Chapter 30: Confrontation

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Confrontation

The two males standing beside Roger immediately turned to him, awaiting his command.

But Roger didn’t move. The corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk, but his eyes were utterly cold and ruthless.

"You think you can stop me? My caravan has over thirty males, all with Talents at Green Rank or higher. How many males in the entire Cat Clan are above Green Rank?"

"You can try. See if you can take Bai Wanwan away unscathed."

Chou Rong’s expression was calm, and his tone held not a trace of fear.

If he hadn’t known about this, it would be one thing. But now that he knew, he wouldn’t let them do anything to harm the Cat Clan Tribe right under his nose.

At the very least, for as long as he was staying in the Cat Clan Tribe, he would do his utmost to protect the Beastmen here.

Besides...

He once again recalled the scent she gave off when she had suddenly moved closer to him.

It was so familiar, yet he couldn’t remember a single thing about that night.

If Bai Wanwan was the female from that night, then he had even more reason not to let Roger take her.

’He needed to settle the score with her himself!’

The gazes of the two males clashed in midair.

If Roger weren’t responsible for delivering the caravan’s goods, he might have given it a try.

But the forest was teeming with ferocious beasts. If he got injured and couldn’t deliver the Black Dog Tribe’s goods on time, the Black Dog Tribe might choose to trade with other Traveling Merchant caravans.

Roger had been a Traveling Merchant for over a decade and had never broken his word. That was how he had been able to establish good relationships with various tribes and expand his caravan.

’Besides, is it worth turning against the Cat Clan over one Bai Wanwan?’

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and then he calmed down.

’It was just a momentary impulse. What would I even do with Bai Wanwan if I abducted her?’

The ruthlessness in his eyes slowly dissipated, and he suddenly broke into a smile.

"You must have misheard me. I was just grateful for the food she’s provided me recently, so I had my men carry over two extra kills as a gift for the little female."

Chou Rong didn’t say a word, merely staring at him coldly.

Roger could tell from his expression that he didn’t believe him, but he remained composed and showed no sign of panic.

’Now that I’ve given up the idea of taking the female, this Chou Rong has no reason to oppose me.’

Roger turned directly to his two subordinates and said, "Go back and tell the others to hurry up. We’re leaving immediately."

The two males were confused. They subconsciously glanced at Roger again, but seeing no other instructions, they could only do as he literally said.

After the two males left, Chou Rong’s gaze swept over Roger. "You’re still here?"

"Leaving right now."

Though he said that, his feet didn’t move an inch.

Instead, he took two steps forward, stopping in front of Chou Rong.

His gaze swept over Chou Rong’s face as he chuckled. "Don’t tell me you’ve taken a fancy to that useless female, just like Xin Feng?"

Chou Rong’s expression remained unchanged. He didn’t speak, just watched him quietly.

Roger shrugged and glanced back in the direction of Bai Wanwan’s cave.

The young female’s figure flashed past the cave entrance.

His curiosity about her grew, but he just said to Chou Rong, "Alright, I’m leaving."

Soon, Roger’s figure disappeared between the earthen houses.

Chou Rong remained standing in place, still not having moved.

He raised his eyes toward Bai Wanwan’s cave. Through the open entrance, he could see the young female’s figure.

He stood there for a long while, trying to dredge up his memory of that night from Bai Wanwan, but it was still a futile effort.

He only remembered the feel of her in his arms; all other traces of the young female seemed to have been deliberately erased.

’Who could have done that?’

He had been investigating this matter in the Cat Clan all this time, but he had discovered that the most powerful Beastmen in the clan were only Green Rank.

It would be impossible for them to do it without him noticing.

Chou Rong stood there for a very long time, but Bai Wanwan never noticed. After carrying water in and out a few times, she finally closed her door.

’I’m a little worried. It’s too cold.’

’Once the cubs are born, I’ll have to make this freezing cave a bit warmer. I also need to find something to do, or I’ll be cooped up in here for months during the rainy and snowy seasons.’

’How will I get through it? There’s no TV to watch and no games to play.’

The only silver lining was that Xin Feng would be with her. As it happened, she didn’t dislike this male—in fact, she was even a little fond of him.

The stone stool was too cold, so she went into the cave and brought out an animal hide.

With no scissors, she could only fold the large hide to use as a cushion.

It made the seat high and uncomfortable.

"Hua Sheng, Hua Sheng, come out and chat for a bit."

"Host, I am here. I do not know how to chat."

"I can tell." If she weren’t so bored and unable to go for a walk, she wouldn’t feel the need to chat with a machine.

"Well then, just tell me how many cubs are in this litter of mine. How many Points can I get for them?"

Hua Sheng didn’t hold back. "Host, you have four cubs in this litter. The number of Points depends on the cubs’ Talent level. The higher their Talent, the more Points the Host will receive."

"Then after using the Points from these four cubs to heal Xin Feng, will there be enough left over for me to have a comfortable winter?"

’The Points from this litter have to be used to heal Xin Feng first. I’ll be much safer once he’s fully recovered.’

"If the Host does not exchange for other expensive items in the points mall, there should be no problem."

Bai Wanwan finally felt relieved. ’After I give birth, I’m definitely going to make this cold, dark cave warm, cozy, and comfortable!’

She was always sensitive to the cold and hated winter the most.

In her past life, she had heating, hot water bottles, and heat packs to help her fight the cold.

Now she had nothing, and could only hope this childbirth system would be reliable.

"So, how much longer until I give birth?"

"Barring any accidents, about twenty days."

Bai Wanwan rubbed her belly again. "Alright then, I’ll just tough it out for another twenty days."

After a boring morning, the cave door was pushed open.

Xin Feng strode in, wrapped in a gust of cold wind, and quickly shut the door behind him.

Seeing Xin Feng return, Bai Wanwan, who had been bored all morning, immediately perked up and went to greet him.

"I thought you’d be back later. Why are you back so soon?"

"I came back to check on you. I’m dropping off the firewood before going back up the mountain."

He only had two hands, so there was a limit to the firewood he could carry.

Bai Wanwan walked to the entrance, pushed the door open, and peeked outside.

There were three large bundles of firewood on the ground, all tied up with vines.

’Back in the modern world, a man would struggle to carry even one of those bundles. He doesn’t even have his Talent anymore, yet he managed to carry all three back at once.’

"Isn’t it tiring to carry so much at once?"

As she spoke, she ladled some boiled water into a stone bowl and handed it to him. "Have some water first. Don’t carry so much at once next time. Just take it trip by trip. Your body is recovered now anyway, so there’s no rush."

Xin Feng took the water and tilted his head back, downing it in one gulp. He was truly thirsty.

After drinking, he wiped his mouth messily with the back of his hand, walked past her, and set the stone bowl down.

"I have to go up the mountain again. While the weather’s good today, I need to stock up on everything we’re missing as quickly as possible. The rainy season could start any day, and then all the wood will be wet."

After explaining this to her, Xin Feng turned to leave.

"You should at least rest for a little while."

"I’m not tired. Time is tight. You just rest well. It’s cold outside, so don’t go out."

With that said, he hurried out.

’It’s still early. If I’m quick, I can make two more round trips today.’

’In another day or two, I’ll have all the firewood we need for the entire snowy season.’

Seeing him leave so abruptly, Bai Wanwan immediately turned back into the cave, then chased after him.

"Xin Feng, wait."