She... She... She was being spanked!
In all her years, this was the first time she had ever been spanked!
And by a man, no less!
How mortifying!
Su Yu's face flushed crimson. She struggled, trying to raise her hands to cover her rear, and shouted in humiliation, "Shi Wei!"
Shi Wei said nothing, his face cold as he delivered two more smacks.
The first was to punish her for running around while she was sick.
The next two were because he discovered her bottom was surprisingly bouncy and soft, and he couldn't resist patting it twice more.
Su Yu was so humiliated she was on the verge of tears. She struggled and grabbed his hand. "Stop hitting me! You're going to make my butt swell up."
Shi Wei's expression froze. He hadn't used much force, but thinking of Su Yu's delicate and fragile body, he worriedly lifted her Beast Skin Skirt to check carefully.
Su Yu only felt a cool draft on her rear as her lower body was completely exposed.
Her face burned an even deeper shade of red, and she flailed in Shi Wei's arms like a fish out of water. "Shi Wei, you bastard! Let me go!"
Shi Wei easily restrained her and pulled the lifted Beast Skin Skirt back down. "It's just a little red, not swollen."
He slid his hands under her arms, hoisted her up like a cub to face him, and asked with a stern expression, "Do you know what you did wrong?"
'Heavens knew how worried and angry he had felt when he saw the herbs in her arms.'
She was sick, yet she disobeyed him and ran off. On top of that, there had been signs of Stray Beast activity around the tribe recently.
He couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if Su Yu were captured by a Stray Beast.
'He would go insane.'
Su Yu covered her bottom and pouted. She couldn't very well say the herbs came from her system, nor could she claim she took them from Granny Wu Zhi's cave.
After all, Granny Wu Zhi had gone out specifically to gather herbs. If there were already herbs in the cave, she wouldn't have needed to go out at all. Su Yu could only say tearfully, "I did nothing wrong!"
Shi Wei was furious, but he couldn't bring himself to say another harsh word to her. Instead, his large hand clamped onto the back of her head, and he kissed her forcefully.
His kiss was nothing like the ones before. It was fierce, almost savage, as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Su Yu trembled in his tight embrace, able only to powerlessly endure the kiss that felt like a torrential storm.
When Shi Wei finally let her go, her lips were swollen and crimson, and her oxygen-deprived brain felt a little dizzy.
But she hadn't forgotten she was angry. She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him away with all her might.
Shi Wei caught her small hands, brought them to his lips for a kiss, and sighed. "Be more obedient from now on. Don't do such dangerous things, okay?"
Su Yu snatched her hands back as if she'd been shocked and said, a little vexed, "I know."
Shi Wei stared at her flushed lips and couldn't resist kissing her again. This time, the kiss was much gentler, and so...
...another night of entanglement followed.
With Stray Beasts appearing around the tribe, the Hunting Team had split up, leaving a portion behind to patrol the tribe's perimeter every day.
As the mainstay of the Hunting Team, Shi Wei had to lead a group out to hunt every day. It became the norm for him to leave early and return late.
Su Yu gradually adapted to life in the tribe. Once she had fully recovered, she even went out with the gathering team twice.
Each time, she found many new, edible foods.
The females of the tribe also got along with her more and more harmoniously.
Ten days passed peacefully and pleasantly like this.
「The next day.」
Su Yu groggily climbed out of bed, but the hand she used to prop herself up on the stone bed landed on something soft yet firm.
She froze for a moment, then subconsciously gave it a squeeze, only to be grabbed and pulled into an embrace by a readily-aroused Shi Wei, who held her down and gave her several good kisses.
Su Yu struggled to push the clingy Wolf Beast away and asked him, "Why didn't you go hunting today?"
Shi Wei grabbed her hand and kissed it, mumbling, "There's a gathering today. The tribe is almost out of salt, so we need to go to the gathering to trade for more."
Su Yu's eyes lit up. "Can you take me with you? I'll be very good. I won't cause any trouble."
'This is a gathering in the Beast World! Even if I can't see what it looks like clearly, I can still experience the atmosphere!'
Besides, neither she nor the original owner of this body had ever participated in any large-scale events growing up.
Their bodies had never been strong enough.
Shi Wei ruffled her hair. "Of course, you can."
He hadn't been able to spend much time with her these past few days and was feeling guilty, so of course he would grant her request.
Su Yu beamed and gave him a quick peck, then hurriedly got up to wash. With Shi Wei's help, she changed into a new Beast Skin Skirt.
After breakfast, Su Yu and Shi Wei sorted through the things they were going to trade at the market.
The two of them didn't have much—mostly just some extra cured meat that Shi Wei had made which couldn't be stored for long, along with some unused Beast Skins, Earth Eggs, fruits, and wild vegetables.
When packed up, it all fit into two Beast Skin Bags.
Shi Wei transformed into his beast form, slung both Beast Skin Bags over his back, then used his head to nudge Su Yu onto his back.
Shi Wei said, "Hold on tight."
Su Yu answered with an "okay" and gripped his soft wolf fur tightly as they set off for the gathering.
They weren't the only ones from the tribe going to the gathering; quite a few other Beastmen were going as well.
This included the leader's family, Granny Wu Zhi, and also Sang Guo and Ness.
Sang Guo spotted Su Yu from afar and waved happily at her. "Yu Yu! Are you going to the gathering too? Let's go together!"
Su Yu nodded with a smile. "Okay!"
Sang Guo had her brother, who was carrying her, move closer to Shi Wei. Braving Shi Wei's cold glare, she chattered away with Su Yu, taking the opportunity to explain what the gathering was like.
The gathering was just like the market days in the small town of Su Yu's previous life.
It was only held during the spring, dry, and autumn seasons.
Every ten days after the winter season, the surrounding tribes would gather in Red Flower Valley to display things their tribe could trade, bartering with other tribes for what they needed.
This time, the leader and the others were mainly going to trade with the Hippo Tribe for salt.
After all, a whole winter had passed, and their salt reserves were almost depleted.
Su Yu's brow furrowed.
'All the surrounding tribes will be there? Doesn't that mean she might run into people from the original owner's former tribe?'
Su Yu had no good feelings for most of the Beastmen from that tribe.
It was true that the original owner had a gloomy and jealous personality, but most of the Beastmen in that tribe weren't good people either. They would often say provocative things to her and even steal the food she had worked so hard to get.
The females of that tribe were not as friendly as those in the Liaoshui Tribe; isolation and bullying were common occurrences.
'If they meet this time, it probably won't end well.'
Shi Wei sensed the change in Su Yu's mood and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you tired?"
Su Yu shook her head. "No, it's just..."
She tightened her grip on Shi Wei's fur, thought for a moment, and decided to be honest. "We might run into Beastmen from my old tribe at this gathering. They're... not very friendly."
"What's there to be afraid of? You've got Shi Wei! If they dare to cause you trouble, we'll just send them all flying!" Sang Guo said, shaking her fist.
Shi Wei's gaze deepened as he reassured her, "Don't be afraid. I'm here. They won't bully you again."
Su Yu's heart warmed slightly, and she murmured with some embarrassment, "I thought you guys would think I was causing trouble for you."
A child who grows up alone is always afraid of being a burden to others.
Shi Wei stopped and turned his head to look at her seriously. "Yu Yu, listen to me. I'm never afraid of any trouble you might bring me. And to me, you are never trouble."
Su Yu's cheeks flushed, and she shyly buried her head in his fur. "I know."
After running for the better part of the day, chatting and laughing, they finally arrived at Red Flower Valley.
Inside Red Flower Valley, many tribes had already set up stalls displaying various goods produced by their people.
Shi Wei found the Liaoshui Tribe's regular spot and had the other males with them take down the Beast Skin Bags from their backs before he carefully crouched down to let Su Yu slide off.
Just as Su Yu got her footing, a surprised voice came from behind her. "Are you... Su Yu?"
Hu Ya looked astonished. "You're not dead?"