Chapter 8: Did You Get My Permission?

No way, no way... is the handsome male beastman before her eyes the same Golden Tiger beast that hunted the deer beast yesterday?

Qiao Xixi was speechless; she felt a sense of embarrassment, as if she had been caught red-handed stealing something.

"Um, I left a piece of beast skin back then."

Jin Lin let out a chuckle. His voice was very pleasant, but exceptionally cold.

"Did you have my permission?"

She hadn't...

Seeing Qiao Xixi and Jin Lin going back and forth, the three cubs felt that they were getting along quite well, making them even more satisfied with their decision to carry Jin Lin back.

Last night, they had seen Qiao Xixi vomit after taking just one bite of the deer beast meat. They had unanimously decided that this stupid female desperately needed a powerful male to take care of her, otherwise, she might very well die.

Although none of the cubs liked Qiao Xixi, none of them wanted her to die either.

It just so happened that they encountered Jin Lin while going to the Snow Forest, so they brought him back for Qiao Xixi.

Seeing Qiao Xixi's embarrassed expression, Jin Lin felt that she wasn't entirely bad to the core.

"Until my injuries heal, I will stay in this cave temporarily."

"This cave was clearly found by us first."

This male's origins were unknown; what if he turned hostile toward her and the cubs?

Jin Lin tossed the beast skin Qiao Xixi had left behind back to her.

"That deer leg can be considered compensation for you all."

Qiao Xixi glanced at the deer beast that the cubs had carried back.

Although this male looked heavily injured, having him in the cave still posed a significant risk to them. She wasn't willing to trade everything for just one deer leg.

Just now, Qiao Qiao had whispered to her that there was also a very large Black-Haired Long-Tusk beast in the Snow Forest. If they could get half of it, they could eat for many days.

"Not enough. I want half of all your prey."

Jin Lin's golden pupils slowly narrowed into slits, and a powerful pressure surged toward Qiao Xixi.

Qiao Xixi felt as if breathing had become difficult, but she still straightened her back and looked Jin Lin directly in the eyes.

A moment later, Jin Lin suddenly retracted the aura he had intentionally released.

His heart ailment had flared up, leaving him almost unable to move.

If these rogue beasts forcibly seized all the prey, he wouldn't be able to stop them. If he agreed to their terms, at least half would remain.

"Fine."

On this vast snowy plain, Qiao Xixi could not refuse the temptation of food.

As if fearing Jin Lin might go back on his word, after negotiating with him, Qiao Xixi immediately led the cubs toward the Snow Forest.

Snow suddenly began to fall from the sky. Large flakes landed on her hair, dyeing her silver locks the color of snow.

The path was even harder to traverse than yesterday; with every step, the accumulated snow could submerge her knees.

Qiao Xixi followed Qiao Ang and the others into the Snow Forest.

When she saw the Black-Haired Long-Tusk beast half-buried in the snow, the shock in her eyes was impossible to suppress.

She had never seen such a large long-tusked boar; it was roughly the size of an elephant in her understanding.

There weren't many obvious wounds on the Black-Haired Long-Tusk beast, except for a bloody patch on the back of its neck.

Qiao Xixi suddenly remembered the image of the Golden Tiger beast biting through the deer beast's neck yesterday.

"Stupid female, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and help carry the prey."

Qiao Xixi snapped out of it and stepped forward. "Wait a moment, I need to skin it first."

Jin Lin had agreed to give them half the food, but he hadn't explicitly stated who the pelt belonged to.

The pelt of a Black-Haired Long-Tusk beast was large and warm. With it, she and the children wouldn't have to shiver from the cold tonight.

The Black-Haired Long-Tusk beast was massive, and skinning it took a long time.

Qiao Xixi folded the skinned pelt neatly and then used an ice knife to cut the meat into small pieces.

"Carry this meat back first. Mother will guard it here."

The three cubs carried the meat toward the cave.

During her watch, Qiao Xixi took the opportunity to look for firewood in the Snow Forest; she had to have a bite of warm roasted meat tonight.

The four of them traveled back and forth until nightfall before they managed to carry all the butchered meat back into the cave.

Seeing that Qiao Xixi's face was flushed from the cold yet she hadn't uttered a single complaint, the sternness in Jin Lin's eyes softened slightly.

Females in the tribes never took the initiative to do anything; they simply waited for males to care for them. It was extremely rare to find someone like Qiao Xixi who handled everything personally.

Qiao Xixi knew Jin Lin was scrutinizing her with a searching gaze, but she couldn't be bothered to care.

After catching her breath, Qiao Xixi stood up and piled half of the prey next to Jin Lin.

"This half is yours."

Seeing that she divided it very fairly—even giving him a bit extra—the look in Jin Lin's eyes softened further.

"Fine."

The cave was not large. Qiao Xixi could only find a spot as far from Jin Lin as possible to sit down, stacking several stones she had gathered.

Qiao Ang and the others were already starving; they grabbed the deer meat piled on the side, ready to eat.

But before the meat could reach his mouth, Qiao Xixi stopped him.

"Wait."

Qiao Ang's light brown eyes suddenly widened, and he glared at Qiao Xixi in anger.

"Stupid female, there is so much food here and you still want to rob me!"

Seeing that he had misunderstood, Qiao Xixi explained, "Mother isn't robbing you; she's going to cook the meat for you to eat."

The anger in Qiao Ang's large eyes turned into confusion.

"What do you mean 'cook'? We have always eaten it like this."

Qiao Xixi knew that they had eaten raw food since they were small and had never even seen fire; it was normal that they wouldn't understand what cooked food was.

"You'll understand once Mother is done."

Qiao Xixi took the meat from his hand and sliced it into pieces, completely failing to notice the change in Jin Lin's golden eyes.

Jin Lin was indeed very surprised, amazed that Qiao Xixi actually knew how to cook food.

This was something only beastmen in medium-to-large tribes would do; many small tribes still relied primarily on raw food to this day.

How did a rogue female beastman know this?

After Qiao Xixi placed the gathered branches into the stack of stones, she took out a lighter and ignited them.

"Ah! Stupid female, what are you doing!"

The moment the sparks flew, the three little ones were so frightened that they turned and ran to the cave entrance, staring at her with terrified eyes.

Beastmen feared fire, especially the three little ones who were encountering it for the first time.

Jin Lin also sat up straight the moment Qiao Xixi lit the branches, his eyes full of shock.

"You possess a spark?"

Qiao Xixi knew that her having fire would surprise them, but she hadn't expected such a large reaction.

She said without changing her expression, "This was bestowed upon me by the Beast God."

All beastmen believed in the Beast God; whether they believed it or not, she was going to stick to that explanation.

Jin Lin frowned; he knew Qiao Xixi wasn't telling the truth.

But he also couldn't imagine where a rogue female beastman could have obtained a spark.

Qiao Xixi turned her gaze to the three cubs.

"Don't be afraid. As long as the fire is controlled properly, it won't hurt us."

To prove her words, once the branches caught fire, Qiao Xixi skewered the slices of deer meat on sticks and placed them over the fire to roast.

She had sliced the meat very thin, and soon the aroma of roasted meat drifted through the air.

Smelling the meat fragrance, Jin Lin's throat instinctively swallowed.

Qiao Qiao twitched her delicate little nose, staring longingly at the roasted meat in Qiao Xixi's hand.

Hunger overcame her fear of fire. She cautiously shuffled behind Qiao Xixi and spoke in a milky voice.

"Mother, it smells so good."

Qiao Xixi blew on a skewer of roasted deer meat and handed it to her.

"Here, try it and see if it's delicious."

Lured by the scent, Qiao Qiao took a big bite of a slice of meat.

The meat had been roasted by Qiao Xixi until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The moment she bit into it, the juices exploded in her mouth; the juices mixed with the meaty aroma completely conquered Qiao Qiao's taste buds.

"It's so yummy!"

Seeing his sister eating happily, Qiao Ang couldn't help but rush forward, wanting to grab the roasted meat from Qiao Qiao's hand.

But just as he reached out, his small hand froze mid-air.

(End of Chapter)