Chapter 152: Lunchtime for Two Males

Ba Ke Er didn't linger; instead, before Zhang Fan appeared again in his field of vision, he hurried home holding the dragon egg.

Back home, looking at the empty courtyard, Ba Ke Er told himself he wasn't upset, but it was all a lie. After all, he had grown accustomed to seeing Zhang Fan's figure as soon as he returned home.

Now that Zhang Fan was still training at Zhongxin Guangchang, the only ones at home were Ba Ke Er and the unhatched child. Unconsciously, Ba Ke Er tightened his grip on the dragon egg, feeling a wave of loss.

Just as Ba Ke Er was feeling down, a knock came from the courtyard gate. Upon hearing it, he didn't turn to open the door; instead, he faced away from the gate and shouted:

"Mo De, come in, the gate isn't locked!"

"Creak—" the gate was pushed open from outside. Looking up, sure enough, it was Mo De coming over carrying game.

After entering the gate, Mo De didn't close it; instead, he walked straight in still carrying the game.

By then, Ba Ke Er was already holding the dragon egg and had sat on the stool beside the stone table in the courtyard.

Mo De looked at the calm Ba Ke Er, gave a silent smile, placed the game in the wooden basin by the water vat, and said toward Ba Ke Er:

"Hey! Ba Ke Er, I just went to Zhongxin Guangchang to watch Fei Er's training. Honestly, I really think Fei Er, sweating freely on the training ground, is especially charming!"

Having said that, Mo De gave a meaningful smile and then continued teasing:

"Oh! Right! You definitely don't know who I just saw over there! You have no idea! That person was standing silently at the edge of the square, eyes fixed on the instructor without blinking—such a fiery gaze! Just looking at it made me feel shy!"

While saying this, Mo De even gave Ba Ke Er a flirtatious look.

Hearing Mo De's words, Ba Ke Er's pretended composure finally broke. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the dragon egg, and the veins on his neck bulged from anger.

His eyes gradually filled with rage, and even his voice grew hoarse as if he'd swallowed gunpowder: "Mo De! Who is it you saw? Which reckless bastard dares to covet my Fan Fan!

"I will make him regret his actions!"

Seeing Ba Ke Er like that, Mo De nearly laughed himself breathless; after struggling to suppress his amusement, he said lightly: "Well? Isn't that person standing right before my eyes?"

At that moment, hearing Mo De's words, Ba Ke Er almost didn't react. He snorted hard into the air, and after detecting no scent besides his own and Mo De's, he still looked around uneasily.

Watching Ba Ke Er's nonstop movements, Mo De laughed even more exaggeratedly!

"Hahaha… Ba Ke Er, I originally thought you'd gotten smarter after starting a family, but that was just an illusion! I never expected you to still be as clueless as a child! Hahaha…"

Hearing Mo De's utterly unexaggerated, demonic laughter and seeing his bright‑red laughing face, Ba Ke Er had nothing left to misunderstand—he realized he had been played by Mo De!

"Oh! Unforgivable! Looks like I need to come up with a way to embarrass Mo De! Even though he's my close brother and my brother‑in‑law! But after thinking for a while, Ba Ke Er couldn't come up with any "wicked idea," so he temporarily shelved the plan.

Ba Ke Er steadied himself, suppressing the urge to kill Mo De. After a light cough, he then asked Mo De:

"Mo De, what are you doing at my place? You couldn't just be here to cheer me up, could you?"

Saying that, Ba Ke Er glanced at Mo De a few times, half‑heartedly.

Upon hearing Ba Ke Er's words, Mo De felt a twinge of guilt, and when he noticed Ba Ke Er's glance sweeping over him, he could only give an embarrassed smile before explaining why he'd come.

"It's like this, Ba Ke Er: you see, the females are training so hard they don't even come home for lunch. I thought eating alone would be boring, so I came over to keep you company! Hehe!"

Hearing Mo De's words, Ba Ke Er's mouth twitched, and he bluntly exposed Mo De's ulterior motive.

"Your boredom is just an excuse; you really just want someone to eat with you! But the companion you have in mind isn't me at all—it's my gluttonous cousin‑in‑law, your dear partner—Fei Er, right?"

Seeing Ba Ke Er so bluntly expose his thoughts, Mo De wasn't annoyed; rather, he wore an expression that said, "Ba Ke Er, you're amazing! I already knew you'd guess it!"

Looking at Mo De's shameless demeanor, Ba Ke Er couldn't help but feel a black line across his face. After thinking, he spoke somewhat dejectedly to Mo De:

"Actually, I also wanted my Fan Fan to come home for a meal, but he said, in order to better protect the tribe and to be able to fight alongside me as soon as possible, he had to temporarily part from me.

"What's worse, he told me not to disturb his training! Oh, this is practically killing me! Today, after returning from hunting and picking up the child at Am's house, I still couldn't resist my longing and sneaked a look at him.

"Then, taking advantage of his inattention, I sneaked back. As soon as I got home, you came over to torment me! Wah wah wah~ I'm really miserable!"

Seeing Ba Ke Er's woeful face, Mo De actually felt a twinge of sympathy. After all, his own beloved never said he couldn't go see him—and going to see his beloved is perfectly aboveboard!

Unlike Ba Ke Er, who has to sneak around even to see his own female, oh, that's truly pitiful!

Thinking this, Mo De, feeling somewhat unwilling to see him suffer, reached out and patted Ba Ke Er's shoulder, sighed, and comforted him:

"Ah! Brother! Don't be so down! Didn't you also say that your Fan Fan is doing this to better protect the tribe and to be able to fight alongside you sooner? If so, you should be happy!

"Think about it: one day you and your female will stand together on the tribe's high wall, looking out over every blade of grass and tree outside, and even if foreign tribes invade, they won't be able to harm you in the slightest!

"Wow! Just imagining that scene gets me pumped! Oh! What should I do? I also really want to fight side by side with my Fei Er—what should I do?"

Saying this, Mo De grew excited, clapping a hand over his chest, his eyes clear as he gazed into the distance, as if he already saw himself and Fei Er standing on the city wall, jointly repelling the foreign invaders!

While Mo De was indulging in his daydreams, suddenly a "gurgle" sound rang out, breaking his train of thought and the present tranquility.

Upon seeing Ba Ke Er's teasing gaze shift onto him, Mo De's facial expression froze in an instant, and an awkward atmosphere gradually closed in around him.

"Oh! So Mo De, my brother‑in‑law, is actually hungry! Let's see what tasty things we have for lunch today!"

Having said that, Ba Ke Er didn't give Mo De a chance to speak, instead heading straight to the wooden basin by the water vat where Mo De had placed the game when he arrived. After taking a clear look at its contents, Ba Ke Er spoke again:

"It's actually a wild ox thigh! Hmm~ This really puts me in a spot! You know, this is my cousin‑in‑law Fei Er's favorite!"

Ba Ke Er held the dragon egg with one hand, while his free hand rested on his chin, stroking it thoughtfully as he spoke.

Looking at Ba Ke Er's current ultra‑punch‑worthy demeanor, Mo De felt like rushing forward to beat him senseless—but fortunately he still retained a bit of reason and didn't act on impulse.

"Alright! Ba Ke Er, do you still have any semblance of a male beastman? Listen to your tone of voice—it's practically more feminine than a female's! If it weren't for the fact that your masculine aura hasn't changed, I'd think you were a female standing before me!"

Even as he spoke, Mo De couldn't hold back his emotions and lashed out at Ba Ke Er without mercy. He had thought saying this would make Ba Ke Er fly into a rage!

But who would have thought that after hearing Mo De's open mockery and veiled jibes, Ba Ke Er not only didn't get angry, but responded with keen interest: "Is that so? Hey! My Fan Fan is truly amazing—he even predicted this!"

Hearing Ba Ke Er utter that nonsensical line, Mo De couldn't help but frown, starting to ponder, but after thinking for a while he still couldn't grasp what Ba Ke Er meant.

Yet he didn't ask Ba Ke Er what that meant. Instead, he shifted the conversation and began earnestly discussing with Ba Ke Er what to eat for lunch today.

Seeing that Mo De didn't press further, Ba Ke Er was happy to keep it brief, readily agreeing with Mo De's suggestion and together they discussed what to have for lunch. Before long, they unanimously decided on beef soup with rice.

Once the menu was set, Ba Ke Er and Mo De didn't linger in the courtyard; instead, they carried the game into the kitchen together and began preparing lunch.

As always, Ba Ke Er's cooking skills surpass Mo De's, so the task of stewing the beef soup naturally fell to him, while Mo De had to handle the rice.

Actually, saying Ba Ke Er should stew the beef soup, but given the current time, waiting for the soup to finish before eating is simply unrealistic—not to mention stewing beef; even stewing pork would take quite a while.

Moreover, stewing beef, which is tougher to cook than pork, would be even harder! Fortunately, both of them are males who, when out in the wild, have eaten raw meat before—who would fear eating half‑cooked beef?

So, once Mo De's rice was done, Ba Ke Er couldn't wait any longer; he extinguished the stove's fire, then took a large ceramic basin and scooped out the big pot of meat still threaded with blood, half‑cooked, along with its broth.

Seeing Ba Ke Er's actions, Mo De knew it was time; he quickly doused the stove's fire and lifted the wooden container filled with white rice from the pot.

When Mo De and Ba Ke Er were each holding their own cooked food, they went together to the main hall and placed the food down. The two had already completely relaxed, hurriedly took out bowls and chopsticks, served the rice, and began to wolf it down.

At this moment, it seemed that what lay before them was not half-cooked beef, but one dish after another of perfect color, fragrance, taste, and appearance—delicious delicacies.