"She is human," Weijie said evenly. "She does not belong to this system of sharing."
Karu snorted. "Female is female."
Several nearby males shifted, clearly in agreement.
"You should at least made her free until the end of the next mating season. Some of us want offspring."
Weijie's expression did not change.
"You are free to feel displeased," he said. "But you are not free to interfere."
Qiao's temper flared. "And who gave you the authority to decide that?"
For the first time, the air around Weijie changed.
It wasn't anger.
It was pressure.
A heavy, suffocating presence rolled outward, subtle but unmistakable. The torches nearby flickered violently, flames bending away from him as though instinctively retreating.
Several males stiffened.
Hezhi's smile vanished.
Weijie looked at Qiao as if he were something insignificant.
"What gave me the authority? I am going to say this once, so all who have ears listen well. This female is my mate, touch her and you are courting death.."
Qiao's face paled.
Karu's jaw tightened.
No one spoke.
Weijie continued, his voice calm but absolute.
"I will not share my mate. I will not explain myself further. And I will not repeat this."
His golden eyes swept over them.
"If any of you believe you are stronger.." he added, "you are welcome to test it."
Silence.
The kind that rang.
Slowly, Karu stepped back.
Hezhi studied Weijie for a long moment before giving a short, amused huff. "So that's how it is."
His gaze flicked briefly to Ningning, sharp and measuring, then away.
"Very well.." Hezhi said. "We'll remember this."
The three of them moved aside.
The path cleared.
But the looks did not soften.
As Weijie resumed walking, Ningning finally let out the breath she had been holding.
Her heart was pounding.
"…Weijie." she murmured, lowering her voice, "what exactly do you do in this tribe?"
He did not answer immediately.
After a while, he said "I just play my part. When it is time to hunt, I hunt. When it is time to fight, I fight."
Ningning sighed, she was lucky she had gotten Weijie to mark her fast.
Though she had a feeling these men did not care about the mark so she may have to carry a weapon on hand.
[I will suggest a stone knife.]
[New Mission]
[Learn Basic Defense]
…
[Don't worry Dumpling. The task under this mission will begin after your wedding night.]
…
"What's happening during my wedding night?"
[…]
[Don't play dumb. But let me lay it out simply for you.]
[You]
[Are]
[Getting]
[Fucked]
[And, fun fact: he can go half a day without breaking a sweat]
…
"What?! That's 12 whole hours? Does he have an engine in his body?"
Ningning shivered, 12 hours straight fucking was crazy, she didn't want to argue about stamina, she definitely could not keep up.
[Pros of being a beastman. Honestly the population of children in this tribe should be high but frankly the reproduction rate is surprisingly low. The men are scumbags so everything becomes casual flings, no woman wants to give birth for these men.]
Ningning sighed, as they got to the cave. Weijie placed her down, then he immediately began rummaging through some baskets.
He grabbed some herbs and smooth stone. Then he rubbed the herbs on the stone until it has turned to paste.
"Sit down. I will rub it on your feet. It will sting a little. You have little cuts on your feet."
Ningning sat down, the stone was huge and wait, enough for two people to sit on but it was way to hard to sit on for long.
"I will go to see the elder. Can you stay here by yourself? On the way I will fetch water. Then after we eat, we will go down to the river to bathe."
Ningning nodded, he was really put together, she was barely 22 and her life was complete shit.
Heck she even died.
"Weijie can I ask for your age? How old are you?"
Weijie paused for a second. "The elder tells me, I've been around for twenty five sunrises.."
…
He was 25?!
He was only 3 years older yet he was so put together, he could even take care of another human!
Weijie wrapped the leaf around her foot gently after applying the paste, then tied it gently.
"It may hurt a little from time to time.."
Ningning wiggled her foot, it wasn't that bad.
"Thank you."
Weijie smiled and stood up "No need to thank me. It's my job to protect my mate.." he walked to the corner and grabbed two huge clay pots, leaving a smaller one behind.
"There is water in the smaller pot if you are thirsty. I will be back before it gets darker. And if anyone dares to touch you, you have my permission to hurt them as much as you like."
Ningning nodded as she stared at the clay pot, there was water so she could start working on dinner.
"Come back soon." She finally said as Weijie stepped out with a "I will wait for you.."
After confirming that Weijie had left it was time to cook.
"Doudou. Come online. It's time to cook. Hand me that cookbook and just how much cooking equipment do I have? Does it include ingredients and spices?"
[…]
[Only one cook book and cooking equipment. There's no ingredients or species included]
…
"Well that sucks.."
She turned and walked to the baskets. Maybe Weijie had some food stuff.
Inside the basket, all she found was meat, dried ones, then potatoes, she was even lucky to find thyme and rosemary. But she still needed salt. She could use the thyme to season the meat, but she needed salt to boil the potatoes.
She leaned back, what could she even make with this?
Ningning closed her eyes for a moment, then exhaled through her nose.
Complaining wouldn't magically make salt appear.
She pushed herself upright and picked up the dried meat again, testing its toughness between her fingers. It was hard, fibrous, clearly preserved for long storage. If she threw it straight onto the fire, it would be like chewing bark.
"Soaking first.." she murmured.