Chapter 87

Beside them, the invisible Xi Tao: "……".

They saw Mo Lie's silhouette disappear behind the door, then turned back to look at Lin Manzhi, and found that although Lin Manzhi complained, there was not a trace of annoyance or anger on her face.

Xi Tao leaned over quietly and asked in a low voice: "That Sand-tail Grass Stalk—have you and Mo Lie tried it?"

Lin Manzhi's eyes widened slowly, the white, smooth base of her ears turning bright red as she looked at Xi Tao's earnest eyes pleading for offspring, and stammered, "I—I saw a female in Kuangsha City using a Sand-tail Grass Stalk…"

Xi Tao didn't notice anything unusual about Lin Manzhi, and her whole face brightened: "Wait for me tonight when I go back and try it with the Beast Husband!"

She also encouraged Lin Manzhi: "Having a Pheromone Value is good, but getting pregnant is too hard; next time when you're with Mo Lie, you can also use the Sand-tail Grass Stalk."

Lin Manzhi is being modest here; otherwise she wouldn't have been pursued by many at university yet remain single.

Explaining to outsiders that she hasn't done anything with Mo Lie would surely provoke Xi Tao's exclamations and probing for reasons.

She didn't want to explain further, so she replied vaguely: "... um, we're not in a hurry about the offspring."

Xi Tao didn't believe it; how could a female not want her own offspring?

"I hope both of us can conceive this year!"

At this point, with fists clenched, Xi Tao turned their head toward Lin Manzhi and asked, "How do you use the Sand-tail Grass Stalk again? Do you apply it to the male beast or the female?"

Lin Manzhi: "……"

She turned her head to look at Xi Tao, who was openly discussing private matters of the room, and thinking that the females here felt no shame about that, she gradually became composed.

She forgot to ask Su Li how it was used, "Should we try boiling it in water to drink?"

Lin Manzhi thought for a moment, then continued, "Maybe I'll ask next time there's a chance; you can't misuse medicinal plants, right?"

"Exactly, I've been waiting for years, missing only a few months." Xi Tao assumed Lin Manzhi was waiting for the merchant caravan, then would go together, and when she returned they could try.

Xi Tao, talking about the important matter of conceiving, pulled Lin Manzhi aside in a low voice to share experience, and they set a time to dig for Sand-tail Grass Stalk early tomorrow; after speaking, they hurried away.

Leaving Lin Manzhi sitting where she was, she let out a deep sigh; she had been forcing herself to stay calm, but her cheeks were hot and flushed, surely reddened even without a mirror.

It's okay... luckily Mo Lie wasn't nearby listening.

Just as she thought that, Mo Lie appeared empty‑handed.

Lin Manzhi was slightly startled; for some reason, facing Mo Lie made her feel even hotter than when facing Xi Tao, who was discussing private matters.

She lowered her head, avoiding Mo Lie's gaze.

Mo Lie seemed puzzled, slightly raising the tail of his eyebrows, his tone rising at the end: "Why are you blushing?"

Lin Manzhi's heartbeat suddenly quickened.

She wondered if Mo Lie had heard her conversation with Xi Tao, and then thought, given a male beast's hearing, he would have definitely heard it.

She raised her hand to cover her face, stammering, "N—nothing. I'll go get some potatoes and cook later."

Saying that, she quickly stood and walked toward the hallway's back, toward the stairwell, lifted the leather rug hanging at the door, and vanished in a flash.

Mo Lie's eyes darkened slightly.

He lowered his gaze, concealing the rising agitation in his eyes, and silently curled his thin lips.

The little female's flushed, bewildered look was beautiful… want to see more.

Elsewhere.

Lin Manzhi walked into the underground room, back against the wall; the icy wall could not block the heat in her heart, and she covered her pounding heart.

It's over, it's over…

She felt a guilty sensation of being caught by the person she was talking about on the spot.

Lin Manzhi leaned against the wall for a while, steadied herself a bit, then went to the house in the middle downstairs, fetched some potatoes, and went up to cook.

Mo Lie, after all, was a carnivorous Beastfolk, not fond of vegetables, but the few cucumbers and cherry tomatoes were just enough for both of them.

The other vegetables and fruits planted last time had finished their season and were dug up early; a small pile of potatoes remained on the ground uneaten. Lin Manzhi used the potatoes as the staple, putting the vegetables into the fire ash, and when the meat was done, the potatoes were also roasted.

Mo Lie pulled the potatoes from the fire, let them cool a bit, then scraped off the charred skins, placed the yellow‑floured potatoes in a bowl, and handed it to Lin Manzhi.

When Lin Manzhi reached out to take it, she quietly glanced at Mo Lie, whose expression was indifferent, seeming not to mind the conversation heard earlier that morning.

Great, she still didn't know how to explain the passionate lie to Xi Tao, so she decided to act as if nothing had happened.

Lin Manzhi was thinking that when Mo Lie handed over another bowl of meat broth, he said, "Zhi Zhi, don't just eat potatoes, have a bowl of meat broth too."

Lin Manzhi silently set the potatoes down, lifted the bowl of meat broth, took a sip, and her eyes instantly brightened: "Delicious!"

Mo Lie's gaze fell on Lin Manzhi, and he let out a light laugh.

He saw that she was only holding potatoes rich in stable Spirit Core energy; just eating that wouldn't suffice even for a herbivorous male beast.

One must eat meat properly, otherwise the body will fall ill.

He had simmered Cooing Bird Jerky with spices all morning; the bowl emitted a pale white broth scented with rich oil, the faint red meat soft and tender, its fluffily broken pieces revealing strands of fine meat.

He tasted it; the broth was salty, fragrant, easy to chew, truly suiting a female's palate.

After eating, while it was still not raining, Mo Lie used the leather material prepared in the morning to erect a rectangular greenhouse of about ten square meters, occupying a quarter of the backyard.

Now the sunny periods are getting longer; the ground temperature rises to over fifty degrees in the afternoon, then drops to only a dozen degrees at night.

The desert's temperature swings are absurdly large, and Lin Manzhi now understood why they needed to tidy up the underground level of the house.

Underground houses are far better than surface buildings; they cool during the day and stay warmer at night. Staying in an underground house, the temperature stays roughly between twenty and thirty degrees, day or night.

Surface houses aren't as good; staying inside offers some shade against the scorching heat but can't block the night's cold wind, making sleeping upstairs very chilly.

Lin Manzhi followed Mo Lie during the last days of the rainy season, moving the upstairs bed and wardrobe down to the empty room below.

The upstairs bedroom became an empty room; the space padded with double‑layered leather could also be used for brief daytime rests.

Lin Manzhi quickly adapted to this extreme desert weather; as long as she didn't go out during the day into uncovered areas, the temperature was tolerable.

The rainy season ended, and for the next five months this land will see no rain; water will be an extremely scarce resource, as will food.

That day, Shan Yan's arm had almost healed, so he consulted with several other male beasts who had repaired water cellars, and seven or eight male beasts came together to find Mo Lie.