Chapter 265: Perhaps I've Carved Too Much

“Okay.”

Chi Yizhong was acting far too normally, which eased some of Chu Liangyu’s embarrassment. She found herself inexplicably agreeing.

“Seriously, Chi Yizhong? You’re this much of a brooding romantic?” Feng Qiwu couldn’t help but blurt out. “You could have carved anything, but you had to carve *this*? What if someone else saw it? Wouldn’t our Female Master’s reputation be ruined?”

Chi Yizhong shot him a cool glance. He always felt this bird was as noisy as ever.

“This was never meant for others to see. You’re the one who insisted on snatching it away.”

“I wouldn’t call it snatching. I was just curious.” He paused, then felt that something wasn’t quite right. “Besides, I’m also the Female Master’s Beast Husband. How does that make me an outsider?”

“You’re just twisting my words.”

Feng Qiwu retorted, “It’s the truth.”

At this point, only someone as thick-skinned as Feng Qiwu could keep talking. Yu Tu, on the other hand, stood off to the side like a boiled shrimp, staring blankly at the others. He hadn’t moved in a long time.

“Did you two come to my courtyard for a reason? If not, please leave.”

Feng Qiwu pouted. “If it weren’t for the Female Master, who would willingly come to your place?”

Chi Yizhong said with a deadpan expression, “Oh.”

After being told to leave so bluntly, they couldn’t very well stay, no matter how much they wanted to.

Yu Tu was the first to recover. He coughed, and unlike the difficult Feng Qiwu, he simply looked at Chu Liangyu and said, “Female Master, I’ll take my leave now.”

Chu Liangyu just nodded in response, as she didn’t know what to say either.

Feng Qiwu didn’t cause any more trouble and followed Yu Tu out, glancing back every few steps.

The courtyard fell silent, leaving only Chu Liangyu and Chi Yizhong. As she calmed down, Chu Liangyu’s mind cleared, and she remembered why she had come.

“Ahem… Chi, I came to get some wood from you.”

“How much do you need? I’ll get it for you.”

Seeing him looking like he was about to hoist a huge log, Chu Liangyu quickly said, “Not that much! Just the amount you’d normally use to carve four wooden sculptures.”

“Okay.”

Chu Liangyu took the wood he handed her. She wasn’t in a hurry to leave, so she simply looked up and studied him.

Recalling his behavior just now, she asked curiously, “They all saw your wood carving. Weren’t you embarrassed?”

After all, when she first suggested he carve it, the guy had blushed and said, ‘That’s… not a good idea, is it?’

How was he like a completely different person now? Chu Liangyu almost thought everything that had just happened was a figment of her imagination.

Chi Yizhong’s gaze flickered. He hesitated for a moment before slowly explaining, “Perhaps… after carving so many, I just got used to it.”

“Oh… so that’s how it is.” Chu Liangyu looked at him, a smile playing in her eyes, with what seemed to be a faint hint of teasing.

Chi Yizhong’s voice was a bit muffled as he replied, “Mm.”

Chu Liangyu saw that his earlobes were as red as if they were about to bleed. She knew her few words had made him shy.

‘It seems he’s not completely immune to embarrassment after all,’ she thought. ‘He just doesn’t show it in front of others.’

“Tomorrow, I’m going to discuss the matter of unifying the other tribes in the Beast World with everyone. I’ll arrange for you to take the same route as me. What do you think?”

Hearing her turn to official business, Chi Yizhong’s expression grew serious as well. “As long as it’s an arrangement made by you, I have no objections.”

His complete compliance left Chu Liangyu at a loss. After a moment of careful consideration, she said, “Chi Yizhong, sometimes you need to tell me how you really feel. You don’t have to blindly agree with me.”

“I know.”

“Besides, I never expected I’d be able to go with you this time.”

The last time the tribe expanded its territory, he was only allowed to stay behind. This time, not only could he participate, but he could do so alongside Chu Liangyu. He was genuinely happy about that.

“That’s good to hear. I have some things to take care of, so I’ll be heading back to my courtyard now.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

After leaving, Chu Liangyu started walking toward her own courtyard. But she had barely taken a few steps when the trading panel suddenly materialized before her eyes, with Li Jingxuan’s face on it.

“Are the items ready?”

“The items are ready.”

They spoke at the same time, one with a questioning tone, the other with a confident one.

Needless to say, the questioning voice was Chu Liangyu’s. But this frequent sense of rapport made both of them pause for a moment.

“Then wait a moment. I’ll go get the Ancient Green Lotus now.”

“Alright, thank you for the trouble.”

This time, Chu Liangyu didn’t end the call, instead keeping the connection open until she reached the medicinal garden.

Xiong Jiaojiao wasn’t there this time. It was Cheng Miao who came forward to greet her.

“Chief, are you looking for some medicinal herbs?”

“I want to pick out a few stalks of Ancient Green Lotus myself. Take me inside to have a look.”

Cheng Miao nodded without asking any further questions. With a wave of his hand, a green energy glowed from his palm, and the entrance to the medicinal garden opened.

“You can go back to your work. Don’t mind me.”

Cheng Miao, who was about to follow her in, paused. He gave her a slightly puzzled look but still replied, “Alright. In that case, Chief, just call me if you need anything.”

Li Jingxuan had been watching the entire way. Sensing the attitude of the people around her, he couldn’t help but feel a little more curious.

He knew she was a Beast God, but he hadn’t realized she managed her tribe so well. This earned his admiration.

He thought about the Demon Realm under his own rule and suddenly felt that ‘the road is long and my quest is far’.

‘It seems I need to step up my game, too.’

“These are all Ancient Green Lotuses. Go ahead and pick.”

Li Jingxuan himself knew a thing or two about Alchemy, so distinguishing medicinal herbs was child’s play for him.

“The fifth plant in the third row, the seventh and eighth plants in the fourth row, and…”

After picking out the ten plants they had agreed upon for the trade, Li Jingxuan stopped.

“That should be all. I’ll give you these things now.”

Not wanting to waste a storage bag, Chu Liangyu directly traded the Ancient Green Lotuses scattered on the ground to the other side.

At the same time, two storage bags appeared in Chu Liangyu’s hands.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

Chu Liangyu glanced at the contents inside, and a smile unconsciously touched her lips.

Li Jingxuan gave a faint nod and said likewise, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

The two had nothing else to talk about besides the transaction, so Chu Liangyu took the initiative to cut the connection once they were finished.

“Are you leaving already, Chief?”

Chu Liangyu was about to say yes when she suddenly remembered something and asked him, “I don’t see Jiaojiao. Where did she go?”

“She went to the training grounds. Said she wanted to see how their training was coming along.”

“I recently went to the Southern Barbarian Land and recruited all the tribes there. We urgently need people to teach the females and cubs, and we also need to send a considerable number of Guard Team members over.”

After saying this all in one breath, Chu Liangyu continued, “Some of my cubs are over in the Southern Barbarian lands. Just have the team report to them when they arrive.”

“Since Jiaojiao isn’t here, I’ll have to trouble you to arrange the selection of Guard Team members and the Body Technique instructors now.”

“Understood, I’ll go inform them right away.” Cheng Miao agreed, then asked again, “When should they depart?”

“Preferably within the day.”