While Hu Sheng was racking his brains trying to win over Fan Zhou, on the other side, Fan Zhou and Feng Xun brought Ying Xiao back to the cave.

Actually, Ying Xiao was supposed to be doing hard labor with Hu Sheng and the others, but Fan Zhou brought him back instead.

Feng Xun didn’t really understand why. Ying Xiao was truly useless—he couldn’t even manage to keep the fire going properly. Why bring him back?

“As an ornamental bird. He serves an aesthetic purpose,” Fan Zhou explained with a completely serious face.

The little tree at the entrance of their cave was a bit too plain. With a bird perched on it, it would look much better.

Otherwise, how awkward would that be! He didn’t even realize that the white wolf might have that kind of intention toward him.

No—more accurately, possibly had.

But regardless of whether he did or not, better to get a third wheel in there first!

Feng Xun didn’t get what Fan Zhou was thinking, but he respected it.

Ying Xiao kept his neck shrunk the entire time, didn’t look around or speak out of turn, and obediently stayed on the tree. Whatever Fan Zhou said, that’s what it was.

There wasn’t enough time to make sesame paste today. Fan Zhou brought out the fried fish and shrimp to help Feng Xun fill his stomach a bit, then told Feng Xun to hull the sesame seeds. He himself took out some chili peppers and hard nuts, preparing to make stone pot stewed snow chicken.

This was a feast—something that didn’t show up on an ordinary day.

Feng Xun ate with great satisfaction. The rabbit was the best after all—he came back and got good food right away.

Back when he patrolled the Central Continent, being out in the wind and rain was normal. He didn’t find it tiring at all, nor did he miss the Temple.

But this time, as soon as he stepped onto the small path leading to the tribe and looked back at the rabbit, a deep sense of reluctance welled up in his heart. At night, lying in a small stone hollow he had hastily dug out, his longing for the rabbit tormented him so much that he couldn’t fall asleep.

He missed him every step of the way. If it weren’t for Bao Su and the others being so despicable and needing to be captured, he would have rushed back a long time ago.

After washing the pots and bowls, he picked up the cool-cool grass and said to Fan Zhou, “Let’s brush our teeth and go to sleep.”

At those words, Fan Zhou instantly recalled the way they’d slept together before. He scratched his head, a little conflicted. Should he refuse?

If the white wolf really did have that kind of interest in him, he should keep some distance.

He was male, liked women, and he was straight!

Besides, he didn’t entirely treat the white wolf as a person. The way he treated the white wolf was about the same as how he treated Xiong Jing.

He didn’t have the intention of becoming life partners with something fluffy…

But if the white wolf didn’t have that kind of intention toward him, then rejecting him so inexplicably like that—wouldn’t the white wolf be deeply hurt?

Just as he was struggling to make a decision, Feng Xun leaned down slightly. His soft, tousled hair fell between his delicate brows with the motion. “What’s wrong? Don’t feel like sleeping?”

“Uh…” Fan Zhou instinctively held his breath.

This man’s face was only a hand’s width away from his own!

His skin wasn’t especially pale, but it was very smooth, without a single blemish or pimple.

His facial features were striking and perfectly sculpted. Faces like this striking usually gave off a strong, unapproachable vibe.

But this man’s eyes were incredibly clear—clean and beautiful.

That stark contrast in qualities tangled together and often made it hard for him to look away, like there was light flickering in front of him…

The very first time he saw this man, he thought he was so handsome, he practically glowed.

After eating and sleeping together for over a month, this man’s face still hit his senses from time to time like a visual shock.

Even more importantly, his heart was as bright as his appearance.

What kind of bad intentions could something fluffy possibly have?

Who could bluntly and decisively reject something this fluffy?

He couldn’t.

Forget it—as long as Lang Xun didn’t spell it out, he would just pretend not to know.

He turned around to grab the cool grass from the wooden rack. “Let’s sleep, let’s sleep. I was just thinking about something.”

“Thinking about what?” Feng Xun immediately asked.

“How to assign tasks to Bao Su and those other beastmen,” Fan Zhou casually made something up.

“We have to keep a close eye on Bao Su. He’s way too dishonest. Last time he tried to steal the beast spirit flower and even injured Song Li.”

Feng Xun’s attention was immediately diverted.

“You’re right…”

On that topic, the two of them brushed their teeth by the stream, then took a bath.

When they returned to the cave, Feng Xun shifted back into human form. He patted the spot where Fan Zhou usually slept, signaling for him to hop up.

Fan Zhou took a deep breath, transformed into his beast form, and climbed onto the straw mat.

The next second, a pair of large hands cupped his small body, then lifted him up to eye level, pressing their foreheads together and rubbing against him.

He closed his eyes.

He couldn’t open them—otherwise, he’d have to stare directly at that face that practically glowed.

Feng Xun saw that Fan Zhou wasn’t saying anything, and even had his eyes closed, and he found it amusing. He stared at the little rabbit in his hands—so delicate that even every single strand of fur was adorable—and couldn’t help but kiss the rabbit’s little ear.

Of course, it was a very gentle kiss, so Fan Zhou wouldn’t notice.

How could there be such a wonderful rabbit?

Actually, he had noticed that the rabbit was avoiding him a little.

Back when Mao Yu mentioned becoming life partners, he hadn’t denied it. His meaning was very clear, but the rabbit hadn’t responded to that.

That was definitely a rejection.

Luckily, he had mentally prepared for it in advance. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face at the time.

The rabbit had figured out his feelings, but couldn’t bear to make him feel bad, so he still slept beside him like before.

Too soft-hearted.

Thinking that, he couldn’t help but kiss Fan Zhou’s ear again, then carefully placed him back onto the straw mat.

He didn’t change into beast form—he lay down too, face turned toward Fan Zhou.

He felt that Fan Zhou didn’t particularly like his beast form, because every time Fan Zhou saw Xiong Jing, his voice would instinctively become cheerful and soft, even using words like “la,” “aiya,” and “ne.”

But facing his own beast form, Fan Zhou didn’t do that.

So he didn’t want to transform into beast form anymore.

He looked at Fan Zhou a few more times, then closed his eyes in contentment.

Fan Zhou’s mind had been a mess at first, but he couldn’t fight against the power of his biological clock—he soon fell asleep.

When he woke up, Feng Xun was nowhere to be seen, but outside the cave, familiar footsteps and the sound of chopping wood could be heard.

He stared blankly at the cave ceiling for a few minutes, then rubbed his face and got out of bed.

When he stepped out of the cave, what greeted him—besides breakfast—was the smiling face of a handsome man.

His mood was still a little complicated, but overall, it wasn’t bad. He returned a smile, tucked the cool-cool grass into his arms, and went to wash up.

After washing up, the beastmen had already lined up at the foot of the mountain.

He descended from the cave and began distributing spirit spring water to everyone.

Hu Sheng stood at the very front of the line. As soon as he saw Fan Zhou, he grinned widely and said, “Tu Zhou, you look so energetic today! You do so much for the tribe every day, it’s really hard work—you need to rest more!”

Fan Zhou lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, expressionless, and said, “Put the bucket on the ground.”

“Ey!” Hu Sheng responded loudly and quickly placed the wooden bucket in front of Fan Zhou.

Once the spirit spring water had filled the bucket, he immediately added, “Tu Zhou, you release sweet water so fast, no wonder the Beast God chose you!”

…

That was a bit much.

He waved his hand, signaling Hu Sheng to move along.

Hu Sheng gave a loud “aye,” picked up the big wooden bucket, and headed into the forest.

The beastmen in the tribe had already eaten breakfast. Today, the entire tribe was planting grass seeds. He wanted to make a good impression, so he didn’t return to the tribe—instead, he planned to start working right away.

Not far off, Bao Su, Xing Wei, and the other newly arrived beastmen watched the long line with expressions ranging from surprise to curiosity. Could Tu Zhou’s hand really release clean water?

They had already heard about the magic of the sweet water.

But they didn’t have the right to receive any.

Today’s big pot of soup was made almost entirely of wild vegetables. There wasn’t even a trace of meat. Xing Wei patted his belly full of water and couldn’t help but walk toward Niu Zhuang.

He had a decent relationship with Niu Zhuang—Niu Zhuang might be willing to let him have a taste of the sweet water.

Besides Bao Su, the other new beastmen also headed toward Niu Zhuang and Yang Chang.

Bao Su stayed where he was. His already bruised and purplish face twisted between frowning shock and a gloomy scowl.

He hesitated for a moment, then walked toward Que Yu.

But who would’ve thought—Que Yu, the moment he realized his intention, immediately shouted, “Bao Su, are you trying to slack off again? Hu Sheng already went to work!”

Bao Su: “…”

He glared angrily at Que Yu.

But Que Yu wasn’t afraid of him in the slightest—Que Yu now only wanted to draw a clear line between himself and him.

“Go, go, go—get to work,” he said.

Que Yu put down the wooden bucket in his hands and waved Bao Su away like swatting at a fly, signaling him to get to work quickly.

Bao Su’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He shot a vicious glare at Que Yu, then headed toward the forest.

The other beastmen who had received sweet water either carried it straight into the forest to drink while working, or brought it back to the cave to save for noon or evening.

Soon, they all arrived at the piece of wasteland that had already been cleared.

Today’s task was to turn and loosen the soil, with the goal of finishing it within five days so that on the sixth day, grass seeds could be planted.

Hu Sheng was far ahead, swinging his hoe with incredible energy, as if he had taken some kind of stimulant.

When he got tired, he drank a few sips of sweet water.

When he got hungry, he chewed on some leaves, then drank more sweet water.

He didn’t rest at all.

Since the entire tribe was working today, Niu Shu, the overseer, was also hoeing the ground. Afraid others wouldn’t notice him, Hu Sheng would shout from time to time, “Chief! Look how fast I’m digging—no one can match me!”

With that kind of performance, no one could find fault with him—even Lang Tian praised him for the first time ever.

On the other side, Xing Wei and the others had already tasted the spirit spring water. Upon careful tasting, there was indeed a hint of sweetness—and more importantly, it relieved fatigue!

It was practically on par with the Beast Spirit Flower.

With such magical sweet water, who would be afraid of not catching prey while hunting?

If they didn’t catch anything quickly, they could just hunt longer—after all, they had the stamina.

More importantly, Tu Zhou could grow Beast Spirit Flowers!

Could it be that Tu Zhou really was the beastman chosen by the Beast God?

Xing Wei and the others, full of doubt, began sizing up Hu Sheng, Niu Zhuang, and Yang Chang.

Actually, Niu Zhuang and Yang Chang also worked very hard, but with Hu Sheng there for comparison, the two of them didn’t seem so outstanding.

And when has Hu Sheng ever suffered a loss?

When raiding the Waterfall Tribe, he had never missed a single opportunity.

Now that Hu Sheng was working so desperately hard, it could only mean one thing: there were benefits waiting for him ahead!

Thinking this, those who had been discouraged couldn’t help but speed up their movements.

In the scorching heat, with no shade from the trees and no sweet water to replenish their energy, plus the wild vegetables they ate in the morning having already been digested, Xing Wei couldn’t take it anymore—he actually suffered heat stroke and fainted.

Lang Tian was startled and quickly ordered someone to carry Xing Wei under a big tree to rest.

“I didn’t expect Xing Wei to work so hard,” Lang Tian said in genuine surprise.

Xing Wei had been the number one warrior of the Axe Tribe, with strength on par with Niu Shan.

He had thought Xing Wei would try to slack off or even escape, but in reality, Xing Wei had gritted his teeth and said nothing until he collapsed from exhaustion.

The other beastmen were also murmuring:

“Yeah, too honest— he actually worked so hard he passed out. If it were Hu Sheng, he would’ve been howling for rest long ago.”

“No kidding. Before, when he came to rob our tribe, I was really scared of him, but it turns out he’s so simple and honest.”

…

Hu Sheng almost coughed up blood listening to these words.

Why were they praising Xing Wei now?

He was clearly the one working the hardest, wasn’t he?! So infuriating!