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Mang Jiu carried the banana tree back to the cave entrance. Looking at the scattered bamboo pieces littering the ground, he fell silent for a moment.

Zhang Shuguang was actually quite annoyed by the mess piled up at his doorstep; if there were any more of this stuff, there wouldn’t be room left in front of the cave.

He held up the frying pan and waved it at Mang Jiu. “I made this from a scale plate. You can use it to fry meat.”

Mang Jiu nodded to show he understood, then set the tree down.

The banana tree he’d brought back was lush and leafy, with large, intact green leaves. The trunk was at least as thick as an adult man’s thigh, and the tree stood about three meters tall.

Zhang Shuguang felt that this tree didn’t really resemble the banana trees he had in mind, and when he had previously wrapped fish meat in the leaves to roast it, he hadn’t found any mucus in the leaf stalks.

Thinking this, he walked over and cut two large leaves off with his bone knife to examine them. At the cut edges, there was only a fresh green sap, quite clear. “Where’s the sap?”

Mang Jiu gestured for him to look at the base of the trunk. Zhang Shuguang bent down to examine it and discovered a milky-white, viscous liquid pooling at the cut end; before long, a small puddle had formed on the ground.

“How fascinating,” he said, reaching out to touch the mucus and rubbing it between his fingers—it was very sticky. “Does this tree bear fruit?”

Mang Jiu shook his head. “I don’t know.” He rarely ate wild vegetables or fruits, so he wasn’t very familiar with them. He’d only discovered that the tree’s core produced this sap when he’d accidentally snapped a branch while shedding his skin, and the mucus had stuck to his body.

A-Si chimed in from the side, “It bears fruit, but it’s not edible, and the fruit is very scarce.”

Zhang Shuguang gave a noncommittal “Oh” and stopped worrying about what kind of tree it actually was. To him, it looked like a banana tree, so he’d just call it that.

“Mang Jiu, strip all the leaves off—we’ll use them to wrap meat later. Chop the trunk into chunks and put them in a basin to let the sap flow out. Let’s see if we can get the fur off that way.”

Mang Jiu grunted in acknowledgment and turned to get to work.

Zhang Shuguang found it amusing to see him silently following orders like this. Those who knew them would recognize they were roommates, but anyone else might think he was enslaving Mang Jiu.

A-Si raised an eyebrow from the side. Who would have thought that one day he’d actually see Mang Jiu working so hard without complaint!

Before Shuguang arrived, Mang Jiu was the type to go out hunting and then come back to rest. At most, he’d help fill the water jars by the four-story cave where they lived—other than that, he’d never been seen doing anything else.

In a way, Mang Jiu was actually just like Mang Er—both were lazy.

But things were different now. In just half a day, he’d followed Zhang Shuguang in doing so many tasks that he was running around nonstop.

Mang Jiu didn’t feel particularly overwhelmed. He stripped all the large leaves off and set them aside, then began cutting the tree trunk into sections.

Zhang Shuguang glanced over and suggested, “If you slice them thinner, the sap should come out faster.”

Mang Jiu didn’t say a word, but his hand shifted as he continued slicing the tree trunk.

A-Si nodded silently—he was very obedient, a good man.

Mang Jiu quickly finished slicing the tree trunk, placed the slices in a wooden basin, and only then remembered the other bag he’d brought back. He fetched it and handed it to Zhang Shuguang. “The herbs and other things you asked for.”

Zhang Shuguang was marinating the meat slices with lemongrass and green lemon juice. Upon hearing this, he reached out to take it, muttered a thank you, then opened it to take a look. There was plenty of lemongrass, along with some tiny granules.

He was delighted, he grabbed a handful to examine it closely, and took a sniff.

Fresh Sichuan peppercorns!

A friend of his mother’s had a Sichuan pepper tree at home and used to love bringing her fresh peppercorns for a while. He’d eaten them more than once, so he recognized them. Although these were green, they weren’t much different from the red ones he’d eaten before, and they had a very strong aroma.

“This!” His eyes sparkled as he looked at Mang Jiu. “Where did you find it?”

“What is it? I just brought it back because it smelled really strong and didn’t seem poisonous,” Mang Jiu said. “It was growing on a few short trees up the slope from the pond.”

“You went up to the waterfall?” Zhang Shuguang was surprised that the other had managed to travel so far in such a short time, but remembering how fast Mang Jiu had run while carrying him from the beach to the tribe, he didn’t find it unbelievable anymore. “What else is there?”

Mang Jiu thought for a moment and said, “Quite a lot of things. If you want to go, I can take you there.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded eagerly. “I want to go! I really want to go!”

A faint smile touched the corners of Mang Jiu’s mouth. “Alright.”

Zhang Shuguang was in high spirits. He pinched a green Sichuan pepper between his fingers and popped it into his mouth. The moment he bit down, a tingling sensation swept over his tongue, and his eyes widened instantly.

“Ugh!”

Mang Jiu and A-Si were startled by his reaction. “What’s wrong?”

“Numb!” Zhang Shuguang’s lips began to tremble. A vivid image popped into his mind: trembling lips!

“Numb?” A-Si wasn’t quite sure what that sensation felt like. Without a word, Zhang Shuguang shoved a peppercorn into his mouth, then did the same for Mang Jiu.

“Chew it.” Zhang Shuguang took the bamboo segment he’d set aside earlier, filled it with water, and took a couple of sips. “Hurry up, it’s not poisonous.”

The two of them moved their lips skeptically, then their eyes widened simultaneously.

Mang Jiu’s poker face nearly cracked, while A-Si grimaced and spat repeatedly, “Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!”

Zhang Shuguang kindly handed them the bamboo segment. “Rinse your mouths.”

The two took it to rinse their mouths. A-Si pressed his hand to his lips and said, speechless, “What on earth is this?”

“Hua—no, numbing pepper.” Zhang Shuguang licked his lips, which had returned to normal, and savored the sensation. “It actually feels pretty good.”

A-Si looked utterly repulsed and waved his hand. “I can’t handle it. It feels awful in my mouth.”

Mang Jiu, however, reached out, pinched another one, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it. Then he nodded. “It tastes way better than what we just ate. But eating too much might not be good—it won’t fill you up.”

Zhang Shuguang was at a loss for words, quickly explaining, “No, no, this is just for flavor. It adds more depth and complexity to the meat and vegetables.” He picked out a few, rinsed them briefly, then tossed them into the large conch shell filled with marinated meat and gave it a stir. Under A Si’s incredulous gaze, he raised an eyebrow at him. “Relax, I’m not going to harm you.”

A-Si pressed his hand to his forehead, his face a picture of despair. “You’re definitely trying to harm me. I don’t care—I’m not eating that stuff.”

“Alright, I’ll marinate a fresh batch for you,” Zhang Shuguang replied with a smile. He rummaged through his leather pouch again but found nothing else. Setting the pouch down, he pointed to the remaining nine intact scales. “Why don’t we mount these on the cave wall? That way, we can place the items on the ground and free up some space.”

Mang Jiu nodded. “Alright.”

Zhang Shuguang beamed. For some reason, he found it incredibly satisfying that Mang Jiu agreed to everything!

“Actually, we could build a frame out of bamboo, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t be as sturdy.” He thought the most secure method was to have Mang Jiu hammer the scales directly into the wall.

Mang Jiu turned to fetch the scales. Once inside the cave, he looked around and turned to ask Zhang Shuguang, “How do you want to set this up?”

Zhang Shuguang hurried over and gestured at the cave wall. “Can we dig deeper into the cave? I want to make the front area into a shelf for storing things, and use the back as a sleeping area.”

He had noticed earlier that there was a significant distance from the front of the mountain to the back, far beyond the depth of their current cave. Moreover, the caves were separated by a great distance; if there were doors, the soundproofing inside this cave would be exceptional.

“We can dig deeper or wider,” Mang Jiu said. “The Chief’s cave is actually two connected caves. Since I’m living alone, I don’t need it to be that big.”

The implication was clear: since he wasn’t living alone anymore, he could dig as much as he wanted—as long as he didn’t tunnel right through the mountain.

Zhang Shuguang made up his mind on the spot: put the scales aside for now; let’s dig the cave first!

“Will it be quick?” he asked Mang Jiu.

Mang Jiu stared at him intently for a moment. When Zhang Shuguang looked back in confusion, he replied calmly, “If we want it to be fast… Call the Giant Bear Clan to help.”

He actually wanted to say that he could just transform into his serpent form and slither around the cave a couple of times to get it done, but then he remembered the look on Zhang Shuguang’s face last night when he saw him shedding his skin, and the words on his lips changed.

A-Si chuckled softly beside them. He’d figured it out—Mang Jiu truly cared about Shuguang. Afraid his beast form might scare the man, he’d rather call for help than do it himself. If it were any other Beastman, they wouldn’t think twice—they’d just shift into beast form, charge in, and thrash about, maybe even show off their beast form in the process.

Zhang Shuguang looked at Mang Jiu. “I heard from Yu that his partner is in the same hunting party as you.”

Mang Jiu hummed in acknowledgment. “Xiong Hong.”

“Then ask him for help. We can invite his whole family over and have lunch together.” Zhang Shuguang smiled warmly at him. “I’ll fry up some meat patties for you to try.”

“Steaks?” A hint of anticipation flickered in Mang Jiu’s otherwise impassive eyes.

Zhang Shuguang nodded. “I guarantee you’ll be craving them every day.”

“Alright.” Mang Jiu reached up and ruffled his hair. Zhang Shuguang blinked; it seemed that ever since last night, his hair had been particularly irresistible to Mang Jiu’s hands.

Zhang Shuguang asked A-Si to help cut two more large pieces of meat, trimming off all the fat to leave only the lean parts, then slicing them into thick cutlets.

“How do you make cutlets?” A-Si glanced at the large conch shell holding the marinated meat while cutting. “What’s the difference?” To him, it was all just meat.

Zhang Shuguang picked out a relatively smooth stone and washed it clean. Hearing his question, he casually took the slices of lean meat he’d cut and placed them on a flat wooden board—he was particularly pleased with this cutting board.

He raised his hand and gently pounded the meat slices with the stone. Soon, a large, flat piece of meat was ready.

Actually, the meat would be even more tender if it were coated in flour before frying, but since there was no flour available, frying it directly would work just fine.

A-Si tilted his head and looked on, admiringly. “You really know how to do so many things. I never would have thought you could eat meat after pounding it to pieces.”

“You guys just gobble your food down raw—you’re lucky if you manage to boil or roast it until it’s cooked.” Zhang Shuguang pursed his lips. His hands moved swiftly but gently, careful not to pulverize the meat. “There’s connective tissue in the meat—this right here,” he said, picking out a strand and setting it aside before continuing to pound. “This method makes the meat much more tender.”

“Beastmen are used to eating it raw, though Sub-Beastmen are a bit better,” A-Si didn’t argue with him. After all, they hadn’t known how to make food taste better either. If they hadn’t met Zhang Shuguang, how could he have tasted such delicious roast duck and salted dried fish? “Did your old tribe eat meat this way, too?”

“No.” Zhang Shuguang shook his head, saying no more.

A-Si didn’t press the matter. Everyone has secrets they don’t want to share with outsiders; there was no need to pry.

Inside Xiong Hong and Yu’s cave, Yu was just about to head to the main cave to bring the sisters back for dinner. When the meat was divided yesterday, his family had received quite a bit—in fact, everyone in the tribe had gotten a fair share. Even those who’d gone hunting and the Beastmen who’d followed Xi San to the coast hadn’t been left out; while they were away, the meat had been stored in the cave or distributed to their partners and parents.

“Mang Jiu? Did you come over for something?” Yu froze when he saw Mang Jiu. “Isn’t Shuguang cooking right now?”

Mang Jiu nodded. “Shuguang invited you all to dinner. Xiong Hong, I’m going to dig a cave.”

Xiong Hong emerged from the cave and looked at him in puzzlement. “You go ahead and dig,” she said. Their two caves were a fair distance apart; as long as he didn’t dig right through, it wouldn’t matter. “No need to tell me.”

Mang Jiu remained expressionless. “You help me dig, and I’ll treat you all to a meal.”

Xiong Hong nearly choked on her breath. She stared at him wide-eyed and asked, “Just shapeshift and roll around in there a couple of times—how wide do you need the cave to be? Why do you want me to dig it?”

“I told you to dig, so dig. I’ve got other things to do.” Mang Jiu’s face remained cold as he turned and walked away. “Hurry up!”

Xiong Hong let out a heavy sigh. Fine, he’s the boss.

“I’ll go pick up Niuniu and Nini. You go ahead,” Yu said, gently stroking her cheek to comfort her. “Shuguang invited us to dinner. He must have cooked something delicious again.”

Xiong Hong snorted but didn’t say she wouldn’t go.

Zhang Shuguang’s arm was getting sore from pounding the meat. He switched places with A Si—with so many people to feed, there was plenty to prepare. Now that they had oil, a frying pan, and Sichuan peppercorns, he could finally stir-fry! Time for some spicy and numbing shredded potatoes!

With two large stone pots, one could be used for stewing meat and the other for frying. After stir-frying the vegetables in the frying pan, he could sear the meat on top—perfect.

“How much are you planning to make?” A-Si couldn’t help but ask as she watched him make trip after trip carrying things out of the cave. “Are you planning to stop living if you make this much?”

Zhang Shuguang, however, didn’t think it was too much. With Mang Jiu and Xiong Hong—two Beastmen—around, they could probably polish off even more.

“When you’re hosting a meal, you naturally want to make sure everyone’s full. Besides, there’s so much meat—and we don’t have much salt left to cure it with. If we don’t eat it, it’ll just go bad.” He had his own plan: it wasn’t wise to stockpile too much meat once it went bad. Later, when Mang Jiu brought back fresh meat, they could store it as needed, and he could also go out and find other edible items to preserve.

A-Si sighed. “Only Mang Jiu can afford to keep you around. Someone who has to treat outsiders to meals every other day—and he’s the only one left.”

Zhang Shuguang shook his head indifferently. “That’s right. He provides the meat, and I handle the cooking. What a perfect combination.”

A-Si chuckled and helped him peel all the potatoes. “Just think how tired you’d be without my help.”

Zhang Shuguang shot back, “If I didn’t invite you, you’d be so lonely.”

A Si: “……” Alright, he couldn’t argue with that.

“You two aren’t going to forget about me when you’re making all this good food, are you?” Li, who had gone for a stroll down the mountain, ran back. Seeing all the meat Zhang Shuguang had prepared, he knew right away that another feast was in the works.

Zhang Shuguang handed him the wild greens he was holding. “Go work over there. Later, help me gather some more branches for the fire.”

“Okay!” Li skipped off, beaming with joy.

Mang Jiu and Xiong Hong were making a racket in the cave,

Zhang Shuguang couldn’t help but peek a couple of times. He saw a giant bear with reddish-brown fur standing on its hind legs, swinging its claws at the cave wall. Those claws were as hard as steel, and against the solid rock, they sliced through it like tofu, sending chunks of stone crashing down with a clatter.

“That’s incredible,” Zhang Shuguang said, his eyes wide with awe.

A Si: “At this rate, he’ll be done soon. You’d better hurry back to cook. Shifting into beast form is exhausting; Xiong Hong will get hungry soon.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll cook.” Zhang Shuguang scooped half a stone potful of hog beast fat into one pot, lit a fire, and waited for it to melt. In another pot, he added a little less oil, stir-fried the meat briefly, then added large chunks of potatoes and fresh bamboo shoots to simmer.

Earlier, he’d used the stone spoon Hua had given him to scoop up liquid fertilizer. Even though he’d washed it clean and it no longer had any odor, he definitely wouldn’t have wanted to use it for cooking. So after returning, he’d fashioned another spoon out of bamboo and wood. Though it wasn’t as large as the original, it worked quite well.

“Help me bring over a piece of scale board to cover this pot,” Zhang Shuguang said to Li.

Li set the washed wild greens aside and brought over a two-meter-long piece of scale board.

Zhang Shuguang turned and saw it, then said speechlessly, “Are you stupid? How can something this big be a lid! Get a smaller one!”

Li grumbled, “You didn’t say so.” He swapped it for a smaller one, brought it back, and placed it on the pot—it fit perfectly.

“Go gather some branches—thick ones too.” Zhang Shuguang gave the salt-cured meat patties a quick stir, picked up two branches to use as chopsticks, and said, “A-Si watch how I fry these. You’ll take over later; I need to get the pan-fried meat ready.”

A-Si had been planning to go gather branches with Li, but upon hearing this, he nodded in agreement.

Mang Jiu and Xiong Hong were inside the cave; one was chiseling at the rock face while the other gathered loose stones, carrying them out in basinfuls. Soon, a large pile had formed at the edge of the cliff.

“Isn’t that a bit dangerous?” Zhang Shuguang glanced over while frying the meat, furrowing his brow with concern. “If they roll down, they’ll crush someone.”

Mang Jiu stood beside him, covered in dirt. “It won’t fall.”

Zhang Shuguang shot him a disdainful glance. “Go wash your hands and wipe yourself down—you’re covered in dust.”

Mang Jiu chuckled in response and turned to fetch water for washing.

Xiong Hong, still in her beast form, walked to the cave entrance. She had intended to shake herself a couple of times to shake off the dust and dirt, but upon hearing Zhang Shuguang’s words to Mang Jiu, she forced herself to suppress her instinctive movement.

“Hong!” Yu came over with the two cubs and called out to her.

Xiong Hong walked over, stood in front of her cave entrance, and shook out her fur. She then returned inside to shift back into human form, wrapped herself in a pelt, and came back out.

“Let’s go. They’ll be ready soon.”

Zhang Shuguang handed the task of frying the meat over to A-Si. He carried over some flat stones and stacked them up, placing a large scaly plate on top to create a simple table.

“Mang Jiu, come help!”

Mang Jiu shook the water from his hands. When he saw Zhang Shuguang hand him a few large leaves, he thought Zhang was going to wrap meat in them. Just as he reached out to take the meat, he heard Zhang Shuguang say, “Use these as plates. Give them a quick rinse and place them on the table.”

He pointed at the scaly plank and said with a smile, “From now on, this will be our table. We won’t have to squat to eat anymore—just grab a rock to sit on, and the height will be just right.”

Mang Jiu nodded and turned to wash the large leaves.

A-Si was nervously frying the meat slices. He’d watched Zhang Shuguang fry a few earlier, but now, still a bit clumsy, he held a twig in each hand and tossed them back and forth in the sizzling hot oil.

“Shuguang, I can’t pick them up!” He looked dejected as another piece of meat fell back into the pot. “Come help me quickly—they’ll burn if I keep frying them like this.”

Zhang Shuguang hurried over to help. Seeing how flustered he was, he laughed. “You don’t even know how to use chopsticks. Wait a minute—I’ll make you a strainer.”

Now that he had the barbed spikes brought back by Mang Jiu, he could easily poke fine holes into a wooden board, and a simple slotted spoon was ready.

“Use this.” He handed the slotted spoon to A-Si. “Just scoop them out, drain the oil, and place them on the large leaves. Be careful not to burn yourself.”

A-Si gave it a try, smiled, and nodded in approval. “This works great! ”

Zhang Shuguang built a simple windbreak stove out of stones nearby, directed the fire toward it, then placed the frying pan on top. After heating it for a while, the originally black scales began to turn slightly red. He poured a little water onto them, and there was a sizzling sound.

He’d never used a scale plate to fry meat before and wasn’t sure if the whole piece would stick to it, so he first used chopsticks to place a slice on top, keeping a close eye on it and flipping it every so often.

Then he realized that this scale plate was actually very useful—it didn’t stick at all!

“A ‘non-stick pan’ from another world,” he muttered with a smile.

“Shuguang,” said Mang Jiu as he arranged the large leaves, “like this?”

“Right, right, right. I just took out the giant conch shell—could you bring it over here to catch the drippings?” Zhang Shuguang sniffed the air; the frying meat was already giving off a distinctive aroma, with not a trace of the hog beast’s gamey stench. “A-Si could you give the meat in that pot a stir? I think it’s almost done.”

A-Si placed a piece of animal hide under his hand and pushed aside the scaly plate serving as a lid. A rich, meaty aroma hit him in the face.

A-Si paused for a moment, but didn’t mind being hit by the hot steam. He sniffed deeply and swallowed, “It smells amazing!”

“It smells amazing!” Yu and Xiong Hong happened to walk up to the table just then. Smelling the aroma, Yu couldn’t help but praise it. “It smells even better than that pot of meat you stewed last time.”

Zhang Shuguang laughed as he fried the meat. “Mang Jiu brought me a whole bunch of Sichuan peppercorns. I threw a few in to enhance the flavor.”

“What are we going to use to serve this pot?” Pouring the soupy mixture directly onto the table wouldn’t look right.

Zhang Shuguang pointed to the wooden basin beside him. “Mang Jiu carved this basin earlier. Just give it a wash, and it’s ready to use. We’ll use that.”

Just then, Li, who was carrying a branch, came over. Hearing his words, he called out, “I’ll go wash it!”

Mang Jiu sat down next to Zhang Shuguang and watched him fry the meat.

Zhang Shuguang leaned toward him and whispered, “Send some of the fried pork chops and pan-fried pork slices to the Chief and the Shaman.”

Mang Jiu was puzzled. “Why?” They had invited A-Si and Li to eat because the two of them had helped water the fields, cook meals, and gather firewood, and Xiong Hong had even helped dig the cave. But Xiong Kui and Wu hadn’t helped with anything—there was no need to repay them with food.

Zhang Shuguang’s eyes betrayed a hint of resignation as he lowered his voice. “We need the chief and the Shaman to help spread the word about the curing method. We can’t be the only ones able to preserve meat, can we? When the snow season comes, are we supposed to survive on potatoes alone?”

“Can meat actually last through the snow season?” Mang Jiu asked in surprise. “I thought by ‘preserving’ you meant storing it for a short while.”

“If we can hang the cured meat over the stove to smoke it, it’ll last at least several snow seasons.” Zhang Shuguang wrinkled his nose at him and gave a smug look.

“Go ahead and praise me. Once we have more salt, you can bring back some fresh meat, cure it right away, hang it outside to dry, and we’ll stock up plenty for you to eat during the snow season. That way, when the snow season comes, you won’t have to go out hunting so hard. Even if we can’t make sure you’re full at every meal, you’ll at least have meat to eat.”

Zhang Shuguang said offhandedly; he didn’t think he was trying to curry favor by saying this.

Ever since Mang Jiu agreed to let him stay in the cave, he’d been making preparations to stockpile plenty of food for Mang Jiu to get through the winter. Call him self-serving, or say whatever you like—he was just doing what he had to do.

Mang Jiu stared at him for a long while, lost in thought.

Zhang Shuguang picked up the cooked meat with tongs to drain off the excess oil, then handed it over. “Try it. If it’s too bland, I’ll add a little more salt.” He’d used the remaining sea salt when marinating the meat earlier, but since he wasn’t sure of its salinity, he hadn’t dared to add too much.

Mang Jiu opened his mouth, took a bite of meat, chewed it, and nodded. “Delicious.”

“Your vocabulary is really limited. Can’t you say anything else besides ‘delicious’?” Zhang Shuguang picked up a piece for himself to taste, raised an eyebrow, and said, “It really is quite good. I’ll wrap some up for you to take to the chief and the Shaman.”

“Alright.” Mang Jiu stood up, grabbed some large leaves, wrapped two portions of the pan-fried meat, and then added some of the meat patties that A-Si had fried, wrapping two more portions.

“I’ll be right back.” He took the leaf parcels and headed first to Xiong Kui’s cave.

Their caves weren’t far apart. Hua and Xiong Kui had both seen Zhang Shuguang busy at work, but they hadn’t come out because they’d received their fair share of meat as well. Hua was following Zhang Shuguang’s cooking steps to stew meat—only she was stewing terror bird meat.

“Shuguang sent me to bring you some meat.” Mang Jiu stood at the cave entrance and handed the two leaf-wrapped bundles to Hua.

“You two should just eat it yourselves—I’m stewing meat here too!” Hua accepted them with a beaming smile. Seeing him about to leave, she turned back into the cave and brought out a few dried fruits. “Give these to him. Let him try the flavor—they’re sweet when soaked in water.”

“Alright.” Mang Jiu took them and turned to leave.

Hua opened the leaf wrappings; the aroma filled the air. Xiong Kui walked over to her side and swallowed hard. “Shuguang really knows how to cook. Those crabs he cooked by the sea last time were delicious too.”

Hua laughed at his greed and handed him a piece. “Shuguang is a good guy. Look at all the supplies he’s stockpiled these past few days. If you ask me, Mang Jiu’s lucky to have found him. Plus, he really loves the little one. I bet those two will have plenty of kids in the future.”

“You bet! He even said he’d let us taste the cured meat once it’s ready. If it turns out good, he’ll have everyone in the tribe curing meat too,” Xiong Kui beamed, thinking of the ten Beastmen boiling salt by the sea. “It’s so great that Shuguang is here in our tribe.”

“It really is. He’s so busy every day—I don’t even think he has time to take a sip of water. He’s cured a huge basin of meat, and I saw him hanging up quite a few dried fish. Do you think I should try hanging some up, too?” Hua ladled the stewed meat from the pot, serving one stone bowl to each of them. “That fish he brought over tasted pretty good.”

“Sure, go ahead if you want to.” Xiong Kui replied indifferently, slurping away at his stone bowl. He took a bite of the pork chop fried by Zhang Shuguang, then paused abruptly. “!”

Hua had been annoyed by his “do whatever you want, I don’t have to do it” attitude and was just about to snap back at him when she saw him stiffen, his hand frozen in the air, holding the half-eaten pork chop.

“What’s wrong?”

Xiong Kui snapped out of it and shoved the rest of the pork chop into his mouth. “Delicious! Really delicious! Much better than the stew you make!”

Hua was annoyed! She grabbed a piece herself and took a bite, discovering the flavor was genuinely good—they’d never tasted anything like this before.

“It’s so tender.”

“What kind of meat is in that leaf wrapper?” Xiong Kui set down the stone bowl and opened another leaf wrapper. The pungent, numbing aroma of Sichuan peppercorns filled his nostrils, and he couldn’t help but turn his head and sneeze.

“What’s that smell? It’s so pungent!”

Hua took a piece of meat to taste. It was slightly sour and numbing. She licked her lips as she ate, “This flavor is so unique.”

“This is delicious too! You should go ask him tomorrow what he uses to make it.”

Hua nodded. She definitely had to ask. Ever since they’d had that braised meat last time, her family had stopped grilling meat altogether. Now that these meat slices tasted so unique, they were craving them for every meal.

Mang Jiu gave Wu two leaf-wrapped packages, and Wu Ming returned two yellow fruits the size of a fist.

Zhang Shuguang finished frying all the marinated meat he’d prepared and placed it on large leaves, then got up to slice the potatoes into strips.

After rinsing the potato strips several times with water, he stir-fried them in the oil left over from frying the meat, adding a few extra Sichuan peppercorns. The aroma alone was enough to make anyone sneeze twice.

Nai Dou and the Xiong sisters sneezed several times and ran off immediately.

Zhang Shuguang couldn’t stop laughing; he’d only just realized that Sichuan peppercorns had this effect when fried in oil.

“It’ll be ready in a minute, don’t worry, don’t worry.”

Xiong Hong sat nearby, propping her chin in her hand as she watched him, and whispered to Yu, “He’s quite peculiar.”

“What do you mean?” Yu chuckled.

“Everything,” Xiong Hong nodded toward the table laden with meat emitting all sorts of aromas. “Even if I let the meat go bad, I wouldn’t think of inviting others to eat it, let alone with such a troublesome method.” Just watching Zhang Shuguang cook made her feel exhausted.

Yu couldn’t stop laughing. He reached out and pulled her close. “That’s exactly why I like him so much. If everyone in the tribe were like him, our tribe would be even closer-knit.”

Xiong Hong nodded. Even if they hadn’t invited them to this meal, if Mang Jiu had come asking for her help digging a cave, she wouldn’t have refused. But having eaten this meal made her even happier—at least her efforts had been rewarded.

Zhang Shuguang had no idea the couple was talking about him. He finished stir-frying the shredded potatoes and placed them on a leaf, rinsed the pan with water, then stir-fried some wild greens and fresh bamboo shoots.

“Dinner’s ready!” Zhang Shuguang placed the final dish on a large leaf, served some meat to the kids in a stone bowl, and put Little Redbird’s portion in a large seashell. “Go ahead and eat, you lot.”

Mang Jiu returned just then and sat down next to Zhang Shuguang.

Originally, they’d eaten with their bare hands, but seeing Zhang Shuguang deftly use chopsticks, they found two twigs of their own and began poking and pinching clumsily—but no matter how they did it, the meat ended up in their mouths.

“It’s so numbing! So good!” Li Bian ate while gasping for air; his mouth was so numb he could barely feel it, but he held the stone bowl and filled it to the brim with shredded potatoes, eating with relish. “These shredded potatoes are really delicious. How did you cut them so thin? And they’re not soft at all!”

“Just slice them slowly. After you’re done, soak them in water and rinse them a few times—that way they won’t get so soft.” Zhang Shuguang ate a piece of pork chop, then two pieces of pan-fried meat, followed by some vegetables; he was pretty much full.

Watching the others devour their meat, he felt deeply satisfied.

Even though cooking was exhausting, receiving such praise made him happy.

The best part was not having to wash dishes. After eating, they simply tossed the leaves from the table and rinsed the pot clean with water.

Everyone else had left, and the chaotic day finally settled down.

The two little ones, Nai Dou and Tang Dou, were curled up sleeping inside the giant conch shell.

Zhang Shuguang stood in the cave, which had nearly doubled in size, and couldn’t help but say to Mang Jiu, “It’s gone from a one-bedroom apartment to a spacious open-plan flat.”

“Hm?” Mang Jiu was holding a scale-plated panel, just about to embed it into the stone wall.

Now that they were alone, Zhang Shuguang moved closer to him and asked with a smile, “Why did you agree to let me raise the little ones?”

Mang Jiu paused, turning to look at him. “Why did you think I wouldn’t agree?”

“I thought you didn’t really like little ones. ” Zhang Shuguang raised his hand to gesture the height on the stone wall, “Two panels here—leave a one-meter-wide gap.” He gestured with his hand to indicate a one-meter length.

Mang Jiu forcefully embedded the scale plate into the stone wall. Zhang Shuguang reached out and tugged at it, but even with all his might, he couldn’t pull it out.

“I don’t dislike them.” Mang Jiu picked up the second scale plate and continued embedding it into the stone wall. “All the young ones in the tribe have parents; I don’t need to like them.”

Zhang Shuguang blinked, grasping the meaning behind his words, and asked, “You like the young ones, so why don’t you find someone to have a child with yourself?”

“There’s no one I want to have a kid with.” Mang Jiu glanced at him, his voice calm. “I don’t want to have one with them.”

“Out of all those people, not a single one caught your eye?” Zhang Shuguang thought his standards were a bit high; with so many people in the tribe, not a single one had managed to impress him.

Mang Jiu hummed in acknowledgment. “No.”

“So you plan to stay this way forever?” Zhang Shuguang scratched his neck. “Don’t you feel lonely?”

Mang Jiu shook his head. “I have you now, so I’m not lonely.”

Zhang Shuguang looked at him speechlessly. “We’re just living together as partners. Once you find someone you really want to have a kid with, I’ll move out to make room for you.”

Mang Jiu paused, furrowing his brow slightly. “No need. This is fine.”

“What’s fine about it?” Zhang Shuguang looked puzzled; he certainly didn’t want to hold the guy back from having kids.

“Everything’s fine,” Mang Jiu said, his expression hardening as he pressed harder against the scale-inlaid panel. “I found you, so you’re mine.”

“…You’ve picked up more than just me,” Zhang Shuguang reminded him. “They’re yours too.”

Mang Jiu: “They’re different.”

Zhang Shuguang pressed, “How are they different?”

Mang Jiu insisted, “They’re just different! You’re different from them. There’s no reason.”

Zhang Shuguang raised his hand and patted his shoulder. “Bro, that’s going a bit too far.”

Mang Jiu snorted and, clang-clang-clang, embedded all eight scales into the mountain wall.

“Look at that—we’re just having a chat, and you’re still mad,” Zhang Shuguang reached out and gave his wrist a gentle shake. “I was wrong, okay? Don’t be mad. I really was wrong. Just forgive me this once—for the sake of all that delicious meat I cooked for you.”

Mang Jiu shot him a glance and pursed his lips.

Zhang Shuguang smiled broadly and pointed to the bowl of milky-white gelatin. “Smear this all over the hog beast’s body, let it sit overnight, and peel it off tomorrow morning once it’s dry. I’ll make you some delicious aspic with it.”

“Mm.” ” Mang Jiu nodded. He used to not care much about the taste of food, but ever since he’d eaten Zhang Shuguang’s cooking, he’d started to be picky about flavors too. Plus, after being coaxed like that, the slight grumpiness he’d felt earlier had dissipated.

The two of them worked for a while, using large leaves to spread the gel onto the hog beast’s hide. Since the hog beast was so huge, they didn’t have quite enough gel, so they only covered half of it.

“You were holding something in your hand that day.” Watching him bustling about, Mang Jiu suddenly spoke up. Zhang Shuguang paused mid-wash and turned to look at him in surprise. “You saw it?”

“Yeah, you were clutching it the whole time.” Just because Mang Jiu was too lazy to think didn’t mean he was stupid.

Zhang Shuguang sighed, pulled Mang Jiu to sit on the stone slab, and asked tentatively, “You know I died and came back to life, and you saw what I was holding in my hand—so why haven’t you asked me anything?”

Mang Jiu: “Say it if you want to; don’t say it if you don’t.”

Zhang Shuguang licked his lips. These past few days, he’d numbed his nerves by keeping busy, but now, he wanted someone to confide in.

“Actually,” he hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I’m not from here.”

He raised his hand to touch his face, then the small of his back. “Two worlds—do you understand?”

“Go on,” Mang Jiu said, his expression serious.

Zhang Shuguang spoke softly: “I come from another world, but the ‘me’ in this world is also real. I don’t know why I ended up here—I’ve become myself.” Even as he said it, he found it funny, yet he couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

“The ‘me’ over there is dead; the ‘me’ over here is alive.” He offered himself a conclusion.