Chapter 7: Chapter 7: A Cozy Morning

The next day, at dawn.

Chen Rong opened his sleepy eyes and got up, still tired.

After washing up, he headed toward the lake to collect the fish baskets. The smell of fried meat had filled the den all night, and even in his dreams, Chen Rong could smell it. He tossed and turned, barely sleeping at all.

Meanwhile, Chang Xia slept soundly.

She even snored a little. More than once, Chen Rong was tempted to get up and eat a few more pieces of fried meat. Unfortunately, he’d eaten so much that night, his stomach couldn’t take any more.

“Chen Rong?” Chang Xia called out when she heard movement.

Chen Rong paused and replied gently, “I’m going to the lake to collect the fish baskets. It’s still early—sleep a bit more.” Before leaving, he wrapped the leftover meat scraps in leaves and took them with him. He’d saved these specifically to use as bait in the fish baskets.

Hearing that Chen Rong was going to collect the fish baskets, Chang Xia rolled over on the floor, which was covered with woven rattan mats. She rolled to the wall and soon fell back asleep.

The rattan mats had been woven by Chen Rong earlier and left to dry for half an afternoon—they were only half dry.

The floor of the den was covered with a layer of boards, and now that it was spring, it wasn’t too cold to sleep on. Still, Chang Xia felt it was too damp, so she laid the half-dry rattan mats on the floor and put an animal hide on top, making a makeshift bed.

Most of the beast tribe slept directly on the ground and weren’t picky.

Chang Xia wasn’t used to it—the ground was damp and hard, and every time she woke up, she felt sore and uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, she only had a few animal hides.

The roof of the den still needed repairs. If it wasn’t fixed before the rainy season, it would rain outside and drip inside. They really were too poor—every little thing had to be carefully rationed.

After a bit more sleep, Chang Xia woke up.

She smelled a delicious aroma and, rubbing her sleepy eyes, looked toward the door. She saw Chen Rong returning from the lake with the fish baskets, and breakfast was already being prepared—he was grilling meat.

The delicious smell came from the grilled meat in Chen Rong’s hands.

“Chen Rong, I didn’t know you had it in you!” Chang Xia teased, sitting up and hugging her knees, not in a hurry to get up.

This smelled even better than the grilled meat back in the tribe!

Chen Rong smiled, squeezed a bit of sour fruit juice onto the meat, and said, “I’ve wandered through many places. Grilling meat is the one skill I can really be proud of.”

“Where have you been?” Chang Xia asked excitedly.

She was genuinely interested in this topic. Stuck in the Heluo tribe all her life, Chang Xia longed to see the outside world. Last time she went to the Normandy market for a matchmaking event, she was in such a rush that, apart from a few days on the Normandy plains, most of her time was spent traveling.

She didn’t even have time to take a closer look at the wildflowers by the roadside.

Now that she was finally healthy, how could she not look forward to seeing the world outside?

“What do you want to know about?” Chen Rong asked with a smile, making Chang Xia suck in a breath.

Chang Xia tilted her head, thinking.

“Never mind, just tell me about the Misty Forest.”

Given her current situation, even getting to know the Misty Forest was hard enough. The wider world could wait for another time.

“The Misty Forest is in the center of the Eastern Continent. It’s the habitat of the beast tribes. To the east is the Qinghai Plateau, home of the bird tribe. To the south is the Eastern Sea, where the fish tribe lives.

“The Heluo tribe is on the eastern edge of the Misty Forest and has a good relationship with the bird tribe.

“The Heluo tribe is made up of leopards. To the north are the lions and wolves; to the west are the snakes, foxes, and rabbits; the south is the largest and most complex area.”

Chang Xia was from the chinchilla tribe, but lived in the Heluo tribe. Chen Rong hadn’t asked why—he guessed it was by accident or for some other reason.

Listening to Chen Rong describe the different beast tribes of the Misty Forest, Chang Xia’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Nan Feng had told her the Misty Forest was huge, but she’d never really understood just how big.

Now, for the first time,

Chang Xia was truly amazed.

The Heluo tribe alone, just the part she knew, had territory the size of a province. The Misty Forest, as the main home of the beast tribes, was unimaginably vast.

If the Misty Forest was already so big,

How vast must the whole continent be?!

Just thinking about it made Chang Xia’s heart race with excitement.

“You know so much about the Misty Forest—have you lived here before?” Chang Xia asked curiously, getting up to wash as Chen Rong’s grilled meat was ready.

On the stove, the simmering meat was bubbling away, releasing an irresistible, mouthwatering aroma.

It was obvious.

Chen Rong was truly skilled with his hands.

After watching Chang Xia do it just once, he could perfectly replicate it.

Yet again.

Chang Xia felt secretly grateful that she had managed to bring Chen Rong back to the tribe from the Normandy market.

“I was born in the Twilight Forest,” Chen Rong said.

Hearing this, Chang Xia raised her eyebrows.

Born in the Twilight Forest, and had wandered through many places.

Suddenly, Chang Xia felt a hint of pity as she looked at Chen Rong.

Noticing this, Chen Rong shook his head and smiled, “Don’t overthink it. I wasn’t abandoned by my tribe or my people. There are some things I can’t tell you yet—maybe I’ll explain when there’s time in the future, okay?” Right now, he was half a cripple; whatever glory he once had had long since faded.

If possible, he just wanted to spend the rest of his days as Chang Xia’s mate, living a peaceful life.

“Alright, talk when you’re ready.” Chang Xia waved her hand, not pressing him.

She chewed on a willow twig, washed her face with warm water, then sat by the stove. She took the bowl of meat soup Chen Rong handed her, picked up a piece of roast meat, and was delighted by how amazing it tasted. From now on, she decided, Chen Rong would be in charge of all the roasting.

It was just ordinary roast meat, but Chen Rong made it taste like real barbecue. He was definitely a genius!

“This roast meat is incredible!” Chang Xia exclaimed in amazement.

The salt lake was near Mount Kana, in the territory of the shamans.

Except for collecting salt, beastfolk rarely ventured near Mount Kana.

“Let’s empty out the baskets—we need to bring back as much salt as we can this time. We’ll need it for curing meat and vegetables. Besides salt, I also want to gather more white fruit.” Chang Xia calculated in her head; her household used a lot of salt and went through it quickly, and she didn’t want to keep making trips to the salt lake.

If they were going, they might as well stock up.

“White fruit? What do you want white fruit for?” Chen Rong asked, surprised.

White fruit could be dried and ground into powder, then cooked into a porridge. It was used to feed young cubs who couldn’t drink milk. In fact, all beastfolk cubs under six would eat some fruit porridge.

But they didn’t have any cubs at home—wasn’t it a bit odd to gather white fruit?

As he asked, Chen Rong glanced cautiously at Chang Xia’s belly.

Chang Xia’s mouth twitched. She glared at Chen Rong and explained, “What are you looking at? I want to gather white fruit to make noodles or rice noodles from the fruit powder.”

She’d always wanted to experiment with that.

Unfortunately, back then, Nan Feng had kept too close an eye on her.

White fruit was unique to the Twilight Forest and could be harvested year-round.

“Noodles? Rice noodles? What are those?” Chen Rong asked, a little embarrassed, scratching his head.

Chang Xia shook her head lightly. “They’re both foods. Once we’ve collected enough white fruit and dried and ground it, I’ll see if the powder can be made into noodles or rice noodles.”

She tilted her head, licking her lips.

Thinking back to the taste of fruit porridge, it was more like rice porridge.

She figured the powder would probably be better for making rice noodles.

Rice noodles… Chang Xia couldn’t help but crave them.

Guilin rice noodles, snail noodles, Changde rice noodles, stir-fried rice noodles…

Enough! She couldn’t let her imagination run wild, or she’d be drooling.

“Get more baskets ready. Let’s bring back as much salt and white fruit as possible. When we get back, I’ll make you something delicious—better than stewed meat or boiled river shrimp!” Chang Xia wiped her mouth and quickly finished the roast meat in her hand.

Right now, she couldn’t wait to get started.