I Love Soaking in Hot Springs

The man carried Feng Rumeng as he leaped from branch to branch through the giant trees.

Feng Rumeng looked up and punched the man in the face. He winced in pain, and his grip loosened.

She spun and jumped from the branch, shooting out a nanowire, but before she had fallen halfway, Ling's icy snake tail coiled around her.

In his half-beast form, Ling took Feng Rumeng from his tail and held her in his arms. He looked up at the male in the tree, his purple eyes turning scarlet. "You're courting death."

The male covered his handsome face and ignored Ling, his brown vertical pupils fixed on Feng Rumeng. "Little female, you've got quite a fiery temper."

Ling set Feng Rumeng down. "Be good and wait for me in the bushes."

"Be careful, Ling," Feng Rumeng said, then ran toward the bushes.

The man on the branch watched Feng Rumeng run off. "A mere third-stage beast like you can't protect her."

With that, he transformed into a giant brown bear and lunged at Ling.

Ling swung his snake tail at the giant bear's waist. The bear seized his tail and raked his other claw across it, leaving several bloody gashes. Seeing this, Ling swung his tail and flung him off.

The giant bear staggered a few steps before regaining his footing. "A cold-blooded snake beast shouldn't have such a beautiful female."

"An evil beast like you is even less worthy." The two beasts clashed again.

Ling's snake tail coiled around the giant bear's waist. The bear opened his enormous maw and drove his fangs through Ling's scales. Ling grunted in pain, but instead of loosening his tail, he squeezed tighter.

The giant bear's bones creaked under the pressure. "You stinking snake, you're courting death."

After cursing him, he pressed his weight down on the snake tail, crushing Ling's scales until they split open. The giant bear seized the chance to grab a scale and yank hard, tearing it free along with a patch of skin and flesh.

"Hiss!" Ling opened his snake jaws and sank his fangs into the giant bear's face. Roaring in pain, the bear slammed a fist into Ling's snake head, knocking it to the side. In that instant, the bear broke free, and Ling also retreated a step.

The giant bear pulled several snake scales from his waist and swallowed a blue crystal. "I didn't expect a stinking thing like you to be so hard to deal with."

Ling ate an orange crystal without a word. He turned his beast head to look at Feng Rumeng as she ran back.

Feng Rumeng saw the injuries on Ling's tail and shot out a nanowire. With a whoosh, she landed astride the giant bear's neck. Her hand rose and fell, and her dagger slashed open his throat.

Ling's vertical pupils contracted, and he shouted, "Little Meng'er!"

His snake body arched and sprang into the air, and his tail swept Meng away.

The giant bear's eyes widened as his throat was cut. His dying reflex unleashed even greater strength, and he swung a forepaw, nearly severing Ling's tail.

Feng Rumeng's pupils shrank, and she shouted, "Ling!"

The giant bear fell, and Ling collapsed as well. Trembling, Feng Rumeng took Beast Crystals from her space and stuffed handfuls into his snake mouth. "Ling, hurry and eat them. I'll find some herbs to stop the bleeding."

"Little Meng'er, don't go. I'm fine. Your male isn't so easy to kill." Ling blocked her with his snake head. "I was hurt much worse than this last time."

Feng Rumeng hugged his snake head. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been hurt so badly."

Ling's forked tongue flicked against the damp corners of her eyes. "That's not true, Little Meng'er."

His heart clenched with pain. The way she had thrown herself into danger for him just now left him shaken. He had nearly lost her.

"It's only natural for a male to fight for his mate. Little Meng'er, you must never do that again."

"Mm. Ling, you're not allowed to risk your life like that anymore either. If you can't win, run. You don't have to fight until there's a winner," Feng Rumeng said, her heart still pounding.

Ling finished absorbing the Beast Crystals, and his wounds slowly began to heal. Starlight shimmered in her violet vertical pupils.

If a male in the beast world lost a fight, he would have no standing in his family and would be pushed to the margins. Yet her little female did not look down on him. She really was different from the rest.

"Little Meng'er, I'll work hard to advance and protect you well."

"Mm. Ling, take human form. I'll carry you back to the tribe. Ferocious beasts could appear here at any time. It's dangerous."

"All right. Before we leave, there's one more thing I have to do. Little Meng'er, close your eyes. No matter what you hear, don't open them."

"Mm." Feng Rumeng obediently closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his snake head.

The treetops rustled, and with a bang, the giant bear was smashed to pieces. The tip of Ling's tail picked up his Beast Core and tossed it into his mouth.

"Little Meng'er, it's done."

Feng Rumeng opened her eyes. Ling was already in human form. The wound at his waist had nearly healed, and the bloody hole in his leg was gone.

"Little Meng'er," Ling said, lifting her into his arms, "I caught a few bamboo rats earlier. We can roast them in a bit."

"Mm." Feng Rumeng wrapped her arms around her neck.

When they reached the river, Ling swiftly dressed the prey. Feng Rumeng did not sit idle either, going off to gather dry branches nearby.

After washing the prey, Ling set up a rack, skewered the meat on wooden sticks, and placed it on the rack.

Feng Rumeng put down the dry branches, and Ling lit a fire with a firestone.

Before long, the aroma of roasting meat filled the air. Ling spread a layer of insect honey over it with a stone knife, then smiled at the sight of his mate's sparkling eyes.

He cut off the tenderest piece with the stone knife, set it on a clay plate, and handed it to Feng Rumeng. "Careful, don't burn yourself."

Feng Rumeng accepted it with both hands, blew on it with her little cherry lips, and began to eat.

Ling watched Feng Rumeng the whole time. When she said she was full, he fed her a green fruit. "It'll cut through the richness."

Feng Rumeng chewed a few times. It was sweet and tart, and delicious. "When did you pick it?"

"I saw it while I was hunting, so I picked it. Do you like it?" Ling rested his chin on his hand and watched her.

A sly gleam entered Feng Rumeng's eyes. "I do. As long as it's from you, Ling, I like it."

Ling pulled her into his arms. "Little Meng'er, why are you so wonderful?"

Feng Rumeng wrapped her slender arms around his neck. When she tilted her head up, her beautiful eyes shone brightly. "How wonderful am I?"

Ling lowered his gaze, a smile always lingering in his purple eyes. "My mate is the best female in the entire beast world."

Fair enough, except she's not very bright!

Feng Rumeng turned and nestled softly in his arms. Ling's gaze grew deep. "Little Meng'er, how about we go soak in a hot spring?"

At the mention of a hot spring, Feng Rumeng's rosy lips parted. "Sure! I love soaking in hot springs."

The corners of Ling's thin lips lifted almost imperceptibly. He rubbed his nose against the tip of hers before getting up and taking big bites of the roast meat.

Feng Rumeng looked at his handsome profile. Here in the beast world, she was like a little chick, prey for anyone to hunt.

The beast world was too dangerous. From now on, she would learn hunting skills from Ling and grow stronger herself. She could not rely on her mate for everything, and she did not want to become a burden to him.

Today she had almost... She stroked her cheek. It seemed she would have to darken her face to be safe.

"Ling, do you have any cleaning fruit left?"

"Yes." Ling turned over his palm and popped a long, cyan fruit into her mouth.

Feng Rumeng chewed a few times, and her mouth filled with foam. This was the beast world's natural toothpaste.

She walked to the river and squatted down, looking at her reflection in the water. Counting the time, she had been in the beast world for more than eight months. She had endured the hard days, so how hard could the good days ahead be?

After scooping up water to rinse her mouth, she caught sight of many rounded, smooth, lustrous colored stones in the river out of the corner of her eye.

She thought the stones looked a little like colored gems. She could polish them into ornaments and trade them for Beast Crystals at the market.

The words "want them" passed through her mind, and several colored stones trembled slightly before moving into her hand on their own.