The conversation among the few brown bears had long since caught the attention of Niu Shan, Niu Li, Xiong Li, Ying Xiao, Song Li, and Niu Shu. This stuff about the Temple, the High Priest, and the old Beast King—they had never even heard of it.

However, they all agreed with the idea that Fan Zhou was a priest. Even though Fan Zhou himself didn’t acknowledge it, the entire tribe treated him like a priest.

Now that the brown bears were praising Fan Zhou, it gave them plenty of common ground to talk about!

Coincidentally, Xiong Wu and the others also wanted to know more about Fan Zhou, so the two sides hit it off right away and began a friendly exchange.

One side explained things about the Central Continent and the Temple.

The other side talked all about Fan Zhou—how he planted grass seeds, raised snow chickens, took down the Axe Tribe—everything, and with proof to back it up!

Meanwhile, Fan Zhou had first soaked a handful of soybeans and then began digging at the foot of the mountain.

The Great Bear Tribe had traded him over two thousand jin of grass seeds, all of which belonged to him and Feng Xun. That much grain couldn’t fit in the mountain cave, so they decided to dig a new cave at the mountain’s base.

Originally, a few brown bears had wanted to help, but after watching Feng Xun slice through stone like it was mud, they were full of admiration and quietly backed away.

So powerful—no wonder he had once been the Enforcer!

Fan Zhou also used his ability. Although Feng Xun’s claws were sharp, overusing them still caused pain. More accurately, Feng Xun’s entire body was still in pain.

Not wanting the white wolf to suffer even more, Fan Zhou decided to use his power too.

After more than an hour of digging, they had completed a mountain cave of over twenty square meters.

At that moment, the brown bears and Niu Shan’s group arrived. They helped move the hide sacks into the cave, then used baskets to carry away the soil and rocks that had just been dug out.

Fan Zhou didn’t want to trouble them, but he couldn’t stop them no matter what, so he just let them do as they pleased.

After finishing that major task, Fan Zhou and Feng Xun returned to their mountain cave. In high spirits, Fan Zhou brought out the stone mill, planning to grind some glutinous rice flour.

The glutinous rice flour was quickly ground, mixed with spiritual spring water, then a piece was pinched off, filled with nut paste, pressed into a small round cake, and placed into the pan to be shallow-fried in oil. Before long, the nut mochi cakes were ready.

“Here, try it, careful—it’s hot.” As soon as he said that, he couldn’t resist picking up a mochi and bringing it to his lips. He took a small bite, and the sticky-sweet taste made him involuntarily close his eyes.

So good!

But as he chewed, he couldn’t help letting out a sigh. He missed everything on Earth… missed it so very much.

What was once a simple food that he could casually eat at any time had become incredibly difficult to obtain here, let alone the wonderful life he hadn’t even had the chance to enjoy.

His parents had divorced when he was in elementary school, and then both of them remarried. He was raised by his grandfather, and when he was in high school, his grandfather passed away. It was also around that time that he gained his supernatural ability.

But for a high school student with heavy academic burdens, a power like that wasn’t much use—at most, it could strengthen his body. It wasn’t until college that he became popular online with a video of him running. After carefully managing that exposure for a while, he successfully turned his popularity into income, earning a hundred thousand yuan a month.

He had countless dreams and expectations for the future, only to be suddenly thrown into this beastman world.

He didn’t fall into depression, and it was truly because he had developed a strong mentality from growing up without a mom or dad.

Forcing down the heat in his eyes, he opened them again, planning to keep eating the mochi. It hadn’t been easy to make, and he wanted to eat more while he could.

But when he opened his eyes, what met his gaze was Feng Xun’s concerned and handsome face. Feng Xun’s clear eyes were full of worry. “What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.” Beastmen were generally simple, yet this man instantly noticed that something was off about his mood.

“But I feel like you were about to cry.” Feng Xun’s beautiful, long brows furrowed. He picked up a mochi and held it up to Fan Zhou’s mouth. “Eat a little more. It’s sweet—it’ll make you happy.”

“Okay.” Fan Zhou smiled and reached out to take the warm mochi.

This man would never understand his homesickness or his sadness. But even on Earth, there had never been someone like him—someone who always looked at him so gently, who could immediately sense when something was wrong.

He was just an ordinary person—he couldn’t have everything. Between material comfort and true affection, having one of them was already a blessing.

“You eat too,” he urged when he saw Feng Xun still looking at him.

“Okay.” Feeling the rabbit’s presence no longer weighed down, Feng Xun felt relieved, picked up a mochi, and put it into his mouth.

But he seemed a bit distracted.

Just now, the rabbit’s expression… he didn’t know how to describe it. In any case, it had made him feel a wave of panic. At that moment, the rabbit felt very far away, so far that even if he pushed his body to the limit, he wouldn’t be able to reach him.

As he lowered his gaze in thought, a voice tinged with laughter reached his ears. “Is it good?”

He looked up. The rabbit was smiling brightly at him.

He blinked, then quickly focused on the food in his mouth. After a few seconds, he nodded hard, both surprised and delighted.

This sticky and glutinous texture felt so novel. More importantly, he hadn’t even bitten into the hard nut paste in the center yet—he had only tasted the glutinous rice, and this delicate texture was extremely rare. “I didn’t expect there to be such a delicious kind of grass seed.”

It wasn’t bitter, nor did it scratch the throat.

“Yeah, this one is called glutinous rice. It’s especially tasty.”

“Then let’s plant some?”

“This one’s not easy to grow. It has to be planted in water.” It also seemed like the seedlings had to be cultivated first, then transplanted.

Fan Zhou didn’t have much confidence. He explained in detail how troublesome it was to grow glutinous rice. Feng Xun listened silently. When he finished, Feng Xun finally spoke: “You know a lot.”

“Mm, just so-so.” Fan Zhou casually brushed it off. As long as no one dug too deeply, he always dealt with things this way.

Feng Xun didn’t pursue it further and simply focused on eating the mochi.

He ate four in one go, left three for Feng Xun, and then continued frying. “I’ll make a few more—it’s rare to get to eat this. Jingjing will be back soon. Let’s save her some.”

Feng Xun quietly watched the person in front of him. After swallowing the last bit of mochi in his mouth, he asked calmly, “Do you want to become mates with Xiong Jing?”

“?”

Fan Zhou’s mouth twitched. What kind of question was that?!

He continued shaping the small cake in his hand and shook his head. “No, I think of Jingjing like a little sister.”

“Then… Do you want to become mates with me?”

“……”

Fan Zhou’s movements froze. This—this was laying it all out?

This person had finally run out of patience?

What should he do, what should he do?!

“Do you want to become mates with me?” Feng Xun repeated. His hand, which had been hanging loosely at his side, slowly curled into a fist.

……

Fan Zhou stayed silent. He didn’t dare look up. His brain was spinning at full speed, trying to figure out how to reject the white wolf without hurting him—and without disrupting their peaceful life…

Feng Xun took a deep breath and asked again, “Do you want to become mates with me?”

“I know you’re very strong, you don’t need me at all, but I like you, very, very much. I didn’t want to confess this early, but I panicked just now. You know so many things I don’t, and when you closed your eyes, I had no idea what you were thinking. You felt very far away from me.”

Fan Zhou: “……”

This person was too perceptive.

“You’re very kind to a lot of beastmen—especially to Xiong Jing. I can’t tell any difference between how you treat her and how you treat me. I feel powerless. You’re special to me, but I’m not special to you.”

“But since you don’t want to become mates with Xiong Jing, then… Do you want to become mates with me?”

“I would be a good mate. I’d hunt a lot of prey for you. I’d be loyal to you forever, just like the faithful Beast God.”

“So… Do you want to become mates with me?”

Fan Zhou: “……”

Why did he have to choose between the two?!

He lowered his eyes, his body still stiff, not moving at all.

He liked the white wolf, too; he liked him very much. He knew how pure the white wolf’s soul was, and how strong yet tragic he was.

But his kind of “like” wasn’t the romantic kind of like. If he accepted on impulse and then later subconsciously showed signs of resistance or regret, that kind of hurt to the white wolf would be worse than now.

Besides, he didn’t want to wrong himself either—he had just been mourning his homesickness a moment ago…

Feng Xun’s eyes, in Fan Zhou’s silence, dimmed little by little.

He had mentally prepared himself. He knew it wasn’t the right time. He should have waited longer. Now, the rabbit had already gotten used to his closeness. If he waited a while more and then went one step further—maybe sneak a kiss—the rabbit probably wouldn’t even get mad.

But just now, the rabbit felt very far from him—so far it made him panic.

So, he confessed.

Even though he had prepared to be rejected, his heart still ached.

It felt like drowning while learning to swim—an endless expanse of water engulfing him, making it hard to breathe.

It hurt even more than being exiled to the Wild Continent.

He pressed his hands against the ground and slowly stood up. “You eat first. I’m going out for a walk. Don’t worry about me—I’ll be back soon.”

Fan Zhou: “……”

His lips moved slightly, and his heart also began to ache. He had never heard the white wolf speak in such a low voice before.

Ears perked up, he listened as the white wolf slowly descended the cave, and then the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

He pressed his lips together. His body, which had been stiff for so long, finally moved.

He continued shaping the glutinous rice cakes in his hands, then placed them into the pan to fry. When he had used up all the hard nut paste, a chirping chatter sounded from the foot of the mountain—voices from the gathering team.

The gathering team had gone to deliver wild vegetables to the Axe Tribe and had happened to run into Niu Shan, Xiong Wu, and their group. Niu Shan couldn’t hold it in and immediately announced to the gathering team that Fan Zhou was the new High Priest chosen by the Beast God.

Then the chatter grew even louder.

Fan Zhou let out a long sigh and began tidying up the pots, bowls, and utensils in front of him.

Soon, Xiong Jing came to deliver meat. The hunting team had good luck today and caught two snow chickens—Xiong Jing brought them both over.

He packed a dozen or so sticky rice cakes in a hemp cloth bag and handed them to Xiong Jing, telling her to eat them slowly after she got back.

His face must have looked awful, because Xiong Jing asked what had happened. He didn’t want to explain anything and just said he was tired. Xiong Jing obediently left.

He sat in the cave in a daze. The sky gradually darkened until the moon rose and stars filled the sky, but the white wolf still hadn’t returned.

The white wolf had said he would come back. And with the white wolf’s strength, there was no way anything could have happened—but still, Fan Zhou walked out of the cave and stood at the edge of the cliff, looking toward the forest, and also toward the direction of the Waterfall Tribe.

Even when the fires of the Axe Tribe and Waterfall Tribe were extinguished, the white wolf still hadn’t returned.

……

The white wolf was probably hiding in a tree somewhere, heartbroken…

After hesitating for a long time, he rubbed his face. A water whip was tied to a rock at his feet, and then he jumped down from the cliff.

The water whip extended in his hand, and after a few seconds, he landed safely.

Just as he was about to retract the water whip, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark figure leap down from a nearby pile of firewood. Startled, he instinctively prepared to wrap himself in a protective water sphere.

“Tu Zhou.”

A familiar voice rang out, and his movement froze.

This person hadn’t gone far—he had been at the foot of the mountain the whole time?

“You came down?” Feng Xun walked up to Fan Zhou in a few steps, asking as if nothing had happened.

“…Why are you here? I thought you had gone far,” Fan Zhou said, pursing his lips as he looked at the person in front of him, who was pretending to be relaxed.

“Mm…” Feng Xun scratched his head, then lowered it. “I was afraid you’d come looking for me, so I came back.”

He had searched for the rabbit at night before—he knew how painful that kind of longing could be. So he had returned, planning to go back up after the rabbit had fallen asleep.

But who would’ve thought the rabbit would come down…

“You came down now… was it to look for me?”

Fan Zhou: “…”

The young man under the moonlight seemed somewhat uneasy, his handsome face full of nervousness. He didn’t dare look at him, keeping his head down, waiting for a verdict.

Fan Zhou stared blankly at the young man, watching him for a long while. Then he finally took a deep breath, nodded, and said, “Yes, I came out to find you.”

“I’m willing to become your mate.”