Chapter 56: Who Looks Better

As her supernatural abilities leveled up, her healing power grew increasingly strong.

Previously, she could only treat minor external wounds, but now she could attempt to handle internal injuries or slightly more severe traumas.

However, she was not a professional veterinarian, after all.

She did not have a thorough understanding of the physiological structure of orcs, so she still needed to figure out through trial and error exactly what kinds of internal injuries she could treat.

Regardless, leveling up her abilities was a good thing.

Su Xiyue felt quite pleased. Glancing outside the cave, she realized that dawn had already broken.

She was surprised in her heart—she had actually spent the entire night meditating?

Fortunately, she was a wood-attribute ability user. Even without a wink of sleep, she remained energetic and felt no sense of fatigue whatsoever.

She got up from the bed, washed up and tidied herself, and thought of the reindeer Molin had brought back yesterday.

Less than a third of it had been stewed last night, and Molin hadn't taken the rest away, so the greater part of it was still left here.

Fortunately, the temperature was low at night; otherwise, it would have spoiled.

She walked over to where the reindeer meat was placed. It had simply been left on the ground, with broad leaves spread underneath.

Su Xiyue leaned closer and sniffed, finding no unusual smell at all, as it still looked quite fresh.

Using a bone knife, she carefully sliced off a portion of the venison, then drew some water in a wooden basin to wash it clean.

She placed it on a cutting board and chopped it into evenly sized pieces.

She also sliced some ginger and scallion sections for later use, started a fire, and began stewing the meat in a stone pot.

She added some salt and an appropriate amount of spices.

The spices had been foraged previously and served to remove gamey odors and enhance flavor. Although they differed somewhat from the spices of the apocalypse, their function was much the same.

The venison in the pot gradually became tender, emitting a rich, appetizing aroma.

Su Xiyue ladled out a portion into a bowl to taste and found that the flavor was quite good. The venison was stewed until it was very tender, and the flavors had soaked completely into the meat, leaving a lingering fragrance with every bite.

After finishing a bowl, there was still more than half left in the pot. She wondered if she should send a bowl over to that jerk Yeling.

Although the jerk was extremely annoying, he was still her designated mission target, and the -60 disgust value had to be cleared as soon as possible.

Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to unlock side missions.

Su Xiyue filled a bowl to the brim with venison and grabbed a pair of chopsticks.

Just as she was about to step out, she saw Xuanming carrying a door spliced together from pieces of wood, bound and locked in the middle with vines. Its style was somewhat peculiar—looking somewhat like a door, yet not quite like one.

A thought stirred in her heart. Recalling what Xuanming had said last night about making something for her to block the cave entrance, she understood a few things.

Xuanming walked over carrying the strange door, his expression rather blank.

However, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the bowl of fragrant venison in her hand, and his throat rolled unconsciously.

The venison he ate last night had left a lingering aftertaste, and he was still craving it fiercely right now.

That was precisely why he had gone to make a door so early in the morning and eagerly brought it over.

Seeing his gaze fixing straight on her bowl, Su Xiyue found it all too transparent and felt amused inwardly.

"You've come just in time. I've just stewed a pot of venison. You probably haven't had breakfast yet, so come over and have some. Anyway, I couldn't possibly finish all this by myself."

She greeted him with a smiling face.

She carried the bowl of venison intended for Yeling back into the cave, placed it on the table, turned her head to look at him, and said, "What are you standing there frozen for? Come eat. The chopsticks are by the stove; get them yourself."

If she could conquer the five male protagonists through culinary arts, it would save her the trouble of painstakingly farming their favorability.

Cooking meals and washing clothes every day—wouldn't that be wonderful?

Of course, she was just thinking about it.

Most males in the beast world possessed strong self-esteem. Making them submit to delicious food was probably somewhat difficult.

It might work for a meal or two occasionally, but doing so long-term probably wouldn't fly.

For now, however, gaining even a little bit of favorability was better than nothing.

Hearing her words, Xuanming swallowed hard, the aroma stirring the gluttonous cravings deep within his belly.

He looked at Su Xiyue, seeing her smiling face, and found her not nearly as detestable as before.

Whether it was his imagination or not, she felt even slimmer than yesterday, and noticeably fairer too.

Though he found it strange, he simply attributed it to Su Xiyue's wood-attribute healing ability.

He propped the wooden plank door upright at the cave entrance. Its size was just right, blocking the opening perfectly.

Nodding in satisfaction, he walked over to the stove, casually picked up a pair of chopsticks, stepped into the cave, and sat down to eat without standing on ceremony.

The venison had absorbed the rich broth thoroughly. It was tender, flavorful, salty, and fragrant all at once—simply exceptionally delicious.

Having eaten it once last night, he had assumed it wouldn't be as astonishing today.

Yet to his surprise, the taste was just as good as ever.

It was perhaps even more delicious than yesterday.

Seeing him eat with such relish, Su Xiyue felt quite happy inside. As long as she could capture a man's stomach, capturing his heart wouldn't be far behind.

Although she didn't particularly care for the hearts of these orcs, she still needed to use them when necessary to complete her missions.

She sat across from Xuanming, resting her chin in one hand, watching him with a smile. She didn't speak, just quietly watching him eat.

It gave her a satisfying sense of feeding someone.

She had to admit that Xuanming's appearance was outstanding—belonging to a very rugged, deeply masculine type that radiated wild energy.

Especially that sense of out-of-place wildness and bandit-like aura about him, which was intensely alluring and practically bursting with hormones.

Even though she wasn't particularly obsessed with good looks, she naturally approached beautiful people and things with an appreciative attitude.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze, Xuanming looked up at her and asked with a frown.

Had her eyes not been clear, lacking their previous infatuation, coupled with her recent changes, he would never have been so easy to talk to.

Su Xiyue was slightly startled, then smiled and shook her head. "No, I just think you look really handsome."

Xuanming was somewhat taken aback. He heard words of this sort almost every day.

The females in the tribe usually wore infatuated expressions whenever they saw him.

Especially the one right before him, who was the most infatuated of all and said such things the most frequently.

Hearing and seeing it always annoyed and even disgusted him deeply.

Yet at this moment, Xuanming strangely did not feel annoyed.

His gaze landed on Su Xiyue's face, seeing her clear eyes and beaming smile, completely devoid of that tiresome, infatuated look of the past.

The corners of his lips twitched, curving into an imperceptible smile. "Is that so? Then tell me, compared to Yeling, Molin, Bai Qi, and Qingzhu, who do you think is better looking?"

Su Xiyue found it amusing inside, thinking to herself that this familiar trap question had finally arrived.

Outwardly, however, she kept a straight face, thought about it earnestly for a moment with a smile, and replied, "All five of you look great, each with your own merits. You're all top-tier handsome men in the tribe."

Xuanming raised an eyebrow slightly. This answer was indeed beyond his expectations.

He had thought she would say he was the best-looking one, seeing as she used to say things like that in the past.

"Oh? Then go ahead and tell me, what are the unique merits of each of us five?"

Growing somewhat interested, he looked at her at his leisure, wanting to hear what fancy words she could come up with.

Su Xiyue could only conclude that this man was a closet romantic, not only asking such a question but pressing for every detail.

Maintaining a solemn expression on the outside, she said, "Yeling has the vibe of an overbearing CEO, while Molin is the aloof campus idol. As for Bai Qi, he's like the warm sun—gentle and radiant, making people want to get close to him. Qingzhu is a detached, ethereal beauty, and as for you..."

She deliberately dragged out her voice, watching Xuanming's expression grow increasingly tense, and felt amused inside.

Only then did she continue: "You are like a fierce gale sweeping across the grassland—wild, unrestrained, free-spirited, and overflowing with power and primitive beauty."

Xuanming was slightly startled. Although he didn't understand what an "overbearing CEO" or an "aloof campus idol" meant, he grasped the general gist and felt her description was extremely apt.

It truly matched the personality traits of all five of them.