately, one hand caressing her own belly. "What can I say? I'm pregnant with cubs! Don't you worry. After I give birth to this litter, I'll have the next one for him."
When Hu Ya saw that Xin Feng didn't push Bai Wanwan away, her face contorted with rage.
"Xin Feng, you don't like her, do you? You're just being forced!"
Xin Feng had no intention of dealing with Hu Ya. He turned his head and saw Bai Wanwan looking at him.
A strange sense of guilt washed over him, and he instinctively put an arm around her shoulder. "She is my female, and I like her very much."
Hu Ya completely broke down. She couldn't help but let out a shriek and glared at Bai Wanwan with hatred.
Bai Wanwan was very satisfied with this outcome. Completely ignoring Hu Ya, who was puffed up with rage beside them, she put on a sweet voice. "Xin Feng, let's go up the mountain!"
The little female's soft, sweet voice slipped into his ears, and for the first time, he actually found a female's voice to be so pleasant.
The side of his body she was leaning on felt a little numb, and the tips of his ears slowly turned red. He gave a soft "Mm," and, without realizing it, set down the water bucket and went up the mountain with her.
By the time the heat in his body gradually dissipated, he realized they had already been walking deep into the mountains for a long time.
Bai Wanwan had been cooped up in the tribe every day. Besides strolling around listening to gossip, her only other activity was strolling around listening to gossip.
Walking into the forest, she felt incomparably free. Her body and mind felt uplifted.
'If only I could find more delicious food, that would be even better.'
She was in high spirits when Xin Feng suddenly grabbed her arm.
"We can't go any further. Ferocious beasts roam the deep mountains."
Bai Wanwan heeded his advice and stopped, but her eyes were filled with longing as she gazed into the deep mountains.
She also desperately wanted to possess great power, to be able to come and go from the Ten Thousand Mountains as she pleased.
'If that day ever came, and I could go wherever I wanted as if on vacation, then staying here forever wouldn't be so bad.'
But for now, she could only circle the area around the tribe.
Seeing the disappointment on her face, Xin Feng added, "If there's anything you want, you can tell me. I'll go into the mountains and find it for you."
Bai Wanwan knew he would have a hard time if he encountered a wild beast now. 'This guy hasn't done me any wrong, I can't just use him as a disposable tool.'
"Forget it, let's worry about that later. I'll just look around here and see if there are any edible plants."
She turned and began her search in earnest, but she soon had a headache on her hands.
She hadn't majored in botany; she was just an ordinary corporate drone, one who couldn't even tell wheat from chaff.
In the modern world, she couldn't even recognize all the vegetables at a market, let alone in a Primitive Forest teeming with plants.
After searching for a while with no results, she felt utterly discouraged.
"Have you ever seen a rock that can make fire?" Bai Wanwan turned and asked Xin Feng.
His expression changed drastically. "Fire will burn down the entire forest."
Although he had never seen it himself, the knowledge that it was a very dangerous thing had been passed down through generations of Beastmen.
"Fire is indeed dangerous, but if you learn how to use it, it's not. And it just so happens that I know how."
'I don't want to eat raw meat and drink blood—I want cooked food!'
Xin Feng was still uneasy. 'Thank goodness there are no Fire Stones in these mountains,' he thought.
"The kind of stone you're talking about isn't in the mountains. It's found in a place very far away."
"How far is 'very far'?"
"You probably couldn't get there even if you walked for twenty days."
"That far..."
Bai Wanwan felt like a deflated balloon, utterly disheartened.
Forget spending twenty days in the forest; with their weak bodies, they'd probably be eaten by wild beasts in less than a day.
She desperately missed modern transportation.
She was a hedonist. Being dropped onto such a backward continent was bad enough, but if she couldn't even get a single cooked meal, what was the point of having cubs? What was the point of living?
'If I'm going to live, I have to guarantee my quality of life. Otherwise, what am I even struggling for here?'
Her frustration was written all over her face, and Xin Feng's heart inexplicably softened.
"Do you really know how to use a Fire Stone?"
Bai Wanwan hummed in affirmation. "Honestly, that thing isn't that easy to light. The mountains are too damp this season; you couldn't start a fire even if you tried to commit arson. I desperately need it right now. I can't stomach raw meat. I want to eat cooked food."
Having spent the past few days with her, Xin Feng had noticed that the female was a bit of a picky eater.
Although he had heard from some of the older males that females needed to be coddled, he had truly never seen one as delicate as her—she wouldn't even eat the most tender meat.
Bai Wanwan saw the strange look on his face and couldn't resist hugging his arm. "Xin Feng, you have a way to get a Fire Stone, don't you?"
Xin Feng turned his head and saw her beautiful, fair face was very close to his. Her lovely eyes were sparkling, and his heart suddenly began to pound.
Bai Wanwan was absolutely desperate for a bite of cooked food. She tugged his arm, her voice unconsciously softening. "Please tell me, okay?"
Xin Feng found he couldn't resist her like this. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'll figure something out."
Hearing Xin Feng's reply, a radiant smile blossomed on her face.
Xin Feng didn't know if he was making the right decision, but seeing her smile, he felt that his decision was correct after all.
"Very few Beastmen use these. You probably won't find any in the nearby tribes. We'll have to wait for the Traveling Merchants to arrive and ask if they have any."
Bai Wanwan's eyes didn't even blink as she pressed, "When will the Traveling Merchants come? Can I go look for them?"
"You can't. The forest outside the tribe is extremely dangerous. Even the males have to form teams just to barely ensure their safety."
Bai Wanwan was extremely disappointed. 'Why is it so hard to get a decent meal?'
She was getting emo, and her pent-up emotions began to spiral.
"Hua Sheng, get your ass out here! I quit! I'm about to starve to death, so what's the point of giving birth?!"
The system quickly tried to soothe her. "Host, please don't be angry. I am the Childbirth System. You only get rewards after having a child. However, I can make an exception and provide you with a piece of information: a group of Traveling Merchants is about to arrive here, and they have Fire Stones."
Bai Wanwan's impending breakdown came to an abrupt halt. "Fine. I guess I'll try to keep living a little longer."
Xin Feng had been looking at her face full of fury, worried that his words had upset the little female. But who would have thought that she would be smiling again so quickly?
She even tugged on his hand and swayed it back and forth. "I'm suddenly feeling a little unwell. Let's go back."
Xin Feng nodded and bent his knees in front of her. "Get on. I'll carry you back on my piggyback."
Seeing how considerate he was, Bai Wanwan's fondness for him grew even more, and she had the urge to tease him. "Carrying me on your back will squish the cub in my belly. Why don't you carry me in your arms instead?"
Xin Feng didn't overthink it. Thinking she had a point, he reached out and lifted her into his arms.
It was his first time touching a female. Only after he was holding her did it register.
'So this is the difference between females and males,' he thought. 'She's so light, and so soft... and she even smells nice.'
The blush crept up to the tips of Xin Feng's ears a moment too late.
When Bai Wanwan saw this, she couldn't help but laugh out loud, her gaze unabashed as she stared directly at the unscarred side of his face.
'Such a handsome face, ruined by half. What a shame!'
'After I have the cub, I have to hurry up and heal his face. That way, looking at it every day will put me in a better mood.'
"You... You shouldn't keep staring at me."
"But you're handsome! And I like looking at you."
WHOOSH...
This time, it wasn't just the tips of his ears that turned red; his entire cheek was blushing.
He pressed his lips together as if trying to suppress some emotion.