The Flavor Is So Unusual

After kneading the dough, Feng Rumeng came over and cut the prey Ling had prepared and the potatoes into small pieces. She put them in a clay pot to stew while Ling tended the fire beside her.

"Aren't you afraid of fire?"

"I'm a snake beastman, not a wild beast!"

"Oh~"

Feng Rumeng also propped up a stone slab nearby, took some fat from the prey, and rendered it into oil to cook flatbreads on the slab.

Once Ling thought he had learned how, he came over. "Go rest over there. Let me try."

Feng Rumeng moved aside.

Ling followed her method, kneading the dough, rolling it out, and cooking the flatbreads. His came out even neater than hers.

From time to time, Ling glanced at Feng Rumeng, and they exchanged smiles. Though neither of them spoke, the atmosphere was somewhat unusual.

The stew had begun to bubble. Feng Rumeng lifted the lid, and Ling handed her a jar of coarse salt.

Feng Rumeng sprinkled in the salt, then sneaked in some instant noodle seasoning. The aroma of meat instantly filled the air.

Ling looked at the pot. "What did you put in? The flavor is so unusual."

"It's a few very special herbs, dried and ground up. You add some when you stew meat to bring out the aroma," Feng Rumeng explained convincingly.

Once it was ready, Feng Rumeng first ladled a bowl for Ling and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "Use these so you don't burn your hands."

Ling took the chopsticks and used them to pick up the food without hesitation. When he had lived with his mother, she had also liked using sticks to pick up food.

Feng Rumeng sat down beside him and ate naturally, alternating bites of the stew and flatbread.

Ling's purple eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at her pink lips opening and closing. He really wanted to take a bite.

Feng Rumeng glanced over at him. "You even have time to daydream while eating? Eat while it's hot. It'll taste very gamey once it gets cold."

Ling felt hot all over. He figured it had to be because of the season. He lowered his eyes and bent his head to eat, trying to hide his awkwardness.

After they ate, Ling said he would clean up, so Feng Rumeng left him to it. She lay down on the bed, covered her mouth, and yawned. "I got up too early this morning. I'm going to catch up on sleep."

Ling looked at her back, the corners of his mouth curling up deeply.

Feng Rumeng closed her eyes, but her mind was busy calculating. If she wanted to survive in the beast world, having a mate was a good thing.

Ling not only knew how to repay kindness, but had also taken the initiative to come and mate with her. He didn't mind her looks, he was a beast of good character, and he was handsome too.

She remembered Jianyue saying that if a male took a mate on the day he came of age, it could help his mate awaken a precious special ability. Of course, that wasn't guaranteed.

Had Ling chosen to come today because he was thinking the same thing? Heavens, doesn't that mean tonight we'll...

She wasn't a beastman. What if she couldn't awaken one... I'll just enjoy myself, then. She pulled the beast hide around herself. She would get some sleep first.

After waking up, Feng Rumeng stopped being reserved. She spoke as she gestured:

"Ling, find a tree stump this thick and this tall. Hollow it out, leave the bottom a little thicker, and make it into the shape of a bathtub for bathing."

After watching her gestures, Ling left the cave. When he returned, he waved a hand, and two bathtubs filled with water appeared before her.

Feng Rumeng clapped her hands. "Ling, you're amazing! The bathtubs are smooth, with no splinters."

She touched the water. "It's hot?"

"Mm, it's hot spring water. You wash up; I'll go outside and roast some meat." True to his word, Ling went out.

A minute later, Feng Rumeng was soaking in the bath as she had wished, her eyes narrowed in contentment.

Outside, Ling's body stiffened as he roasted the meat. The sound of splashing water inside set his imagination running wild.

Once they were mates, he would bathe with her.

Feng Rumeng thought that since she was going to give herself to him in both body and heart, there was no need to keep smearing her face black in front of Ling.

She got out of the water, dried herself, and put on loose clothes.

Just as she was about to dry her hair, Ling appeared silently behind her. Feng Rumeng saw his shadow and looked back. "You-didn't you go roast meat?"

When Ling saw her fair face tinged with pink, his blood surged, and his breathing grew heavy. His purple eyes locked firmly on her as though she were prey.

I really want to...

Σ(OдO‖)

He swallowed and forcibly suppressed the stirrings in his heart. He couldn't frighten her!

"I'll help you dry your hair." Ling dried it gently and carefully with both hands, his gaze scrutinizing Feng Rumeng.

He was more than a hundred times more exquisite than the divine maiden Qing You, the young clan leader of the green snakes, had brought out of the Sacred Lake.

She was like a female who didn't belong in the beast world!

Though Ling had grown up in Sunset Forest, he had seen the world. His mother was the most beautiful female in the forest, and she had taken him to several beast cities.

Even the sacred female of the Peacock Clan wasn't as beautiful as his mate.

The corners of Feng Rumeng's lips curved up. She didn't move away, quietly letting Ling work.

See? Her figure might not be popular here, but her looks could still hold their own.

After drying her hair, Ling lowered his head slightly and brushed his lips against her delicate collarbone. "The meat's ready. I'll go get it."

Feng Rumeng smiled sweetly. "Mm."

That evening, after Ling finished bathing, his sexy Adam's apple bobbed. "Let's begin."

When Feng Rumeng saw Ling's heaven-defying cheat, she had some regrets. "How about we go outside and look at the moon tonight instead?"

Ling walked over, and his pleasant scent wafted into her nose. "I'm better-looking than the moon."

Feng Rumeng's face immediately flushed red. Nervous beyond measure, she said, "I-I-give me a minute to prepare myself."

Ling didn't know what a minute was; it was the first time he had heard the word. Looking at her shy expression, emotions surged in his eyes. How had she mated with the fox beastman?

Feng Rumeng raised her flushed face. Ling, his expression aloof, lowered his gaze, and his cool lips brushed her soft, moist ones like a dragonfly skimming water.

Feng Rumeng froze, her heart racing. The atmosphere in the cave gradually grew intimate. He leaned over her and sucked hard on her lips.

"Don't be afraid, Little Meng'er."

He tugged at her clothes, and Feng Rumeng instinctively clutched them. "I'm not ready yet."

Ling's eyes reddened, but his hands didn't stop. "What are all these clothes you're wearing? There's layer after layer."

Feng Rumeng crossed her arms over herself. "Ling, wait."

Ling nipped at the corner of her lips.

Feng Rumeng beat at him with her fists. Ling caught her hands and pressed them against the beast hide. He wanted to become one with her and never part from her.

The tip of his tongue probed deftly...

The atmosphere in the cave grew heated. Her scent drove him wild, and he gripped her slender waist.

She didn't match his inherited memories.

It nearly made him lose control and take his beast form.

Be good, my Little Meng'er...

So the inherited memories were all lies...

Two days later, Ling passed a blue Beast Crystal into Feng Rumeng's mouth.

Still asleep, Feng Rumeng instinctively smacked her lips and snuggled deeper into Ling's embrace.

The corners of Ling's mouth rose slightly. Holding her close, he drifted into sleep.