Chapter 111: Gathering Meal

The next day, when Zhang Fan woke up in the ward, he discovered that Ba Ke Er had been silently watching him. For a moment, he actually felt a bit shy.

Ba Ke Er, how are you? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere? If you feel unwell, you must say so!

Ba Ke Er still couldn't take human form, remaining in his beast shape. Knowing Zhang Fan couldn't understand beast language, he simply stayed silent, only gently shaking his head, then raising the claw closest to Zhang Fan and lightly patting Zhang Fan's head with the pad of his claw; seeing Zhang Fan's slightly flushed face, he affectionately rubbed it before lowering his claw.

Seeing he had finally escaped Ba Ke Er's clutches, Zhang Fan hurried away, but before leaving he didn't forget to ask what Ba Ke Er wanted for breakfast. After receiving Ba Ke Er's answer, Zhang Fan then ran back home.

After arriving home, Zhang Fan began preparing breakfast: first he boiled a pot of dragon-beast meat congee for Ba Ke Er, then he fried a large pan of meat patties. Having finished, he closed the door, took a basket, and headed toward the ward where he and Ba Ke Er had spent the night together.

What Zhang Fan found strange was that usually when tribespeople saw him they would smile and greet him before moving on, but this time…… they didn't even greet him; instead, everyone avoided him upon seeing him, leaving Zhang Fan utterly bewildered.

Upon entering the ward, Zhang Fan had no idea what was wrong.

During the meal, Ba Ke Er noticed Zhang Fan was uneasy and grew a bit anxious; when Zhang Fan was about to spoon him the next mouthful of congee, Ba Ke Er closed his mouth and refused to eat. He then looked at him with a puzzled expression, asking Zhang Fan what had happened.

Zhang Fan naturally understood as well, and directly spoke his doubts aloud. Ba Ke Er immediately grasped them upon hearing, but being severely wounded, he could not utter even a few simple words of Mandarin, so he could only express himself using his innate beast language.

There was no way; even if Ba Ke Er knew the answer, he couldn't tell Zhang Fan. Meanwhile, Zhang Fan, having voiced his inner thoughts and asked his doubts, instantly felt immensely relieved, his mood lightened, and he wasn't in a rush to know the answer.

Thus, the two of them no longer wasted any more thought over this trivial matter.

At noon, just as Zhang Fan was preparing to go home to cook, Lei Ya and Di Er had already brought food over to visit the two husbands. Zhang Fan hurriedly greeted Lei Ya and Di Er and had them sit down in front of Ba Ke Er's sickbed.

Di Er saw Zhang Fan alone keeping watch by Ba Ke Er's bedside, bustling about, and felt a pang of sympathy; thinking of how Zhang Fan had vomited blood from distress over Ba Ke Er the previous day, and how others in the tribe who lost their beloved beastman partners could have their hearts stop and return to the Beast God's embrace, made Di Er's heart ache even more.

Whenever Di Er thought of Zhang Fan—a poor little female who had lost her parents since childhood and had come far from home to the Beastman Planet—she felt she should treat Zhang Fan better, for she herself, as a mother whose son had met with trouble, had been so distressed she could barely go on; just how much love for one's son would it take to act this way!

Having thought this, Di Er immediately rose, went to Zhang Fan's side, took his hand and led him back to the bedside. She then opened the basket she had brought, took out the dishes bowl by bowl, seated Zhang Fan at the table, and, holding his hand with great distress, smiled warmly and urged him to hurry up and eat.

Zhang Fan certainly didn't want to eat alone while Ba Ke Er hadn't eaten yet! So, instead of giving in, he gently glanced at Ba Ke Er lying on the sickbed and then said to Di Er:

"Am, Ba Ke Er hasn't eaten yet! I'll feed him first, and after he's done I'll eat."

Upon hearing this, Di Er exclaimed, "What nonsense! Ba Ke Er isn't incapable of feeding himself; it's not right to keep having Fan Fan exhaust himself feeding him!" Thus, Di Er flatly refused Zhang Fan's request.

"Fan Fan, Ba Ke Er is a male beastman with thick skin and tough flesh, and this isn't even a serious injury, so there's no need for you to wrong yourself by feeding him every day! You should eat first! Seeing you so thin breaks my heart! And your state yesterday scared me to death! Hurry up and eat—don't starve yourself!"

Having said that, Di Er quickly took a pancake and held it to Zhang Fan's mouth. Feeling guilty about being fed by Di Er, Zhang Fan hastily took the pancake and began eating it in small bites.

Ba Ke Er, watching from the side, felt utterly warm! Indeed, Fan Fan cared most for him! And Am was also wonderful!

Lei Ya, seeing Ba Ke Er continually gazing at Zhang Fan and Di Er, understood at once, quickly brought a bowl of congee to Ba Ke Er's mouth and said gently, "Come on, child, eat quickly!"

Ba Ke Er, seeing his father suddenly so affectionate, nearly fell off the sickbed! Good heavens! What's going on with Father? Why is he being so kind to me? Did he take the wrong medicine? Or is his brain addled? Thinking this, Ba Ke Er unconsciously expressed his thoughts fully through his facial expression.

But this provoked Lei Ya! "You little brat! I went through all the trouble of having Di Er bear you and raise you to this size, and even rescued you from the wilderness this time, yet you dare to doubt me!? I can't stand it!"

Ba Ke Er's eyes are so sharp—he immediately spotted the suspicion! Even if Lei Ya didn't blurt out his thoughts as foolishly as Ba Ke Er did, his already fire‑sparking eyes still gave him away, yet he himself remained completely unaware.

Here the father and son were locked in a battle of wits, while over there the mother‑in‑law and daughter‑in‑law were in perfect harmony—forming a stark contrast!

After the meal, Lei Ya and Di Er didn't leave; instead they stayed in the ward and chatted with the couple Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er—except that Ba Ke Er and his father Lei Ya communicated through glances, and the atmosphere wasn't particularly harmonious. Meanwhile, Zhang Fan and Di Er's interaction was completely different! It was practically overly intimate!

Not long after, the tribal doctor Wei Er entered. Wei Er first examined Ba Ke Er's wound, then after changing his medicine, brought over a large bowl of medicinal liquid and had Ba Ke Er drink it.

After Ba Ke Er finished the medicine, Wei Er didn't leave either; he simply stayed and joined Zhang Fan and Di Er's chatting group, beginning to talk about everything under the sun. At this moment Zhang Fan realized that, in fact, Fei Er's mother Am, Wei Er, and Ba Ke Er's mother Am Di Er were blood brothers! Thus, following that, Fei Er was Ba Ke Er's cousin! Only then did Zhang Fan understand that their names were so similar because they belonged to the same family.

While the three were chatting happily, Fei Er and Mo De actually came over as well. Fei Er, hearing the laughter from inside before even entering the ward, tossed Mo De aside and stepped in first; seeing everyone chatting so cheerfully, he hurried over to join them. The remaining Mo De silently walked over to Lei Ya and Ba Ke Er and began exchanging glares with the father and son.

Seeing Fei Er arrive, Zhang Fan was also pleased; he immediately pulled Fei Er to sit beside him and then continued chatting with everyone about new topics.

That afternoon was spent in conversation; everyone was happy to have time to gather, chat, and talk. Of course, this "everyone" did not include those three superfluous male beastmen.

When the tribal chief returned from the Tribal Office, the crowd had not yet dispersed. Seeing that it was rare for so many people to gather today, the chief simply decided to let everyone stay for dinner together! Naturally, no one could feast for free at the chief's expense; thus, aside from Ba Ke Er, the genuine patient, everyone else joined in the pre‑meal preparations.

At this point Zhang Fan also recalled that there were still two giant dragon‑beasts left at home. He therefore hurriedly summoned Fei Er and his spouse to come to his house and help move those two dragon‑beasts over. Zhang Fan once again noticed that the people they encountered along the way almost all avoided them; even if they happened to meet one or two individuals with normal complexions who almost greeted them, without exception they were all immature youngsters who didn't yet understand things.

This time Zhang Fan could no longer contain himself; one or two people acting like that would be tolerable, but such a large group behaving the same way—what was the rhythm? Zhang Fan exclaimed that his imagination simply wasn't big enough to fathom why this was happening!

Fei Er saw Zhang Fan's brows knotted as if tied in a dead knot and couldn't help but ask. Since Zhang Fan considered Fei Er no outsider, and they were close friends, he certainly didn't hide anything and directly voiced his question.

This is, this question, Fei Er slapped his forehead and immediately recalled what had happened! He angrily recounted to Zhang Fan the whole story of yesterday, repeatedly hoping Zhang Fan wouldn't be angry with him. Zhang Fan certainly agreed; if Fei Er hadn't been present then, he likely wouldn't have been able to calm down so quickly.

After Zhang Fan heard Fei Er's explanation, he immediately understood! The source of the false rumor that Ba Ke Er had died was actually several females who had recently married in from other tribes! Although Fei Er said they had already been punished by the tribal chief, Zhang Fan still felt somewhat indignant.

However, there was also a silver lining: the rumor spread by the tribespeople this time matched exactly the false information put out by those three females, word for word. This shows that the tribespeople harbored no ill intent; they were simply relaying what they had heard, one by one, without distorting the rumor or adding further falsehoods. Moreover, many tribespeople did not believe these rumors, and for that reason they had argued with those three females for a long time.

Regarding this, Zhang Fan still felt he should thank the tribespeople; if it weren't for their rapid spread of information, he himself would not have learned so quickly about Ba Ke Er's mishap. Of course, Zhang Fan also felt he ought to sincerely thank the tribal chief—if not for the chief, he probably wouldn't have discovered so swiftly who was behind this.

That evening, while eating, Zhang Fan openly thanked the tribal chief in front of everyone and promised that once Ba Ke Er's injuries healed, he would treat everyone to a proper meal! Naturally, everyone said they were very much looking forward to that.