Chapter 231: You All Have Such Small Appetites

Upon hearing this, Hu Yao finally turned her gaze to Bai Zhi. It wasn’t a disparaging look that made one uncomfortable; instead, it was frank and tinged with appreciation, a gaze Bai Zhi didn’t mind at all.

Hu Yao looked at her with admiration and said, “You’re a truly beautiful female.”

Then, she pulled a box directly from her storage space. She opened it to reveal what looked like a piece of black jade carved into the shape of a tiger. One could faintly sense something flowing within it, and a moment later, a streak of light flashed across its surface. Holding it, she walked up to Bai Zhi and straightforwardly offered it to her. “A gift for our first meeting. This is a Fire Stone, unique to our Fierce Tiger City. It can absorb all the unhealthy things from your body. I wish you health and happiness.”

Bai Zhi was a little surprised. She had thought the introductions would be the end of it, especially since they were still outside. The barbecue area was just a simple awning, so she hadn’t expected to receive a gift.

She had actually been a bit nervous when Yue Junxiao introduced her. Meeting the parents for the first time is always a little nerve-wracking, after all. But Hu Yao hadn’t made her feel that way at all. There was no uncomfortable scrutiny, no barrage of questions, not even any small talk. Yet, the gesture of giving a gift clearly showed how much she valued this meeting.

Not daring to make her wait, Bai Zhi solemnly accepted it. “Thank you.”

Hu Yao smiled openly. “I like you a lot. You’re so fair and gentle, very endearing. I imagine you won’t be staying in Fierce Tiger City often in the future, so come back and visit whenever you have time.”

Bai Zhi nodded. “Okay.”

Next, Yue Junxiao introduced Hu Yan, who was on Bai Zhi’s right. “This is Hu Yan, Bai Zhi’s first Beast Husband.”

Hu Yao extended her hand to him. “I’ve heard of you. The Third Prince of the Federation. Exceptionally talented since you were a child, the standard all Beastmen strive for, and the dream of countless females.”

Hu Yan shook her hand in return. “You flatter me.”

Hu Yao laughed heartily. “You’re just being modest. Thank you for taking care of Xiao’er.”

Hu Yan replied, “It’s my duty.”

‘It’s a little surprising,’ Hu Yao thought, ‘that even someone like him is just one of her Beast Husbands.’

Then, Yue Junxiao looked to the left at Sang Mo. “This is Sang Mo.”

Hu Yao proceeded to shake hands and greet each of them in turn.

By the time Hu Zhen returned, Hu Yao had already met all of Yue Junxiao’s companions.

Hu Zhen came walking back with heavy, quick steps, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. “Come on, let’s go eat! The meat’s all been carved.”

He must have been walking very fast, because his muscles were jiggling. Aside from his large belly, he was pure muscle, looking incredibly solid—the brawny and sturdy type.

The group arrived at the dining hall. The table was enormous, laden with several large platters of meat. Each piece was cut to a moderate size, but there was also a separate plate of smaller-cut pieces, clearly a thoughtful gesture for Bai Zhi.

Aside from the roasted meat, there was only some fruit and a few side dishes. It was obvious the people of Fierce Tiger City truly loved beast meat. No wonder they were all so tall and built.

‘Does this mean people in Fierce Tiger City don’t drink nutrient liquid?’ Bai Zhi wondered. ‘Do they primarily eat beast meat?’

Perhaps the confusion on Bai Zhi’s face was obvious, because Hu Yao explained, “We primarily eat beast meat here. When we’re out hunting, we eat dried jerky and supplement it with a small amount of nutrient liquid. But we don’t like the stuff, so we only drink it when we absolutely have to.”

Bai Zhi smiled sheepishly and nodded.

Once seated, Bai Zhi realized it was truly just their small group at the enormous table.

‘This is the meat from two whole beasts,’ she thought. ‘Just for the few of us? Even if Beastmen eat a lot, there’s no way they can finish all this, right?’

But Bai Zhi soon discovered that when it came to eating beast meat, neither Hu Zhen nor Hu Yao held back in the slightest.

While stuffing his face, Hu Zhen didn’t forget to grab more meat for Yue Junxiao, slapping him hard on the back. “Xiao’er! Look how skinny you are! You need to eat more. You’ve got to wolf down meat like I do if you want to get tall and strong.”

Yue Junxiao stared at the pile of meat before him, stacked nearly as high as his torso. For the first time in his life, he felt like beast meat was completely worthless.

‘Back then,’ he thought, ‘whenever we managed to hunt a High-level Beast, our first instinct was always to sell it for Star Coins.’

‘On the rare occasion we got to eat some, we’d be so excited we’d laugh out loud.’

But now, looking at the overflowing table and the mountain of meat piled in front of him, he could only swallow with difficulty.

After lecturing Yue Junxiao, Hu Zhen turned and saw the others eating slowly and with refined manners. Assuming they were just being shy, he quickly urged them, “Everyone, dig in! Don’t be polite! I had them roast another beast, so there’s no need to worry about running out.”

Now it wasn’t just Bai Zhi who was surprised; Hu Yan and the others were taken aback as well.

Yue Junxiao suddenly remembered Hu Zhen saying he’d have a whole beast roasted just for him. The six of them together couldn’t even finish half of one! He quickly spoke up. “There’s already more than enough on the table! We don’t need another one roasted.”

Hu Yan chimed in, “City Lord, you are too generous. This is plenty for us. It would be a waste if we couldn’t finish it.”

Hearing this, Hu Zhen said with clear disappointment, “You all eat so little?”

It wasn’t that their appetites were small; it was that Hu Zhen’s was absurdly large. No wonder he was built the way he was.

Hu Yao explained, “It won’t go to waste. We portion everything onto platters beforehand and only take a new one after the previous one is finished. Anything left over will be shared with the others in the City Lord Mansion.”

Bai Zhi nodded thoughtfully. “Oh, I see. In that case, it really won’t go to waste.”

‘No wonder they carved up all the meat at once,’ she realized. ‘It makes it much more convenient for both serving and storing leftovers.’

She recalled how, in the past, whenever she had whole roasted animals, the entire beast would be brought to the table. A server would carve off portions, continuing to slice as they ate. Only at the very end would the rest be carved up to be packed as leftovers.

By the end of the meal, Bai Zhi hadn’t even finished the small plate of meat in front of her. Hu Yan and the others took care of her leftovers.

In contrast, Hu Yao and Hu Zhen had each devoured an entire large platter, and Hu Zhen was even working on a second one.

Meanwhile, Hu Yan and the other four had managed to finish two platters among them.

Their appetites were quite impressive by normal standards, but compared to Hu Zhen, they were completely outmatched.

There was hardly any meat left on the table, and Hu Zhen was still busy cleaning up the scraps.

Basically, Hu Zhen and Hu Yao had consumed more than an entire beast between the two of them, while Bai Zhi and her group of six hadn’t even finished one.

And that was after having quite a bit of extra meat pushed on them.

After such a meal, everyone was too stuffed to even think about moving.

After dinner, Hu Yao prepared to lead them to their rooms, but Bai Zhi smiled and said, “You can just tell us where the rooms are, and we’ll find our own way. Or you could have someone else take us. You and Jun Xiao haven’t seen each other in so many years; you must have a lot to talk about. We don’t want to get in your way.”