Chapter 84: Roaming the Valley, Shopping, Shopping

After being kissed by his own female, Leng Xiao instantly became restless.

Unfortunately, Mu Qing and Leng Xiu had already noticed the two were secretly up to something behind their backs; seeing Leng Xiao holding something in his hand and forgetting what to do, only knowing to stick it onto A Li, Leng Xiu decisively ordered him to fetch water.

"A Xiao, go fetch water; the pups are all hungry."

Leng Xiao glanced at the four wolf pups, who had stopped roughhousing and were stumbling along beside Leng Xiu and Mu Qing, and clicked his tongue lightly, "Having pups is a hassle; you have to look after everything for them."

Yun Li snorted beside him, "Who said that once you have wolf pups everything will be the best for them? It's only been a short while, and you're already finding them annoying."

Leng Xiao's paternal love was like a landslide; when the pups were first born he wanted to watch them day and night, but after just over a month he could watch them turn around and eat his own feces with indifference, let alone letting the pups go hungry again.

Seeing her angry, Leng Xiao hurriedly placated her, "My mistake, my mistake; I'll fetch water right now to cook meat porridge for the pups."

Yun Li's expression softened at his words; it's no wonder she's angry—she still remembered a time when she, Mu Qing, and Leng Xiu went out, and upon returning found the fourth pup having defecated on the beast‑skin rug, then curiously turned toward its warm mess and even tried to lick it with its tongue!

As the biological father of the wolf pups, Leng Xiao was tugging at the third pup, sitting there watching while muttering some sarcastic remarks.

"Fourth pup, what are you doing? That's your own poop. If you eat it, your mom will beat you when she comes back."

"Four pups, one after another. Fourth pup, you were the last to come out, and you're still so slow at pooping."

"Still thinking about eating poop; if you dare swallow it, you won't get meat tonight."

Yun Li: … there really was a fleeting moment when I thought Leng Xiao might actually eat that lump of poop.

Is there anyone who fathers like that?

Watching his own pups about to eat poop, not rushing to stop them, just sitting there shouting.

…

Leng Xiao went to fetch water; shortly after, Mu Qing cut several large pieces of meat from the prey and also headed to the riverbank.

Yun Li watched the four wolf pups, preventing them from running wild, and occasionally handed something to Leng Xiu.

The dinner took almost two full hours to prepare, but the meat porridge wasn't hard to make; after Mu Qing returned, Leng Xiu immediately chopped the meat, steamed a huge pot over water, then poured it into a stone basin, letting the wolf pups dig in themselves.

After Yun Li finished eating and lay back on the soft beast‑skin rug, the moon was already hanging high in the sky.

That night she unusually fell asleep instantly without any strenuous activity; when she woke the next day, Mu Qing had already lit the campfire, with sizzling, oil‑seeping roast meat on a rack.

On the other side, meat broth simmered on a makeshift earthen stove, its aroma drawing the family's most pampered third pup, who whined anxiously at Mu Qing's side.

"A Xiu and A Xiao, where are they?"

Yun Li scanned the surroundings but didn't see her other two Beast Husbands.

They arrived late, so the place they found to settle was more remote, overgrown with weeds, full of insects; even the scattered insect‑repellent powder couldn't stop Yun Li and the others from being bitten at night.

Having Mu Qing and the other two big blood‑bags leading the way, Yun Li and the pups didn't get bitten much.

Otherwise, if the four wolf pups had arrived here on the first day, they'd have needed to see the Witch Doctor right away.

"They went to the riverbank to process the prey; they'll be back in a moment."

Last night the Patrol Team delivered three prey animals; in the hot dry season, the unfinished meat left overnight began to rot.

If Mu Qing's group ate it, they'd cut away the rotten parts and eat the remaining good meat, but with females and pups at home they obviously preferred fresh meat, so early in the morning Leng Xiu and Leng Xiao went out and brought back two fresh prey.

The freshest cuts had already been trimmed, cleaned, and taken by Mu Qing—either for soup or for simmering a meat broth.

When Yun Li lifted the meat broth to drink, the third pup was also eating the mashed meat; the other three male pups crowded around the third, instinctively pushing their brothers aside while eating.

When Gong Mei, Xin, and A Yu followed the news to find them, they saw this family's tranquil, harmonious scene.

"A Li, are you coming? Let's go out together for a stroll?"

There was no need for small talk; Gong Mei and the others weren't just newly acquainted with Yun Li.

"Here we are!"

Yun Li scooped up the family's third pup and walked over to them.

"Where's your Beast Husband? Is it just you, a single Beast Person, following us?"

Xin, seeing no male behind her, couldn't help but ask.

"Mu Qing is washing the Stone Pot; once he's done he'll catch up, so we can go ahead without issue."

Just a few steps; we won't lose him.

As for Leng Xiu and Leng Xiao, they'll probably have to take the other three pups to Young Master Xuan, and they'll handle the females' matters themselves, so there's no need to tell them.

Since Yun Li said that, Gong Mei and Xin said nothing more and began introducing her to the territorial divisions of Red Grass Valley.

The Silver Eagle Tribe and the Youbuluo certainly occupied the best resting spots; the other small tribes' Beast People only claimed space while they were around, and it's not unheard of for some Beast People to be resting at the entrance if they arrived late.

With the scorching sun high, along the path Yun Li's group had taken last night, many Beast People were already setting up ground stalls, dividing zones like a modern market—meat sellers together, fruits and vegetables in another area.

The Beast People's stalls had no discernible order, yet this was still within the territory demarcated inside the Silver Eagle Tribe, so there were paths to walk and you wouldn't suddenly find yourself blocked.

According to the stalls Mu Qing had seen, they were packed to the brim; powerful Beast People claimed larger plots, so their stalls were bigger, making it hard to find something of interest—you had to ask around.

"How is this bone hairpin traded?"

Yun Li crouched before a stall brimming with handicrafts; the seller was a strikingly beautiful, fashionably dressed female.

When Yun Li asked, the female didn't even flutter her eyelids and said, "Three Crystal Cores for five items here, and you only chose one."

Yun Li blinked in confusion; even though she'd never formally traded Crystal Cores before, she knew one Crystal Core usually bought only half a jin of beast meat, and a jin and a half of meat rarely fetched a craftsman's decorative item made for females, let alone five jin.

"So is this female clearing out inventory?"

Regardless, Yun Li quickly scanned the stall's goods again.

Besides that bone hairpin, she also selected a hanging ornament made from a stone‑polished piece strung on a dried vine, a jar of red pigment, a small Bone Knife, a feather‑filled vine ring, and a bone pendant.

"I've made my choices; here's three Crystal Cores."

The female hummed, took the three Crystal Cores, and let Yun Li and Mu Qing take the items she had selected.