Chapter 26: Almost Let it Slip

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Almost Let it Slip

"I’m not leaving! I want to eat meat."

With that, he became even more brazen, picking up his chopsticks to snatch some meat.

Xin Feng had barely eaten two pieces before Roger snatched away all the cooked meat for himself.

Bai Wanwan blocked him with her chopsticks. "If you want to eat, cook it yourself."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Xin Feng, her tone growing noticeably gentler.

"Xin Feng, go on and eat."

Xin Feng could feel Roger’s furious glare, but he didn’t look over. He simply smiled at Bai Wanwan and nodded. "Okay."

Roger ground his teeth. "Little female, do you hate me or something? Why do you treat Xin Feng so differently?"

Bai Wanwan looked at him, exasperated. "This is my home, and he’s my Beast Husband. Of course I treat him differently."

She wasn’t wrong, but Roger just couldn’t stand seeing her smile at Xin Feng while treating him like he was invisible.

He could only take his anger out on the meat, viciously slapping a piece onto the stone slab.

He was still fuming at first, but he was soon won over by the marinated slices of meat.

He ate one piece after another.

Bai Wanwan watched him eat, his stomach a seemingly bottomless pit. The meat she had prepared for two was almost gone, devoured by him alone.

"Haven’t you had enough yet?" She resisted the urge to snatch the plate of meat away.

"What, this is nothing. I’ll have someone send more meat over to you later."

That satisfied Bai Wanwan. She nodded. "Then make sure you do. If you don’t, there won’t be a next time."

Roger saw right through her. This little female refused to be taken advantage of; she had been waiting for him to say exactly that.

"Fine, fine, fine."

Xin Feng paid no attention to Roger, continuing to care for Bai Wanwan at his own steady pace.

Seeing that he was so busy grilling he barely had a chance to eat, Bai Wanwan continued to feed him pieces herself.

The smile on the unscarred half of Xin Feng’s face was handsome, but the sight only made Roger angrier.

Suddenly, Xin Feng’s smile vanished, and he turned to look toward the entrance.

Noticing his change in expression, Bai Wanwan swallowed the meat in her mouth and leaned over to follow his gaze outside.

"What are you looking at?"

Before Xin Feng could answer, she saw four males walking toward them, each carrying a massive piece of prey on his shoulder.

In less than a minute, they were in front of her.

The male in the lead, Wu Mu, set down his kill, placed a hand over his chest, and stared at her with a burning intensity.

"Wanwan, we are the Beast Husbands the Clan Leader has chosen for you. From now on, we will take good care of you."

’That old fossil always has it in for me,’ she thought, ’insisting on making my life difficult.’

’He failed to pawn off his two sons on me, and now he’s sending four more.’

"Go back," she said. "I don’t need any other Beast Husbands."

Her voice was laced with obvious displeasure, and she couldn’t even be bothered to look at them anymore.

The other three males all turned their heads to look at Wu Mu.

He was the strongest and held the most authority among them.

Wu Mu took a step forward, his rugged features filled with the confidence of one of the tribe’s strongest warriors.

"Wanwan, Xin Feng can’t protect you. Without a powerful male to protect and care for you through the long snow season, your body won’t last until the next warm season."

Roger had already put down his chopsticks, his expression that of someone watching a play unfold as his gaze flickered between the males and Bai Wanwan.

Xin Feng’s grip on his chopsticks tightened. He knew Wu Mu was right. Sooner or later, Wanwan would have other Beast Husbands. Wu Mu had a Green Rank Talent; he could protect her.

But he also knew that, ultimately, the decision was Wanwan’s to make.

Everyone seemed to be waiting for Bai Wanwan to speak, and all eyes were on her.

Bai Wanwan looked up at Wu Mu, her tone direct.

"Xin Feng will take good care of me. Now go back."

Wu Mu frowned, not moving. "Wanwan, this is the Clan Leader’s order. We can’t go back."

"If it’s the Clan Leader’s order, then go take it up with the Clan Leader. Don’t cause a scene here."

Wu Mu had thought this would go smoothly. The four of them were certain they would become the Holy Female’s Beast Husbands.

After all, Bai Wanwan had even mated with a male as ugly as Xin Feng, whose Talent had been destroyed.

He was stronger than Xin Feng in every way.

So he found her rejection hard to accept. "Wanwan, I am stronger than Xin Feng—"

"Stop right there! This is only temporary. Sooner or later, Xin Feng will recover, and he’ll be stronger than you."

’No one was allowed to slander her Beast Husband in front of her.’

The scene fell into a stalemate. Just then, Hu Ya burst in.

"Wu Mu? What are you doing here?"

Though she asked a question, she had already heard everything. Wu Mu wanted to be Bai Wanwan’s Beast Husband!

’He promised he would be my Beast Husband! When it was time for our union, he said to wait... So this was why! He wanted to become Bai Wanwan’s Beast Husband instead.’

Wu Mu hadn’t expected Hu Ya to show up, and her sudden appearance threw him into a panic.

Like Xin Shan and Xin Yu, he had known since childhood that Hu Ya was the most fertile female in the tribe. The understanding had always been that after she came of age and her fertility was confirmed, the strongest males of their generation would all become her Beast Husbands.

In the past, he, like the other males, had gone to great lengths to please Hu Ya, hoping to become one of her Beast Husbands.

But ever since Bai Wanwan had been revealed as a Holy Female during the fertility test, Wu Mu’s resolve had wavered.

To the males of the tribe, a female’s appeal was directly proportional to her fertility.

Bai Wanwan being a Holy Female meant that mating with her not only guaranteed cubs, but cubs with extraordinary Talent.

Not a single male could refuse such a temptation.

That was why Wu Mu had been hesitating, torn for some time.

Ultimately, he had decided to become a Beast Husband to the Holy Female.

Hu Ya’s anger boiled over, and she shoved him. "Well? Speak! Why are you in Bai Wanwan’s cave? You want to be her Beast Husband too, don’t you?"

"Yaya, this was the Clan Leader’s order. The Clan Leader truly did choose us. From now on, we are to be Wanwan’s Beast Husbands."

Bai Wanwan raised a hand, cutting them off. "You two can argue all you want, but leave me out of it. Your business has nothing to do with me."

’What a buzzkill,’ she thought. ’They’re ruining my meal.’

The words "bad mood" might as well have been written across her face.

"If you’re going to argue, do it outside."

With that, she went back to grilling her meat.

Then she turned to Xin Feng. "Don’t mind them. Let’s keep eating."

"Okay."

Xin Feng breathed a sigh of relief. ’As long as Wanwan doesn’t agree,’ he thought, ’the Clan Leader can’t possibly force a Holy Female.’

Hu Ya only grew more incensed at Bai Wanwan’s words.

’What does she mean by that?’ she fumed. ’She steals Wu Mu away from me, and now she acts like she doesn’t even care?’

"Bai Wanwan, you’re stealing my Beast Husbands one by one. You must be proud of yourself, aren’t you?"

Bai Wanwan didn’t even bother looking at her. "If there’s something wrong with your head, you should go see the Clan Witch. Are you deaf? I just told you, that was the Clan Leader’s decision and it has nothing to do with me. If you want to raise a fuss, go raise it with the Clan Leader. Who you like is none of my business either."

Wu Mu reached out to grab Hu Ya’s arm. "Yaya, you already have many Beast Husbands to take care of you. Wanwan only has Xin Feng, and he’s injured and has lost his Talent. We need to stay and take care of her so she can survive the winter."

Hu Ya violently shook his hand off. "Don’t lie to me! You’ve fallen for Bai Wanwan, it’s because she’s a Holy—"

"Hu Ya!"