Chapter 47: A Surge of Affection

He did not take out his anger on Mia and Miyao; in his view, grudges between elders should not be passed onto the children. Of course, the main reason was that females were precious and naturally needed to remain in the tribe to reproduce.

Upon hearing Su Lie’s order, Mu Qing’s face instantly turned pale, her eyes filled with despair. The thought of being locked in a dungeon—a life without daylight—terrified her. Moreover, with Su Lie’s methods, she knew she would suffer immensely in that dungeon.

The dungeon was heavily guarded. Even if she managed to inform Ling Feng, Lei Wo, and Han Xiao to come to her rescue, sneaking into the dungeon unnoticed would be extremely difficult. Not to mention escaping right under Su Lie’s watchful eyes.

Desperate, she looked at Su Lie pleadingly. “Su Lie, I know I was wrong. Please give me one more chance. I promise I will never betray you again. I will stay quietly in the stone house and go nowhere.”

Staying in the stone house was far better than the dungeon; its guards were not as strict, making rescue by Ling Feng and the others somewhat easier. Then, she could go to the Leopard Tribe, the Wild Lion Tribe, or even the Snake Tribe—anywhere. The most important thing now was simply to leave this place.

Su Lie looked at her coldly and sneered, “You should count yourself lucky that you are my mate. If you were any other female, you wouldn’t be locked in the dungeon—you’d be tossed into the Dark Pit.”

The Dark Pit was reserved for females who had committed serious offenses against the tribe. It was cold, damp, stifling, and foul-smelling beyond description. They were allocated only half a piece of meat daily, never enough to fill their stomachs but enough to keep them from starving to death. They were not allowed to leave freely and were the lowest caste females—the public females of the tribe.

Any adult beastman in the tribe without a mate, regardless of age, could go to the Dark Pit to vent their frustrations on these females. Since these females had erred, the tribe’s beastmen showed them no mercy, doing as they pleased. Weak or sickly females rarely survived long there, with death as their inevitable fate—an utterly humiliating and filthy end.

Females capable of bearing offspring had it slightly better. If they bore a beastman’s child, that beastman might share some of his meat with her out of consideration for the child. But that was the extent of their reprieve. They were not allowed to leave without the leader’s order. Their fate remained grim, though at least they could eat their fill.

When Mu Qing heard the words “Dark Pit,” her body stiffened instantly, terror flooding her eyes. Though not very old, she was well past her childbearing years. Being thrown into the Dark Pit would spell a miserable end. Ling Feng and the others would surely despise her then, and might not even come to rescue her. If that happened, life would be worse than death.

Her face turned ashen; she trembled and shivered as she stared at Su Lie without uttering another word.

Soon after, she was taken away by Wolf Two and locked in the Wolf Tribe’s dungeon.

Meanwhile, Su Xiyue was still unaware of what had transpired. She stood at the hearth, watching the venison simmering in the pot. When the meat seemed tender enough, she prodded it with her chopsticks, tasted it, and found it delicious. She then extinguished the fire and carefully ladled the venison into wooden bowls.

There were eight bowls in total, freshly carved by Mo Lin, Qing Zhu, and Xuan Ming, along with six wooden plates, two soup basins, six soup spoons, and plenty of chopsticks. These were far more attractive and practical than the makeshift utensils she had fashioned from twigs before.

Mo Lin, Qing Zhu, and Xuan Ming had been eagerly waiting nearby. Their eyes lit up as she filled the bowls, and without waiting for her to speak, they each took their bowls and began eating, showing no trace of politeness.

She shook her head with a smile and didn’t mind. She served herself a small bowl as well. Having already drunk plenty of bone broth and pork kidney soup earlier, this little portion was her limit. Otherwise, she might have refrained from eating more, fearing hunger at night and succumbing to temptation.

Her current weight was a burden. With the amount she was eating today, she wondered how long it would take to shed the pounds. In the post-apocalyptic world, where food was scarce and the constant threat of zombies loomed, the mental stress kept her from gaining weight. She never understood why losing weight was so painful until now—it was an unpleasant experience. Especially when faced with such delicious food, the struggle was even greater.

Su Xiyue thought that without the system’s help, she would never be able to slim down.

“Mmm, this venison is truly excellent—fresh, tender, melting in the mouth. The flavor is simply divine,” she said, eyes half-closed in satisfaction. Eating while dieting—she was truly the living embodiment of that paradox. It was no wonder she found it hard to lose weight.

Mo Lin, Qing Zhu, and Xuan Ming ate without lifting their heads, as if they wished to swallow their tongues. They had never tasted such delicious food before; it was exquisite. The broth was especially fresh and fragrant, utterly delightful.

They had no idea that Su Xiyue’s cooking skills were so good. Though her appearance was a bit plain, her culinary talent was remarkable. Looking at her now, she was not so unpleasant after all. They hoped she would cook for them again in the future.

This was the unanimous thought in their minds as they devoured the food with relish. The scene was elegant and pleasing to the eye, thanks mainly to her handsome features.

“Ding! Congratulations, host. Mo Lin’s favorability has surged to zero, reaching a neutral state. Reward: one weight loss pill.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host. Qing Zhu’s favorability has surged to zero, reaching a neutral state. Reward: one skin whitening pill.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host. Xuan Ming’s favorability has surged to zero, reaching a neutral state. Reward: 100 packs of system-issued sanitary pads.”

Su Xiyue was happily eating when the system’s series of notifications caught her off guard. After a moment of shock, she burst into joy.

She recalled that the last time she checked their favorability, Mo Lin was at -30, Qing Zhu at -50, and Xuan Ming at -20. To have all three rise to zero so quickly was beyond her expectations—a wonderful surprise.

Could her cooking really be that good? Good enough to turn the three beastmen, who had initially detested her, into neutrals?

Certainly, winning a man’s heart began with winning his stomach. Though zero was only neutral and not affection, at least they no longer disliked her—a promising start.

The system’s rewards hit her heart perfectly. The weight loss and whitening pills were welcome; she could tolerate still being plain-looking. But the sanitary pads were indispensable.

Though females were animals by nature, after becoming human, their monthly cycle remained the same as humans. In this backward beast world, there was no such thing as sanitary pads. Females had to endure their periods openly, bleeding wherever they went, until it ended. At best, they used leaves to wipe.

Even the original owner of this body had suffered this way.

Su Xiyue twitched her mouth sharply; the mental image was unbearable. She recalled her period was due in a few days, so these 100 packs of sanitary pads were a timely blessing. Along with the weight loss and whitening pills, these rewards seemed tailor-made for her.

Even after having lost 30 jin before, she still weighed 263 jin—still very overweight. With the weight loss pills, she could finally return to a normal weight and stun those wolf men with her transformation. The whitening pills were also a boon. Though she detoxed nightly using her abilities and had become much fairer than before, her base skin tone was still dark. Detoxing only improved her skin condition but could not whiten her to the extent she desired.

With these pills, she could become a fair-skinned, slim fairy.