Chapter 146: Not as Magnanimous as He Imagined

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Not as Magnanimous as He Imagined

He felt as if the hand she was holding had lost all feeling.

"Why aren’t you talking?"

Bai Wanwan was getting anxious. The tribe had been in chaos for the past few days, and she had no idea how Zhu Xiu was faring out there. What if he ran into those Eagle Beasts and was ambushed?

Yan Lie snapped back to reality. Sensing Bai Wanwan’s worry, he quickly said, "Don’t worry. When I found him, he was fighting the Eagle Beasts. I just gave him a hand and killed them all."

Bai Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for helping him."

"But... he didn’t seem right. His body was covered in some kind of black substance, and he didn’t recognize me."

He deliberately concealed the fact that Zhu Xiu had been trying to kill him.

"Yes, he’s not in a good state," she said, "but it’s alright. He’ll recover in time."

As she spoke, she let go of his hand.

"Go get cleaned up. Food will be ready soon."

Yan Lie, worried the stench would bother her, had already washed up in the river before coming back.

However, the bloodstains on his beast skin clothing were not easy to wash out.

He scrubbed at it relentlessly with water, so hard that a piece of the beast skin tore away, yet the stench of blood remained.

"Here, change into this."

Bai Wanwan handed him one of Xin Feng’s Beast Skin Skirts. "Go on, change into this."

Yan Lie accepted it and put it on as if it were a precious treasure.

The moment he turned around, he saw Bai Wanwan bending over to move a stone basin. He immediately strode over and lifted it for her, just before her hands could touch it.

Bai Wanwan took the opportunity to direct him. "Just put it over there."

Yan Lie immediately did as he was told.

Bai Wanwan stood aside and watched. ’He’s proactive and sees what needs to be done,’ she thought. ’This male isn’t half bad!’

She looked away from him and up at the two males repairing the roof. "Come down and take a break! Time to eat!"

That night, worried the Eagle Beasts might attack again, the five of them all squeezed into one room.

Bai Wanwan and Shi Hua slept on the bed, while the males simply lay on the floor.

Listening to the sound of Bai Wanwan and Shi Hua’s voices, Yan Lie closed his eyes, completely content.

’By now, I should have been far away from the Black Dog Tribe,’ he mused. ’I never thought the tribe would face a crisis, letting me stay... and be so close to Wanwan...’

The next two days were peaceful in the tribe. The Eagle Beasts didn’t reappear.

Xin Feng and Mu Feng stayed home to look after the females and cubs, while Yan Lie took on the responsibility of hunting.

Bai Wanwan also had Xin Feng check on Aunt Lu.

Aunt Lu had been lucky to survive, but two of her Beast Husbands had been killed by the Eagle Beasts while protecting her.

Since Aunt Lu had helped her in the past, Wanwan had Yan Lie bring some of his quarry to Aunt Lu and her remaining Beast Husband from time to time.

’Under the circumstances, it was the most she could do to help.’

The five cubs were at their most mischievous age, and Xin Feng was constantly busy, unable to take his eyes off them for a single moment.

So, Bai Wanwan and Shi Hua took on the task of cooking.

Bai Wanwan carried a basin of meat over to Xin Feng and sat down, picking out a strip to hand to one of the cubs.

The other cubs immediately swarmed over, scrambling to get their share of the food.

While feeding the cubs, she said to Xin Feng, "Once Zhu Xiu gets back, we’re leaving this place."

The Eagle Beasts have their eyes on the Black Dog Tribe. They could attack at any time. As long as they lived here, they would constantly be on edge.

Xin Feng’s gaze fell on her swollen belly. He shook his head. "You need to give birth to this cub first. We can only leave after your body has recovered."

It’s too risky for a pregnant female to travel.

Bai Wanwan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, we’ll wait for Zhu Xiu to get back and discuss it then."

After feeding the cubs, Bai Wanwan got up to sew some beast skins.

They had plenty of various beast hides at home, but they also went through them quickly.

While tidying up yesterday, she’d noticed that Xin Feng didn’t have many clothes.

And Yan Lie was even worse off; he didn’t seem to have brought anything with him at all.

So, she brought out all the beast skins, took their measurements, and began sewing clothes for them with her own clumsy hands.

Luckily, beast skins were inherently rough and didn’t require any delicate or detailed work.

All she had to do was stitch the hides together to cover the essential parts.

There wasn’t much technical skill involved.

She slowly learned from Shi Hua...

Yan Lie returned, carrying his kill. He quickly tossed the prey aside and walked over to Bai Wanwan, who was busy sewing.

His heart ached when he saw her reddened fingertips.

"Let me help you."

"You just got back from a long day. Go get some rest."

Even as Bai Wanwan spoke, Yan Lie took the sewing from her hands.

He watched Shi Hua’s movements intently, copying her as he pushed the needle through the hide.

"HISS..."

Hearing the sound, Bai Wanwan glanced down. A very thick needle was sticking out of Yan Lie’s finger. It was the thickest one she had specifically exchanged for in her system.

"Honestly, you..."

With a look of exasperation, she pulled his hand into her lap.

Like a child who’d done something wrong, Yan Lie didn’t dare make a peep. He just stared at the beautiful face so close to his own.

Shi Hua had only meant to look up to say something to Bai Wanwan, but she turned to see Yan Lie gazing ardently at Sister Wanwan, a dopey grin plastered on his face.

’She... felt a bit like a third wheel.’

’This male was willing to risk his life to protect Sister Wanwan, and now... it seems Sister Wanwan doesn’t hate him anymore.’

At that thought, she quietly stood up and tiptoed away.

Bai Wanwan pulled the needle out. "How can you be so clumsy?" she said, exasperated. "Stabbing yourself like that."

She shot him a glare, hoping to teach him a lesson.

But when she looked up, she found herself face-to-face with Yan Lie’s handsome features, mere inches away.

He was leaning in, his face so close it was almost touching hers.

The potent, masculine scent coming off him was all-encompassing.

He was already handsome to begin with, with a bright and sunny disposition.

The sudden, point-blank assault of his good looks made Bai Wanwan’s heart skip a beat.

Yan Lie’s gaze slowly drifted from her eyes down to her beautiful, petal-like lips...

A powerful longing began to bloom within him.

The next second, Bai Wanwan had pressed a hand to his face and pushed him away. "You’re so close, I can’t even get up."

She scrambled to her feet and tossed the beast skin in her hand to him. "You can take your time learning."

With that, she turned and fled into the house, her steps a little unsteady.

’Is he a little *too* smooth...?’

’Before, she had only admired Yan Lie, but she’d never felt her heart stir for him.’

’But just now... she thought her heart might have skipped a beat.’

She had just started looking for a place to calm down when the familiar figure followed her inside.

"Wanwan, what else do you need to do? Just tell me. I’ll take care of it, you go rest."

Bai Wanwan pointed at the beast skin in his hands. "How about you finish sewing that thing first."

Yan Lie grinned. "I can sew and help you at the same time."

And Yan Lie was true to his word. No matter what Bai Wanwan set her hands to, he would rush over to help.

In the distance, Xin Feng, who was watching the cubs while processing the day’s hunt, took it all in and squeezed his eyes shut.

’A powerful emotion churned within him—a desire to throw that damn leopard out, to get him far away from Wanwan.’

’But he knew, deep down, that Wanwan’s future Beast Husbands would never be limited to just him and Zhu Xiu.’

’Yan Lie was willing to die for Wanwan. He was a good choice.’

’He shouldn’t stop the other male from getting close to Wanwan. If Wanwan liked Yan Lie and wanted to keep him, that was her own choice.’

’He understood all of this... and yet, an unspeakable frustration welled up inside him, with nowhere to go.’

’In that moment, he suddenly understood Zhu Xiu’s behavior.’

A bitter smile touched his lips. It turned out he wasn’t nearly as open-minded or magnanimous as he’d thought.