Chapter 31: Won

Lin Manzhi lightly blinked, stepped toward him, looked up at Mo Lie's ice‑blue eyes, and laughed, "It's great to have you at home."

Listen, you are very important.

She smiled at the corner of her lips, her clear voice warm and lingering, "Look, after we hand over the household chores to others, we can free up a lot of rest time, and you can also rest peacefully."

Mo Lie stood still, the distance between them shortened, the female's fragrance grew increasingly strong.

Isn't it because you think he's useless because he's injured?

Having seen other healthy male beasts since yesterday, their communication has been almost nonexistent, which makes him feel easily replaceable.

Mo Lie calmly lifted his gaze, staring at Lin Manzhi; the anxious, lingering gloom in his heart vanished at that moment like snowflowers dried by the sun.

He stared at Lin Manzhi for a long time; the Little Female lifted her fair, beautiful face, her eyes meeting his without evasion, her dark pupils reflecting only herself.

Mo Lie slightly raised his eyebrows, his mood improving, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight like a sapphire, and he smiled at the corner of his mouth:

"You're doing this because you don't want me to be overworked?"

His voice softened a bit, slightly hoarse, low, as if confirming something yet fearing to confirm it.

"…Zhi Zhi, you wouldn't want to look for another male beast."

It's a statement, not a question.

Lin Manzhi's scalp tightened.

How could it!!

The earlier warning from Lin Ling in the original book is still vivid; how could she possibly step on the landmine in Mo Lie's heart?

Her smile grew sweeter, her eyes gazing at the male beast's icy face, as if she were a yandere, making his thoughts hard to read.

Lin Manzhi's expression straightened, "You're overthinking; I want the food in another male beast's hands."

Mo Lie: "It's me who overthought."

His pale thin lips curled slightly upward, and the stern lines on his face relaxed a bit.

Seeing this, Lin Manzhi walked toward the Small Exotic Beast in the courtyard, without turning her head, and said, "When those few male beasts have delivered enough food, I'll have Xi Tao come over; give her the list of those households."

"Alright." Mo Lie followed, looking at the Small Exotic Beast with its head and skin attached, "I'll go handle it at the lake."

Lin Manzhi smiled and nodded, watching the male beast's silhouette leave the courtyard gate, seeing a pool of blood on the courtyard floor, taking the leftover dry grass from the Water Cellar repairs, bundling it together, grabbing a broom, and beginning to clean inside and out.

In the tribe, a bit of fresh news spreads far in the next moment.

The newly arrived female's recent request for the Beastfolk to trade ten Small Exotic Beasts for a Water Cellar became the after‑dinner joke among the females who didn't have to work each day.

"Speaking of the new female, these past few days she's been going to dig rhizomes to sell, and on top of that she's audaciously trying to trick male beasts for meat; she seems to lack food and Beast Coins…"

"I've never seen that male beast's Beast Form; could he be disguised as a wild beast?"

"Haha, very possible."

"If you pick up a wild beast's dung and carry it, you can sniff out whether it's real or fake!"

"She wants to trick us for meat; the tribe certainly doesn't have that many fools, waiting to starve through the dry season."

Several females got up late, ate only two meals a day; after the morning meal they gathered under the green trees by the lake to chat.

In the following days, they repeatedly saw a few male beasts carrying the processed Small Exotic Beasts to the new female's courtyard, their expressions not looking so good.

These male beasts were like honey‑deprived bee‑beasts, chasing after the scent.

However, these male beasts were not looked down upon by the females in that way.

Yang Mai spoke to Mo Lie, saying that he had recently taken companions to stay in the desert for a few days and gathered ten Exotic Beasts to deliver to Lin Manzhi's home.

The next day, Cihe and Cichuan went to Yang Mai's house; he regretted not seeing the new female's figure, and then was asked to leave his own home.

When Cihe and Cichuan were constructing a Water Cellar in the courtyard, they forbade anyone from watching; they closed the courtyard gate, and behind the several‑meter‑high solid rock wall, others could not see what was happening inside.

Cihe and Cichuan were already proficient at building Water Cellars; the plaster dried quickly, and they finished in half a day, letting Yang Mai pour water into the cellar, saying it would last six or seven days before being drained, and then it would be full for use.

Peering over the well opening, Yang Mai felt a chill in his heart.

Originally he had intended to give the white Exotic Beast Meat of those ten Small Exotic Beasts, but unexpectedly he saw a large pool at his own place!!

With this water, even if the tribe's lake dries up, he will definitely not lack water throughout the whole dry season!!

Yang Mai was shocked by this miracle, his admiration for the new female growing, and he couldn't help but tell everyone about the Water Cellar, inviting them to come see.

Thanks to Yang Mai's promotion, many male beasts who had delivered Small Exotic Beast meat that day and then stopped came back, gritting their teeth, and began bringing food to Lin Manzhi.

Those who couldn't wait for food took Beast Coins to look for people; the tribe's hottest recent activity became digging Water Cellars at home.

The small female group, which hadn't seen a joke for days, saw the tribe's Beastfolk bringing abundant food to the new female.

They were extremely jealous; the females resting by the lake, rare as it was, went home early for the first time.

Xu Feifei went home fuming; she was the tribe's most beautiful female, previously courted by all the male beasts, now they all went to flatter the new female.

It infuriated her!

One Beast Husband hesitated and said to her, "Wife Master, I saw that the Water Cellar they built in the courtyard is very practical; shall I go with the four of them to hunt ten Small Exotic Beasts and invite them to build one in our courtyard…"

Before he could finish, Xu Feifei kicked his head, harshly saying, "Dammit, get out of the way; this house isn't yours to rule."

She kicked again, the anger still burning, then grabbed a wooden plank hanging on the wall and struck the Beast Husband lying on the ground hard.

Each strike made a "slap" sound, leaving a red streak on the Beastfolk's body; the other four male beasts nearby turned ashen, daring not to speak.

These days the tribe's perception of Lin Manzhi changed—she thought of such a good water storage method, and it was almost given away for free…

Ten Small Exotic Beasts, which cost a fortune during the food‑moving dry season, now can be gathered with just ten to fifteen days of hard work.

Of course, some people were unwilling to contribute and watched secretly from the side.

The problem was that even though everyone saw it, they didn't know how to first dig soil, then wet mud and dry grass, so the water wouldn't leak.

The main technique wasn't difficult, but the Beastfolk here wouldn't think of it.

The secretly built Water Cellars at home all failed; they could only take their Beast Coins and honestly go to Lin Manzhi.