The tips of his ears flushed. "I'll go get you some food."
With that, he hurried out.
Bai Wanwan didn't notice his reaction. She picked up a bit of salt and tasted it.
It was coarse salt, but it was definitely salty. 'This is great,' she thought, her heart filled with delight.
Before long, Xin Feng came in from outside, carrying a stone basin.
Inside the basin was a tender piece of meat, still slick with fresh blood.
"You must be hungry. This is for you."
Bai Wanwan took one look, then immediately turned away and began to gag.
She waved her hand frantically. "No, no, I can't eat that! GAG..."
Seeing her reaction, Xin Feng immediately came over and patted her on the back. "Are you feeling sick?"
He was at a complete loss. He knew Bai Wanwan was pregnant, but this was his first time being a Beast Husband, and he had no idea how to care for an expectant female.
After gagging a few more times, Bai Wanwan finally managed to speak. "I'm fine. Just take the raw meat away. I don't eat that stuff."
"Then what will you eat?"
Xin Feng was a little surprised. All the females he knew loved eating the most tender cuts of meat. 'Could what I've heard be wrong?'
"I'll just have some jerky, but that doesn't taste good either. Why don't you come with me to the mountains tomorrow to find something to eat?"
Now that she had salt, all she could think about was finding more food to treat her long-suffering stomach.
It had really been through a lot with her.
"Alright."
He moved the raw meat aside and covered it with a lid. Bai Wanwan turned her head to watch him, noticing that he wasn't eating anything himself.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"I already ate."
When he was cutting the meat for her earlier, he had eaten the leftover, tougher pieces himself.
"How much did you eat?"
Xin Feng hadn't expected her to ask that.
"I ate a lot."
"You're lying. I bet you only ate a little."
Bai Wanwan stood up, walked over to him, and lifted the lid off the basin. "You eat this."
"I can't. This needs to be saved for you."
He wasn't strong enough to go into the deep mountains right now, so he could only hunt small animals. It wasn't easy to feed himself and a female. Fortunately, he was used to eating little and had stockpiled some jerky. That, combined with what the Clan Leader might send, should be enough to get them through a short snow season.
If the snow season dragged on, however, they'd have to find another way.
But Bai Wanwan was firm. "No. You need to eat more to get strong. I'll need you to take care of me later. How are you going to do that if you don't keep your own strength up?"
Xin Feng sighed in resignation. "I'm not starving. I'll be able to take care of you, no problem. We should still save our food."
"There's no need to save. I'm the only Holy Female in the entire tribe. The Clan Leader won't let me starve. Now hurry up and eat. I'm watching you."
Xin Feng was helpless against her. In the end, under her watchful eye, he ate the whole basin of meat.
Satisfied, Bai Wanwan felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her, and she let out a yawn.
She was about to go outside to get some water to wash up when Xin Feng brought it in for her.
'This male is so thoughtful.'
Bai Wanwan curved her lips into a smile. "Thank you."
She took the basin from him, wrung out the animal hide, and gently wiped her face with it.
Xin Feng had moved on to other tasks, but his gaze was constantly, unconsciously drawn back to her.
Whenever he glanced over, he couldn't help but think her movements were far more graceful than any other female's.
It made him reluctant to look away.
Seeing how happy she was while washing up, Xin Feng thought, 'I was right. The little female really loves to be clean.'
He'd never met a female who was so fond of being clean.
'Going to the river to bathe in this cold weather...'
Seeing how happy and comfortable she looked after washing up, he couldn't help but smile himself.
By the time Bai Wanwan was done, Xin Feng had already prepared his own sleeping area in the adjoining part of the cave.
Bai Wanwan had no intention of anything happening between them just yet, and Xin Feng seemed to feel the same way.
And so, they spent the night peacefully.
Bai Wanwan relaxed and slept soundly.
When she woke up, Xin Feng was gone.
'This guy... He promised he'd go with me to the mountains, so where has he been all morning?'
She had just finished gnawing on a strip of jerky around noon when Xin Feng finally appeared.
His animal-hide clothing was torn, his arm was covered in blood, and the uninjured side of his handsome face was deathly pale.
Despite this, he carried his prey on his shoulder, walking toward her one step at a time.
"You went hunting?"
"Yes. I was afraid the snow season would be long and you wouldn't have enough to eat."
"Are you an idiot? I'm the Holy Female. Do you really think the Clan Leader would let me starve?"
"He won't let you starve, but he will make you accept males you don't want."
'That's true...'
A strange emotion stirred in Bai Wanwan's heart.
By the time Xin Feng dropped the wild boar on the ground, Bai Wanwan was already beside him. Looking at the numerous cuts on his body, she sighed. "Don't sneak off into the mountains by yourself next time. If you go, I'm going with you."
"The mountains are too dangerous. You shouldn't go."
Bai Wanwan shot him a glare. "I'm going. It'll be safer if we dig traps."
For some reason, Xin Feng didn't dare argue back.
Only then did Bai Wanwan say, "Are you hungry? I've prepared something for you to eat."
She pulled Xin Feng over to a stone seat. Between them was a large, flat rock she'd had Xin Shan find to use as a table.
And right now, the "table" was covered with strips of translucent meat.
"Are these water bugs?"
"They're not bugs! They're delicious fish and shrimp!"
She had already tried a bite while cooking and was so happy she could have cried.
The fish and shrimp had a natural, delicate sweetness. After she cut them with a Stone Knife and sprinkled on a tiny bit of salt, the flavor exploded on her long-deprived taste buds.
She used two twigs as chopsticks to pick up a piece of shrimp, holding it to his lips. "Open up. Give it a try."
Xin Feng looked a bit skeptical. 'Such a tiny sliver of meat... how many of these would it take to get full?'
But seeing the bright sparkle in the female's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. He finally opened his mouth and took the sliver of meat.
He only chewed twice before the meat seemed to melt in his mouth.
It was... more delicious than anything he had ever eaten.
Xin Feng didn't say a word, but Bai Wanwan could read his satisfaction on his face.
"Good, right? Go on, eat up."
Since there were two of them now, Bai Wanwan had cooked all the fish and shrimp that Xin Yu had caught for her a few days prior.
They ate until they were about half-full, but both felt extremely satisfied.
Bai Wanwan gnawed on a piece of fruit. "Go eat some more meat," she told Xin Feng. "Get your fill. We'll rest for a bit, then head up the mountain."
Urged on by Bai Wanwan, Xin Feng ate a few more pieces of meat before going to fetch some water.
But after waiting for a while, Bai Wanwan realized he hadn't come back.
She got up and walked to the entrance of the cave to look out.
One look was all it took. 'Good grief,' she thought. Hu Ya was at it again.
She was blocking Xin Feng's path, muttering something to him. Bai Wanwan couldn't hear what she was saying, but she could clearly see the impatience on Xin Feng's face.
"Hu Ya, why are you always buzzing around my Beast Husband? Don't you have one of your own?"
Hearing the voice, Hu Ya spun around. The hurt expression she'd been showing Xin Feng instantly morphed into rage, which she directed at Bai Wanwan.
"Bai Wanwan, you cheat! What trick did you use to get Xin Feng to agree to be your Beast Husband? He doesn't even like you! You're shameless!"
"Who says he doesn't like me? If not me, then you? If that's the case, why didn't he agree to be *your* Beast Husband?"
Hu Ya was so angry she was speechless. It took her a long moment to find a new line of attack.
"I was listening last night! There wasn't a single sound from your cave. You just became mates, and he won't even touch you. How could he possibly like you?"