Chapter 56: The Beastmen’s Competition

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: The Beastmen’s Competition

Su Luoluo glanced at the man. She noticed he had no animal ears amid his silver hair.

’This doesn’t seem to be one of those three. It looks like Nantu.’

’What is he doing here?’

Su Luoluo had no time for second thoughts. With a rustle of her Beast Skin Skirt, she quickly changed her cloth pad.

Nantu had clearly noticed something was off. He stared at the half-man-high grass as it shook.

A wave of disdain washed over him. ’If you need to relieve yourself, at least find a more distant spot.’

He took a few steps back, preparing to leave.

Just then, Su Luoluo emerged from the tall grass, holding a long, narrow object. It looked like one of the decorative patterns on her usual Beast Skin Skirt, but why was it so short?

Su Luoluo placed the used cloth pad to the side. The beast skin pattern hid its contents, so at a glance, no one could tell what was inside. It wasn’t too disgusting.

Seeing Nantu, she lifted her gaze to him. "Did you come looking for me for something?"

Remembering his purpose, he didn’t bother sizing up Su Luoluo and said coolly, "I heard you’re going to make pottery in a few days. Count me in."

Su Luoluo was a little surprised to hear this.

First, she had only just agreed to make pottery with the others. How did he find out so quickly?

Second, he was actually taking the initiative to ask her about making pottery.

Su Luoluo didn’t speak, wondering whether she should agree to his request.

’Besides, if you’re going to ask someone for a favor, shouldn’t your attitude be a little less... cold?’

Nantu waited for a moment. Hearing no reply, he glanced at her again. "Is there a problem?"

There wasn’t any major problem, but Su Luoluo didn’t understand why he wanted to go.

She fixed her eyes on him. "How did you know?"

"I was passing by when they were discussing it and overheard," Nantu replied, not bothering to hide anything, his tone as cool as ever.

Su Luoluo asked another question, "What do you want to do there?"

"I want to see how you make your pottery."

’Her pottery looks more refined than what the people in the castle use. I want to know just how Su Luoluo manages it.’

Su Luoluo didn’t doubt him. After all, based on her observations, Nantu was clearly drawn to intelligence.

She could tell from the time she purified salt that he liked these things that were, relatively speaking, "more advanced" than what this primitive society was used to.

’This is also one way to win him over.’

With this in mind, Su Luoluo didn’t refuse. She nodded. "Come find me here tomorrow morning."

Seeing that she agreed, Nantu gave a nod and left.

Su Luoluo broke out in a sweat.

’Finally got rid of him.’

’I still need to wash my cloth pad.’

’Sigh, I wish these things were disposable.’

After washing the cloth pad and hanging it on a branch to dry, Su Luoluo headed into the forest.

She had spotted some red berries a few days ago. Remembering the snack she wanted to make for them, she realized now was the perfect time to pick them and make candied fruit skewers.

The fresh hawthorns were bright red, as tempting as red agate. Su Luoluo’s mouth watered just from washing them.

And that wasn’t to mention the other glittering golden wild fruits.

Su Luoluo didn’t know their specific names, but the people in the tribe ate them often, so she picked them as well.

After washing them, she poured them into a pottery basin, sprinkled some salt over them, added water to soak, and set them aside.

Then, Su Luoluo broke off a few twigs, sharpened their ends with a stone knife, removed the pits from the hawthorns and some of the wild fruits, and skewered them on the sharpened twigs.

Once that was done, she placed some crystallized honey into a pottery pot, added a little water, and began to simmer it over a low fire to make syrup.

This process required great care; constant stirring was needed to ensure the honey melted completely.

When the syrup had turned a pale yellow and started to bubble, Su Luoluo quickly rolled the prepared hawthorn and wild fruit skewers in the hot syrup, making sure they were fully coated.

To keep them from sticking, Su Luoluo had fashioned a small holder out of dried grass and stuck the finished candied fruit skewers into it.

From a distance, the mix of red and green, glazed with shimmering sugar, was a beautiful sight.

When Xiao Ye returned from hunting, he saw a glittering, tree-like object before him.

Su Luoluo was still busy at work. It went without saying that this must be the snack she had made for them.

’It looks really good.’

Mo Xuan and Fu Feng returned a moment after Xiao Ye. They too wore excited expressions when they saw the tree of bright, glossy fruit.

’That looks delicious!’

The air was filled with the fragrance of honey simmering into syrup, an aroma so sweet it was intoxicating.

Su Luoluo heard the commotion and glanced at the three of them. "You’re back?"

Mo Xuan rushed to nod. ’That looks delicious,’ he thought. ’I have to get some.’

With that in mind, he eagerly spread the beast skins he had hunted on the ground and said smugly, "These are the beast skins I hunted."

Su Luoluo glanced at the beast skins he had laid on the ground.

There were fox pelts, rabbit furs, and a sheepskin.

’The colors are nice, all pure white, and the quality is good,’ she thought. ’But won’t it be too hot to wear them now?’

Before Su Luoluo could figure out what to do with these beast skins, Fu Feng, who was standing to the side, also unloaded his quarry. "Take mine! Mine are prettier than his."

Mo Xuan snorted dismissively at his words, but Su Luoluo’s gaze was drawn over. Compared to Mo Xuan’s, these were indeed far more colorful and vibrant.

’But... these are all feathers, aren’t they!’

Su Luoluo looked them over: blue peacock feathers, white peacock feathers, green peacock feathers, kingfisher feathers, and even the long tail plumes of a pheasant, its black and white feathers streaked with a touch of yellow, creating an indescribable aesthetic.

’Honestly, the colors are beautiful, but if I were to make a skirt out of these...’

Su Luoluo felt she would have to give that some serious thought.

Seeing the other two present their kills, Xiao Ye also placed his own bounty on the ground.

Compared to the first two, his were much more conventional.

They were the more common marten, leopard, and ermine pelts, along with some zebra skins.

’But these patterns are so chaotic.’

After looking over the beast skins from the three hunters, Su Luoluo summed up their hunting criteria in her mind.

’These three probably go after beast skins that are similar to their own animal forms.’

’The leopard is keen on long fur.’

’The Dragon Sparrow has a penchant for fowl.’

’The snake is a bit more normal. Maybe because his own skin can’t be used for clothes, he hunts his natural enemies instead.’

Su Luoluo paused for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything else?"

Hearing this, the three of them silently rummaged through the piles of beast skins they had brought out, revealing more from within.

Hunting was a subtle form of male rivalry. None of them wanted to lose, so they had each hunted nearly ten animals in a single afternoon.

Su Luoluo breathed a sigh of relief when she saw there were more.

She pointed to the candied skewers on the holder. "Leave thirty for me. The rest of you can have twenty each. I’m going to go look at the beast skins."

At her words, the three men ran excitedly toward the candied fruit skewers.

Mo Xuan grabbed a hawthorn skewer and eagerly took a bite. It was crisp, sweet, and sour—absolutely delicious.

The other two also took a bite and then began to eat in earnest silence.

Su Luoluo surveyed the thirty or forty beast skins before her, inwardly astonished.

’They can hunt this much in a single afternoon? Their combat prowess is astounding!’

’No wonder every female in the tribe is fighting to have them.’