Chapter 9: What is a Beast Grade, and Is It Edible?

Qiao Ang suddenly thought of Qiao Xixi's serious gaze when he had snatched water to drink.

But he really wanted to eat roasted meat right now!

He stared longingly at the roasted meat in Qiao Qiao's hands; there was only one piece left before it would be finished!

Just as Qiao Ang was anxiously trying to reach for it again, a skewer of steaming hot roasted meat was stuffed into his hand.

"There is plenty more, you all will get to eat."

Qiao Ang looked at the meat and impatiently stuffed it into his mouth.

"Ah, ow, ow, ow!"

The meat was too hot. Qiao Ang jumped in pain, yet he was unwilling to spit the meat out of his mouth.

"Be careful. Food cooked over a fire will all be hot; you have to blow on it before eating."

Qiao Xixi then handed another skewer of roasted meat to Qiao Lie.

Qiao Lie had a cold temperament; even though he craved the roasted meat, his handsome little face showed no excessive expression.

Qiao Lie took the meat, blew on it, and ate it in one bite. The meat was delicious, but the expression on his little face remained cold.

Qiao Xixi spread out the leaves she had gathered and placed the cooked meat on top.

The three cubs ate bite after bite. Seeing that their bellies were all round, Qiao Xixi stopped letting them eat; eating too much could easily lead to indigestion.

The three cubs were small after all, and they felt sleepy after eating their fill.

Qiao Xixi spread out animal skins for them to lie on and sleep.

Only after seeing that they had all closed their eyes did Qiao Xixi sit down, separated half of the roasted meat from the leaves, and brought it to Jin Lin.

Jin Lin was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Qiao Xixi to be willing to share the roasted meat with him.

"This is in thanks for your willingness to share food with us."

In truth, Qiao Xixi was still wary of him; her initiative to show goodwill was merely to prevent Jin Lin from having any ill intentions toward them, a lone female and her offspring.

Even though he didn't look like he was in good shape right now, she still felt a lingering fear when she thought about how he had deliberately released intense pressure toward her during the day.

Jin Lin had found the scent very fragrant just now. After taking the meat, he produced a piece of raw meat for her.

"I do not need a female to provide for me."

Qiao Xixi wasn't being polite; there was no reason not to take it.

"Fine, consider it an equal exchange."

Qiao Xixi took the meat, sat back down by the fire, and began eating the roasted meat.

Although there were no seasonings, cooked meat was already much better than raw meat to her.

After finishing the remaining roasted meat, she extinguished the fire and lay down beside the cubs.

Jin Lin picked up a piece of roasted meat and put it in his mouth. Because the heat had been controlled perfectly, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, better than anything he had eaten before.

He gave Qiao Xixi a deep look. This female was indeed quite different.

After eating, he looked at his injured leg and frowned.

The wound on his leg was still too serious; he feared it wouldn't recover in a short period of time.

He grabbed the animal skin skirt on the ground, his hand transforming into sharp claws to shred the skirt into strips, and then used them to bandage the torn flesh on his leg.

The injury combined with the flare-up of his heart ailment had wounded his beast soul. He was currently somewhat lacking in strength; just as he finished bandaging the wound, he closed his eyes in exhaustion.

In his sleep, Qiao Xixi felt the breathing beside her ear becoming increasingly heavy and labored.

She woke up in alarm. She felt the sleeping cubs beside her to ensure there was nothing unusual with them before turning her gaze toward Jin Lin's direction.

Are the breathing sounds of male beastmen always this loud?

Just as she was preparing to close her eyes and continue sleeping, she sensed that the sound was not quite right.

The breathing was alternating between deep and shallow, indicating that the other party was sleeping very fitfully.

After thinking for a moment, she still got up and walked over through the darkness.

Approaching Jin Lin, she spoke softly.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The other party did not respond.

Qiao Xixi frowned. A male beastman's five senses were extremely sharp; even though she was so close, he still had no reaction, so something must definitely be wrong.

Qiao Xixi went to get a few branches and returned to Jin Lin's side to relight the fire.

The faint glow illuminated Jin Lin's tightly closed eyes.

Unlike his cold and solemn appearance when his eyes were open, Jin Lin looked a bit more gentle with his eyes closed.

Qiao Xixi leaned closer and reached out to feel his forehead.

"He's so hot, he has a fever."

Qiao Xixi glanced at the wound on his leg; it was only crudely wrapped with strips of animal skin. This kind of treatment wouldn't provide any actual healing.

But she had no medicine in her hands and no way to treat him.

However, she couldn't just sit by and do nothing; after all, she had taken half of someone else's prey.

After thinking it over, Qiao Xixi got up and walked out of the cave. When she returned, she had a large handful of snow in her hands.

She covered his extra animal skins over him and applied the snow to his armpits, his neck, his forehead, and his palms.

These were all central points of blood circulation in the body; applying it to these places could lower the temperature faster.

While wiping him down, Qiao Xixi discovered five stars on his right shoulder, and she was utterly shocked.

He actually possessed a five-star beast soul.

In her understanding, even in medium-sized tribes, this level was rare.

She didn't know where he had come from.

Qiao Xixi's movements did not stop; she kept going back and forth between the inside and outside of the cave just to lower Jin Lin's temperature.

Seeing that his scalding temperature was slowly dropping, Qiao Xixi's eyelids also began to feel heavy with fatigue.

She let out a yawn and stood up, preparing to go back to the cubs to sleep.

But because she had been squatting for too long, her legs went numb. As soon as she stood up, she tilted and fell, collapsing onto Jin Lin.

"Ugh!"

Qiao Xixi's face hit his chest, and her nose felt a sudden sting.

Why were this male beastman's muscles so hard?

Her hands groped in the darkness, trying to push herself up.

This pectoral muscle... the texture was surprisingly good...

"What is this female doing? Get off."

"Eh!"

Qiao Xixi was directly flipped onto the ground by him, falling so hard her butt felt like it was going to break.

Jin Lin had a cold, handsome face, his eyes looking at Qiao Xixi with solemnity.

He hadn't expected Qiao Xixi to take the opportunity to climb onto his body.

"You had better give up the idea of making me your beast husband."

Qiao Xixi was instantly enraged upon hearing this. She had truly been trying to save him last night.

"Who wants you to be my beast husband? You had a high fever last night, and I kindly used snow to cool you down. Is this how you repay me?"

Jin Lin's gaze did not change; he clearly did not believe Qiao Xixi's words. "I do not need you to do anything to me."

"Kindness unrewarded."

Qiao Xixi sat back down by the cubs, huffing in anger.

"Useless, stupid female."

Qiao Xixi turned around and met Qiao Lie's disdainful red eyes.

"That male is even injured and you still can't handle it." Qiao Ang also sat up with sleepy, hazy eyes.

The five senses of beastmen were very sharp; the cubs had all heard what happened just now.

In their view, Qiao Xixi was trying to force herself on Jin Lin but had failed.

Qiao Xixi was speechless!

"I was treating him!"

The three cubs simultaneously gave her a massive eye-roll and turned over to sleep.

"No, I am your mother; how can you not believe in my noble beastly character?"

"Mother, what is beastly character? Is it edible?"

The well-behaved Qiao Qiao looked back, her large blue eyes full of a desire for knowledge.

"It's not."

"Oh, Mother is good. It's not edible, we don't want it."

Qiao Xixi covered her face in depression.

Listening to the conversation of the four beasts—mother and children—the corners of Jin Lin's mouth tightened even further, but he quickly discovered something unusual.

(End of Chapter)